Writer George Martin praised the TV series Game of Thrones, based on his A Song of Ice and Fire series.

In an interview for WTTW News, the author shared his impressions of the HBO television adaptation of the novels.

The writer recalled that for the premiere of the series, he had already done a lot of work on the history of Westeros.

The first book entitled "Game of Thrones" was published in 1996, while the pilot episode of the TV project was ready in 2009, and the show of the series for a wide audience started in 2011.

“When work began on Game of Thrones, I had already published four books, and the fifth was published in 2011, along with the first season.

I had a head start of five books.

If you've seen them, you know - they are gigantic books.

I couldn’t have thought that they would catch up with me, but that’s what happened, ”Martin confessed.

The sixth, penultimate book of the cycle "A Song of Ice and Fire" entitled "Winds of Winter" has not yet been completed.

George Martin has repeatedly postponed the publication date.

In February 2021, the writer spoke about the progress in work on the volume, but did not dare to name any specific dates. 

The writer stressed that the situation around the series surprised him.

“They caught up and overtook me!

It seemed odd because the show was now ahead of me and moving in a slightly different direction.

I am still working on the book, and when it comes out, you will know my ending, ”the writer explained.

  • © Shot from the series "Game of Thrones"

The closest to the literary source were the first two seasons of Game of Thrones.

In the future, the filmmakers relied on the novels until the end of the sixth season (however, they allowed themselves some liberties in interpreting the story).

The plot development of the seventh and eighth seasons was taken over by David Benioff and Daniel Brett Weiss, who from the very beginning were involved in the project as producers and showrunners.

Fans have repeatedly criticized their script decisions, and the final episode caused the most discontent among fans of the saga.

The writer, however, was in no hurry to give a concrete assessment of the efforts of the tandem of filmmakers - and he was vaguely hinting at how the ending of the story was supposed to turn out according to his plan.

“The same ending as on the show?

Other?

Well ... Yes.

And no.

And yes.

And no, ”wrote Martin on his personal blog.

At the same time, he refrained from harsh criticism of the television project and recalled that the eighth season took only six hours of screen time (it turned out to be shorter than the previous ones), while the volume of the manuscript of the last books "Songs of Ice and Fire", according to his estimates, could exceed 3 thousand pages.

Now, in an interview with WTTW News, George Martin expressed his disappointment at the fate of the books and their film adaptations. 

“It changed my life, mostly for the better, although, in hindsight, I regret letting the series get ahead of the books,” the author admitted.

  • Shot from the series "Game of Thrones"

  • © Shot from the series "Game of Thrones"

One way or another, Game of Thrones helped popularize Martin's novels.

In the year the first season of the show was released, the books sold a total circulation of over 8 million copies.

A year later, in 2012, Martin first appeared on the Forbes magazine's list of top-earning writers for the first time.

The writer took 12th place.

As for the series, "Game of Thrones" has shown many achievements, some of which have entered the Guinness Book of Records.

The show attracted an impressive audience and won numerous awards (most notably, Primetime Emmy Awards).

Despite dissatisfaction with the film adaptation, George Martin plans to take part in the development of other projects based on his works.

So, in the spring of 2021, he began writing a play, which takes place 16 years before the events described in the series.

The production will be prepared for broadcast on Broadway and other venues in various countries.

Also for the next five years, George Martin is in contact with HBO.

It is assumed that the writer will handle content for the TV channel and streaming service.

In particular, he is producing the Game of Thrones multi-part prequel, Dragon House.

Also, the media reported that Martin may take part in the work on an animated series for an adult audience, which will partially repeat the motives of the flagship project.

In his blog, the writer noted that he was not going to work on any scripts - at least until he completed the book "Winds of Winter".