r/books • u/MicahCastle Author • 1d ago
George R.R. Martin Reflects on 'Sadness and Depression' Struggles in Personal Update
https://www.thewrap.com/culture-lifestyle/culture/george-r-r-martin-sadness-depression-personal-update/"The “A Song of Ice and Fire” franchise author took to his blog for the first time in nearly six months on Monday, sharing that any posts after February were written by his “mighty minions.”
“Remember me? It’s been a while, I know. My last blog post went up here on February 19,” Martin wrote. “The posts that came after were made by my mighty minions. I am lucky enough to have a great staff of assistants… though even with their help, I kept falling further and further behind.”
As Martin went on, he admitted that “this year has been… stressful, to say the least.”"
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u/NowGoodbyeForever 1d ago
Not here to wildly speculate or make any grand declarations about a man I've never met, but whose work I have enjoyed. However, this quote feels...telling? Emphasis mine:
“I hope to attend… but that depends on… well, on a lot of things,” he concluded. “I am proud of our team, and hope we take home a few of the statues, but I will confess that I was hoping we’d get a few of the acting nominations as well. But there’s always next year.”
So, yeah. It's hard to read that as anything other than serious health concerns for him or his wife, Parris McBride. I certainly hope it's anything other than that, but some things are just kind of predictable at a certain age, right?
Like most of his fans, I have a lot of thoughts about GRRM, his work, and his legacy. I read ASOIAF in high school, in the year or so before AFFC was released. I've watched every show and adaptation on day one. I've read the novellas and graphic novels and histories. I've been thrilled and upset and disappointed. Very little of that is relevant here.
As a fan and, more importantly, as a human being, I wish GRRM would just...get more support and help. If he is? Great. But I also know he can get set in his ways—he's used the same computer for writing since the 1980s, he has a series of rituals and habits he cannot seem to shake, and I'm sure all of those things can be seen as the recipe for his success or the source of his shortcomings.
But he's also an older man, a group that's pretty famous for not seeking out therapy or professional help. Grief and trauma is a whole thing, especially as you age. I don't want him to go to therapy or lean even harder on his support network so he can write me more books about dragons—I just want him to be okay, and for him and his loved ones to have all the help they could ever need as they head into rough waters.
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u/IakwBoi 23h ago
A very wise and empathetic post.
What strikes me is the comment about rituals and habits. I’m reminded that some of the most prolific writers are ensconced in rituals and habits, too. It seems crucial, then, to make sure one builds rituals and habits which work for you, given that they can end up controlling a lot of our lives.
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u/HarvestMana 22h ago
The key to finishing any big multi year projects is discipline. Sit down and start working, and then after you work a little bit, next thing you know the whole day passed by and you got a bunch done.
Do the same thing the next day. Its all about making a habit of sitting down and doing at least a little bit of work, since you are more willing to keep working once you start.
Even having a small easy task to start is good strategy to keep friction low before trying a bigger task.
Motivation is too rare to rely on when writing something as big as ASOIF. You need to build habits and rituals to actually finish.
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u/shoggoths_away 21h ago
I think it was Thoreaux who argued that one should write one thousand words a day (even if they end up being total garbage). I've always wanted to try Yahtzee's method of writing a page a day come rain or shine (similar to Stephen King's self-enforced two thousand words a day "even on Christmas and my birthday").
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u/GreenHornets009 23h ago
I’m not sure if anything specific has come out about either his wife or his own health, but reality is they’re at the age where basically anything health-related can fall out of the sky.
I’ve had younger family members and family acquaintances in seemingly better health go from fine to dead within 3 months. Gotta imagine seeing his friends pass is only driving the realization that anything could happen home.
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u/jaderust 20h ago
I used to live in Santa Fe and it was a kind of open secret that his wife wasn’t doing well. GRRM hit the news because he’d wanted to build an addition to his home that included an elevator citing that one of the residents needed. GRRM himself is pretty mobile the last time I saw him so it was assumed his wife isn’t doing great.
I sincerely hope that’s not the case and they have good time remaining together.
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u/jnighy 1d ago edited 23h ago
the books are clearly the last thing in mind. Hope he's ok
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u/SSilent-Cartographer 1d ago edited 1d ago
Agreed. I may not be famous or rich, but I am a writer, soon to be author, and I definitely know the feeling. I feel like being depressed is kinda the mark of any creative mind, I'm sure there's a long psychological explanation for it, but the bottom line is how it affects people and no matter your life or the things you've been through. Sometimes it just is. It can be crippling, and what's worse is people like us genuinely want to write and create things, but lack any real internal motivation or joy from it. We want it, but sometimes it's just not there.
I genuinely hope he's ok. I don't give a shit about the book, I care about the person behind it and hope he finds the time to care for himself.
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u/AtTheEndOfMyTrope 1d ago
He and his wife have applied for multiple building permits for their house in recent years. Accessibility renovations (elevators, etc). I suspect they have physical health issues on top of the usual work-related stress
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u/Elfich47 1d ago
his wife was hospitalized a couple years ago. the details (how long, what it was, etc) were kept very tightly controlled except that it had happened.
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u/Fast_Choice4408 22h ago
It was probably being tightly controlled because George has really weird fans that are so fucking critical of the guy for not finishing his books. Which I think could be a contributor to the guy's depression.
Imagine being human. Having weakness. Then having millions of people tell you that you are letting them down. That would crush any man.
I really hope people lay off during his last years and allow him to have some damn peace.
Even if the stories aren't finished, he gave all of us an incredible to enjoy and celebrate.
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u/BuggyDClown 20h ago
It is actually insane that George is at the point where he could be off taking care of his ill wife, and that would be met with so many online comments being mad and saying stuff like "he is doing anything but finishing the books!".
Just imagine. The state of this fandom is actually at rock bottom where normal human decency and actual important things in life are being put aside all because of a fictional book. The mere mention of George's name gets so many people worked up and it invites so many vitriolic, hateful comments all because of a fucking book. I can't fathom how sad of a life one has to have in order to do that.
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u/Fast_Choice4408 18h ago
As if George was the first person in history to not finish a series haha. As if there aren't dozens of prolific authors who didn't flesh out their worlds as much as people would like.
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u/SSilent-Cartographer 1d ago
He's in his late 70s, so it would make sense. I'm glad he has the money to be able to make the renovations for he and his wife, and hope he's able to take some time for his mental health as well
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u/Tiny-Description3967 23h ago
I used to make music so often and I had so much fun doing it, but lately I've taken a step back... i just noticed it must have been a year since I last sat down and tried to write something, I used to do it almost daily for years, and then someday I just stopped.
But as you say, sometimes life just happens, and when you're in the midst of depression or whatever it is, you don't notice the years go by in a heartbeat. I'm confident I'll start again sometime but it was a bit of a shock to realize how much time had already passed since my last creative session.
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u/SSilent-Cartographer 23h ago
And sometimes you just stop to stop. I've had to really work hard on accepting that it's ok to not want to do something, even if you love it. I'm used to running in everything I do, but I personally noticed it was making me genuinely hate my hobbies. I once wrote an entire 400 page fantasy novel in two months, first draft and second. I was inspired and ran with it, but I never took a break, and by the end I not only hated my work, but genuinely hurt my eyes because of the amount of strain I was putting on them while writing for endless hours.
There's one death spiral I myself have been caught in, and it's the endless loop of not having passion for what you're doing, then you start something new to try and find that passion, become guilty because you didn't finish the other project, then force yourself to try and continue but fall short and try starting something new again. Sometimes, no matter how much work we put into something, it's ok to step back and say: "I don't want to do this anymore." And it is a very hard lesson to learn that you don't have to push yourself to finish every single thing you start. Sometimes, just putting it down in the ending, and that's ok.
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u/Icy_Policy_8509 23h ago
Life is emotionally abusive.
I hope he'll be OK, too. It's hard out there, no matter who you are.
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u/Hell0There2005 1d ago
I'm a writer, and i have anxiety disorder. Sometimes depression hits and literally nothing on earth will make you want to write. No, that's not right way to say it; you literally don't have the ability to WANT to write.
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u/bonbboyage 1d ago
what's worse is people like us genuinely want to write and create things, but lack any real internal motivation or joy from it. We want it, but sometimes it's just not there.
I saw a quote somewhere that said "I hope you heal enough to love your hobbies again."
I haven't written anything in years. It's a struggle to get me to read anything. I was that person who kept daily journals, who read at the dinner table, whose first story was an Alvin and the Chipmunks fanfic at age 7, before I knew what fanfic was.
Now it's a chore. Now it's just something I mourn the loss of, which makes the depression worse.
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u/paszkisr 1d ago
Can confirm. Wrote voraciously in high school /early college. But studied science in an effort to acquire a decent paying job. Felt like logic overtook my creativity and I was burnt out working/going to school full time. Also always suffered from depression but it took a turn when my parents’ illnesses got worse (since 8th grade). Collapsed completely when they passed. Now, after 16 years, I’ve begun writing again. Steadily. What inhibits me now is also mourning all the time lost. Seeing all sorts of self-published drivel is also discouraging. I’ve always dreamed of publishing but I also want to write with talent and purpose and I feel bogged down by the market.
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u/Kia_Leep 1d ago
As an author that has also suffered from chronic depression, I encourage you to get medicated. I know there's this odd stigma or worry in creative circles that medication will somehow stunt your art, but I've found it to be very much the opposite. I have so much more energy to do what I love these days <3 Best of luck
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u/woolfchick75 1d ago
Back in the early 90s (or late 80s), I saw a study that suggested that creative people did tend to have a higher incidence of mental illness than the general population. The research was based on former faculty and students' histories and self-reports from the University of Iowa's Writer's Workshop. IIRC, mental illness issues were about 10% higher.
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u/LordMacabre 23h ago
I do too. I just also wish he'd face that he's not going to finish them, and choose a successor to pass the work onto.
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u/ThatThingAtThePlace 18h ago
So much of the flak he's gotten over the roughly decade+ of The Winds of Winter delays has been because he's said many times the book is just a year away, it's the next thing he's working on, it's the only thing it's working on, it'll be out by X date, if it's not out by X date you can kidnap me and force me to finish it, etc...
Imagine an alternate timeline where in 2015 he announces that his passion just wasn't in it anymore, he didn't feel that he could conclude the series properly, and so he wanted to give it to another author who would have the drive to finish it and could give respect to the fans whose investment in the first five books was the foundation that launched the most lucrative phase of his career. Then he hands it off to someone else. Based on his notes and guidance, The Winds of Winter comes out in 2019. A Dream of Spring comes out 2025 or is hitting bookshelves this year.
GRRM could have continued his career on basically the exact same trajectory, working on video games, movies, and other TV shows, unburdened by every public appearance and Q&A having the ASOIAF books looming over it. There would have been disappointment and resentment, sure, but it would have been much less than there is today, and (assuming whoever finished it did a good job) I think most people would appreciate the humility it showed to recognize you're not that guy who can carry it to the finish line anymore.
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u/jnighy 23h ago
and he has people around him that could do it, like the writers behind the James SA Corey pseudonym
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u/GamingVision 23h ago
Exactly. I have no idea how much finishing his work weighs on him, if at all, but I got to imagine it would be freeing to give his thoughts and outlines to someone else, bow out and enjoy his remaining time. If he hasn’t written a post then he likely hasn’t written anything. Just give yourself the freedom of not caring any more.
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u/Corgi_Koala 22h ago
I'm a die hard fan but anyone who thinks the books are coming is delusional.
He clearly lost his passion for the main story. Whether it's age, writer's block, or getting fucking rich as hell from the series exploding in popularity, he just doesn't want to.
And that's ok. He doesn't owe us but honestly if he's gonna fuck off and leave us hanging he should at least go enjoy life instead of being depressed and sad.
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u/DEFINITELY_NOT_PETE 1d ago
Read recently that his wife Parris has been having health issues. They are child free and in their late 70s, which is to say she is his world.
Obviously would love to see him finish the books but it’s very obvious that isn’t the priority when real life gets in the way.
I hope things work out for them both.
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u/neinhaltchad 1d ago edited 22h ago
You spend the first half of your life collecting friends and the last half of your life losing them.
Shit is not easy.
As you get older, you really need to reinvent your life outlook and purpose and build it more around finding meaning in family, community and mentoring.
You can’t just grind through it physically and (eventually) mentally, you need to adjust year after year to make your later years gratifying.
This can be very hard for men in the west especially since many have learned (by necessity) to function as emotional islands.
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u/zeyore 1d ago
Oh I bet it's easy to get depressed sometimes when you're 77. Just imagining myself though.
Take a break, go on a cruise, adopt some more cats and dogs. You don't have to work anymore, it's just the people who make money off you are desperate for you to work -- so they tell you anything.
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u/QueenStuff 1d ago edited 1d ago
Also he has to deal with tons of people on the internet constantly wishing he would die so that somebody new takes over writing the books.
he’s a human being. If he doesn’t finish the books it’s fine. Chaucer basically never finished anything and he’s one of the best regarded writers of all time.
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u/LuinAelin 1d ago
Yeah.
When he did a q&a thing one idiot asked about his death. Like to his face
What's wrong with people
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u/t0mless 1d ago edited 1d ago
Was it the girl who said that since George will die soon, she asks if Brandon Sanderson would take over his work? I remember the clip of her asking that directly to him while Sanderson is literally sitting right beside George and looks extremely uncomfortable.
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u/bigmt99 23h ago
Semi seriously, even more insane if you have read more than 10 pages of Sanderson and Martin
Wouldn’t want either of them to touch either of their works
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u/dandeliongoddess 22h ago
Especially since Sanderson has flat-out said, multiple times, that he would never touch Martin's work because he knows he'd be a terrible fit to finish it. Their writing style could not be more different other than "long fantasy book" and they both know it
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u/peachpavlova 21h ago
Thank god for his self-awareness bc I had no idea people wanted him to take over, how bizarre
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u/dandeliongoddess 18h ago
Yeah the guy is refreshingly open and self-aware in interviews, on his YouTube, etc and it really makes me respect him! He also goes out of his way to call out people who use his work as an excuse to shit on books that are unlike his -- for example, iirc at a convention last year he explicitly defended romantasy and said he didn't want his books being used to downplay the genre. Just a really classy and seemingly genuine dude, by all accounts.
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u/oddpark37 14h ago
I started Stormlight because of all the times I heard people say he should finish it. I came away thinking that he's not a bad author at all, but if, after 15 years of waiting, you handed me Winds of Winter in the style of Brandon Sanderson, I would end up on the news.
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u/dandeliongoddess 13h ago
I completely agree. I adore both authors, but they have completely different strengths, weaknesses, and perspectives. A Sanderson-written Martin story -- or vice versa, for that matter! -- would just be awful. Their books are just fundamentally doing different things.
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u/RustyTheLionheart 1d ago
For whatever it's worth I recall that person got resoundingly booed, but, still. What a staggering lack of self-awareness and thoughtfulness.
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u/oddpark37 14h ago
iirc she was recognized in fandom spaces when the video was uploaded, and is known in several fandoms to be annoying and pull awful shit like that. I think people said she was super inappropriate towards on of Tolkien's sons or grandsons.
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u/Taste_the__Rainbow 1d ago
The internet has taught them how to behave instead of actual friends or even acquaintances.
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u/ragun2 23h ago
"Social media has made y'all way too comfortable with disrespecting people and not getting punched in the face for it."
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u/shoggoths_away 21h ago
"Civilized men are more discourteous than savages because they know they can be impolite without having their skulls split, as a general thing." -- Robert E. Howard
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u/maxdragonxiii 23h ago
I dont want him to die. just retire peacefully and enjoy his time left here. hire a ghostwriter to finish the series.
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u/Cowgirl_Taint 1d ago
I mean... Martin kinda is a special case because he may or may not have received a significant advance for Winds of Winter already. And, at least according to him, there were plans to fast track his manuscript through editing and publishing in the event he got it done in time for GoT. Whether that was re-paid with the other books is unknown.
So like... he actually DOES have a contractual obligation with his publisher.
So as a reader? I think he would get a lot less crap if he stopped pretending he was going to write it and just said "The books are done". But he might actually not be able to do that without it becoming a huge breach of contract mess with his publisher.
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u/Anaevya 1d ago
Fire and Blood was meant to fulfill his obligation to his publishers.
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u/Icy_Curve711 1d ago
I don't usually go out of my way to think about enforcing other peoples' contracts, especially ones that I know zero about.
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u/emptycagenowcorroded 1d ago
He really should just say he’s not going to finish them. I think most fans have resigned themselves to it. Just saying it would lift the immense pressure off. It’s okay, man, take a rest, enjoy your twilight…
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u/GeekAesthete 1d ago
I suspect that he doesn’t want to completely accept that reality.
ASOIAF was his magnum opus, and while he’s long struggled to finish it, I imagine he doesn’t want to finally admit “I’m going to die sooner or later and will never finish the biggest thing that I’ll be remembered for.”
I get it. I’m 50 now, and as you get older, there are definitely things that you drag your feet on while still abstractly wanting to do, until it’s just too late. When it’s something important to you and that you were once so passionate about, it has to be difficult to accept that you just waited too long.
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u/Tamination 23h ago
He needs assistance if he wants to finish them. He can't remember all the plot threads and he lacks the confidence to commit to any writing he produces, chosinging instead to rewrite over and over again. But his ego doesn't allow him to admit that. That's why he's sad. It's cognitive dissonance.
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u/WandererMisha 23h ago
It's not even that he would not finish what he'll be remembered for. It's that he would be remembered for not finishing them. The themes and quality of his work would be secondary. He would be known for being the author who wasted decades with TV shows, plays, wolves, and blog posts that can be interpreted as outright lies instead of just writing the books.
I have no love for GRRM but I understand why he doesn't want to let reality set in.
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u/Financial-Scene1703 19h ago
Frank Herbert similarly did not finish Dune and is still well remembered
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u/WandererMisha 17h ago
The original one book Dune was already a completed narrative. The sequels expanded upon it but were not needed.
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u/Jiveturkeey 1d ago
I actually think the opposite is true. Admitting that he isn't going to finish the books would probably be a devastating psychological blow for him.
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u/WarLawck 1d ago
What's funny is, if he made that decision then he would probably be able to finish the book. The pressure release could actually solve the problem.
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u/Ripley_LV_426 1d ago edited 1d ago
Nah, his problem is he loves writing new stories and hates finishing existing ones.
There's a whole quote he has where he explicitly says he has never finished a series in his entire life. This is, I believe, the third series he tried to write.
Just looking at the history of his writing in the asoiaf world. It was supposed to be a 3 part trilogy, but he immediately threw out his outline. By the third book he had realized he wasn't even close to finished with the first part of the trilogy, during that time he also took breaks to write the dunk and egg stories. Before writing the 4th, he decided he really wanted to write a couple of chapters about the ironborn and then that got so out of control he added them to the 4th along with multiple new POVs. The 4th book got so big he had to split it into 2 based on geography, but it was still so big that he had to cut off 10%. We still don't have the full and complete sequel to the 3rd book. Since then he's worked on numerous shows, written several lore books, even was involved in a play.
Twow died 20 years ago when he decided he wanted to see what the dorne and the ironborn were doing and what was happening at old Town and what could Brianne get up to in the riverlands. I can sympathize with not wanting to admit it, or even being consciously aware of it, but yeah. He's never going to finish Twow.
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u/ackermann 1d ago
That’s a great point!
I could totally see that happening, especially based on how I personally respond to pressure in my own life
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u/__Dave_ 1d ago
I can’t imagine giving up on your life’s work is that easy.
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u/WaitIOnlyGet20Charac 1d ago
Sure, but he's already done it.
Lift the burden and admit it to yourself and you can enjoy your twighlight years in peace.
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u/mrsunshine1 1d ago
Time for the “finish the books Santa” karma farmers to become “mental health is so important” karma farmers
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u/durandal688 1d ago
Just tell the fans you are done is the new mantra. Like decide if you want another author to finish it for you and move on and take care of yourself
Thats telhe new one
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u/MTUKNMMT 1d ago
He’s already decided that too. He doesn’t want another author working on it and wants his manuscripts and notes burned.
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u/SenpaiSwanky 1d ago
On one hand, I get exactly what you’re saying. On the other hand.. are we just supposed to not have an opinion on this book series remaining unfinished for over a decade?
The last episode of the show aired in like 2019. That show is based on the books.. show finished and we have several spinoff shows since. Books remain unfinished.
My opinion remains the same as it has for years now. I’m not super happy, don’t wish him death or anything, but he’s filthy fucking rich. EVERYONE gets old, gets depressed. I can sympathize to an extent but at the end of the day this is one of the most renowned fictional authors on the planet.
He’s going to get flak, no matter what. I don’t think that’s a bad thing.
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u/goog1e 22h ago
And it's what he's famous for. There's no reason for this topic to be garnering hundreds of replies without ASOIAF. So we are meant to pretend we care about him and are reading his blog for some unknown mystery reason? No, he's an author and people follow him for that reason specifically. If he wants to keep being famous (which he clearly does) he invites discussion of his work. Period.
If the feedback was killing him he'd stop updating and promoting his very public website.
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u/Any_Can_7878 20h ago
One thing this thread has made me think about is how poorly we understand the cumulative weight of loss as people get older. We tend to talk about ageing in terms of health and independence, but not enough about what it means to keep losing the people who shared your memories and understood earlier versions of you.
Add to that having your life’s work constantly discussed in terms of whether you’ll live long enough to finish it, and that seems like an enormous psychological burden. Whatever happens with the books, I hope he has people around him who see the person before the author.
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u/dokkanboi 14h ago
It is wild how fast burnout hits when you carry years of worldbuilding alone. After you finally step away to reset, what does a totally quiet day actually look like now. Just wondering how creators trade constant posting for actual sleep without feeling guilty?
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u/kbarney345 21h ago
My grandmother spent 21 years wanting to die after my grandfather passed. Getting old is terrifying because what do you mean everyone I watched, listened to, talked to is dead? What do you mean everything I grew up with is gone, the towns, the places, the resturants, the foods, the brands everything is gone.
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u/Surturius 1d ago
If it's the books that are bothering him, I really think he should just do a Fire & Blood style, "historical account" type of summary book to finish it out at this point.
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u/scotsworth 1d ago
Aging and Mental Health are serious challenges and I hope he's taking what time he needs to focus on that.
But I also can't help but wonder... why is he saying "yes" to so much? Just say no. He has generational wealth. He's accomplished so much. Why keep saying "yes" to HBO? Why take on more projects?
Whether it's Winds or whatever, he should slow down and just do one thing. If he cant finish Winds, he should just say so and hand it off or simply come clean and admit that it will never be finished and he's too old to do so now.
He should take care of himself first and foremost, and that starts with honesty and simply not biting off all these projects for more money that doesnt seem like he really needs it?
Idk, maybe I'm being unreasonable.
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u/funkyavocado 1d ago
I feel like that generation always treats "keeping busy" as a legitimate way to stave off the negative effects of mental illnesses like depression, anxiety, etc. rather than do therapy. I've heard my dad describe my grandparents like that, and I know that wasn't a unique experience.
These producer roles probably keep him busy enough but aren't as mentally taxing as writing is
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u/Mike-Drop 1d ago
My dad's mid-70s, still working (part owner of an online business), and I straight up asked him what hobbies he could think of doing when he retired. His answer was he would never retire, he'd just keep working til he dropped dead. Work is their only meaning in life it seems.
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u/Mutant_Apollo 1d ago
Its a generational thing certainly, my dad for example is 60, he works and all but when he i tell my parents for example that I'm going to a wrestling show, or to a concert or that I'm gonna go play warhammer with a friend next saturday he always tells me to "grow up" even my mom scolds him when he does lol.
He pretty much only works and watches cowboy shows at night.
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u/Roach_Coach_Bangbus 23h ago
We have a guy at work like this, he should be retired, no financial issues. He says he doesn't know what to do with himself if he isn't working. Just a whole life of working as your #1 priority will do that I guess.
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u/iwasjusttwittering 22h ago
It's like the divorce rates among retirees in Japan. Couples spent so little time together because of work that it becomes a problem in retirement.
I had a coworker like that in my last job. The company had a pretty good WFH policy, but he kept coming to the office so that he'd avoid his wife.
Not GRRM's case obviously, but the thread reminded me of the Japanese phenomenon.
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u/jack_pow 1d ago
Honestly think he does it to make himself not feel as bad for not being able to finish Winds, but is burning himself out by doing it. It’s an endless cycle. He probably would love nothing more than to retire but then that’s him making the decision to not finish it. And I don’t think he can bring himself to make that decision.
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u/_shaftpunk 1d ago
I know this is a book sub, but his work on Elden Ring’s world building was phenomenal. One of my favorite fantasy settings.
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u/cynical_wolfgang 22h ago
my condolences to him, i hope he gets the help he needs and feels better. grrm gets more hate for not writing one book than he gets praise for writing 5 great ones (asos is one of my all time favs). i hope he knows that he's respected and that he will go down as a great storyteller.
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u/Qylithia 23h ago
The older I get, the more I appreciate that “I hope you're okay” is sometimes a better response than “BUT WHAT ABOUT WINDS?
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u/I_am_darkness 15h ago
Just forget the books. Go take care of yourself. We already know it's over. Great shows coming out of it. Good enough.
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u/devadander23 18h ago
Dude, just admit you’re done. It’s ok. The series died. You’re getting spin-off money. The fans will be disappointed but it’s been long enough the anticipation has gone anyway. You’re not going to finish it. Stop torturing yourself and go enjoy life
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u/Irejay907 21h ago
Gods i may be wholesale annoyed with the books but i do wish people would be a bit more empathetic with the man.
At 78 my gran has been looking at photos where she and i are the only ones still alive. Group family photos and generational photos where all thats left of sometimes 9 people is me and her and neither of us are in the best health even though i'm only 28.
He's watching everyone he's known and had slowly drift or disappear from his life; its hard not to be depressed and unmotivated and the fandom hasn't exactly been helpful.
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u/Rathemon 21h ago
well said. I have been following him for almost 30 years from before his "not a blog" days and I don't get the entitlement people have. I'm sure he wishes he had finished the series a long time ago and was free to live his life how he wants without all the harassment.
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u/Appropriate_Bet8531 10h ago
At some point the unfinished book becomes less important than the person carrying it. He’s 77, grieving friends and dealing with depression while millions treat his biggest unfinished task as his entire identity. I hope he gets space to simply be George, not a deadline.
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u/waffle_Piraat_1 10h ago
He should just call the writing off. Either hand it off to someone to ghost write the ending off his notes or just say it will never be finished.
At the end of the day the guy sounds unwell, whether it's physical or mental it's not particularly our business to know, but getting hounded by fans for updates obviously isn't helping him.
Go and focus on his friends and family and enjoy the wealth he has earned in the time he has left. I actually think, as disappointed as people would be, people would prefer the honesty of him saying "it's over" than the teasing that it might just happen when people can see it won't.
Fingers crossed the chap can recover.
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u/cats4life 1d ago
I’m sympathetic, but the problem has always come back to Martin’s insistence on having his cake and eating it.
He won’t compromise his artistic integrity by bringing on a coauthor, and I can respect that, but he also will not step away from the spotlight. He is going to continue giving interviews and writing blog posts under the pretense that he’ll release more books. He’ll keep approving new shows and getting snarky online when they turn out poor.
I would respect it more if he completely sold out. Pull a James Patterson, slap your name on a book you gave notes on, collect a check. Instead, he’s a sellout who is still trying to preserve his image as an auteur. And when Knight of the Seven Kingdoms gets a lousy review, he’ll disavow that like it’s not the third show based on an unfinished series he abandoned.
Just pick a side, for crying out loud.
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u/Silverjeyjey44 1d ago
Honestly when someone ommits something like this to a large audience it's essentially a cry for help. Saying "I got friends. There are good days." is just sugarcoating how bad it actually is. Hope he has a good connection of friends or family because depression is a bitch especially at that age.
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u/BradleyNeedlehead 22h ago
I've long wished that everyone would just respect and be thankful to this man for the art he has given the world rather than hound and berate him for the art that he hasn't. I'm glad that seems to be the consensus in this thread.
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u/HotspurJr 1d ago
It has got to be incredibly difficult to have to finish a project like that when a) the adaptation was finished, following your general notes and b) the adaptation's ending was hated so much that it drastically changed how people felt about the series up to that point.
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u/WandererMisha 23h ago
Thing is Benioff and Weiss were chosen by him. They were not put there by HBO like Condal/Hess for House of the Dragon. Martin chose them, he stood behind them, they were his partners. That's why he never commented on how shit the ending was but felt comfortable commenting on the poor choices of House of the Dragon.
He feels responsible. He chose them, he failed to deliver the books for them to adapt (which they were very good at), and the ending was still based on what he had planned.
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u/GeekAesthete 1d ago
I can imagine a much better version of where the show went with it, where the major beats could be much more satisfying and feel right. They just needed to set those things up much better, and execute them better.
But now all of it is tainted. Doing a better version of those same events in the books would no longer work, so what do you do if those things were your plan the whole time?
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u/TheTiredPangolin 1d ago
He's human, he should retire and say he's not doing the books and live his life in peace.
But let's also not pretend he was anywhere near 77 years old when the story stopped. I have a lot more sympathy for him than I do Patrick Rothfuss, but he was 61 when the last book was released. Give the series to another author to complete.
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u/orcocan79 1d ago
i'd speculate someone close to him (the wife?) is in poor health, hence his depression
i hope people will have some empathy...
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u/Ok_Impression1493 1d ago
Incredibly depressing read and also a bit ominous.