By Miriam R. Kramer

Author George R.R. Martin is officially the worst procrastinator in the world. So say I, Lady Miriam of House Kramer, located near the pestilent Trump Swamp.

It has now been fifteen years since Martin published A Dance With Dragons, his fifth installment of the renowned high fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire (ASOIAF). Based on medieval Machiavellian machinations amongst high lords in the kingdom of Westeros and beyond, his first book, Game of Thrones, appeared in 1996. Then came A Clash of Kings in 1998; A Storm of Swords in 2000; and A Feast for Crows in 2005. So far he has penned a thousand pages of this recent installment but has not found a place to stop.

Part of the problem for the reader, of course, was a gain for the viewer. Martin became distracted initially by the adaptation of his books into the television series, A Game of Thrones. HBO released a new season every year between 2011-2019. With well-cast actors and beautifully filmed episodes, the series continued to win over TV executives impressed by the financial and artistic success of the fantasy film trilogy The Lord of the Rings. Game of Thrones ended up the most-awarded scripted television series in the history of the Primetime Emmy Awards, with 59 wins out of 160 nominations.

Martin was sucked into directing and writing several episodes, however, beginning the endless string of his distractions. After the first seasons proved huge successes, he was then asked to greenlight spin-off shows from the world of Westeros based on side-project books such as Fire & Blood about the Targaryen dynasty or his Dunk and Egg stories in the book A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.

House of the Dragon, a prequel series about a period of internal conflict between the Targaryens, has run for two seasons so far with a Season Three premiere scheduled for June 21, 2026. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, a simpler and later prequel about a poor hedge knight and his squire traveling Westeros in search of glory, has been renewed and is filming Season Two. I have enjoyed both these series, although House of the Dragon has moved slower than the original Game of Thrones. While also violent, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is charming and a relief from the endless grimness of Martin’s other tales. Peter Claffey as Dunk and Dexter Sol Ansell as Egg make an endearing pairing.

In addition to penning his novel and the occasional screenplay, Martin became mired in TV development meetings; script consulting; promotional tours; his movie theater in Santa Fe, New Mexico; and writing these new spin-off Westeros books. He has also spent time editing anthologies of other authors’ stories, consulting on video games, traveling to conventions, and involving himself in any activity he can find to distract him from finishing ASOIAF.

I was particularly annoyed when the TV series caught up with and then chronologically passed the books. I knew I would have to watch them because I would read or hear the spoilers anyway. Those filming and creating the series did a marvelous job creating the dragons and many other visions only seen in my mind’s eye, though, including the Wall of ice that serves as its own character throughout the books. Until Series 8, the show was a wonderful depiction of Martin’s world.

Martin said in the past that the series and the novels would go in different directions but end up in about the same place. Just several days ago, though, he posted in his blog that he had been working in his “winter garden,” a metaphor for writing the Winds of Winter. “Things twist, things change, new ideas come to me, old ideas prove unworkable, I write, I rewrite, I restructure, I rip everything apart and rewrite again, I go through doors that lead nowhere, and doors that open on marvels.” Martin reported that some characters will die who lived in the TV series, and others who die will live. He has also stated that the series will deviate substantially from the HBO series. I hope he can find an entirely new ending, although I would not bet on it.

In addition to his distractions, Martin seems to have written himself into a corner. Aficionados of the novels know how complex his plots and character arcs are, particularly in comparison with the TV seasons and episodes. As the books have piled up, the complexity of resolving them has only increased. A self-professed slow writer and perfectionist, Martin is also under a huge amount of pressure to conclude the penultimate novel, not to mention the series itself. When he finished A Dance of Dragons in 2011, he had just ascended to a new level of global fame. Now readers around the world are waiting for him to tie up the hundreds of literary loose ends he’s left.

While I sympathize with that pressure, I hope he can focus. There is still a book left to write after this one, and I do not want the series left for a less capable, or indeed any other writer, to finish.

About the Author: Miriam Kramer worked at Olsson’s Books & Records before it closed in 2008, welcoming Old Town, Alexandria, residents to a unique place where employees with encyclopedic knowledge of literature and music enriched the community. As a global nomad, she has lived, studied, or worked in diverse countries overseas. With her experience writing and studying international affairs, she has promoted democracy, international media, the arts, peace building, and citizen diplomacy during her career.

.