Current Events > What if George RR Martin dies before he finishes Game of Thrones

(+) Yeah! (+)

What if George RR Martin dies before he finishes Game of Thrones

The series is called "A Song of Fire and Ice", sir.

I thought it was generally accepted that this is going to happen?

What if?

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]


He's been almost done for like a decade

marvel's what if

If?

You mean when right?

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]



Uhh its taken him 11 years for this last one with no end in sight of the wait. He's not lasting another 10 years. Though I imagine closing storylines should be easier and less time consuming.

They'll do what was done with Wheel of Time. The publishers will gather his notes, hire a writer (One who has a similar writing style and/or genre interest and experience), and this writer will complete based on those and will have to adopt a degree of creativity to construct the narrative.

JaiCSC posted...

They'll do what was done with Wheel of Time. The publishers will gather his notes, hire a writer (One who has a similar writing style and/or genre interest and experience), and this writer will complete based on those and will have to adopt a degree of creativity to construct the narrative.

Pretty sure that depends on what he actually wants done with it. It's engulfed so much of his life at this point, he might not even want anyone else to finish it. So unless his publishing company or whoever else owns the majority right(very possible too) it might literally never be done.

if it happens, it happens.

sometimes people act like the series is more important than the man, and despite him not finishing it by now, I feel like he would have wanted to more than anyone else.

Solid_Sonic posted...

The series is called "A Song of Fire and Ice", sir.

Look, I'm just a filthy casual that enjoys seeing GoT fans be mad that the book series hasn't made any progress within the last decade lol

I thought we all silently accepted this will happen.

i suspect it's gonna be like when Robert Jordan died and Brandon Sanderson took over with his notes

At this point the "what if" is that he actually finishes the series, not if he dies before then.

I remember when he was struggling to finish AFfC (2005) and people back then were saying he was going to die before finishing. I honestly never expected him to still be alive in 2022.

Then he just dies. The world goes on.

All this bellyaching people do about him undertaking other projects and taking his time with this book, you gotta admire him.

Guy is living his life. He is not beholden to what other people want him to do. You gotta respect that.

then he'll get exactly what he wants.

i guarantee you he just wants the whole "unfinished legacy" bit where the writer dies before finishing his works and everyone spends eternity talking about what would've happened

sadly the whole "author died too soon, left works unfinished and we'll never know what they truly wanted to do" mystery only works if the author actually tries to complete the works while they're alive

grrm's just forcing it for that clout

People have been talking about/fearing this since before the show was made.

LOL.

"If."

Kentaro Miura already won the "dark fantasy writer that died unexpectedly while fans were waiting for him to keep producing" sweepstakes.

I'd be amazed if he finishes before he dies

Listen here buddy, weve already accepted that fact that the books will never be finished. There is no if

g0ldie posted...

if it happens, it happens.

sometimes people act like the series is more important than the man, and despite him not finishing it by now, I feel like he would have wanted to more than anyone else.

The man would be nothing without the work

he'd still have value.

maybe not to the public, though.

Stop guys, he doesn't like when you say that! /s

In an interview with Vanity Fair, Martin expressed his discomfort with his fans' tendency to theorize about his death and what that could mean for the popular A Song of Ice and Fire series. "I do find it a little grisly," he said. "People speculating online about whats going to happen to the rest of the books when I die. I dont like to speculate about that. I dont feel close to dying."

JaiCSC posted...

They'll do what was done with Wheel of Time. The publishers will gather his notes, hire a writer (One who has a similar writing style and/or genre interest and experience), and this writer will complete based on those and will have to adopt a degree of creativity to construct the narrative.

This is what I assume as well, unless his estate restricts anyone from doing so.

I've always thought James S. A. Corey (the two guys that wrote The Expanse series) would do a good job. Granted theirs is a sci-fi series but it's written in the same way (each chapter jumping POV from one character to another). Plus IIRC they already know GRRM and unlike him actually finished their series.

Just_a_loser posted...

Then he just dies. The world goes on.

All this bellyaching people do about him undertaking other projects and taking his time with this book, you gotta admire him.

Guy is living his life. He is not beholden to what other people want him to do. You gotta respect that.

I'm not an ASOIAF fan but why would you respect someone making a ton of money on a series and then essentially abandoning it?

When someone starts buying a series there's a tacit agreement that that series is going to be finished at some point, or people wouldn't have bought it in the first place. If people hadn't have bought it in the first place, GRRM wouldn't have the financial freedom to be working on all the pet projects he wants today.

I don't have an interest in this series but I remember an interview with him a couple of weeks ago where he himself admitted that he now thinks he might die before he finishes the next book and/or series.

It's inevitable

I don't understand this topic's title. You're asking a "what if" for something that's already 99% confirmed to happen.

Been years since I read the last book but as I recall he was still introducing new characters and story arcs. Like, the dude has too many things going on at once and is having trouble connecting them all and winding it back down.

"If"?

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

I admire your optimism.

JaiCSC posted...

They'll do what was done with Wheel of Time. The publishers will gather his notes, hire a writer (One who has a similar writing style and/or genre interest and experience), and this writer will complete based on those and will have to adopt a degree of creativity to construct the narrative.

Pretty sure GRRM has said he doesnt want anyone to finish it in the case he cant. I dunno who owns those rights though.

ArchNemo posted...

When someone starts buying a series there's a tacit agreement that that series is going to be finished at some point, or people wouldn't have bought it in the first place.

Disagree. People watch shows that are either already cancelled or renewal is not confirmed. Thats essentially what this is. In general, people will still consume incomplete art.

We'll just have to get EpicLLOYD back into his fat suit to take over.

Solid_Sonic posted...

The series is called "A Song of Fire and Ice", sir.

If George R.R. Martin dies, it mean society has collapsed and everything has reverted back to the stone age. And then Fire and Ice becomes the series' conclusion:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_and_Ice_(1983_film)

should be "when" not "if"

u r out of your mind if u think hes gonna finish it.

He could live to be 120 years old and hes still going to die before he completes them. That much has been clear.

What do you mean what if? Most Asoiaf fans have assumed this for pretty much a decade. It's a miracle he survived the Pandemic as it is.

Don't worry. I'll finish it.

specialkid8 posted...

Don't worry. I'll finish it.

You joke about it, but you really may have to....

JaiCSC posted...

They'll do what was done with Wheel of Time. The publishers will gather his notes, hire a writer (One who has a similar writing style and/or genre interest and experience), and this writer will complete based on those and will have to adopt a degree of creativity to construct the narrative.

Nah. Jordan wanted to wrap up Wheel of Time & knew he was dying so he wrote a massive outline for what turned out to be the last 3 books just so someone could finish it since he knew he didn't have enough time left to write it himself.

Martin, on the other hand, has said he doesn't want someone else finishing it if he dies.

The_Yahtz09 posted...

I admire your optimism.

Pretty sure GRRM has said he doesnt want anyone to finish it in the case he cant. I dunno who owns those rights though.

Disagree. People watch shows that are either already cancelled or renewal is not confirmed. Thats essentially what this is. In general, people will still consume incomplete art.

Different beast. TV show creators don't have any say over whether or not their shows are cancelled. Besides, when incomplete art is consumed it's usually because the art was never completed for a reason outside of the creators control. Not because the artist made their money then said, "Eh, fuck it"

garan posted...

Nah. Jordan wanted to wrap up Wheel of Time & knew he was dying so he wrote a massive outline for what turned out to be the last 3 books just so someone could finish it since he knew he didn't have enough time left to write it himself.

Martin, on the other hand, has said he doesn't want someone else finishing it if he dies.

He just doesn't want people to realize he hasn't actually done anything for someone to use as an outline.

i dont even care im not reading anymore of his books. nothing against him. first 3 a songs of ice and fires were good.

I'm not convinced we get Winds of Winter before he croaks.

He's actually Santa Claus, thus immortal. It'll be released on Christmas 2222.