The last time there were talks about “Winds of Winter” and its release date, it sounded like George R. R. Martin would be able to finish the book before “Game of Thrones” season 6 arrives to the screen. This was an important point for many fans of the franchise, because many members of the audience follow both the books and the TV show side by side, and reading the books before watching the show is usually the preferred way to go about it.
However, now George R. R. Martin had to make a disappointing announcement – on his personal blog, he posted an apology to his fans, in which he explained that he would not be able to get the book finished on time and it will not be out before the TV show resumes for its sixth season. Because of this, fans who don’t want to spoil the book for themselves should stay away from the show until the book is out. In addition, they may want to steer clear of discussions about the show on the Internet as well, as those are guaranteed to be full of spoilers.
Which means that it will be a difficult period for those fans, and they will have to get used to the idea that spoilers are lurking around every corner of the Internet, just waiting for them to slip up. This is probably a bit of a depressing way to look at one’s fandom for something, but at least it’s better than having an important part of the book spoiled irreversibly. “Star Wars” fans had to go through a similar ordeal recently, at least those who hadn’t been able to check out the film when it officially came out and had to wait a little while to check it out.
The situation is not that bad anyway, as fans will at least still get both works at some point, they will just have to wait a little longer for one. And while it’s arguably more interesting to follow the books that the TV show as far as minor details are concerned, it’s still exciting to see how the story unfolds on both sides and what differences there are between the two stories.
Because, even though “Game of Thrones” tries to stick to the plot of the original books as best as possible, there are some minor differences here and there that are often necessary in order to make the story more suitable for a TV show. However, the producers have said that they will always observe the important plot points as they are in the books and will not stray away from that in any way, so some things are pretty much guaranteed to happen in the show. And this is also why many people prefer to read the books before watching the show, as otherwise the experience is arguably spoiled to a greater extent.
It’s interesting to note that Martin’s fans were not really disappointed by the announcement, as one would expect them to be. Internet fans of popular media tend to be quite easily annoyed, especially when it comes to delays and production issues, so it was surprising to see how they reacted to the post by the author on his blog. There was a lot of support in the comments below the post, and it was quite clear that people have no issue waiting a little longer for the book to arrive, if that’s what it takes to finish it properly.
Really? I have seen polls that say the opposite, at a rate of 3 to 1. As for attitude towards his work, I think this is self-evident… At this point he views his “work” as more of a hobby. Delays are one thing, but missing projections by years…
Not so much this but the fact is he is old and fat a worrying combo. To die without completion that would be a bi**h. Looking at his work rate (probably slowing due to age) this is a very possible scenario. The TV show will be created from notes and verbal tie ins he will get into – not completed from finished material now. I just hope he completes the books stuff the TV show.