I fell in love with Epic Fantasy at six when my Mom read to me The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander, then I found Earthsea at nine before my dad sent me to Middle-earth at 11 with The Hobbit, which of course lead to the greatest Epic Fantast EVER in The Lord of The Rings. But I love Epic Fantasy as a whole, I’ve read what I would consider the canon of the genre (another post for another time—maybe multiple posts), and without a doubt I love George RR Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire. I love the books (especially the novellas), I’ve read most of them, and though I find the shows hit and miss, there is no doubt that he is one of the most successful modern authors of the last few decades, and deserves his laurels.
But despite being a huge fan, I’m also a frequent critic of Martin and his handling of A Song of Ice and Fire, but I would also argue in GRRM’s defense that criticism stems from the fact that several authors that may be considered his contemporaries either failed, shorted out, or didn’t heed the call to Epic Fantasy, so he’s not alone. I think we all look at Branderson* with rosy-colored glasses with lenses that are starting to chip, but the reasons George has for his constant delays are relatively small compared to the output of the others.
(Again, a whole big thing. Let’s stick to GRRM.)
Let’s admit the obvious: he’s late on those damn books by a decade now with no indication that he’s going to get there anytime soon.
But he knows it. The problem I now have as fan but also a critic of his work lies in the fact that over the last few years I’ve been able to read more widely about the history of publishing, especially in Epic Fantasy and Sword & Sorcery, and in diagnosing what is going on with GRRM, I think we have to take a step back from ASOIAF, from the shows, and really look at the landscape he’s dealing with right now.
For a moment, and dramatic effect, let’s stand beside George and raise his banner for a moment while we in take in the field:
- Whatever happens from hereon, he’s going to be criticized forever
The shows have gotten so far ahead of him now that save diving into appendices and really plumbing those Blackfyre Rebellions (which I think are some of the weaker stories), there’s really two options for him—finish the mainline story of Jon, Daenarys, Young Griff, and company, and bear the disagreement that is automatically there because they will have to diverge from the shows, or just not do it while he sits on his millions and millions of dollars developing other projects as a producer, which he’s always said was his real passion.
Martin’s main passion is television, and that shouldn’t surprise us, because if we dig into an author he both admires and criticizes, Tolkien’s life wasn’t all about Middle-earth either. It was about promoting the use and understanding of the Anglo-Saxon language outside of cold readings, along with an appreciation of other Northern European languages. The same goes with his literal academic best friend and fellow Inkling/bedrock of Epic Fantasy, CS Lewis. Thier lives were not built around writing bestsellers. Those just happened.
The craft of Fantasy was not their first choice and that’s not a bad thing to admit. Middle-earth only really became Tolkien’s life toward the end of it, and Lewis arguably left Fantasy and Science Fiction behind to become a Christian apologist.
(Even Tolkien didn’t see that one coming and was big-unhappy about his choice of denomination.)
Would you rather have fun making cool television shows or be yelled at for books that everyone seems to love talking massive shit about? And hey, guilty party present in that. But for a moment, I think it behooves us to stop and appreciate how that might look for Martin:
Have fun or eat shit?
Huh, what would you all choose?
- Everyone wishes for the king’s death—except maybe the king?
One terrible thing I don’t think Epic Fantasy authors and fans realize they say aloud sometimes without awareness of who is listening or how it might be perceived is how easily it is for them to embrace the death of the author of the sake of the brand.
Literally.
(Strap in.)
If there is a genre of Fantasy out there that is more capitalistic than Romantasy, it has to be her proud money-making papa Epic Fantasy. Despite what people say, the classics of the genre (which ASOIAF is counted among) remain durable and relevant in sales, their IPs are often the first to be optioned for film and television development (especially Young Adult Fantasy), and its going nowhere as Anime, Manga, and gaming on all levels continue to embrace it. But one reason that durability exists is because unlike Sword & Sorcery (which is nowhere near as durable) is that publishing has always been willing, ready, and willing to move the IP around like a hot potato. Sometimes it gets passed to an author who splits it open, puts on sour cream and some cheese, and makes a feast of it. Sometimes people drop the potato and some just don’t want to eat food that hit the ground (I’m honestly not that picky because the damned potato came from the ground), and some people want to take the potato and make their own thing with it. Epic Fantasy is very, very easy to break down by taste and flavor to a specific audience, especially in the era of eBooks, fast-turnarounds, and a dedicated audience that loves reading big books on their Kindles, Nooks, tablets, and phones as much as they like hauling the bricks around, though I have to say even those have gotten oversized in the last few years.
And the moment GRRM departs from this plane, there will be editors, producers, and executives eager to have their shot at Westeros. It’s happening to Tolkien to as we speak, and in some ways its important because it keeps the books and the communities around them vibrant.
But they also play into the worst habits of capitalism, like the replaceability/expendable view towards human beings and human creators most of all. Already there are people discussing which authors will step up and finish the series when GRRM dies ala what Branderson did with Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time series (which, by the by, was a huge success and Sanderson should be given full credit, as should Jordan’s estate.) I’m not criticizing what happened to Wheel of Time, but I am criticizing the capitalistic nature of the genre to disregard the creator immediately upon death.
We should honestly enjoy the time we have with George. He is a deeply thoughtful man with a wealth of talent and knowledge he is actually pretty good at teaching and sharing. He’s given us a world we all love, adore, and continue to enjoy.
Wishing him death so the series is finished? Can’t say I’m about that, nor am I counting the days until his passing. I just think we should be better than that.
- Let’s be honest, the traditional publishing business is in fucking shambles
A Game of Thrones, the first novel of A Song of Ice and Fire, was published in 1996.
Thirty years ago. Sit with that for a moment and consider that e-publishing wasn’t really established until 2004-ish. We didn’t even have widespread social media, and wouldn’t for another decade. Sure, people were buying books from Amazon, but big box bookstores were having their heyday. Traditional Publishers still didn’t have any real competition in the marketplace, and midlist authors still had careers.
Publishing in New York or London or Seattle meant something.
Fast forward to 2026 and I have to imagine it looks like a different world for George RR Martin. And we need to remember that A Song of Ice and Fire was not a runaway hit from the get-go. It built a large fanbase over time based on the strength of Martin’s work alone, and it wasn’t until sometime between A Storm of Swords and A Feast of Crows that there was real cultural buzz about this series.
AND THAT WAS 2005 WHEN I GRADUATED HIGH SCHOOL. WHAT IS TIME?
Personal existential dread aside, think about how the world looks for George RR Martin. His own publisher has been through so many changes, and the economics of putting out a giant Epic Fantasy are, frankly, difficult in 2026 compared to they were in 2011 when they had to do pricing-shenanigans so people weren’t paying $50 a copy for the hardback because the demand was that high and the economy was that bad.
Imagine what it looks like now. That’s not the say that he shouldn’t fulfill his series, but the contract he first signed long ago in the NINTIES? I would imagine it looks pretty demotivating sitting at home with all that HBO money already in the bank.
All of this creates an Ouroboros-effect that the guy writing about dragons is probably too smart to break his literary back over. And understand, I’m a bit of a critic when it comes to his process of “growing a garden” of a book and seeing how it “flourishes”, but it’s also a weird time. We haven’t mentioned the rise of Romantasy and Sarah J Maas (who deserves her flowers and laurels too), nor have we really discussed the general digital fatigue, which is also tied to a content fatigue that is starting to strike everything, including Fantasy television. Sure, he has a huge, huge hit with A Knight of Seven Kingdoms, but what happens when one of these Blackfyre shows doesn’t hit?
Unlike others that some would measure as his contemporaries, Martin isn’t foolish about his career, and despite the lateness of these novels, he’s also never been unwilling to talk about it, enjoy what is already out with the fans, and is in general a kind guy that just wants to sit at home in Arizona and watch the NFL.
There are worse things.
(Please, George, don’t be secretly involved in worse things. We just can’t take it.)
But for the sake our ourselves and the respect this man deserves. Perhaps we can simply be good to GRRM and let him have his time.
It’d be the knightly thing to do.
(Ew, I don’t like this line either, but this blog is about the process too. We’ll get through.)
*No, I’m calling him Branderson because it’s iconic and fits, and I rarely get both so pardon me, he’s now Branderson. AND BOY DOES HE BRAND! Dude keeps winning on Kickstarter for a reason. Full respect.