This is likely going to sound silly to many of you and probably a stale complaint to most but I felt that it would be a reasonable first post for the “On My Mind” category.
I’m one of those literary curmudgeons who refuses to watch Game Of Thrones. I’ve read all of George R.R. Martin’s books – including “A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms” – and I’ve enjoyed almost every word. I love his world and his characters and I really want more. When the TV series first came out, I was tempted but I just didn’t bite. I kept telling myself that I wanted to see it finished on the page first – have the opportunity to build that world out with my own imagination instead of having it built out by others.
That felt like a reasonable decision for quite awhile but here we are – more than 6 years after publication of “A Dance With Dragons” – and I’m still waiting for “The Winds Of Winter” while the rest of the world gets to see the story progress. I’ve gone from being an early fan to one of the few people alive who doesn’t know what’s going on in Westeros and I’m feeling pretty silly about the whole thing.
Rumor has the book coming out as early as 2018 but I’ve lost faith. Martin keeps saying that the book’s just not finished, that he has other projects he’s working on, that we may still see a related Westeros book in 2018 – long to short – I’m not holding my breath and I’m beginning to reconsider my original decision.
Given the man’s age and his current health, I would not be surprised if someone else had to step in and finish the series – in the same way that Sanderson had to help conclude The Wheel Of Time. Please let it not be so.