George RR Martin: Book six will be late, dark and have no neat ending

George RR Martin told fans the most deserving person may not get the Iron Throne and he would have killed off Gandalf for good if he had written Lord Of The Rings.

DUNCAN LAY

2 min read

December 7, 2016 - 2:38PM

A SONG Of Ice And Fire will be finished in seven books — but book six is still a long way away — he is working with HBO on a sequel/prequel to Game Of Thrones and don’t expect a happy book six, a neat and tidy ending or for the “most deserving” person to get the Iron Throne.

Oh, and so many characters were killed off because George RR Martin loved reading the death of Gandalf in JRR Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings.

These — and many other questions — were answered by Martin in a Q&A session at the Guadalajara Book Fair, his last major event before he devotes himself to finishing Winds Of Winter, the long-awaited book six.

As for fears that Martin may never finish the series, the author has no doubts. As well as the final two books, he reckons he’ll be able to write “eight or nine” Dunk And Egg stories (is that a nod towards what will be the next HBO series?) plus a history of the Targaryen dynasty.

Quite how he plans to do that in the next few years is another matter.

“The tale grew in the telling,” Martin said.

“Back in 1994 I was selling a trilogy and writing a novel a year. In my innocence I thought I’d finish it all in three years.

“It’s taken a little longer!

“I had no idea how long it would take but you have to follow the story.

“Sometimes I look back and say, did it really have to be the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros? The Five Kingdoms of Westeros, that would have been good, right?”

He also warned fans to expect plenty of darkness in Winds Of Winter, saying it would not be a “feel-good” story.

George RR Martin at the Guadalajara International Book Fair.

Given we have already seen much of this material in the TV show, fans would be expecting to enjoy such moments as Jon Snow’s return and Ramsay Bolton’s death. However, Martin hinted it will be harsher than the TV show.

He also said things may not be all neat and tidy at the end of the series, so don’t expect a “crystal clear” finish.

“That’s not to say everything will be tied up in a neat bow,” he said.

“There’s a difference between a loose end and something hat has been left deliberately ambiguous.

“First I have to finish the damn thing. I’m a slow writer and as I get older I get slower.”

Martin explained that, as he “crests the hill” in each book and “sees the ending” he speeds up in his writing.

“I’m hoping that will happen at some point, that I will see the finish line and work will start gaining momentum and getting much faster. So far it hasn’t.”

Martin also revealed his love of killing off characters such as Ned Stark was inspired by reading Gandalf’s death scene in The Lord of the Rings back when he was aged about “12 or 13”.

“The power of that scene,” he said.

“He was the daddy, he knew everything. (Killing him) was such a tremendous, gutsy move. But then he brought him back! I would have left him dead.”

As for who gets the Iron Throne, he repeated that the ending would be “bittersweet”.

He also warned that it “doesn’t go to who deserves it but who has the power to take it...”

Given Cersei already has it, that seems to rule her out, leaving it to Daenerys or Jon Snow, it seems.

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