# Are people still excited for the final Game of Thrones Novels **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** books-writing-myths\ **Created:** [January 28, 2021, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-people-still-excited-for-the-final-game-of-thrones-novels/931692 "2021-01-28T15:25:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2021, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-people-still-excited-for-the-final-game-of-thrones-novels/931692/101 "2021-02-12T05:20:22Z")
Good point - I’d never thought of that before. Gendry = Henry VII? Not too shabby. Maybe Martin will go in that direction in the books… sometime during the (Malia) Obama Administration. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-people-still-excited-for-the-final-game-of-thrones-novels/931692/102 "2021-02-14T19:04:36Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > I’m actually looking forward to **Fire and Blood part 2** a lot more than I am to **Winds of Winter** and beyond > > The former is GRRM’s **Silmarillion** and I think he really shines there. Me too. I never could get through the a Song of Ice and Fire but the style of B&F was great and I finished it quickly. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2021, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-people-still-excited-for-the-final-game-of-thrones-novels/931692/103 "2021-03-31T04:54:12Z")
You-know-who seems to be in no particular hurry: > **[George R.R. Martin Finds New Way to Procrastinate: Game of Thrones on Broadway](https://www.vulture.com/2021/03/game-of-thrones-broadway.html)** > > Sounds like Medieval Times Dinner Theater with stronger IP. ---
**Author:** ![Smid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/838e76/32.png) [@Smid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smid)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2021, 9:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-people-still-excited-for-the-final-game-of-thrones-novels/931692/104 "2021-03-31T09:57:17Z")
Apparently it’s now ten years since the last book. I think it’s less based on the published date, more on when sent to editors, or perhaps announced. It amazes me that HBO’s contract wants five more books. I assume he’s farmed off his previous ones already, and can he claim Wildcards given that he only edits them? They expect five more books from him in five years??? And no, I don’t think he’s capable of five more short stories like the Dunk and Egg ones either. Novellas. Though I doubt they’d count as books. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2021, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-people-still-excited-for-the-final-game-of-thrones-novels/931692/105 "2021-03-31T10:44:51Z")
> [@YamatoTwinkie](#): > > apparently all it took to actually _take_ King’s landing in the end was about 10 minutes of concentrated precision fire from _one dragon_ , wiping out the entire upgraded castle defenses and the central palace & leadership, with next to _zero_ collateral damage Well, all it took to end the threat of the zombies was one assassin with a magic knife. It bothered me that after that war everyone was hailing Jon and Dany, who did nothing and worse than nothing (she gave them a dragon). And Arya and Sansa both had a dynastic claim to the throne as strong as that of a man who can’t sire heirs. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2021, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-people-still-excited-for-the-final-game-of-thrones-novels/931692/106 "2021-03-31T13:28:29Z")
> [@Smid](#): > > It amazes me that HBO’s contract wants five more books. I haven’t heard this was part of HBO’s contract and it wouldn’t make much sense either as HBO is not a book publisher. Do you mean 5 more shows? ---
**Author:** ![Smid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/838e76/32.png) [@Smid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smid)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2021, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-people-still-excited-for-the-final-game-of-thrones-novels/931692/107 "2021-03-31T14:06:24Z")
> [@ISiddiqui](#): > > I haven’t heard this was part of HBO’s contract and it wouldn’t make much sense either as HBO is not a book publisher. Do you mean 5 more shows? This [one](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/george-rr-martin-game-of-thrones-hbo-deal-b1824496.html) appears to be mistitling the link they have to mention “five books”. Clicking [through](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/george-rr-martin-hbo-deal-b1824207.html) and it seems to be confusing what a book and a show is, which is certainly weird because none of the shows (I’m not sure if Dunk and Egg is in there, but a novella) are actually books currently, or ever will be. So, well spotted. But my careometer on whatever old George will do in future, apart from a wee moment of sadness when he passes on with 100 unfinished projects, has long since ran out of batteries. ---
**Author:** ![SwissMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e79b87/32.png) [@SwissMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SwissMan)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2021, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-people-still-excited-for-the-final-game-of-thrones-novels/931692/108 "2021-03-31T14:24:27Z")
Martin seems to be turning into the literary world’s equivalent of Orson Welles, with the caveat that Martin can’t blame his inability to finish projects on a lack of funds. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2021, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-people-still-excited-for-the-final-game-of-thrones-novels/931692/109 "2021-05-06T13:20:07Z")
This may also be of interest: [House of the Dragon, an HBO prequel series to Game of Thrones](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-of-the-dragon-an-hbo-prequel-series-to-game-of-thrones/941521) ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2022, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-people-still-excited-for-the-final-game-of-thrones-novels/931692/110 "2022-04-30T14:12:50Z")
I am a book guy. I like to read. I read a lot. I made it through GRRMs first novel. Very good, but very detailed. This is good because the details are fascinating. But bad when read in fits and spurts. He is a brilliant world builder. His ideas are top notch. His style is provocative but a little plodding. The creativity of Tolkien but not the writing acumen IMHO. I did not watch the show. Until recently. Finally watched the first season. I’ve heard the complaints about the weakness of the last season or two. But it is very good television, at least the little I have seen. It is one of the rare examples where the show may be better than the books. Probably since the author was so involved. Certainly less detailed, but there are always tradeoffs. Seeing as how few read, and how many people wanted to talk to me about a show I had never seen, I think the answer is clear to me. But science fiction is far from my favourite genre, and I am not its target market. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2022, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-people-still-excited-for-the-final-game-of-thrones-novels/931692/111 "2022-04-30T15:36:04Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > …But it is very good television, at least the little I have seen. It is one of the rare examples where the show may be better than the books… I read the first 3 books around the time the third one was released. I stopped since I would rather wait for the rest to come out. Wise choice, it seems. When the show aired, I told my wife that the show feels better than the books because the books needed the compression the show requires. It hits a lot of the plot points very well, is well cast, and excellent TV. I imagine it will seem to us that it should have run 10 seasons since the final 1 1/2 seasons felt massively, impossibly rushed. Characters were traveling way too fast, getting to know stranger-characters way too fast, and going through character change way too fast. It felt like a combination of not knowing what will for sure happen in the final books, wanting to get the whole thing over with, and just flying blind. Sadly, the show needed the clear roadmap the books provided. I accept the show’s ending as canon and hope George sticks to its main points, but will be people end up saying the final books are vastly superior to the final seasons of the show. Uh, if he ever publishes them. I would estimate the chances of the final book coming out at less than 15% now. We’ll get that next one at some point, but the final one is a pipe dream. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2022, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-people-still-excited-for-the-final-game-of-thrones-novels/931692/112 "2022-04-30T17:15:50Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > …the final one is a pipe dream. They don’t make opium that strong. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2022, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-people-still-excited-for-the-final-game-of-thrones-novels/931692/113 "2022-04-30T18:47:16Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > They don’t make opium that strong At one point, I hoped he was writing both of the final ones together in order to release them a year apart or something. No, I think he hasn’t written a single page of the final one and any chance of it coming out in the next 15 years is unlikely. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2022, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-people-still-excited-for-the-final-game-of-thrones-novels/931692/114 "2022-05-02T16:58:38Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > … But science fiction is far from my favourite genre, and I am not its target market. It’s really not science fiction, but fantasy. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2022, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-people-still-excited-for-the-final-game-of-thrones-novels/931692/115 "2022-05-02T17:09:43Z")
The real fantasy is expecting GRRM to ever finish the sucker. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2022, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-people-still-excited-for-the-final-game-of-thrones-novels/931692/116 "2022-05-02T22:11:17Z")
That’s fair. Of course you are right. Again, I do not watch much TV by choice, but I don’t judge people who do. I am thoroughly enjoying the initial seasons. My brother was disheartened with the final season and was hardly the only person to feel that way. I grew up reading LOTR and loving it. GRRM tells _better_ stories but writes less fluidly; I find it more difficult to read. Still, standing on the shoulders of giants yada yada. Perhaps I have changed more than the genre. What the show does well, so far, is having the correct amount of detail. Enough to add complexity and nuance and develop characters and generate suspense. Not enough to overwhelm; it is perhaps dumbed down a little but does not patronize. Maybe the show does these things less successfully as it drags on? I can only name a few series with more drama and design. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2022, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-people-still-excited-for-the-final-game-of-thrones-novels/931692/117 "2022-05-02T22:14:11Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > Maybe the show does these things less successfully as it drags on? Oh you sweet summer child. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2022, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-people-still-excited-for-the-final-game-of-thrones-novels/931692/118 "2022-05-02T22:17:42Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > It’s really not science fiction, but fantasy. Maybe, but don’t tell Martin that. He’s written extensively on how he doesn’t see them as separate genres. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2022, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-people-still-excited-for-the-final-game-of-thrones-novels/931692/119 "2022-05-02T22:19:49Z")
Not sure what this means. Is the show really dumbed down that much? ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2022, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-people-still-excited-for-the-final-game-of-thrones-novels/931692/120 "2022-05-02T22:19:52Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Maybe, but don’t tell Martin that. He’s written extensively on how he doesn’t see them as separate genres. Out of curiosity, did he coin a name for this new genre that is both fantasy and science fiction? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-people-still-excited-for-the-final-game-of-thrones-novels/931692.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-people-still-excited-for-the-final-game-of-thrones-novels/931692.md?page=7)