@ Dan Well the Mule was on this cage match and he was dealt with easily enough

Just like before, popularity contest only. It’s plain obvious, even to Martin, that there is no realistic way that Rand al’Thor wouldn’t come out on top without it being deliberately written out in a way that undermines the character. It was the same way before, there are so many tools and possibilities available to al’Thor, instincts he’s developed, talent, speed, that this is silly.

Sure, you can write it out where he loses. That’s the point of writing, you can write out pretty much anything. He could be killed in his sleep, a blowdart laced with poison from a crowd, a dozen things could easily be invented. He’s been nearly killed I don’t know how many times in the WoT, and as many as not were from non-Power related sources. But in a real fight, one vs one, out in a field or locked in a cage? He can’t be beat without a handicap against him.

And as far as George R.R. Martin, freewriting or not the man has no excuse. It’s gone way beyond being unprofessional at this point. Feast for Crows was unprofessional, and unfinished when released. He should have released Dance as soon as he finished the “other half” simply to complete that portion of the story, meet a deadline, and allow people the benefit of seeing the other side of the book, and then continue the rest on in the next book.

He had a nice, tidy 2 year gap between the first few books, and whether he was watching NFL or going to cons or working on anthologies or other books during that time or not, it’s completely irrelevant. When it was obviously taking such an inordinate amount of time for the fourth book the rest of it should have been plotted out and outlined, and he should have made a concerted effort to start completing his work. Blowing past deadlines like he doesn’t care they’re there, spending so much time on other things he could be using in addition to whatever time he dedicates to writing A Song of Ice and Fire would help him reach those deadlines faster. Different writers write at different paces? Sure. But when you write professionally, writer’s block preventing you from completing more than one half book added to a series in over a decade is to the point of unacceptable. It happens, but you write through it. You write something else (in a reasonable period of time), to get your head back in place. You do not let it bring your writing to a complete stop simply because you can’t think of what to write next and have so many other things of interest in your life that you don’t have the time to actually sit and rough it out.

I haven’t read Feast, because I wanted to wait till Dance was released “a year later” so I could read all of the book together. At this point I won’t read any of it till it’s complete, because it was good, and I don’t want to deal with the disappointment of waiting years again for something that may or may not ever be finished. His publisher should be making it clear to him, whether he “won’t be bullied” or not, that if he can’t complete the books following Dance (which they may as well let him finish, since it seems he’s only a few partial chapters away) in a timely manner then they’ll be taking action for him breaking his contract (since I can only assume them publishing the rest of the series is contracted, otherwise they’re fools). His flippant attitude regarding any kind of deadline, complete lack of any kind of transparency, constant talk of everything else he’s spending time on (including the new HBO series for a story that is as yet only half complete and has waited for over a decade for it’s next “complete” installment), is a total lack of respect for both his publisher and his readers.

It stopped being “his” alone the moment he got it published. He is the story’s author, and the only one that can complete it the way he would complete it, but he should show a little more respect and considering the length of time it has taken clear his schedule for the next year and really buckle down. It would show some real dedication to his work, and to his fans, and to his story, which has been severely lacking. Whether those other things went on before or not, it’s reached a point where he needs to devote more of his time than ever towards this story, now that he’s back into the territory he had planned to be in before Feast. 6 years between installments is not responsible authoring when there is a story to be told. When he was sick and dying Jordan managed more dedication to his work and story than Martin has shown in the last several years.

U r right every one knows that Clegane is no match for Rand in Power……but this is no contest about power is it?
It’s a contest about popularity ……I.e between Grrm fans RJ fans…..