Authors are busy folk, and none more-so that George R.R. Martin. Nevertheless, as A Song of Ice and Fire continues to take the world by storm, thanks to HBO’s Game of Thrones and 2011’s successful launch of the series’ fifth volume, A Dance with Dragons, Martin found some time to answer questions from his fans on Reddit, one of the Internet’s most vibrant and popular communities.
1) Is there anything (or a lot of things) you put in the previous books that you expected readers to pick up on, but no one (or very few people) did?
I suspect that the fans have picked up on everything by this point. With so many people reading the books, and sharing their thoughts on blogs and bulletin boards, even the most obscure clues soon are found and pointed out.
Like many of you, I’m a part of Martin’s ravenous fan-base and it’s fun (and rewarding) to see Martin acknowledge the effort that fans have put into decoding all of his myriad hints and red herrings. One wonders, though, if it’s hard to see fans (correctly) guessing at clever plot lines that Martin has spent decades crafting but will be met with reactions more of vindication than pure surprise from his biggest fans. I’m sure there are many authors who would give their left leg to have such fans, though.
7) Do you feel like HBO is putting pressure on you to finish the last two books of the series? Does this have any effect on your creative output?
No and no.
It would not matter if they did. No one could more pressure on me than I put on myself.
Martin is one of the hardest working authors in the business, so it’s nice to see that the relationship between himself and HBO is continuing to be healthy and productive for both parties. It will be interesting to see how the show evolves as it catches up with the book series.
10) In regard to the intricate, wonderful and probably very frustrating plot skein you’ve woven: do you think that you’re “over the hump” so to speak, or will the books get progressively more complex to write each time?
I certainly hope I am over the hump, but I have given up making predictions. Whenever I do, I get burned. I am still juggling an awful lot of balls. Maybe too many, but having tossed them in the air, I feel obliged to juggle on.
Great (if cautious) news! Martin has proved time and again that he’s capable of juggling as many balls as necessary to keep the series going and you have to admire his perseverance in light of such a challenge.
So, what questions would you ask Martin if giving the chance?
