Some of my friends who are diehard ASOIAF fans refuse to listen when I tell them we're never going to see A Dream of Spring, and maybe not even Winds of Winter. I counter with all this stuff, plus the fact that it has now been eleven years since Dance with Dragons and GRRM isn't getting any younger. Even if his editors lock him in a room and threaten to sic angry fans on him until he sorts out the Meereenese Knot and we get Winds, I figure he's going to do a Herbert and croak before he makes any substantive progress on Dream of Spring.
This whole thing has been such a strange phenomenon. I don't think I've ever seen anything that rose so high and crashed so hard as Game of Thrones did. I think we'll still be talking about GoT fifty or a hundred years down the road, but as a cautionary tale, not as a literary classic like Lord of the Rings or a pop-culture juggernaut like Marvel or Star Wars.
The issue Martin ran into with ASOIAF is, ironically, one of this own hand... he spent five books subverting expectations, killing key characters, torturing and scattering the survivors to the ends of creation... and only now realized that there's no way in hell he can actually bring them all back in one place and piece together a story that makes sense in just two books. The problem with endless deconstruction is that, eventually, you have nothing left to build with.
You pointing out that legacy is why Martin will never write the book - the old hippie has made his life's work a refutation of classic fantasy like Tolkien, and admitting that maybe he was wrong? That would sting worse than even declining sales. Better an unfinished book with a ton of questions than a badly ended one that disproves its own central thesis.
I don't like how The Dark Tower turned out, nor am I fan of latter day Stephen King in general, but I give the man credit: when he felt the chill of death approaching he got off his ass and knocked out three novels in a couple of years just to be done with the fucking thing. GRRM is just playing out the string.
My favorite anecdote over just how Martin has pissed away goodwill is Larry Correia had repeatedly and openly said the fifth and final book in his
Forgotten Warrior Saga will have a dedication that reads the following:
Dear George RR Martin,
I wrote a whole series since you wrote your last book. This is how you finish a series, you lazy hack.
Yours,
Larry Correia
Granted, I absolutely adore the series, but Fatbeard's reaction alone would be worth seeing when book five drops.
Looking in the same genre, the only reason Robert Jordan couldn't publish the last 2 Wheel of Time books is because, when he dictated them to his wife during chemo, she didn't write it all down so some parts had to be filled in. The guy was literally on his deathbed telling it aloud to make sure people could see the story he wanted.
If GRRM keels over do you think fans will be disappointed when that cuck Sanderson writes the last 2 books?
It's funny you think Sanderson would want to touch ASOIAF.
I don't think that Martin would allow him or anyone else to finish it even if he did. See my above post about his ego and thesis.
What really chaps my arse over ASOIAF is George's lack of communication and constant lying and manipulation when he does. All he has to do is come out with the truth and so many people would be understanding, there's zero downside to doing it.
I had a link that I can't find now of his NotABlog and interviews for ADWD, where someone went through what he was saying at the time and what he was actually writing. It was complete bullshit. You don't have to go full progress bar like Sanderson, but jesus christ you can just say "Hey, I'm having a rough time because XYZ, I'd rather be doing ABC instead for the meantime, but I'm still keen on doing it!"
That retard Rothfuss could do the same thing and be honest with everyone and he'd get back so much goodwill.
That's actually why Scott Lynch isn't mentioned in the same breath as Martin or Rothfuss, despite Gentleman Bastards being another much hyped series the author hasn't touched in years.
Lynch came forward and admitted he's basically dealing with a list of mental health issues, chief among them a horrifying type of clinical depression that basically they're still trying drug cocktails to get in check. Lynch being open about his medical and mental issues actually was kind of a gateway moment in the industry - a lot of authors became much more comfortable working with their editors through and around that stuff because Lynch went public with his. Whatever you think of him as an author, I respect the man for doing that at least.
Thing is, Martin and Rothfuss don't have a condition besides being lazy.
"Look guys, I tried to make a series that proves all of the modern fantasy standbys wrong, and can't face that my failure is proof that maybe they exist for a reason."
"I just kind of prefer playing video games all day. Fuck you nerds."
Question for the thread is name of the wind worth reading?
Not at this point no.
At the time it came out, it was revolutionary - here we have a fantasy series that's genuinely beautifully written, has some unforgettable moments and yet is self contained enough that it's only a trilogy. Only a trilogy! And he's already done with two books! It's not cashing in on an endless series like Wheel of Time, or Malazan, Sword of Truth or Shannara.
Then in a cruelly ironic twist, three of the poster children for "never ending fantasy series", WoT, Malazan and Shannara all came to satisfying ends within a decade, and the last, Sword of Truth, had at least ended the main arcs before the author died... Hell, we even got endings for Thomas Covenant and Elric of Melninone, and soon even The Black Company!
Meanwhile, in that same period, a novella is the sum total that Patrick Rothfus has put out in a decade, and his own editor admitted he's not done a goddamned thing for book three. He'd much rather piss around playing D&D with Felecia Day.
Martin and Rothfuss have done more damage to the fantasy genre's reputation and sales numbers with two books they will never write than I think many will ever realize. Decades of goodwill and fan trust not even hurt by scores of bad riffs on Lord of the Rings, dozens upon dozens of "Clone-ans", or a series clearly being used to explore the authors politics or fetishes, all gone from two fat assholes refusing to actually finish two damned books.
That's actually a thing now within the fantasy genre - now a ton of people refuse to try a new fantasy series until its completed. Sales in the fantasy genre have suffered, even by good/popular authors, as a result of these two idiots.
Which, tragically or ironically, ensures the publishers put the kibosh on those series' when the sales are lousy.
I am ashamed to admit I used to love using that Idolmaster meme to make fun of the hiatus, only to learn after his death that Miura actually suffered from chronic disease. Fucking Japanese and their aversion to admit something like illness. At least now every companies will take the health, both physical and psychological, of their authors seriously now
Also it's seriously fucked up that even after the death of Miura, Berserk is going to be finished before Martin going to finish ASOIAF. How much of a lazy bastard that fat fuck really is? Like for fuck sake, even Togashi made an unexpected (and miraculous) comeback to finish Hunter x Hunter even with his fucked up spine
Yes, but here's the thing.
Miura and Togashi actually cared about their creations, and enjoyed being storytellers.
Martin was in it for the money and to be a contrarian asshole, and he has the money, and finishing the books would mean actually going against the latter.
