No, I can’t use hbo now or hbo go. I am fine, I never watch tv anymore to be honest
That actually made me LOL. It’s true though I never watch anything 😭
“Never forget what you are, for surely the world will not. Make it your strength. Then it can never be your weakness. Armour yourself in it, and it will never be used to hurt you.” ― George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones
Anyone seen this recent interview with GRRM that was published in EW this week? It seems to address Jon's parentage as well as if GRRM has been effected by poor fan reaction to Season 8.
“The internet affects all this to a degree it was never affected before,” Martin tells EW when asked about fan reaction to the final season. “Like Jon Snow’s parentage. There were early hints about [who Snow’s parents were] in the books, but only one reader in 100 put it together. And before the internet that was fine — for 99 readers out of 100 when Jon Snow’s parentage gets revealed it would be, ‘Oh, that’s a great twist!’ But in the age of the internet, even if only one person in 100 figures it out then that one person posts it online and the other 99 people read it and go, ‘Oh, that makes sense.’ Suddenly the twist you’re building towards is out there. And there is a temptation to then change it [in the upcoming books] — ‘Oh my god, it’s screwed up, I have to come up with something different.’ But that’s wrong. Because you’ve been planning for a certain ending and if you suddenly change direction just because somebody figured it out, or because they don’t like it, then it screws up the whole structure.” -GRRM
Okay, I have seen this to be taken as confirmation as RLJ, and perhaps it is, but what feels odd to me, is if that is the case, why not just say it? Why still try to be evasive, or even a little coy? Perhaps he doesn't know how else to be in his interview's anymore, but that must limit him?
I mean, in his blog entry a couple months back, he stated that D&D had the correct answer for Jon Snow's mother, but didn't really tell us if the show went down that path or not, and it didn't really deal with the issue of Jon's father. Evasive as usual! Maybe it IS the only way he knows how to be any more?
"I don’t read the fan sites," he said. "I want to write the book I’ve always intended to write all along. And when it comes out they can like it or they can not like it." -GRRM
If he is not digging through fan sites for theories, how does he really know what is being said. I picture him as an online creeper of theories, and perhaps he is so busy trying to catch up with 20 years of fan theories that he doesn't have the time to write!
"The whole last three years have been strange since the show got ahead of the books,” Martin said. “Yes, I told [showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss] a number of things years ago. And some of them they did do. But at the same time, it’s different. I have very fixed ideas in my head as I’m writing The Winds of Winter and beyond that in terms of where things are going. It’s like two alternate realities existing side by side. I have to double down and do my version of it which is what I’ve been doing.” -GRRM
I appreciate the comments on "strange" and "alternate realities". But even though you have a clear idea in your head, George, we do not! So, please write it for us!
Also this idea of "years ago" really confirms to me how far removed GRRM has been from the show in recent years. I wonder if he was struck dumb like I was by how poorly the last few seasons story line was executed? And part of it is his own fault!
The whole article is here for anyone who hasn't seen it and who wants to read it, but I think I pulled the majority of the quotes out!
Their father understood as well. "You want no pup for yourself, Jon?" he asked softly.
Anyone seen this recent interview with GRRM that was published in EW this week? It seems to address Jon's parentage as well as if GRRM has been effected by poor fan reaction to Season 8.
“The internet affects all this to a degree it was never affected before,” Martin tells EW when asked about fan reaction to the final season. “Like Jon Snow’s parentage. There were early hints about [who Snow’s parents were] in the books, but only one reader in 100 put it together. And before the internet that was fine — for 99 readers out of 100 when Jon Snow’s parentage gets revealed it would be, ‘Oh, that’s a great twist!’ But in the age of the internet, even if only one person in 100 figures it out then that one person posts it online and the other 99 people read it and go, ‘Oh, that makes sense.’ Suddenly the twist you’re building towards is out there. And there is a temptation to then change it [in the upcoming books] — ‘Oh my god, it’s screwed up, I have to come up with something different.’ But that’s wrong. Because you’ve been planning for a certain ending and if you suddenly change direction just because somebody figured it out, or because they don’t like it, then it screws up the whole structure.” -GRRM
Okay, I have seen this to be taken as confirmation as RLJ, and perhaps it is, but what feels odd to me, is if that is the case, why not just say it? Why still try to be evasive, or even a little coy? Perhaps he doesn't know how else to be in his interview's anymore, but that must limit him?
I mean, in his blog entry a couple months back, he stated that D&D had the correct answer for Jon Snow's mother, but didn't really tell us if the show went down that path or not, and it didn't really deal with the issue of Jon's father. Evasive as usual! Maybe it IS the only way he knows how to be any more?
"I don’t read the fan sites," he said. "I want to write the book I’ve always intended to write all along. And when it comes out they can like it or they can not like it." -GRRM
If he is not digging through fan sites for theories, how does he really know what is being said. I picture him as an online creeper of theories, and perhaps he is so busy trying to catch up with 20 years of fan theories that he doesn't have the time to write!
"The whole last three years have been strange since the show got ahead of the books,” Martin said. “Yes, I told [showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss] a number of things years ago. And some of them they did do. But at the same time, it’s different. I have very fixed ideas in my head as I’m writing The Winds of Winter and beyond that in terms of where things are going. It’s like two alternate realities existing side by side. I have to double down and do my version of it which is what I’ve been doing.” -GRRM
I appreciate the comments on "strange" and "alternate realities". But even though you have a clear idea in your head, George, we do not! So, please write it for us!
Also this idea of "years ago" really confirms to me how far removed GRRM has been from the show in recent years. I wonder if he was struck dumb like I was by how poorly the last few seasons story line was executed? And part of it is his own fault!
The whole article is here for anyone who hasn't seen it and who wants to read it, but I think I pulled the majority of the quotes out!
More of George kinda waffling around. Could mean anything.
But the really relevant part is this:
And the pressure I felt that fall was the greatest pressure I’ve ever felt and then at a certain point it became apparent I’m not going to finish it by then. I don’t only want to finish it, I want to make it as good as I possibly can. Since then there’s been pressure but not like there was at that point. There’s no longer a race. The show is over. I’m writing the book. It will be done when it’s done.
Anyone seen this recent interview with GRRM that was published in EW this week? It seems to address Jon's parentage as well as if GRRM has been effected by poor fan reaction to Season 8.
“The internet affects all this to a degree it was never affected before,” Martin tells EW when asked about fan reaction to the final season. “Like Jon Snow’s parentage. There were early hints about [who Snow’s parents were] in the books, but only one reader in 100 put it together. And before the internet that was fine — for 99 readers out of 100 when Jon Snow’s parentage gets revealed it would be, ‘Oh, that’s a great twist!’ But in the age of the internet, even if only one person in 100 figures it out then that one person posts it online and the other 99 people read it and go, ‘Oh, that makes sense.’ Suddenly the twist you’re building towards is out there. And there is a temptation to then change it [in the upcoming books] — ‘Oh my god, it’s screwed up, I have to come up with something different.’ But that’s wrong. Because you’ve been planning for a certain ending and if you suddenly change direction just because somebody figured it out, or because they don’t like it, then it screws up the whole structure.” -GRRM
Okay, I have seen this to be taken as confirmation as RLJ, and perhaps it is, but what feels odd to me, is if that is the case, why not just say it? Why still try to be evasive, or even a little coy? Perhaps he doesn't know how else to be in his interview's anymore, but that must limit him?
I mean, in his blog entry a couple months back, he stated that D&D had the correct answer for Jon Snow's mother, but didn't really tell us if the show went down that path or not, and it didn't really deal with the issue of Jon's father. Evasive as usual! Maybe it IS the only way he knows how to be any more?
"I don’t read the fan sites," he said. "I want to write the book I’ve always intended to write all along. And when it comes out they can like it or they can not like it." -GRRM
If he is not digging through fan sites for theories, how does he really know what is being said. I picture him as an online creeper of theories, and perhaps he is so busy trying to catch up with 20 years of fan theories that he doesn't have the time to write!
"The whole last three years have been strange since the show got ahead of the books,” Martin said. “Yes, I told [showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss] a number of things years ago. And some of them they did do. But at the same time, it’s different. I have very fixed ideas in my head as I’m writing The Winds of Winter and beyond that in terms of where things are going. It’s like two alternate realities existing side by side. I have to double down and do my version of it which is what I’ve been doing.” -GRRM
I appreciate the comments on "strange" and "alternate realities". But even though you have a clear idea in your head, George, we do not! So, please write it for us!
Also this idea of "years ago" really confirms to me how far removed GRRM has been from the show in recent years. I wonder if he was struck dumb like I was by how poorly the last few seasons story line was executed? And part of it is his own fault!
The whole article is here for anyone who hasn't seen it and who wants to read it, but I think I pulled the majority of the quotes out!
More of George kinda waffling around. Could mean anything.
But the really relevant part is this:
And the pressure I felt that fall was the greatest pressure I’ve ever felt and then at a certain point it became apparent I’m not going to finish it by then. I don’t only want to finish it, I want to make it as good as I possibly can. Since then there’s been pressure but not like there was at that point. There’s no longer a race. The show is over. I’m writing the book. It will be done when it’s done.
Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight...
In the meantime, interest is waning
"Arya did not dare take a bath, even though she smelled as bad as Yoren by now, all sour and stinky. Some of the creatures living in her clothes had come all the way from Flea Bottom with her; it didn’t seem right to drown them."
More of George kinda waffling around. Could mean anything.
But the really relevant part is this:
And the pressure I felt that fall was the greatest pressure I’ve ever felt and then at a certain point it became apparent I’m not going to finish it by then. I don’t only want to finish it, I want to make it as good as I possibly can. Since then there’s been pressure but not like there was at that point. There’s no longer a race. The show is over. I’m writing the book. It will be done when it’s done.
Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight...
It does sound a bit like the same old stuff from him. A teased promise ... that no one really understands or believes anymore!
Perhaps that is his hope. To outlast the majority of fan's, and when his readership is back down to what it was before HBO made him a household name, then he will finish, with little fanfare or hype.
Their father understood as well. "You want no pup for yourself, Jon?" he asked softly.
To outlast the majority of fan's, and when his readership is back down to what it was before HBO made him a household name, then he will finish, with little fanfare or hype.
I must admit it has been hard not only to wait for the conclusion of the series - and i have not waited as many years as some - but also to not get caught up in the negativity resulting from his failure to deliver.
At first i wanted none of it (negativity) to stay positive to be able to enjoy the 'next book'; then i did become somewhat pissed off! Now i am much less interested.
That said, should the 'next book' eventually get good reviews, i will probably come back to the story.
I have found too many other great authors/stories to read in the mean time.
There are still the odd mystery here and there that would wake me up from my slumber; the Nightfort being one I guess; pity we can do an archeological dig there!
by the way, i read somewhere that the 2 Davids have been nominated for Emmy awards
...that should get some Hearthians' goat!!
"Arya did not dare take a bath, even though she smelled as bad as Yoren by now, all sour and stinky. Some of the creatures living in her clothes had come all the way from Flea Bottom with her; it didn’t seem right to drown them."
My interest in this is waning so rapidly, can barely be bothered to comment:
For better or for worse, we got closure:
-> aSoIaF is not about dragons or ice zombies, it is about normal people. -> The Stark kids inherit the world, but are all damaged in the process.
Two very Martin´sian concepts that were covered by the show´s final season...and a rabid part of the fandom went completely *medieval* on this. Looks like *we want tropes subverted, pero no mucho*.
Martin ain´t stupid; he saw the reactions. His stance is very defensive. IMO? Not much incentive to wrap this up at all.
I must admit it has been hard not only to wait for the conclusion of the series - and i have not waited as many years as some - but also to not get caught up in the negativity resulting from his failure to deliver.
I agree on both these points. I still find myself curious about several things. I am currently doing a very casual reread of Dance, and I am enjoying it. Sometimes with all of the hype surrounding the series, I forget how much I enjoyed actually reading the books. Right now, I am trying to put the show and the show talk behind me, which actually feels good. Although I did find a sick sort of enjoyment with Dave and Dan backing out of ComicCom and all the the fall out and trash talking r/t that.
I find it hard to imagine that when and if the next novel is published, that I would not read it, however. But right now, I feel pretty done with the concept of buying any other published materials until Winds is published. I have told myself I won't and hopefully I will stick to that.
My interest in this is waning so rapidly, can barely be bothered to comment:
For better or for worse, we got closure:
-> aSoIaF is not about dragons or ice zombies, it is about normal people. -> The Stark kids inherit the world, but are all damaged in the process.
Two very Martin´sian concepts that were covered by the show´s final season...and a rabid part of the fandom went completely *medieval* on this. Looks like *we want tropes subverted, pero no mucho*.
Martin ain´t stupid; he saw the reactions. His stance is very defensive. IMO? Not much incentive to wrap this up at all.
I would prefer his closure to the show's hurried and sometimes sloppy feeling ending. Even if the major end points are similar, there will be a different path to them, a much different path in some places in the story. I would agree that it's not really about ice or fire or their demons of mass destruction as it is about the people trying to survive both of those things.
I didn't find his stance particularly defensive, more as I seen him vaguely holding back. He is latched onto the cash cow that is HBO, and he doesn't want to do anything that might effect future business with them. Otherwise, I think he might be more honest about his feelings with the show, but of course, that is a personal opinion.
So many people were upset by Dany's "fall" but her actions didn't bother me in regards to her character development, but GRRM doesn't seem to write "total evil villain" and so her seeming like Hitler or Sauron felt very flat to me. He has to be able to tell such things better than the show did. I don't expect a happy ending, but I do expect one that feels more cohesive than the show's conclusion.
Their father understood as well. "You want no pup for yourself, Jon?" he asked softly.
I must admit it has been hard not only to wait for the conclusion of the series - and i have not waited as many years as some - but also to not get caught up in the negativity resulting from his failure to deliver.
I agree on both these points. I still find myself curious about several things. I am currently doing a very casual reread of Dance, and I am enjoying it. Sometimes with all of the hype surrounding the series, I forget how much I enjoyed actually reading the books. Right now, I am trying to put the show and the show talk behind me, which actually feels good. Although I did find a sick sort of enjoyment with Dave and Dan backing out of ComicCom and all the the fall out and trash talking r/t that.
I find it hard to imagine that when and if the next novel is published, that I would not read it, however. But right now, I feel pretty done with the concept of buying any other published materials until Winds is published. I have told myself I won't and hopefully I will stick to that.
My interest in this is waning so rapidly, can barely be bothered to comment:
For better or for worse, we got closure:
-> aSoIaF is not about dragons or ice zombies, it is about normal people. -> The Stark kids inherit the world, but are all damaged in the process.
Two very Martin´sian concepts that were covered by the show´s final season...and a rabid part of the fandom went completely *medieval* on this. Looks like *we want tropes subverted, pero no mucho*.
Martin ain´t stupid; he saw the reactions. His stance is very defensive. IMO? Not much incentive to wrap this up at all.
I would prefer his closure to the show's hurried and sometimes sloppy feeling ending. Even if the major end points are similar, there will be a different path to them, a much different path in some places in the story. I would agree that it's not really about ice or fire or their demons of mass destruction as it is about the people trying to survive both of those things.
I didn't find his stance particularly defensive, more as I seen him vaguely holding back. He is latched onto the cash cow that is HBO, and he doesn't want to do anything that might effect future business with them. Otherwise, I think he might be more honest about his feelings with the show, but of course, that is a personal opinion.
So many people were upset by Dany's "fall" but her actions didn't bother me in regards to her character development, but GRRM doesn't seem to write "total evil villain" and so her seeming like Hitler or Sauron felt very flat to me. He has to be able to tell such things better than the show did. I don't expect a happy ending, but I do expect one that feels more cohesive than the show's conclusion.
I can´t disagree with you on this. Key point here: How does GRRM interpret this when he has to put stuff on paper? He is avery self-conscious person; on top of that, I see him as a highly dispersive perfectionist (wants to be perfect in whatever he does, but gets bored quickly when having to stick to single, particular things) - which is a terrible, terrible characteristic when having to tackle the multi-volume, sprawling epic.
I can´t disagree with you on this. Key point here: How does GRRM interpret this when he has to put stuff on paper? He is avery self-conscious person; on top of that, I see him as a highly dispersive perfectionist (wants to be perfect in whatever he does, but gets bored quickly when having to stick to single, particular things) - which is a terrible, terrible characteristic when having to tackle the multi-volume, sprawling epic.
I don´t like the odds of this.
Right now, he has A LOT of loose ends to wrangle, and that is concerning. It's going to take some focus... and maybe prison in New Zealand after he fails to deliver next summer!
Their father understood as well. "You want no pup for yourself, Jon?" he asked softly.
So many people were upset by Dany's "fall" but her actions didn't bother me in regards to her character development, but GRRM doesn't seem to write "total evil villain"
I am not so sure about GRRM not writing "total evil villain". What about characters such as Ramsey Bolton or Euron?
His world always seemed to me to contain the whole spectrum of undesirables characters.
"Arya did not dare take a bath, even though she smelled as bad as Yoren by now, all sour and stinky. Some of the creatures living in her clothes had come all the way from Flea Bottom with her; it didn’t seem right to drown them."
Post by whitewolfstark on Jul 29, 2019 4:53:18 GMT
Honestly, I see the issue with Dany's character. They didn't emphasize enough the power Prophesy has had on her mindset, and how Quaithe's influence has slowly been influencing her mind. They dropped Quaithe after Season 2, and they downplayed the lure of the House of the Undying. Dany's story when it finally comes to its end point will be about how believing yourself to be the Messiah that's on the Earth to save it can lead a person to decisions which are not always for the best of other people. Especially when you run into the reality check that one man's Messiah, is another's Antichrist. I don't think Dany will take well to not being cheered on as the Messiah of Westeros when she arrives, and it's going to challenge her and change her in a lot of ways. This is partly why I think fAegon will be important now. He'll be treated the way Dany will expect to be treated, and that's going to cause her to come into conflict with him, rather than want to marry him as he expects. And later, after learning the truth about Jon's parentage, that's only going to make things worse as she'll already have seen how the Westerosi treat a potential male savior in fAegon. It's going to be more of a blow to her.
The show played mere lip service to this idea (having Kinvara turn the city of Meereen into worshiping Dany as their savior, having the Westerosi calling her a foreign invader and treating her and the foreigners she brings with her coldly), but having thought on it some more, they never really dwell on it or develop it enough as I think Martin will. The outline is there, but the details aren't all filled in well. Add in that Quaithe is telling her to trust no one, to be a Dragon, and to remember who she is--which isn't the merciful compromising ruler (aka wearing the "floppy ears" when becoming the Queen of the Rabbits)--but to be a conqueror... and to bring Fire and Blood.
I have written in the past how the phrase "Fire and Blood" is a Medieval French term (feu et sang) for what we'd call "total warfare", as a French description for the devastation for what the English brought to France in the 100 Years War, and when the 100 Years War was off, how those soldiers formed Free Companies and brought that same style of warfare to the warring Italian city states--where innocents were slaughtered in the streets (Cesena Bloodbath (1377) – Papal and Breton mercenaries under John Hawkwood slaughtered more than 2,000 citizens of Cesena; "The little comune revolted again in 1377 during the War of the Eight Saints. This time it was recaptured by Breton troops of Giovanni Acuto (the English-born condottiere John Hawkwood) under the command of Robert, Cardinal of Geneva, (later antipope Clement VII). The latter, acting as the legate of Pope Gregory XI, directed the savage murder of between 2,500 and 5,000 civilians[3]. By the laws of war at the time this was regarded as an atrocity that earned the label of the "Cesena Bloodbath" and the cardinal the "butcher of Cesena".").
Also, having Jon kill Dany is exactly the kind of "human heart in conflict with itself" story idea Martin always has, and would be an ironic completion of the idea of the Azor Ahai notion. It's just like the odd Sam line in Episode 2 where Sam says "forgetting is death"--that's a quintessential Martin idea, and one already in the third book when Meera comforts Bran that by remembering Old Nan, he'll keep her alive. Reading more of Martin's other works really helps identify what's his ideas, and what are D&Ds, it's just D&D don't know how to build to those ideas, and Martin himself hasn't figured out how to get there, or else the books would be written already.
I am not so sure about GRRM not writing "total evil villain". What about characters such as Ramsey Bolton or Euron?
His world always seemed to me to contain the whole spectrum of undesirables characters.
I'm not sure they are totally evil, just like I question what is going on with Gregor Clegane. All three seemingly do terrible, cruel things, but we don't really know how different their own perspective might be. Melisandre is one of these interesting characters who is running around burning people alive like a religious fanatic, but there is something that seems to drive her actions, even if it seems misguided and cruel to me, even forcing Rattleshirt to pay for Mance's crimes. There is such a difference between how I see Jaime before and after his POV, and although I don't expect a POV from Euron or Ramsay, I would not be surprised to find out a little bit more about what makes them tick. I think there is a reason that GRRM has given us so many Greyjoy perspectives, but not Euron. He is hiding something from us that would be revealed in Euron's own mind. People do bad things for a reason, even if the reason is a mystery to us, even if the reason seems like a bad reason. And yes, there are the Vargo Hoat's (who meets his match in Gregor Clegane) and Biter and Rorge's in the story that seem pretty close to black, but they are more minor characters, however still could have an interesting backstory. Dany is a huge character, and I expect some better plotting for her in his story than the hurried nose dive the show gave her. And the Hitler/Sauron propaganda! All of GRRM's characters fall in the grey color spectrum, though some are closer to black than white.
Their father understood as well. "You want no pup for yourself, Jon?" he asked softly.