Game of Thrones Book Series May Extend to Eight Books - Update

roseofbattle

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Apr 18, 2011
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Game of Thrones Book Series May Extend to Eight Books - Update

An eighth kingdom may move George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series to be eight books long.

Update: In an interview with Entertainment Weekly [http://insidetv.ew.com/2014/06/03/george-r-r-martin-ice-and-fire-publishing-plan-game-of-thrones/], George R. R. Martin clarified his plans for A Song of Ice and Fire. "My plan is to finish in seven," he said. "But my original plan was to finish in three. I write the stories and they grow. I deal with certain things and sometimes I find myself not at the end of a story. My plan right now is still seven. But first I have to finish Book Six. Get back to me when I'm halfway through Book Seven and maybe then I'll tell you something more meaningful."

Beyond the book series, Martin praised actor Pedro Pascal for his performance as Oberyn Martell. He also said he suspects the Game of Thrones producers' plan of telling the story in seven seasons will not be enough to cover everything. One solution Martin likes is Game of Thrones feature films, but HBO is against this.

Original story: George R. R. Martin's A Song Of Ice And Fire series, filmed for TV as Game of Thrones, may move from his book series being seven books long to a total of eight books, according to Anne Groell, the editor of the book series.

In a Q&A with fans, Groell revealed conversations she had with Martin about the series' length. "I remember when he called me, years and years back, to confess that his little trilogy was... well... no longer a trilogy," Groell said. "He predicted four books. I said, 'Seven Books for Seven Kingdoms.' Then he said five books. I said, 'Seven Books for Seven Kingdoms.' Then he went to six. I said... Well, you get it. Finally, we were on the same page. Seven Books for Seven Kingdoms."

While editing The World of Ice and Fire, a companion book to be published this fall, Groell learned there is an eighth kingdom. The contract stipulates Martin will write seven books for A Song of Ice and Fire.

Jane Johnson, UK publisher for A Song of Ice and Fire, is unsure how long the series will end up being. "I know there's been some speculation that A Song of Ice and Fire may run to more than the seven books we currently have under contract, but in all honesty only George knows how many books there will be in the series," Johnson said. "Indeed at this stage of the writing, with the many branching pathways of characters' stories still to intersect, he may not know. As an editor I can say that it feels as if there's a lot to tie up in just two more novels - albeit very long novels - but if George continues to kill off characters in his usual ruthless fashion, it could easily be over in the planned seven books!"

Years go between the releases of books in the series. The fifth book, A Dance with Dragons released in 2011, six years after the previous book, and the sixth, titled The Winds of Winter, is still forthcoming.

Source: The Guardian [http://universe.suvudu.com/q-and-a/anne-groell#.U43p55SwJdx]


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lemby117

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Apr 16, 2009
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That's kind of a misleading title guys, there wasn't even a comment from George for you to make that assertion.
 

Cousin_IT

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Feb 6, 2008
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For the sake of my sanity, please just come out & say there's never going to be a conclusion to the saga.
 

Scars Unseen

^ ^ v v < > < > B A
May 7, 2009
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lemby117 said:
That's kind of a misleading title guys, there wasn't even a comment from George for you to make that assertion.
Yeah, way to make an ass out of the Emergency Response Team.
 

Scars Unseen

^ ^ v v < > < > B A
May 7, 2009
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Cousin_IT said:
For the sake of my sanity, please just come out & say there's never going to be a conclusion to the saga.
If I were the author, I'd have a ready written contingency novel set to be published upon my death entitled "The Throes of Death(or How the Ice Zombies Killed Everyone - Yes, Even Tyrion)."
 

LaoJim

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Aug 24, 2013
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lemby117 said:
That's kind of a misleading title guys, there wasn't even a comment from George for you to make that assertion.
Good, that means I still have time to say there will definitely be eight books in the series, before George does. This seems as good a place as anywhere to put it in writing.
 

Scribblesense

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Jan 30, 2013
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Uggh, so we get another 700 pages where nothing happens? How long have we been waiting for the Battle of Meereen, since Book 3? Frickety frick.
 

hermes

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Mar 2, 2009
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lemby117 said:
That's kind of a misleading title guys, there wasn't even a comment from George for you to make that assertion.
You could also blame The Guardian for it, since the source's tittle is even worst.
 

nevarran

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Apr 6, 2010
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So you think Martin will milk the series till it's dead dry?... You don't say!

Scars Unseen said:
"The Throes of Death(or How the Ice Zombies Killed Everyone - Yes, Even Tyrion)."
I'd read that.
 

Baresark

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Dec 19, 2010
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Cousin_IT said:
For the sake of my sanity, please just come out & say there's never going to be a conclusion to the saga.
I figured that is a foregone conclusion at this point.

OT: Gotta keep those checks coming. Why stop when you can write anything and fanboys will eat that shit up and declare it the best tasting shit one could hope for.
 

ShadowsofHope

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Nov 1, 2009
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He needs an eighth book for new material to murder whimsically, clearly. Murdering stale, old characters is no fun!
 

RonHiler

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Sep 16, 2004
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Oh please. That's absurd on the face of it. There is 0% chance there will be an eighth book, regardless of what GRRM intends. Let's do the math.

Dance with Dragons came out in 2011. Let's ignore the fact that each subsequent book has taken longer to write than the previous ones, and stick to the assumption he will publish once every 6 years (the amount of time between Feast and Dance). And don't even try to talk to me about how he will go faster and the time intervals will shorten. Any such silly talk will be met with an expression which is a mixture of exasperation and amusement at your naivety.

Such as timeline would mean book six will be published in 2017, book seven in 2023, and this theoretical book eight in 2029.

As of right now, GRRM is 65. That makes him 68 at the publish of book six. 74 at the publish of book seven. And 80 at the publish of book eight.

80, you are thinking, that is not so old in this day and age. Well, sure, for someone that takes care of themselves, I would give pretty good odds on hitting 80. But GRRM does not. Go look at a picture of him. Not to be all ghoulish and stuff, but the dude is not exactly the picture of health, and I recon the chances of him hitting 80 and still being of right mind and body such that he can still write are about as good as me hitting the lotto.

No way are we getting an eighth book. I give 50/50 odds on us even getting a book six, and maybe half that on getting to number 7. Maybe.

No, your best bet on getting a ending to this series is not through GRRM written word. It's though D&D over at HBO.
 

Seracen

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Sep 20, 2009
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Scars Unseen said:
Cousin_IT said:
For the sake of my sanity, please just come out & say there's never going to be a conclusion to the saga.
If I were the author, I'd have a ready written contingency novel set to be published upon my death entitled "The Throes of Death(or How the Ice Zombies Killed Everyone - Yes, Even Tyrion)."
Pretty sure he addressed this. I believe he discussed at length with the show creators the major beats of future books. I also believe he has prepared notes for a ghost author, should one be required after he passes (much like Sanderson for Jordan's "Wheel of Time" series).

Until such time, I am sort of keeping myself from getting too invested in anything, simply enjoying the scenes I catch in the TV series. I am one of those people who likes to marathon complete works.
 

Steve2911

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May 3, 2010
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This isn't news to anyone who's even remotely familiar with the books. George has been saying 'yeah it'll totally be 7 unless I can't finish it in 7' for years now. This is just the speculation of his editor, who hasn't even read the majority of his TWOW material yet.
 

Carnagath

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Apr 18, 2009
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Cousin_IT said:
For the sake of my sanity, please just come out & say there's never going to be a conclusion to the saga.
Yeah, there isn't gonna be. If he took 2 years per book I'd give it a 50-50 chance. At 5+ years, you can forget it.
 

Ukomba

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Oct 14, 2010
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This is the longest @$!#ing prolog I've ever read already, will book 8 finally get to the actual story? I'm tired of the aimless dicking around.

Lucky Brandon Sanderson puts out better books faster.
 

Padwolf

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Sep 2, 2010
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Here's hoping he lives to write these books. I think he's a great guy, and goddamnitall I really want to read the next book the wait is killing me it's like waiting for Harry Potter 7 all over again. Come on Mr Martin, I need these books! I need them! I must know what happens at the end. I must know everything there is to know. Give me more books! O_O
 

Darkong

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Nov 6, 2007
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Dance with Dragons was so dull I'm not sure I can stomach another one. It seems to have fallen into the same problem that Wheel of Time did in that things are just getting dragged out mercilessly.
 

Right Hook

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May 29, 2011
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Scars Unseen said:
Cousin_IT said:
For the sake of my sanity, please just come out & say there's never going to be a conclusion to the saga.
If I were the author, I'd have a ready written contingency novel set to be published upon my death entitled "The Throes of Death(or How the Ice Zombies Killed Everyone - Yes, Even Tyrion)."
It really isn't that crazy of a thought, any author who cared about his fans would have some sort of plan in case they could no longer finish the series, at least a rough outline of what they feel should happen and a list of authors they'd respect enough to finish the series.

From what I've read however, it seems like George R. R. Martin doesn't give a shit and is going as slow as he wants with no indication as to what he's actually been up to and then comparing it to telling Tolkien he's going to die while writing the Simarillion whenever someone tells him to hurry up with the story.