George R.R. Martin responds to latest claims that he’s finished the last ‘Game of Thrones’ books

They're absurd, apparently...

Game of Thrones author George RR Martin has been forced to deny claims that he’s finished the final two books in the song of Ice and Fire series — The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring.

Ian McElhinney, who portrays Barristan Selmy, recently told a Russian fan convention that Martin had finished the books and and was waiting for the telly series to finish up this weekend before publishing them.

But Martin has since rubbished the theory – branding it “absurd”.

Advertisement

“No, THE WINDS OF WINTER and A DREAM OF SPRING are not finished,” Martin argued on his blog. DREAM is not even begun; I am not going to start writing volume seven until I finish volume six. It seems absurd to me that I need to state this.

“The world is round, the Earth revolves around the sun, water is wet… do I need to say that too? It boggles me that anyone would believe this story, even for an instant. It makes not a whit of sense. Why would I sit for years on completed novels? Why would my publishers — not just here in the US, but all around the world — ever consent to this? They make millions and millions of dollars every time a new Ice & Fire book comes out, as do I. Delaying makes no sense.”

The final Game of Thrones episode airs Sunday

He also vehemently denied claims that HBO wanted to delay the books until the show finishes airing.

“Why would HBO want the books delayed? The books help create interest in the show, just as the show creates interest in the books. So… no, the books are not done. HBO did not ask me to delay them. Nor did [showrunners] David & Dan. There is no ‘deal’ to hold back on the books. I assure you, HBO and David & Dan would both have been thrilled and delighted if THE WINDS OF WINTER had been delivered and published four or five years ago… and NO ONE would have been more delighted than me.”

Advertisement

Speaking last month, Martin remained elusive about progress on the books.

“I have no date. I’ve given up on giving dates because I give one and then I miss it and everybody gets mad. It’ll be done when it’s done,” he said. “It’s been going very well lately so, knock wood.”

This comes as fans gear up for the last ever episode of Game Of Thrones, which will air this Sunday (May 19).

While the show is now ahead of Martin’s books, he previously admitted that he would have preferred it if they followed his source material more religiously.

The penultimate episode of the show is also continuing to divide fans, having debuted on Rotten Tomatoes to the lowest rating of every Thrones episode.

You May Also Like

Advertisement

TRENDING

Advertisement

More Stories