History Creator / GeorgeRRMartin

There is a great deal of controversy over his writing schedule ([[ScheduleSlip or lack thereof]]), particularly the long six-year gap between ''A Feast for Crows'' and ''A Dance with Dragons'', leading to a BrokenBase split between those that feel he should finish the damn books already and those that feel the quality is well worth the wait. Creator/NeilGaiman himself has [[http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2009/05/entitlement-issues.html chimed in on the issue]], with his opinion summed up succinctly in the sentence "George R.R. Martin [[DearNegativeReader is not your bitch.]]" Whether or not the completion of ''The Winds of Winter'' (reportedly started in 2011 and still in progress as of 2023) will heal the breach in the base probably depends on the quality of the book and how long the next one takes. Some other fans worry about the series possibly becoming {{orphaned|Series}}, as Martin has said in the past that in the event he dies before finishing the story, he has left instructions that all his notes and any unpublished manuscripts be destroyed. (This is of particular consternation to viewers of ''Game of Thrones'', whose GeckoEnding was... [[SeasonalRot disliked]].)

George Raymond Richard Martin (born George Raymond Martin, September 20, 1948), aka "[[FanNickname Evil]] [[BadSanta Santa]]", "[[AnyoneCanDie Fiction's Most Notorious]] [[CharactersDroppingLikeFlies Serial Killer]]", or "[[ScheduleSlip The Great Bearded Glacier]]", is an American author and screenwriter. He is most famous for his {{fantasy}} series ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire.'' He lives in UsefulNotes/SantaFe, UsefulNotes/NewMexico, and owns and runs the Jean Cocteau Cinema.

In 1996, he published ''Literature/AGameOfThrones,'' the first installment in the DoorStopper fantasy series ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire''. The series has been acclaimed by critics, readers, and fellow authors alike. He is currently working on ''The Winds of Winter,'' the sixth book in the series. The rights to a live-action TV series were acquired by Creator/{{HBO}}, and the smash hit ''Series/GameOfThrones'' was born, with a total of eight seasons airing from 2011 to 2019. Martin himself is credited as the co-executive producer for the series, and wrote an episode in each of its first four seasons. He has been quoted as saying that going on set for the first time was "like walking into one of my dreams", and that his initial feeling towards seeing the show's adaptation of his work firsthand was [[ApprovalOfGod "My God, they got it right."]] A {{prequel}} series, ''Series/HouseOfTheDragon'', has been made since, based on ''Literature/FireAndBlood'' and following Martin's own wishes about where to go next in the television format.

Martin is well-known for his cordial relationships with his fans. Some say it detracts from his working pace. He keeps a regular {{blog}}, titled [[http://grrm.livejournal.com/ Not A Blog]][[note]]And that's the only place he regularly posts personally, according to [[https://grrm.livejournal.com/395189.html this]], while his official Website/{{Facebook}} and Website/{{Twitter}} accounts are ran by his "minions"[[/note]], where he keeps readers up to date on his projects, life, and favorite football teams; he also frequently comments on politics, both the internal politics of the speculative fiction world (see: his extensive commentary on the "Sad Puppies") and general American politics (he is a proud liberal Democrat). He is also a frequent guest at conventions, where he will happily hand out [[ShrugOfGod Shrugs of God]] and occasionally invite some fans to private dinners. However, he is firmly opposed to FanFiction of his works, as he feels it weakens his copyrights and is bad practice for aspiring writers. FanArt, however, is acceptable.

There is a great deal of controversy over his writing schedule ([[ScheduleSlip or lack thereof]]), particularly the long six-year gap between ''A Feast for Crows'' and ''A Dance with Dragons'', leading to a BrokenBase split between those that feel he should finish the damn books already and those that feel the quality is well worth the wait. Creator/NeilGaiman himself has [[http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2009/05/entitlement-issues.html chimed in on the issue]], with his opinion summed up succinctly in the sentence "George R.R. Martin [[DearNegativeReader is not your bitch.]]" Whether or not the completion of the next ''ASOIAF'' book, ''The Winds of Winter'' (reportedly started in 2011 and still in progress as of 2023), will heal the breach in the base probably depends on the quality of the book and how long the next one takes. Some other fans worry about the series possibly becoming {{orphaned|Series}}, as Martin has said in the past that in the event he dies before finishing the story, he has left instructions that all his notes and any unpublished manuscripts be destroyed. (This is of particular consternation to viewers of ''Game of Thrones'', whose GeckoEnding was... [[SeasonalRot disliked]].)

George Raymond Richard Martin (born George Raymond Martin, September 20, 1948) aka "[[FanNickname Evil]] [[BadSanta Santa]]", "[[AnyoneCanDie Fiction's Most Notorious]] [[CharactersDroppingLikeFlies Serial Killer]]", or "[[ScheduleSlip The Great Bearded Glacier]]" is an American author and screenwriter. He is most famous for his {{Fantasy}} series ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire.'' He lives in UsefulNotes/SantaFe, UsefulNotes/NewMexico, and owns and runs the Jean Cocteau Cinema.

In 1996, he published ''Literature/AGameOfThrones,'' the first installment in the DoorStopper Fantasy series ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire''. The series has been acclaimed by critics, readers, and fellow authors alike. He is currently working on ''The Winds of Winter,'' the sixth book in the series. The rights to a live-action TV series were acquired by Creator/{{HBO}}, and the smash hit ''Series/GameOfThrones'' was born, with a total of eight seasons airing from 2011 to 2019. Martin himself is credited as the co-executive producer for the series and has been quoted as saying going on set was like walking into a dream and has said in an interview that "my God, they got it right". A {{prequel}} series, ''Series/HouseOfTheDragon'', has been made since, based on ''Literature/FireAndBlood'' and following Martin's own wishes about where to go next in the television format.

Martin is well-known for his cordial relationships with his fans. Some say it detracts from his working pace. He keeps a regular {{Blog}}, titled [[http://grrm.livejournal.com/ Not A Blog]][[note]]And that's the only place he regularly posts personally, according to [[https://grrm.livejournal.com/395189.html this]], while his official Facebook and Twitter accounts are ran by his "minions"[[/note]], where he keeps readers up to date on his projects, life, and favorite football teams; he also frequently comments on politics, both the internal politics of the speculative fiction world (see: his extensive commentary on the "Sad Puppies") and general American politics (he is a proud liberal Democrat). He also is a frequent guest at conventions, where he will happily hand out [[ShrugOfGod Shrugs Of God]] and occasionally invite some fans to private dinners. However, he is firmly opposed to FanFiction of his works, as he feels it weakens his copyrights and is bad practice for aspiring writers. FanArt, however, is acceptable.

There is a great deal of controversy over his writing schedule ([[ScheduleSlip or lack thereof]]), particularly the long gap between ''A Feast for Crows'' and ''A Dance with Dragons'', leading to a BrokenBase of those that felt he should finish the damn books already and those that felt the quality is well worth the wait. Creator/NeilGaiman himself has [[http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2009/05/entitlement-issues.html chimed in on the issue]], summing it up as "George R.R. Martin [[DearNegativeReader is not your bitch.]]" Whether or not the completion of ''Winter'' will heal the breach in the base probably depends on the quality of the book and how long the next one takes. Some other fans worry about it possibly becoming an OrphanedSeries, as Martin has said in the past that in the event he dies before finishing the story, he has left instructions that all his notes and any unpublished manuscripts be destroyed. (This is of particular consternation to viewers of ''Game of Thrones'', whose GeckoEnding was... [[SeasonalRot disliked]].)

A word of warning: don't tell him to write faster and ''for God's sake'' [[http://youtu.be/w5vw9RTVky4 don't sing a song about it]]!

* BubbleBoy: Royd Eris, the captain of the ship in "Nightflyers", is this trope in space. He was born on his ship and has never set foot outside it, and when he takes on passengers (which is rare), the section of the ship that they are allowed into is totally cut off from his own section.

* DeadMansHand: Referenced in ''The Armageddon Rag'', which focuses on the fictional 1960s rock band Nazgûl. One of its songs, "Prelude to Madness", contains the chorus:
-->''Queens beat aces every time, yeah!\\
Dead man's hand, dead man's hand!\\
And Charlie is the joker in the deck!''

* FreudianTrio: The three surviving members of the Nazgul in ''The Armageddon Rag''; the sleazy drug-addicted paedophile Rick Maggio is the Id, the intellectual, morally-atuned and slightly pompus Peter Faxon is the Superego, and Gopher John is the Ego.

* HeavyMithril: The plot of ''The Armageddon Rag'' revolves around a broken up band named Nazgûl, whose music is in this genre.

* TwinThreesomeFantasy: Rockstar Rick Maggio gets to live this fantasy in ''The Armageddon Rag''. Then it turns out the twins were underage, and he finds himself being blackmailed with photos of the event.

* AntWar: "Sandkings" is about a species of warring, antlike creatures sold as pets. It doesn't end well.

* FedToTheBeast: In "Sandkings", the main character gets into the habit of feeding people to his new pets, the eponymous insect-like alien monsters.

* HumansAreCthulhu: "Sandkings" features tiny aliens sold as pets, who worship their human owner until he mistreats them.

* TheLittleShopThatWasntThereYesterday: "Wo and Shade, Importers" in "Sandkings". It has a number of curious goods inside, but the story's protagonist (a rich jerkass who loves dangerous pets) is only interested in the eponymous Sandkings, tiny insect-like creatures that form armies and war with each other, creating castles adorned with sculptures of their owner's face as if in worship. The story mentions that Wo and Shade have shops on multiple planets, and Martin intended to use them again in other stories, but, well, [[OrphanedSeries didn't]].

* TheSwarm: "Sandkings". Simon Kress, a rich and vain jerkass whose hobby is collecting dangerous pets, stops into TheLittleShopThatWasntThereYesterday, and purchases four groups of the titular insectoids. The shopkeeper tells him that they will literally worship him by carving his likeness into their sandcastles, and the four "armies" will make war upon each other, for Simon's amusement. The shopkeeper also warns him to be patient, to give them time to grow and mature, and to treat them well. He isn't, and he doesn't.

** ''Literature/Sandkings'' (1981), adapted into the two-part pilot episode of ''Series/TheOuterLimits1995''.

** ''Sandkings'' (1981), adapted into the two-part pilot episode of ''Series/TheOuterLimits1995''.

There is a great deal of controversy over his writing schedule ([[ScheduleSlip or lack thereof]]), particularly the long gap between ''A Feast for Crows'' and ''A Dance with Dragons'', leading to a BrokenBase of those that felt he should finish the damn books already and those that felt the quality is well worth the wait. Creator/NeilGaiman himself has [[http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2009/05/entitlement-issues.html chimed in on the issue]], summing it up as "George R.R. Martin [[DearNegativeReader is not your bitch.]]" Whether or not the completion of ''Winter'' will heal the breach in the base probably depends on the quality of the book and how long the next one takes. Some other fans worry about it possibly becoming an OrphanedSeries, as Martin has said in the past that in the event he dies before finishing the story, he has left instructions that all his notes and any unpublished manuscripts be destroyed.

* BlackAndGrayMorality: While there are no clear-cut heroes and villains can be understandable, when a character is unquestionably bad, he will be as vile as possible (usually enjoying rape, murder - and if it's a CruelAndUnusualDeath, even better! - and torture). Characters like Ramsay Bolton, Gregor Clegane and Joffrey Baratheon are noted as some of the most utterly evil and despicable characters in modern fiction. The exception is ''Literature/{{Windhaven}}'', which runs on WhiteAndGreyMorality.

* AnyoneCanDie: Has become ''infamous'' for this. ''WebVideo/HonestTrailers'' affectionately describes him as "[[KillEmAll fiction's most notorious serial killer]]." He states this is because he wants the reader to never be able to know what happens next through established SortingAlgorithmOfMortality conventions or tropes like TheGoodGuysAlwaysWin.