Line #130 Creator/GeorgeRRMartin


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7
8	->''"Don't ask him when it's going to be finished! Don't you know that every time someone asks when [the next ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' novel] will be finished, George R. R. Martin kills a Stark!?!"''
9	-->-- '''[=Jude8098=]''', commenting on Martin's official blog
10
11	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 most famous for his DoorStopper {{fantasy}} series ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire.'' He lives in UsefulNotes/SantaFe, UsefulNotes/NewMexico, and owns and runs the Jean Cocteau Cinema.
12
13	As a boy, he was (and, let us not forget, remains) definitely JustForFun/OneOfUs. You can see the fan-mail he wrote to Creator/StanLee when he was sixteen [[http://comicbookmovie.com/fansites/GraphicCity/news/?a=45514 here]] (complete with his Bayonne, UsefulNotes/NewJersey address).
14
15	His short story ''With Morning Comes Mistfall'' was nominated for a Nebula Award in 1973. He also wrote numerous ScienceFiction short stories known collectively as "The Thousand Worlds." He has also written political fiction and {{Horror}}.
16
17	In the 1980s, he wrote screenplays for television series, including ''Series/TheTwilightZone1985'' and ''Series/BeautyAndTheBeast1987''. He often ran into trouble due to failure to consider the reality of how his scripts could actually be filmed within budget, which eventually led him back to books. He is also an editor on the ''Literature/WildCards'' cycle. His short story ''Nightfliers'' was adapted into a feature film.
18
19	In 1996, he published ''Literature/AGameOfThrones,'' the first installment in ''A Song of Ice and Fire''. 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, which will be followed by a seventh book, ''A Dream of Spring.'' 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.
20
21	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.
22
23	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 2024) 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]].)
24
25	He is also credited with helping craft the setting and lore of the 2022 video game ''VideoGame/EldenRing''.
26
27	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]]!
28
29	Also not to be confused with [[Music/TheBeatles Beatles]] producer Sir George Martin (his death in 2016 provoked many a brief panic from fans skimming the news headlines, you can be sure).
30
31	----
32	[[folder:Bibliography]]
33
34	'''Literature'''
35
36	* ''Thousand Worlds'' universe.
37	** ''A Song for Lya'' (1974)
38	** ''Dying of the Light'' (1977)
39	** ''The Way of Cross and Dragon''
40	** ''Literature/{{Nightflyers}}'' (1980), adapted into a feature film in 1987 and a [[Series/{{Nightflyers}} TV series]] in 2018.
41	** ''Literature/{{Sandkings}}'' (1981), adapted into the two-part pilot episode of ''Series/TheOuterLimits1995''.
42	** ''Literature/TufVoyaging'' (1986) - a collection of short stories about Havilland Tuf, who's gained control of an [[GeneticEngineeringIsTheNewNuke Environmental]] [[ThePlague Engineering]] CoolStarship.
43	* ''Night of the Vampyres'' (1975)
44	* ''The Lonely Songs of Laren Dorr'' (1976) (Creator/RogerZelazny described this as "one of the few stories by someone else which I wish I'd written.")
45	* ''Meathouse Man'' (1976)
46	* ''Windhaven'' (1981, with Lisa Tuttle)
47	* ''The Ice Dragon'' (1980)
48	* ''Fevre Dream'' (1982)
49	* ''Literature/TheArmageddonRag'' (1983)
50	* ''The Skin Trade'' (1989) - Optioned for film by Mike the Pike Productions.
51	* ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' series:
52	** ''A Game of Thrones'' (1996)
53	** ''A Clash of Kings'' (1998)
54	** ''A Storm of Swords'' (2000)
55	** ''A Feast for Crows'' (2005)
56	** ''A Dance with Dragons'' (2011)
57	** ''The Winds of Winter'' (forthcoming)
58	** ''A Dream of Spring'' (forthcoming)
59	* ''Tales of Dunk and Egg'' series - set in the world of ''A Song of Ice and Fire''
60	** ''The Hedge Knight'' (1998)
61	** ''The Sworn Sword'' (2003)
62	** ''The Mystery Knight'' (2010)
63	* ''Shadow Twin'' (2004, with Gardner Dozois and Daniel Abraham)
64	* ''Hunter's Run'' (2007, expanded version of the novella "Shadow Twin," with Gardner Dozois and Daniel Abraham)
65	* ''Songs of the Literature/DyingEarth'' (2009, editor, with many others)
66
67	'''Television Series'''
68
69	* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1985''
70	** The Last Defender of Camelot (1986) - writer (teleplay)
71	** The Once and Future King (1986) - writer (teleplay), story editor
72	** A Saucer of Loneliness (1986) - story editor
73	** Lost and Found (1986) - writer (teleplay)
74	** The World Next Door (1986) - story editor
75	** The Toys of Caliban (1986) - writer (teleplay)
76	** The Road Less Traveled (1986) - writer (story and teleplay), story editor
77
78	* ''Series/BeautyAndTheBeast1987''
79	** Terrible Saviour (1987) - writer
80	** Masques (1987) - writer
81	** Shades of Grey (1988) - writer
82	** Promises of Someday (1988) - writer
83	** Fever (1988) - writer
84	** Ozymandias (1988) - writer
85	** Dead of Winter (1988) - writer
86	** Brothers (1989) - writer
87	** When the Blue Bird Sings (1989) - writer (teleplay)
88	** A Kingdom by the Sea (1989) - writer
89	** What Rough Beast (1989) - writer (story)
90	** Ceremony of Innocence (1989) - writer
91	** Snow (1989) - writer
92	** Beggar's Comet (1990) - writer
93	** Invictus (1990) - writer
94
95	* ''Series/GameOfThrones''
96	** Pilot - writer (story), producer, creator
97	** The Pointy End (2011) - writer
98	** Blackwater (2012) - writer
99	** The Bear and the Maiden Fair (2013) - writer
100	** The Lion and the Rose (2014) - writer
101
102	'''Video Games'''
103	* ''VideoGame/EldenRing'' (2020) - lore writer, in collaboration with Creator/FromSoftware.
104	[[/folder]]
105	----
106	!!Works by Martin with their own pages include:
107
108	[[index]]
109	* ''Literature/DyingOfTheLight''
110	* ''Literature/FevreDream''
111	* ''Literature/TheArmageddonRag''
112	* ''Literature/TheIceDragon''
113	* ''Literature/{{Nightflyers}}''
114	* ''Literature/{{Sandkings}}''
115	* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' series
116	* ''Literature/TalesOfDunkAndEgg'' series
117	* ''Literature/TufVoyaging''
118	* ''Literature/{{Windhaven}}''
119	[[/index]]
120
121	!!Other works by Martin contain examples of:
122
123	* AnyoneCanDie: Has become ''infamous'' for this. ''WebVideo/HonestTrailers'' affectionately describes him as "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.
124	-->Q: Why doesn't George RR Martin have a Twitter account?\
125	A: He'd kill all his allowed characters within a month.
126	* AuthorUsurpation: Whenever Martin's work is mentioned, the discussion is usually about ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' and nothing else.
127	* BioAugmentation: This is the Hat of the planet Prometheus in the "Thousand Worlds" short stories. Through genetic engineering, the Prometheans are bigger, stronger, faster, and mentally they are always "three steps ahead", to quote a Promethean character from "Nightflyers". It's theorized that they live longer than non-augmented humans as well.
128	* BittersweetEnding: Hardly any of his works end in any other way, apart from maybe a DownerEnding.
129	* 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, Euron Greyjoy, 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.
130	* DarkFantasy: His stories deal with huge amounts of moral ambiguity, honorable heroes suffering and/or dying when outmanoeuvred by ruthless villains and playing for drama a great many established fantasy tropes along the way.
131	* DescriptionPorn: A firm believer in the power of description, Martin once explained why he chooses to go into full descriptions of whatever a character is experiencing at any given time, be it FoodPorn, TorturePorn, SceneryPorn, or actual porn, is because he wants to immerse the reader in the experience.
132	-->'''Martin''': "It's a vicarious experience, which has always been my goal as a writer. If I'm gonna describe a feast, I don't want to just say 'Yes, and then they feasted.' I want you to smell the food, to taste the food, whether it's delicious food, or bad food, or whatever, I want you to smell the particular things. If it's a joust, I want you to be caught up in who's gonna win the joust. If it's a sex scene, I want you to get hot and bothered. I want you not just to read my work but to live my work."
133	* FanworkBan: Somewhat. While Martin doesn't outright ban fanworks of his series altogether, he has been very vocal about his dislike for them outside of fan art and discourages other authors from allowing its practice. His reasoning being that it causes copyright concerns and his belief that it's harmful to aspiring writers due to them using pre-existing characters as a crutch rather than creating their own, which is integral to the writing process. [[ApprovalOfGod He does approve of fan-art, though,]] to the point that [[https://georgerrmartin.com/for-fans/from-fans/fan-art-gallery/ his website has an entire gallery of fan art.]]
134	* FasterThanLightTravel: The "Thousand Worlds" Science Fiction setting has mankind spreading across a swathe of the Milky Way in faster-than-light starships, but communications between planets in different star systems can only be accomplished by plain old snail mail. "Nightflyers" mentions an information packet that was in transit from a distant world to the protagonists' planet for ''twenty years''.
135	* GreyAndGrayMorality: George has made a point of presenting morally ambiguous characters in a setting where clear cut notions of right and wrong are hard to come by. The murkiness of war, politics and the negative impact it has on those outside of the social elite is a central theme in many of his works.
136	--> I like grey characters; fantasy for too long has been focused on very stereotypical heroes and villains.
137	* HelmetsAreHardlyHeroic: Spends most of his audio commentary on [[Recap/GameOfThronesS2E9Blackwater Blackwater]] complaining about this trope.
138	* ILoveTheDead: "Meathouse Man" is centered around the eponymous Meathouse, a brothel where the prostitutes are brain-dead bodies, fitted with implants so that they move and react according to the desires of their customers.
139	* InfernalParadise: "A Song for Lya" presents an alien world where the locals, the shkeen, live in medieval squalor, with no advancement of any sort for thousands of years. They also host disgusting parasites called "greeshka" which shorten their lives and retard their intellects. However, when "Joined" beings die, their minds are preserved in a psychic union which is so pleasant that just the telepathic spill-over to the living Joined is enough to make them indifferent to achievement and personal hygiene; they join this "Union" by going into a network of caves outside their sacred city, finding a giant greeshka, lying down on it and waiting for it to consume them. The bad part is presented as being the shkeen belief that anyone who does not die in the Union is utterly alone.
140	* MadnessMantra: "The Skin Trade" has a minor example, after P.I. Randi insists (despite strong recommendations against it) on examining the body of a murder suspect who died similarly to her own father. For the rest of the day, the only thing she can say is repetitions of "[[spoiler:It was Roy Helander, and he was wearing Joanie's skin]]."
141	* MindlinkMates: "A Song for Lya" dealt heavily with this idea. [[spoiler:It didn't end well.]]
142	* OnlyKnownByInitials: Full name is George Raymond Richard Martin.
143	* PenName: [[AvertedTrope Averted]]. His middle initials really are "R. R." The fact that [[Creator/JRRTolkien another famous fantasy writer]] had the same middle initials is just a coincidence. (They aren't even the ''same'' middle names, in fact. Tolkien's full name was "John Ronald Reuel Tolkien," whereas shown above Martin's full name is "George Raymond Richard Martin.")
144	** His birth name was in fact "George Raymund Martin", but when he was 13 years old and he had to pick a Catholic confirmation name, he chose "Richard" - explicitly so he could use the middle initials "R.R." like J.R.R. Tolkien. So it's not ''quite'' a coincidence, but it isn't a fake pen name either (like how "Robert Jordan" was the pen name of James Rigney, who wrote ''The Wheel of Time'' series).
145	* PsychologicalHorror:
146	** "A Song for Lya".
147	** "Meathouse Man".
148	** "The Second Kind of Loneliness".
149	* ReportsOfMyDeathWereGreatlyExaggerated: When words of Sir George Martin, of Beatles fame, has passed away, people are mistaking the two and Georgy [[http://grrm.livejournal.com/477607.html had to dispel in his LiveJournal account.]]
150	* SophisticatedAsHell: A number of his characters are like this, and Martin himself is not above it. The best example of this is in the acknowledgements of ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire''. The first three books open with elaborate metaphors about how writing is not a one man job. In the fourth book, he wastes no effort trying to beat around the bush and simply says:
151	--> This one was a bitch.
152	* TimeTravelingJerkass: The short story "Unsound Variations" revolves around one man inviting some former college buddies of his to dinner and using the opportunity to gloat that he invented a machine that allowed MentalTimeTravel to his younger self, which he then used to sabotage their lives in revenge for a bunch of petty slights. This [[NiceJobFixingItVillain ends up backfiring on him big time]] because, when he described the destinies that he prevented them from having, instead of [[BreakingSpeech finally shattering whatever little hope they still held]], it reignited now that they knew what they could have achieved if some petty little idiot hadn't become obsessed with revenge [[DisappointedByTheMotive over stupid things like getting lesser grades than them]]. The BigBad ends up [[SelfDisposingVillain accidentally killing himself]] by using his machine [[ExplosiveOverclocking one time too many]] to go back and get revenge for being mocked. Well, it looks like that to the protagonists and makes no difference for that cycle, because of the way time travel works. It is mental time travel, every time he travels back into past, the villain's current body dies and he creates a new timeline. It is implied that this was just his latest and most successful "revenge timeline" and he still failed.
153	* VillainProtagonist:
154	** On several occasions he has found himself discussing the reasons why a villain can be the main character and yet enjoyable to watch despite clearly being evil--mainly in opposition to ExecutiveMeddling he experienced in the movie business that the main characters need to be "more heroic" out of (in hindsight unsubstantiated) fears that the audience will otherwise tune out. Martin himself has crafted some rather memorable villains in central roles who, despite being "the bad guys", retain a loyal fan base due to being interesting characters.
155	--->[referring to ''Series/TheSopranos''] "{{Creator/HBO}} has proven that we will follow for years and years some pretty reprehensible characters as long as they're ''fascinating''."
156	** Also:
157	--->[On his opinion of ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings''] "[...]A villain is a hero of the other side, [...]I think some of that is definitely what I’m aiming at[...]"

Context Creator / GeorgeRRMartin