We already know that George R.R. Martin isn't afraid to kill off a character or two - he's done it plenty in the past. And with only two books remaining in his Song Of Ice And Fire series, it comes as no surprise that the author plans to cut down his cast.
Speaking to SFX, the author revealed: “It’s my intention to cut down the number [of characters], so be afraid, be very afraid – your favourite may not survive the next book!”
So who's next for the chop? Daenerys? Jon Snow? Jaime Lannister? Surely some of the Greyjoys have got to meet their maker. And we don't think we'd be happy is the machiavellian Melisandre survived to the last.
Martin went on to discuss the TV series, the third season of which is currently airing on Sky Atlantic (Mondays, 9pm), and the difficulties of balancing his two audiences:
“There’s part of me that would like to be more involved with the television series, to write three or four scripts each season instead of just one, and to be on set every day,” he said. “But I still have two gigantic books to write and I can’t possibly take off time to do that. So the books are my babies.
“There are definitely two distinct audiences: the readers and the viewers. The readers have read the books first and some of them have practically memorised them. They’re watching the series now and in some ways they’re judging it through the prism of books. They’re very conscious of any deviation from what is in the books and of any changes or omissions, and they’re not necessarily pleased by those.
“On the other hand, there are the viewers who are watching the TV series first and then they may go on to read the books – or maybe they won’t… They’re just looking at it, as a TV series first, so their idea of the characters is pretty much the actors they see on TV, and the dialogue they see on TV is sort of canon to them. They’re looking through the other end of the telescope if you will, and sometimes the two different audiences have quite different reactions to a scene, a character or a particular plot development, and that’s fascinating as well.”
Check out the full interview in SFX's Game of Thrones bookazine, on sale now.
Speaking to SFX, the author revealed: “It’s my intention to cut down the number [of characters], so be afraid, be very afraid – your favourite may not survive the next book!”
So who's next for the chop? Daenerys? Jon Snow? Jaime Lannister? Surely some of the Greyjoys have got to meet their maker. And we don't think we'd be happy is the machiavellian Melisandre survived to the last.
Martin went on to discuss the TV series, the third season of which is currently airing on Sky Atlantic (Mondays, 9pm), and the difficulties of balancing his two audiences:
“There’s part of me that would like to be more involved with the television series, to write three or four scripts each season instead of just one, and to be on set every day,” he said. “But I still have two gigantic books to write and I can’t possibly take off time to do that. So the books are my babies.
“There are definitely two distinct audiences: the readers and the viewers. The readers have read the books first and some of them have practically memorised them. They’re watching the series now and in some ways they’re judging it through the prism of books. They’re very conscious of any deviation from what is in the books and of any changes or omissions, and they’re not necessarily pleased by those.
“On the other hand, there are the viewers who are watching the TV series first and then they may go on to read the books – or maybe they won’t… They’re just looking at it, as a TV series first, so their idea of the characters is pretty much the actors they see on TV, and the dialogue they see on TV is sort of canon to them. They’re looking through the other end of the telescope if you will, and sometimes the two different audiences have quite different reactions to a scene, a character or a particular plot development, and that’s fascinating as well.”
Check out the full interview in SFX's Game of Thrones bookazine, on sale now.
