"I'd have them finished": Game of Thrones author George RR Martin says the one thing he'd change about A Song of Ice and Fire is the same thing we've wanted for 13 years

Tyrion in Game of Thrones — (Image credit: HBO)

A Song of Ice and Fire author George R.R. Martin has said the one thing he wishes to change about the long-running book series is exactly what every fan wants: for it to actually be finished.

Martin appeared at the Oxford Writers' House to discuss all things A Song of Ice and Fire and writing in general (timestamped here), and at one point he was asked what single element about one of his books he would change if he were offered the chance.

"I don't know, I could probably change more than one thing," he replied. "If I could change one thing about one of my books I'd have them finished."

Once the thundering applause died down, Martin gave a more nuanced answer in which he said he envied authors who self-publish their books and thus don't have to worry about deadlines, but ultimately said he "would've loved to have had it finished many years ago ... that's the big thing I think I would change."

I don't have to remind fans of A Song of Ice and Fire, but the most recent book in the series, A Dance with Dragons, released in July of 2011 - right about 13 years ago. We already know the next book in the series is called The Winds of Winter, and that it'll be followed by the final book, A Dream of Spring, but Martin has not said when the next book will release.

Martin has been handing out updates on The Winds of Winter very sparingly for years now, most recently in July when he simply stamped out rumors that big news was on the way and said it's still not done. Back in November, he said what he all had long feared: that he'd been "struggling" with the book and hadn't written any more pages since December 2022.

There's a whole lot of anticipation for the final two A Song of Ice and Fire books, particularly as fans are desperate for a more satisfying conclusion to the story than the one we got in HBO's TV adaptation. Martin has said in the past that the ending of the books will be substantially different from the show, and we know we'll learn something new about dragons, but otherwise we're pretty much in the dark story-wise until Martin says more.

Meanwhile, House of the Dragon season 2 recently concluded and is still available to stream in the UK on Sky and NOW and on HBO in the US. For more on the show, check out our deep dives on:

After earning an English degree from ASU, I worked as a corporate copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. I got my big break here in 2019 with a freelance news gig, and I was hired on as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer in 2021. That means I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my home office, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.