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."
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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:
- House of the Dragon season 2, episodes 1-4 review
- House of the Dragon season 2 showrunner on why Blood and Cheese is nothing like Game of Thrones' Red Wedding
- House of the Dragon season 2 showrunner doesn't feel the pressure of following the controversial Game of Thrones season 8: "Our challenge comes from within"
- House of the Dragon showrunner teases season 3: "You don't want to end up in that place where you're doing the same thing again and again"
- House of the Dragon season 2 showrunner breaks down the complicated relationship between Daemon and Rhaenyra: "Conflict is the order of the day"
- House of the Dragon season 2 showrunner says Rhaenyra and Alicent's bond is still the heart of the show: "We understand that these two women are connected"
- Aemond Targaryen actor Ewan Mitchell breaks down that House of the Dragon season 2, episode 4 ending: "He very much knew what he was doing"
- House of the Dragon star Ewan Mitchell on why Aemond Targaryen lives to the same code as Robert De Niro in Heat
- House of the Dragon star Ewan Mitchell talks Aemond and Daemon's rivalry: "There's almost a romantic element to it"
- House of the Dragon star Ewan Mitchell explains how Michael Myers inspired Aemond Targaryen
- House of the Dragon season 2, episode 1 recap and Easter eggs
- House of the Dragon season 2, episode 2 recap and Easter eggs
- House of the Dragon season 2, episode 3 recap and Easter eggs
- House of the Dragon season 2, episode 4 recap and Easter eggs
- Hugh Hammer explained
- How Blood and Cheese is different from the book
- How Rook's Rest is different from the book
- Cregan Stark explained
- Addam of Hull explained
- Daeron Targaryen explained
- Alys Rivers explained
- The dragonseeds explained
- The House of the Dragon dragons, listed and explained
- Greens vs. Blacks, explained
- The White Worm, explained
- The Targaryen family tree
- The House of the Dragon timeline
- Who wins the Dance of the Dragons?
- The history of Vhagar
