When it comes to surprise twists and shocking deaths, there is no one arguably better who can topple George R. R. Martin from his throne for keeping fans on the edge of their seats. It is hard to imagine how his saga of ruthlessness, violence, and magic will pan out in the end, and surprisingly, neither does the author himself.
However, the writer already knows the tone of his ending, which he said would be very similar to how J.R.R. Tolkien ended his "Lord of the Rings" trilogy.
When asked by The Observer if he is going to create an apocalypse for an ending, he answered: "I haven't written the ending yet, so I don't know, but no. That's certainly not my intent. I've said before that the tone of the ending that I'm going for is bittersweet. I mean, it's no secret that Tolkien has been a huge influence on me, and I love the way he ended 'Lord of the Rings.' It ends with victory, but it's a bittersweet victory. Frodo is never whole again, and he goes away to the Undying Lands, and the other people live their lives."
Growing up, Martin never understood the scouring of the Shire. At 13 years old, he would ask, "Why is this here? The story's over?" But now he considers it a "brilliant piece of work."
"Every time I read it I understand the brilliance of that segment more and more. All I can say is that's the kind of tone I will be aiming for. Whether I achieve it or not, that will be up to people like you and my readers to judge," he said.
As for the television series, Martin has no clue when and how it will end too, but he feels thrilled to be a part of the "Golden Age of Television."
"And I'm very glad that we're such a prominent part of it," he added. "It's strange because I'm old enough to remember other days. There were only three networks, and you'd get a review for an entire series in TV Guide. They'd run a review: 'Here's our review of Car 54, Where Are You?' Then nobody would ever mention it again."
But now, people would review each episode as it comes on, and there would be 20 or more reviewers. They will be reviewing "Game of Thrones," but also "Mad Men" and "Breaking Bad" and several other shows.
To get that "tremendous amount of attention," said Martin, "is very gratifying."
