George R.R. Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire,' from which the hit HBO fantasy drama "Game of Thrones' is based on, will not end in an apocalypse, the award-winning author assured his readers in a recent interview with Observer's Sean T. Collins.
Before the interview ended, Collins mentioned to the novelist that the most common question people ask him about "Game of Thrones' is whether he believes everyone will go down when the story reaches its conclusion, "whether it will end in horrible apocalypse."
In response, Martin assured him that this will not be the way with which he plans to end his books.
"I haven't written the ending yet, so I don't know, but no. That's certainly not my intent," the 66-year-old writer said. "I've said before that the tone of the ending that I'm going for is bittersweet."
He also praised J.R.R. Tolkien's approach in putting an end to the "Lord of the Rings' trilogy, stating, "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."
The New Jersey-born novelist further admired the "Scouring of the Shire,' a timeless portion of "Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.'
"And the scouring of the Shire -- brilliant piece of work, which I didn't understand when I was 13 years old," Martin said. "'Why is this here? The story's over?' But 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," the author added.
Almost four years ago, Martin opened up to Entertainment Weekly, saying that he is fully aware of the the ending of the novel series in "broad strokes."
"I don't know every little twist and turn that will get me there, and I don't know the ending of every secondary character. But the ending and the main characters, yeah," he said during the 2011 interview, mentioning that "Game of Thrones' showrunner David Benioff and Dan Weiss also know about the ending.
As the last book titled "A Dance with Dragons' was released in 2011, fans of both the books and the hit HBO show are looking forward to some new material that will drop clues on what is to happen next to the series' well-loved and not-so-liked characters.
Martin recently shared that he is set to complete the sixth book in early 2016 to make sure it is released before the critically acclaimed TV program begins airing again in April.
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Martin admitted that he has only recently came up with a "great twist" that will surely "drive readers crazy", but he does not want to simply put it anywhere in the books, especially with the fact that it will involve more than one character.
In an entry on his online journal dated July 30, Martin stirred speculations by sharing a cryptic post, saying that "Winds of Winter' could already be entering its publishing phases.
"And while I will be travelling, my army of minions will be here at the old homestead, toiling in the paper mines," the author stated.
