Fans of "Game of Thrones" and George R.R. Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" books know by now that when it comes to the world of Westeros, anything is possible, no one is indispensable, and just when everything seems to have been figured out, a new plot twist comes to shock readers and viewers.
HBO has renewed the show for two more seasons, and Martin has two more unpublished books in the series, but the author is gearing up for a bittersweet ending, as he told the crowd at the Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism this Wednesday, Nov. 4.
"We all yearn for happy endings in a sense. Myself, I'm attracted to the bittersweet ending," said Martin as he accepted a Hall of Achievement alumni award, according to The Wrap.
"People ask me how 'Game of Thrones' is gonna end, and I'm not gonna tell them, but I always say to expect something bittersweet in the end," he said. Martin then said that he thinks Tolkien did bittersweet endings "brilliantly" and that at first, he didn't understand that when he read "Return of the King" as a child.
"You can't just fulfill a quest and then pretend life is perfect," Martin explained. "Life doesn't work that way."
The author also addressed how the HBO show is catching up to the events of his published books, and he said that he has been hearing that the show has been coming up behind him for years.
"The question is, 'How can I make myself write faster?' I think the answer is, 'I can't,'" he said. "I write at the pace I write and what the show is doing is not going to change what the books are."
Martin previously expressed his desire of having "The Winds of Winter" published before the season 6 premiere of "Game of Thrones" next year. Lately, there have been rumors that Martin might get his wish after all as HBO has reportedly pushed back the show's premiere and it is said to air by late April or early May.
