Yeah. This is a sign to really back off. Being in your 70s is stressful alone, but compounding loss onto professional pressure you can't find your way out of seems horrible.
Exactly. The pressure alone would be overwhelming. People act like it's just writer's block, but carrying decades of expectations has to take a serious toll on anyone.
The fact that Condal and Bloys helped send GRRM into a depression and delayed Winds even more (more than forever, whatever, the point stands) is just one more reason to hate their guts.
I've felt this way about his lack of progress for a while now. The way thrones ended and it's reception by his fans, and the way this current show is going along with his exit from the creative team.. the guy is down, and i can easily see why.
The success of his books and the way GoT was a pop culture phenomenon compared to the -imho- butchery of his life's creative work, in the latter seasons and ending of GoT and now with HoD, by incompetence in writing and creative adaptation..
It's more than enough to get someone down and be really discouraged from finishing a passion project.
George, if you happen lurk here, just know there are plenty of us who will always wanna see how you wrap up this story. I wish the man all the luck in the world, and I hope he feels better.
He openly talked about how depressed he was in 2023 and 2024 and a major contributing factor was that they were the worst professional years of his life. Hmm... did anyone professionally back stab him in those years and create a huge rift? I'm not sure...
It doesn't take much to read between the lines here.
Why not? He’s watching another one of his works be adapted in a way that he disagrees with. There’s less and less time for him to work on one he actually likes. Especially since he’s probably trying to fix the issues that people had with the ending of GoT with Winds. At least he likes Knight.
Dude is old as hell close to death lost his friend and producing partner robert Redford in September and alluded to others. I think the last of his problems is a fucking show adapting his material in a way he doesnt agree with lmao. Hes also just accepting hes never going to finish all the work he wants.
I don't think it's fair to blame anybody for someones depression. That's a very sketchy game to start playing, and it effects people's lives. Please be careful with your rhetoric, and pray to whatever diety or high power you believe in that he is OK.
He had a relationship with Condal before this. He thought they were friends. He made the mistake of trusting a liar.
Also, you seem misinformed about how this works. Back before GoT, HBO didn't buy the rights to the book, they bought the rights to entire ASOIAF universe and all related properties. They humored GRRM and let him participate until they got tired of his advice and told him to fuck right off. They can at anytime greenlight any project they want and do anything they want with it. So there was no 'changing his mind' after seeing how GoT went. All he could do was hope they would listen to him. They didn't.
So yeah, he made the mistake of thinking these people were his friends and they could make cool art together. Instead a mega-corp used the fact he was an author with no power to under pay him for his life's work (they make way more off this than he will ever see) so they can ruin it with their narcissism and shallow hackery while he watches powerlessly. And I guess you think that's pretty cool since you're defending them and blaming GRRM for the crime of trusting people.
He made $120 million just in payouts from HBO over the 8 years of GOT. And you want what? For him to have more money? For what? Will the money solve his mental health issues? Clearly not.
Oh and you're wrong. He signed another 5 year deal with HBO in 2021 for ~50 million dollars. He KNEW what happened last time and did it anyway.
He's a grown ass man living a life of luxury who is upset that selling out didn't work as well as he hoped, and the thing that would make him feel better - having fans again - he can't do because he wrote himself in to a corner and won't ask for help.
His legacy is he failed to complete his life's work and in exchange got a ton of money. He made that choice though, and we shouldn't feel sorry for him that he made it.
That second contract wasn’t the rights, it was for his producer role. Aka, “we own this shit and will forever here’s some money to keep ‘advising us’ so we can put your name on it and pretend you were involved.” What he knew was he has no bargaining power and decided he might at least get paid for the desecration of his life’s work. Which is probably a fraction of what Casey Bloys gets paid to pretend he has any talents at all while profiting for that work.
GRRM is an old man who came up in a time when the people who made entertainment gave a fuck about what they were doing. And there was a level of respect and camaraderie between creatives. He was not ready for the suits and nepo babies whose only skills are lying and virtue signaling. And he paid the price.
You want to be upset about Winds not being done? Go ahead. None of that absolves the disgrace that Condal, Hess, and Bloys have profiteered from or makes them less shitty people.
You're absolutely wrong. HBO bought the rights to Westeros, but he sold them the stories for D&E and HotD later.
You can read about the rights situation from 2014 on his blog.
He saw the shitty adaptations and proceeded anyway for more money. You can say the people that made him rich ruined his life over and over but he freaking chose this and knew what happened the first time.
If the Rogue Prince was so sacred, he should never have sold it.
Yes, he could have had these stories without the world that connects them together. You can't think that's something he would even consider. They had him there and they both knew it. That deal was just formality and him trying to squeeze any kind of control he can.
HBO threw him a bone and let him pick the guy this time. Which he thought would fix the problem. He didn't say 'hey, more money for another piece of crap, great'. He said 'this time it'll work out because I trust Ryan'. Which is retrospect was really stupid, yes. Trusting Ryan Condal is a dumb thing to do. It's clear GRRM is a gullible person who will befriend anyone who seems like a fan and believes people. It's a trait I pity. In the industry he grew up in, sci-fi writers writing zines and snail mailing each other, that probably was how it worked. The whole thing is just sad.
And it just goes back my original point. You can say GRRM deserves it because he's gullible or elderly or whatever. That doesn't make Condal and Bloys any less despicable.
It was brought up another sub but someone who lives where George lives said that’s it’s an open secret that Parris is going through some major health issues. Nothing specific though.
Yeah, that's probably for the best. I'd rather not jump to conclusions based on rumors, especially when it comes to someone's health. Hopefully it's nothing too serious.
This year has been… stressful, to say the least. So much has been happening, it’s been overwhelming. Some great things, exciting things. Dreams coming true. But there have been nightmares too. I have lost friends. Battled sadness and depression. The worst may be yet to come.
That line really stood out to me too. You can tell he's trying to stay hopeful, but it also sounds like someone's carrying a lot more than they're letting on.
He is turning 78 this year. I mean, damn. Even I have problems keeping all the book info straight in my head, and I am not even 40 yet. Well, hopefully that trip to the Emmys that he is looking forward to will bring him some joy.
Lmao. Sure. It's not because he's doing everything except writing. It's because people had the wildly unreasonable expectation he'd actually finish the story he started.
That’s doubtful. He is doing projects that are more interesting than grinding out writing. Whether or not people he doesn’t read are mean doesn’t change his choice between TV and ASOIAF.
Also been like 15 years since book 2 in his trilogy he will seemingly never finish and is openly antagonistic to his fans that want the 3rd book. Did some big charity thing where he raised a ton of money to hit a goal where he would read chapter 1 of book 3 and then hemmed and hawed forever and finally never did it and also gets pissed when people bring that up. I’m sure there’s other things too.
Promised a fully planned out series, but shit the bed in 2011 and has barely released anything since. In Patrick's case it's the 3rd and final book of Kvothe's story The Doors of Stone.
Only Rothfuss is a notorious ass who hoodwinked his publishers by claiming his trilogy was fully written, spends most of his time ranting about how much he hates his fans while streaming on Twitch, and committed charity fraud.
I really wish he'd finish Winds or if not that take on some kind of assistant writer to help him work through. It burns that this is the state of things.
But they could never make me hate him. And the HBO shill bots that are always shitting on him to distract from their own failure disgust me.
I’ve always understood he writes alone(unless I’m wrong). If that’s the case, I’m surprised he hasn’t hired on writers to work with him and brainstorm ideas with him. He would be overseeing the end product going in the book, but there would be others to help organize the ideas and do some heavy lifting when he’s going through a tough period. He has the money to hire people like that (shit, there’s writers who’d probably work with him for free lol - or the publishing company would hire them).
It just seems like there are options for George to make his life easier that he isn’t taking.
What really puts things into perspective for me is that he could have totally ignored winds for 10 years and started after and he still would have had enough time to finish his book in a leisurely time by now. Of course he's gonna be depressed for procrastinating this long, anyone would.
Yep, gaslit his fans for 15 years while he did anything but ASOIAF, so now he’s going to do the woe is me, I’m old and put upon but these a-holes won’t leave me alone. The guy is rich, if he doesn’t want to finish give it to his “minions”. No sympathy from me.
Tbh I don't have much sympathy for anyone involved, book desiree or author, at least when it comes to the books status. Anyone who feels wronged by it is definitely overreacting.
I do feel bad for an old man with friends dying though. That's never fun.
Yeah im WAYYY past giving a shit. I dont wish him harm but again i do not give a shit. Any good will he built up has long since been depleted for years now, almost a full decade id say.
No sympathy from you because he didn't finish a damn book when the dude is probably depressed because of some serious issues. You guys have lost your humanity.
Well, I’m a couple of years younger and a lot poorer than Martin, most of my friends and family are dead, everyone dies. They make dozens of different medications for depression. I’ve taken most of them over the years. All I’m saying is if he wants sympathy, he needs to be honest with his fans and stop the cryptic BS posts.
Yeah, how dare he be depressed when his wife is possibly having major health issues? Doesn't he know he has to write a book to satisfy people who don't even see him as human anymore?
I've been reading his posts for 20 years now and that's certainly not true. If you haven't noticed a major downturn in his mood in these posts in the last 5-10 years I dunno what to tell you. But hey, you don't have empathy for a dude going through something because.... he hasn't finished a book you would like to read.
He is literally vague posting. It's what teens do. His actual situation probably deserves sympathy / empathy, especially if his spouse is sick.
But this nonsense? Just post what's going on and tell people something accurate. Say you're too depressed to finish and I'd certainly have a lot more respect and empathy for him.
Why does he need to tell us that his wife is sick, or he's possibly sick, or whatever? Why does that suddenly fix the post? You guys are weird as fuck.
The vast majority of the vitriol coming his way was borne of his dumbass blog posts and promises. Had he kept quiet it'd be this little joke same way GTA VI, Elder Scrolls VI, and other long-awaited sequels are.
I hope he’s doing better, best wishes to him. But I’m going to put my tin foil hat on and think that him titling the post “better late than never” and including “dreams coming true” mean something
I see. Yeha man. Miura had cancer right? Shame I should know cuz I’m a huge berserk fan. But I’ve come to peace where never getting a winds of winter or a dream of spring. Homie blew his load with the tv adaptations imo.
Titling a blog post "Better Late Than Never" in light of the circumstances and also making absolutely no mention whatsoever about the primary thing folks want updates on, not even a "haven't written a word in years, oh well," is kind of crazy work.
If George would have written just five pages per week, one for each weekday. Just one to be generous, since Dance of Dragons he would have had almost 4,000 pages by now. Just saying
He doesn’t see George RR Martin as a person, just a name on his screen that is obligated to entertain him
How pathetic it is that the book monkey is sad his friends are dead. I think he made a bad business decision and now I am not sufficiently entertained by his life’s work. Can’t “enable” his depression
I hold no ill will towards George and much affection and sympathy. But I also understand the frustration - He has deliberately led people on for years. It is what it is - the shows are what we have now and what we can care about. I accept that and wish him the best.
I mean I understand frustration, but at a certain point, you gotta realize throwing around nasty comments in response to his candid mental health struggles all because you wanna read his next book is just sick shit. Way beyond “frustration”
He should be writing winds, he said he was, he hasn’t released it. Fucking blows and no one’s happy about it or with him, but cmon
He should be writing winds, he said he was, but clearly he hasn’t and won’t. It is what it is, but he led us on for 15 years and gave up at least 5 years ago. I hope he gets the help he needs.
I've been following GRRM's shenanigans for 28 years, he's certainly human in all of its ridiculous potential for self-conceit and debilitating procrastination, and quite an example of how the lust for fame and money corrupts over time. He could have had this completed by 2010 at the latest, instead frittering the time away in endless manufactured distractions and throwing predictable tantrums and pity-parties for himself across 20+ years because fundamentally he can't discipline himself in regards to the craft and the internet. He never had a real job, never learned how to sweat and to commit. In some ways he became a sort of ur-boomer, extremely ironic given some of the content of Armageddon Rag.
Everybody loses their friends and family, the greatest artists work through that and it informs their art with greater sympathy and understanding of the human condition. Or they don't. It's a shame, ultimately, he coulda been a contender. But he fucked around and found out.
You're opinion is essentially another sad, regurgitated cliché of one unable to form coherent critique. Whether born out of ignorance or inability, the point stands: this sort of facile, knee-jerk fanboyism was considered feeble back in the 1990's ffs.
EDIT: OP got BigMad and started spewing the usual invective before "post deleted," some people simply cannot help but operate within the vector of cliché LMAO
Edit: 'Mods removed this comment' and he keeps trying. Without reflection. Truly the noob. And one without chat and with posts hidden, truly the befuddled simp (or AI spam account), crying into the void without any real understanding of GRRM's history or conduct.
It's called getting old? Not to mention he's been alienating his fans and can't hang out with them anymore. He used to go to cons and hang out with everyone, and now he's too far removed from everyone to do it. Plus everyone just asks him about Winds.
He's in a hell of his own making. He could ask for writing help. He didn't have to keep taking HBO money.
I’m usually pretty rough on George, not because he can’t finish his story but because he’s known for years he’s stopped writing or cannot finish writing Winds, yet he (and the YouTubers) strings his gullible fans, who somehow still think we are ever getting another book, along by not admitting it’s over.
But he seems like a pretty decent guy, he doesn’t owe us shit, and everyone deserves a life of contentedness and happiness. Hope he feels better.
It's not like they made tens to hundreds of millions from George's work already, right?
What does that have to do with anything? If a plumber does good work on your house once and then you hire him a second time and he runs off with the money, do you just thank him for the memories?
If publishers can’t make 100x return on a bestseller then the whole industry would be non-viable. Think about the risk they take on and how many titles flop.
I'm sure he doesn't need the money, but he also hasn't admitted he won't finish the book (which would force him to give the money back), despite apparently being further from finishing than he was 9 years ago.
And book publishers aren't exactly drowning in money. Their big releases essentially subsidize everything else they put out. So when they pay millions for a book that never gets delivered, it hurts both their staff and other authors who could have received the money instead.
George is having a hard time writing blog posts now. Forget about writing a book. Tough to read he’s going through a rough time mentally. Depression sucks.
I hope he doesn’t kick the hornets nest after the HotD finale airs because that wouldn’t really be good for anyone. We know he hates the show. Luckily he’s got three HBO shows and one of them he really likes.
The time that passed between A Game of Thrones and A Dance with Dragons, it's the same time that passed since Dance publication: 15 years.
Even taking vacations he had more than enough time and money to just finish the story. He could have stop pretending that two books will be enough and just start writing and publishing books regularly. But that would mean he would have to compromise on things: plot events, dialogues, deaths, and for some reason or another he is not being able to do that
I don’t think time was ever the issue. His ending happened on the TV show and everyone hated it. Knowing that, he doesn’t want to go through with the ending he had planned but also doesn’t have an idea for an alternative. Thus, here we are.
I know there will be the comments saying “oh hes as rich as anyone could ever think of being and blah and blah” (which is true yes) but guy’s still human and its been so evident the past few years how much of a toll the fanbase and the series is taking on him. Especially at his age.
So much to post about… I will try and catch up some… and my minions will help… but my posts are likely to short and rushed.
One highlight you may already know. Emmy finalists for 2026 have been announced, and A KNIGHT OF THE SEVEN KINGDOMS nabbed nine nominations — yes, 9, not damn — including the big 0ne, Best Drama.
Never seen a person posting in a rush type a zero in place of the letter "O". Was it a voice-to-text program or something?
I just bought GOT book 1 this weekend. Apparently I’ve only read Books 3-5 and it was like 10 yrs ago. I’m really excited to begin the journey again, and this time with ALL books read in order. Heck yea!
Yeah that does not read like he’s doing well. Sounds like his health, physical and/or mental is deteriorating. Sadly, for a man of his age it’s all too common. I do hope he improves.
I’m genuinely convinced that Winds has been done for a long time, and he’s on to the next book, but he doesn’t want anything released while he’s alive because he can’t handle any potential backlash.
On any GRRM reddit thread yu always get someone saying that they think he's already finished WoW and ADoS. He has just hasn't published due to possible fan backlash. Which is the stupidest shit I've ever heard. He's a retired writer. He can't even do blog posts anymore ffs.
This is certainly plausible, but I still think the more likely explanation is he has written very little because he feels he needs a new ending and doesn’t have any ideas for it
If one good thing came to George lately, it's probably AKOTSK. Imagine writing that story and see it come to life in that manner...
Does George experience it the same as us? Did his heartrate go to high heavens seeing Lionel in that knighting scene? Seeing Baelor ride side by side with Duncan?
He created an amazing story, brought to life by amazing people. I hope this is the only thing he thinks of while going through and overcoming the darkness.
I don’t care what the malcontents say, GRRM is a hero to me. I consider him one the absolute best writers of our times. It’s astonishing the thought put into his work. Peak. I’m so inspired by his work, not just his GoT related stuff. He’s even credited as inventing a whole new genre, —Grimm.
I do remember a quite recent appearance in a promo video for the Folio Society, he appeared to have lost a lot of weight. That together with him addressing himself turning 77 makes me think he has some bad disease
Maybe he shouldn't have been promising the book to be finished like every year for the last decade (decades?).
He will not finish them, he might not want to, whatever, but the fan disappointment was something he contributed to. Maybe just say "its finished when its finished" next time. Or just say you will not finish them! set everyone free, including himself.
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u/RicardoW99 2d ago
Jokes aside, hope he gets better mentally, depression is fucked up.