Game Of Thrones author to discover TV ending to his saga
In a strange twist never before seen in literature, Game Of Thrones author George R.R. Martin will himself discover the on-screen ending of his masterwork, imagined more than 20 years ago, before he has had a chance to conclude it on paper.
"Obviously, I wished I finished these books sooner so the show hadn't gotten ahead of me," the 70-year-old said recently in an interview with Entertainment Weekly magazine. "I never anticipated that."
When Game Of Thrones first aired in 2011, the US writer had only written four of the seven books that make up his Song Of Ice And Fire saga.
His fifth novel, A Dance With Dragons, was published in July 2011, a few weeks after the end of the first season.
But since then, book fans have eagerly been awaiting the last two novels - The Winds Of Winter and A Dream Of Spring.
The plot lines for both have already been adapted to the screen based on outlines Martin discussed with screenwriters David Benioff and Dan Weiss on how he foresaw the end of his saga.
"This is simply unprecedented," said Nicolas Allard, a French author who wrote a book about Game Of Thrones, noting that although the author had given Game Of Thrones screenwriters a rough idea of how he envisioned the ending, it is unclear whether the show will stick to his storyline.
"I haven't read the (final season) scripts and haven't been able to visit the set because I've been working on Winds," Martin told Entertainment Weekly. "I know some of the things. But there's a lot of minor character (arcs) they'll be coming up with on their own.
"And, of course, they passed me several years ago. There may be important discrepancies."
"His contract stipulates that he has to come up with the denouement for the series and provide an outline of what would happen," Allard said.
"But he is free to choose a different ending on paper. And that would be the first time this would happen in the literary world."
According to Ms Sarah Mesle, assistant professor of writing at the University of Southern California, it is clear the television series has overtaken the storyline and upstaged Martin.
"All of a sudden we have this TV show that has the storytelling status over a book," she said.- AFP
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now
