George R.R. Martin and No One Else

As I said a few posts ago, I don't read much Sci-Fi, but when I do, it's usually Vernor Vinge. For Fantasy, a genre I usually find gag inducing, the only author I will read is George R.R. Martin. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series is remarkable in its depth of characterization. Each book focuses on several major characters, each characters point of view dominating each chapter. So each time you finish one chapter and go to the next it's like a brand new story and book. One thing I find interesting and novel about his approach is his willingness to kill off his own characters. Nevertheless at the moment it is a four book series but he's been promising book five for several years. This is the aspect of the series I plan to address here.

Every now and then I double check his website and others to see when the next planned release of his fifth book is. As I perused Wikipedia's entry (here) I saw this line:

"Despite initial hopes of A Dance with Dragons being published quickly after A Feast for Crows, the writing and revision process for this fifth novel proved more difficult than anticipated. On January 1, 2008, Martin published an update on his website saying he hoped to have the book published in the autumn of 2008, but that it was only a hope. As of October 2010, the author has published no further updates on his website. Martin has in the past announced finishing dates for earlier works on his blog, and in the last several years also announced the genesis of other projects, which has caused some fans to wonder if he has lost interest in writing A Song of Ice and Fire."

It's easy to see where fans could get a bit perturbed by having to wait so long and for having the release date delayed so often, but it's the last line that grabbed me. Who cares if he's lost interest or not, it's his story. If he wants to kill off all the characters or not finish the series it's his perogative to do just that. I did more research and saw one long string of messages on a forum from a host of angry fans. They were bemoaning the fact that he doesn't promote "fan fiction" for his work, and the delay of Dance with Dragons. Again, go get mad about something else. It's reminiscent of sports fans who castigate team owners for not doing what they, the fans, feel is appropriate. Go write your own book I say to these fans. Then again I suppose this is a problem I would love to have, . . . if only because it would mean there were fans of my writing.