Andrzej Sapkowski, the author ofThe Witcherbook series, recently attended the Opole Book Festival and threw shade at fellow fantasy authorGeorge R. R. Martinfor how long he’s taking to releaseThe Winds of Winter. Sapkowki releasedBook 9 in hisThe Witcherseries,Crossroad of Ravens,in his native Poland last year, and, as with Sapkowki’s other books, it will be translated and available internationally this year, coming to 19 countries.
During the discussion (viaRedanian Intelligence), Sapkowski revealed that he planned to write more books in theWitcherseries, and that fans shouldn’t worry about that being a tease that will never come to fruition. It was clearly on his mind, as he brought up the comparison toGeorge R. R. Martin and his delay releasingThe Winds of Winterand finishing hisSong of Ice and Fireseries unprompted, preemptively beating audience members to the question:
“If anyone in the audience asks that kind of question, I’ll tell you right now: I will write something else. Relax. No need to fear. And unlike George R. R. Martin, whom, by the way, I know personally, when I say I’ll write something, I will.“
However, he then followed up by clarifying that he doesn’t blame Martin for not having a burning desire to finish the series. He explained thatGame of Throneshas already taken that motivation away from him with its own poorly-received season 8:
“And also, listen, just between us I totally understand him. Because if someone had pulled a stunt like that on me, filming a series based on my books, and then getting ahead of what I intended to write, I’d also be wondering whether there’s any point in writing anymore. If it’s already been done, right? Makes no sense. It’s nice when they adapt your work, that’s the author’s bloody right, but to adapt what doesn’t exist yet, to extrapolate like that? That’s just indecent.“
What Sapkowski’s Comments Mean For Martin
He Makes A Great Point About The Motivation Being Gone
Ultimately, it’s not as though any writer’s criticism of another writer will get them to write any faster, nor does it truly do anything other than perhaps potentially foster some hurt feelings. However, Sapkowski has always been vocal and outspoken about his thoughts, and he’s known for having pointed opinions about adaptations.
Sapkowski may have hit upon the real issue for Martin. It’s not that he’s struggling to figure out how to finish the story ofTheWinds of Winter, but rather that he’s struggling to see the point.Game of Thrones' writing got increasingly shoddy once D.B. Weiss and David Benioff kept going past the point completed in the books, and their absolute mangling ofGame of Thrones' endingruined it for most fans.
Martin is now in an unenviable conundrum. His ending would certainly be far better than the one Benioff and Weiss scraped together. However, now that fans already have a certain idea planted in their heads and six years to marinate on it, it will be impossible for Martin to avoid any preconceived notions set byGame of Thrones. It’s a no-win situation.
Our Take On Sapkowski’s Thoughts About George R. R. Martin’s Delay
Blunt as they are, Sapkowski’s comments get at the heart of Hollywood being so eager to adapt fantasy book series that haven’t even finished yet. There are countless great book adaptations out there, and manymovie and TV show adaptations have been even better than the books. The difference is, those books and series were finished by the time the on-screen production caught up.
Game of Throneswas unique in that it was the first time a TV adaptation had outpaced the books, and the drop in quality was clear. It’s fair to wonder if, had HBO’s juggernaut show happened today,George R. R. Martinwould have pushed harder to have the final say in all creative decisions now that he has so much more experience in Hollywood.
