George R.R. Martin: the ending for A Song of Ice and Fire may not be what you expect

At this point, no one knows how George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire novel series will end. For that matter, they’re pretty much in the dark about the ending to the TV adaptation, Game of Thrones, as well. Still, we’ve read and seen enough to make some educated guesses. Ask any fan of the show or books how it will all end, and the majority will answer: “George R.R. Martin will kill everyone and leave a wasteland of ice and snow filled with despair and broken dreams.”

Okay, maybe that’s a bit harsh, but what do you expect from fans of the man who seems to kill a Stark with every pen stroke? I still haven’t recovered from the Red Wedding, and I’ve read the series five times through, not to mention how many times I’ve seen “The Rains of Castamere.”

Sean T Collins of the Observer got a chance to sit down with George and ask him how he saw the ending of the series going…among other things. Will it all end in an apocalyptic fashion?

"I haven’t written the ending yet, so I don’t know, but no. That’s certainly not my intent. I’ve said before that the tone of the ending that I’m going for is bittersweet. I mean, it’s no secret that Tolkien has been a huge influence on me, and I love the way he ended Lord of the Rings. It ends with victory, but it’s a bittersweet victory."

Martin reserved special praise for one of my favorite parts of The Return of the King, the Scouring of the Shire.

"And the scouring of the Shire—brilliant piece of work, which I didn’t understand when I was 13 years old: “Why is this here? The story’s over?” But every time I read it I understand the brilliance of that segment more and more. All I can say is that’s the kind of tone I will be aiming for. Whether I achieve it or not, that will be up to people like you and my readers to judge."

This certainly gives me hope that, in the end, the good guys of the story will win. Maybe Jon Snow will become a Targaryen and marry Daenerys and usher the Seven Kingdoms into a new era of peace and prosperity…or the White Walkers/Others will just overrun everyone and everything, and Westeros will become one giant ice-skating rink with the undead horde doing pirouettes and playing pickup games of hockey. With George R.R. Martin, you never know what’s coming next, and that’s why we love him.

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