George R.R. Martin explains why writing Fire & Blood was easier than writing The Winds of Winter

Fire & Blood, George R.R. Martin’s fake history book about the Targaryen dynasty, is out tomorrow, and Martin is talking it up all over town. Most recently, he spoke to James Hibberd of Entertainment Weekly, where he compared writing Fire and Blood to writing The Winds of Winter, the long-in-coming sixth book in his Song of Ice and Fire series. It sounds like Fire and Blood, which started as a series of asides Martin wrote for his World of Ice and Fire  coffee table book, came together pretty quickly. The Winds of Winter: not so much. What made Fire & Blood easier to write?

"Partly because it’s linear. Although it covers 150 years or so, it’s very straightforward — here’s what happened in the year 30, here’s what happened in 25. In Winds, I have like 10 different novels and I’m juggling the timeline — here’s what’s happening to Tyrion, here’s what’s happening to Dany, and how they intersect. That’s far more complicated. And the history book, I only have one voice to do. It’s supposedly by the Archmaester Gyldayn who has his own particular voice; he’s a crotchety old academic. When I’m doing Winds, I switch voices every time I switch chapters. Each has their own style and voice and have their own cast of supporting characters in different places in the world."

That said, there is a little voice-switching in Fire & Blood, since Archmaester Gyldayn has to comb through multiple, sometimes contradictory sources like any other historian. “I had some fun with inventing imaginary primary sources, particularly in the case of the [Targaryen civil war] Dance of the Dragons,” Martin said. “So I get to tell the same different events in three different ways, which was fun, and hopefully it will be fun for the reader too.”

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Fire & Blood does sound like a good time. As Martin points out, the Targaryens make for uniquely interesting subjects. “They’re distinctly different from every other Westerosi family,” he said. “They’re kings. They’re practicing incest like the Ancient Egyptians to try to keep the bloodline pure. And they have the dragons, which nobody else has. You can never go wrong with a dragon. So sure, I could do a book about what was happening with the Tyrells at Highgarden, but I don’t think it would be as juicy.”

Yet as fun as Fire & Blood sounds, there’s no denying it’s being released under a dark cloud, with many of Martin’s fans impatient for a proper followup to 2011’s A Dance with Dragons. For his part, Martin is fully aware of their expectations. “I know there are a lot of people out there who are very angry with me that Winds of Winter isn’t finished,” he said. “And I’m mad about that myself. I wished I finished it four years ago. I wished it was finished now. But it’s not. And I’ve had dark nights of the soul where I’ve pounded my head against the keyboard and said, ‘God, will I ever finish this? The show is going further and further forward and I’m falling further and further behind. What the hell is happening here? I’ve got to do this.'”

That frustration is part of the reason the publication of Fire & Blood feels so good for the author:

"I just got the [Fire and Blood] copy and, holding it in my hand, it’s a beautiful book. The illustrations by Doug Wheatley are great. It’s been a long while since I had a new Westeros book and nobody knows that as well as I do. I know that just as much as the angriest of my hardcore fans. And I have continued to publish other things. It’s not like I’ve been on a seven-year vacation. I have Wild Cards books coming out every six months. But not like this, one that’s entirely my writing. So to finish a book that I’m proud of and excited by was emotionally a big lift for me."

I dunno about you, but it’s hard not to feel some sympathy after reading that. Maybe spending some time in a “remote mountain hideaway” to focus on writing will help…?

Moving on, Hibberd asked if Fire & Blood offered any hints about what’s to come in A Song of Ice and Fire. “There are a few that are definitely important, but I’m not going to flag them,” Martin said. “Readers will have to find them and puzzle out whether they’re hints or red herrings.”

For the record, we think we may have already found a hint in an excerpt Martin published on his Not a Blog. You can read it yourself and let us know if we’re on to something.

Finally, Martin commented on HBO’s upcoming Game of Thrones prequel series, which is set thousands of years before the events of the mainline show. Exactly how many thousands of years is up for debate.

"“10,000 years” is mentioned in the novels. But you also have places where maesters say, “No, no, it wasn’t 10,000, it was 5,000.” Again, I’m trying to reflect real-life things that a lot of high fantasy doesn’t reflect. In the Bible, it has people living for hundreds of years and then people added up how long each lived and used that to figure out when events took place. Really? I don’t think so. Now we’re getting more realistic dating now from carbon dating and archeology. But Westeros doesn’t have that. They’re still in the stage of “my grandfather told me and his grandfather told him.” So I think it’s closer to 5,000 years."

Regardless of the exact date, we do know that the Westeros of the prequel will be very different from the one we’ve come to know. “There’s no King’s Landing,” Martin reminded us. “There’s no Iron Throne. There are no Targaryens — Valyria has hardly begun to rise yet with its dragons and the great empire that it built. We’re dealing with a different and older world and hopefully that will be part of the fun of the series. [Prequel showrunner Jane Goldman] is a tremendous talent. She flew into Santa Fe and we spent a week talking about her ideas. She’s going into territory that I haven’t explored very much in the books. I’ve hinted about them. But she’s a major writer, I love her work.”

HBO is full steam ahead on the prequel, already casting a couple of key roles for the pilot. But before that, we have Game of Thrones season 8 to enjoy. And right now, there’s Fire & Blood. And who knows? We may see The Winds of Winter sooner rather than later. Whatever happens, it’s going to be a fun year for fans.

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