George R.R. Martin has bitterly predicted that he will never finish writing his novel series that inspired Game of Thrones.
Fans of the 76-year-old fantasy fiction author were introduced to A Game of Thrones – the first novel in his A Song of Ice and Fire series – way back in 1996.
His book series was planned as a seven book epic, but he has not published an instalment beyond 2011’s A Dance with Dragons – which is the fifth in the sequence.
The book series was adapted by HBO into the hugely successful Game of Thrones TV series which ultimately advanced the story beyond the published materials – and led to a conclusion that left most fans hugely unimpressed.
Giving an update about his current work via his personal blog, Martin hinted he will never finish his book series – and that he will die before it is concluded.
He sharply told fans, “I know, I know. Some of you will just be p**sed off by this, as you are by everything I announce here that is not about Westeros or The Winds of Winter.
“You have given up on me, or on the book. I will never finish Winds, If I do, I will never finish A Dream of Spring. If I do, it won’t be any good.”
He suggested hiring someone else to complete his series, before morbidly adding, “I am going to die soon anyway, because I am so old.”
Signalling he has lost his appetite for the series that made him famous, he continued, “I lost all interest in A Song of Ice and Fire decades ago. I don’t give a s**t about writing any longer, I just sit around and spend my money.”
The author and screenwriter – who is also behind the HBO show House of the Dragon – went on to list other projects he has successfully completed, but added, “You don’t care about any of those, I know. You don’t care about anything but Winds of Winter. You’ve told me so often enough.”