#george r r martin

[bonaesperanza]

What you need to understand is that all the things I've ever been obsessed with ever since I was a little girl are actually in conversation with/inspired by each other.

AKA the literary equivalent of the Habsburg family tree (It really explains how a lot of these guys come off as very similar even though the authors have never heard of each other e.g. Gen Queensthief and Lymond. It's because they share like 98% of their DNA and can be traced to 2 common ancestors. Captive Prince is basically that one guy who was so inbred he needed to eat through a straw because he couldn't open his jaw, and I say this in the most affectionate way possible.)

I'm pretty sure lots of these people have also been inspired by Dumas and Sabatini, but I can't find them saying so on record (only Lynn Flewelling cited Sabatini among her influences).

Other common influences that I didn't include because either I've never been more than lukewarm on them or because they're a cultural milestone everyone's read are Tolkien (obviously), Shakespeare (obviously), Mary Renault, Arthur Conan Doyle, Anne Rice, and obviously the Odyssey, the inventor of the guile hero. Other books inspired by these that I didn't include because I've never been more than lukewarm on them include Diana Gabaldon's Outlander, Cassandra Claire's entire opus, Christopher Ruocchio's Sun Eater, Scott Lynch's The Lies of Locke Lamora (which I remember liking a lot when I was reading them, but I don't remember anything about them currently), and Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel series. And also a million Star Wars and ASOIAF copycats I guess. Thought I might list them anyway in case somebody used this as a reclist. Some rando on Reddit said that Martin cited Dunnett as one of his influences but I can't find where he said that? All I've found was an ancient forum post where he says he never read them.

*Pacat has cited ASOIAF as an influence on her Dark Rise books, which I haven't read, but I included it nonetheless.

Also the arrow between Kay and Graves should be in the opposite direction but I can't be arsed to fix it lol

[visenya-targarye]

it's always a lannister beefing with a child

(honorable mention)

[neil-gaiman]

I'm in Santa Fe so of course I went down to the picket line outside a local studio. George RR Martin was there too, and I got to see Paris, George's better half, as well. So was incredible author Nnedi Okorafor who had driven in from Arizona to be on the picket line.

[the-songs-we-knew]

When they’re deciding who to make regent and you’re right there

[maiapoetica]

[buildoblivion]

silver queen

[jackoshadows]

Brandon Sanderson on why TV adaptations of fantasy works end up being so different to the source material:

I have a fun story here. Early in my career, someone optioned the rights to make one of my stories (the Emperor's Soul) into a film. I was ecstatic, as it's not a story that at the time had gotten a lot of attention from Hollywood. I met with the writer, who had a good pedigree, and who seemed extremely excited about the project; turned out, he'd been the one to persuade the production company to go for the option. All seemed really promising. A year or so later, I read his script and it was one of the most bizarre experiences of my life. The character names were, largely, the same, though nothing that happened to them was remotely similar to the story. Emperor's Soul is a small-scale character drama that takes place largely in one room, with discussions of the nature of art between two characters who approach the idea differently. The screenplay detailed an expansive fantasy epic with a new love interest for the main character (a pirate captain.) They globe-trotted, they fought monsters, they explored a world largely unrelated to mine, save for a few words here and there. It was then that I realized what was going on. Hollywood doesn't buy spec scripts (original ideas) from screenwriters very often, and they NEVER buy spec scripts that are epic fantasy. Those are too big, too expensive, and too daunting: they are the sorts of stories where the producers and executives need the proof of an established book series to justify the production. So this writer never had a chance to tell his own epic fantasy story, though he wanted to. Instead, he found a popularish story that nobody had snatched up, and used it as a means to tell the story he'd always wanted to tell, because he'd never otherwise have a chance of getting it made. I'm convinced this is part of the issue with some of these adaptations; screenwriters and directors are creative, and want to tell their own stories, but it's almost impossible to get those made in things like the fantasy genre unless you're a huge established name like Cameron. I'm not saying they all do this deliberately, as that screenwriter did for my work, but I think it's an unconscious influence. They want to tell their stories, and this is the allowed method, so when given the chance at freedom they go off the rails, and the execs don't know the genre or property well enough to understand why this can lead to disaster. Anyway, sorry for the novel length post in a meme thread. I just find the entire situation to be fascinating.

[witchlingcirce]

Ik someone always says this: but I genuinely think that Catelyn Stark is one of the best characters GRRM has written.

Her chapters are genuinely so interesting, seeing a rise of the king through his MOTHER is such an interesting idea and I love it so much. Catelyns motherhood both being her downfall and her best strength??? Yeah don’t even talk to me

[franzkafkagf]

THE ONLY THING MY FATHER GAVE ME THAT WAS OF ANY VALUE IS PAIN

honey boy / catherine lacey, cut / house of the dragon s01e07 / sophokles, elektra (tr. anne carson) / george r. r. martin, fire and blood / house of the dragon s02e02 / frank bidart, golden state / house of the dragon s01e03 / the front bottoms, father / house of the dragon s02e02 / schuyler peck, unnamed / marina, the family jewels / amatullah bourdon, and my father's love was nothing next to god's will / house of the dragon s01e03 / ashe vernon, not a girl / bruce springsteen, adam raised a cain

[junewild]

new asoiaf/got worldbuilding discourse just dropped! check out the author’s blog for more thoughts on asoiaf, lotr, and more.

[adalindofcabinsix]

“an eye for an eye, a son for a son,” prince daemon wrote. “lucerys shall be avenged.”

[radical-ghostface]

I will NEVER understand why Dany didn't snatch Ser Jorah Mormont right up. It's all I think about every time this man is on screen.

[my-deer-legolas]

[bestofgrrm]

Grrm watching the barbie movie, sourced from his instagram

[buildoblivion]

sketchy bastard for something later idk