It has been over 12 years since the release of the last installment in George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series. Since A Dance with Dragons hit shelves in 2011, the books have been adapted into multiple award-winning television series that have spawned one spinoff already. However, there is no indication that the next novel, The Winds of Winter, will ever be finished.
AI Can Pass as Famous Authors
Fans are desperate for the notoriously slow Martin to finish writing his books, as many were dissatisfied with the rushed and strange way HBO’s Game of Thrones ended. He has planned for two more installments in the book series, with A Dream of Spring set as the last offering.
According to PIA’s blog piece, technology has become so advanced that it is almost impossible to tell the difference between AI and human prose.
Indeed, according to the study, only half of the respondents could identify Martin’s writing in an excerpt from A Storm of Swords. The AI managed to trick many participants into thinking it had written paragraphs from The Handmaid’s Tale and The Lord of the Rings.
George R. R. Martin’s Series Unlikely to Get Finished
A Game of Thrones was released in 1996, and the following two chapters dropped two years later. A Feast for Crows took a little longer and was released in 2005, while A Dance with Dragons was available in 2011. The break between that book and the next planned installment has been astonishing.
The main problem is that Martin is too busy with his television projects. He made millions from Game of Thrones, and the success of that show has led to various planned spinoffs, including House of the Dragon, which has already been released. The original HBO Westeros-based title raked in over $285 million in profit, according to Vox’s article, highlighting how it makes more sense for Martin to put most of his focus on television.
With Martin serving as executive producer on numerous projects, including Wild Cards and Dark Winds, along with his Game of Thrones spinoff writing commitments, he has little time to finish his novels. For that reason, many people assume they will never see the light of day.
Martin May Not Allow Anyone to Continue His Work
Judging by the current state of AI, it stands to reason that in a few years, it may be capable of writing content that matches a real-life author in a few years. If someone fed all of Martin’s past work into the machine, it would have a strong chance of being able to finish it. However, it seems unlikely that this will happen.
According to Winter is Coming’s blog piece, Martin has already established the legal plans to ensure no other author can carry on his legacy after he passes away. He has spoken of how other writers have allowed this in the past, and he believes it never lives up to the original creator’s vision.
It is a shame to think that one of the greatest fantasy series of all time may never be finished. The good news is that AI will soon have the power to create its epic tales, which may one day outdo any ideas humans could conceive.