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The world of Westeros is woven with an intricate web of politics, dragons, and epic battles, and it has become a modern fantasy phenomenon due to George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire novel series. The first four seasons of Game of Thrones are a masterclass on how to make an epic fantasy drama series.
Matt Smith and Emma D’Arcy in House of the Dragon | HBOHowever, there was a gradual decline in quality, which was piqued by the final season and left millions of fans disappointed. But after a few years, there came a ray of hope, a new opportunity to once again revisit the universe we so dearly missed, yet it almost never happened!
George R.R. Martin and the Game of Thrones Franchise
Diana Rigg in Game of Thrones / HBOIn an interview with the Guardian George R.R. Martin revealed that when he initially set out to write Fire and Blood, the source material for House of the Dragon, he was far less ambitious about what he wanted out of the project. It was originally supposed to be a supplementary piece to The World of Ice and Fire, and the author’s plan was to simply “polish and expand” the world to add a few details about the Targaryen kings.
We had totally destroyed the entire concept of this book. So that’s what this book is, or the first half of it: a history of the Targaryen kings.
The narrator of the book is Archmaestaer Glydan who offers a subjective perspective that is somewhat unreliable as he recounts the events that led up to the Targareyan civil war. The book introduces the readers to dramatic and vivid historical accounts.
My model for this was the four-volume history of the Plantagenets that Thomas B Costain wrote in the 50s. It’s old‑fashioned history: he’s not interested in analyzing socioeconomic trends or cultural shifts so much as the wars and the assignations and the murders and the plots and the betrayals, all the juicy stuff. Costain did a wonderful job on The Plantagenets so I tried to do that for the Targaryens.
He also cited his inspiration for the structure and overall plot points he intended to cover in the book. It enabled him to make the narrative about the conflicts, and colorful yet violent stories from the Targareyan history.
George R.R. Martin Navigates The Complexities of Writing
Elliot Grihault and Emma D’Arcy in House of the Dragon / HBOAs Martin shifted his focus to the Targareyan saga, which he didn’t plan to explore in depth before, it became increasingly challenging to keep up with the demands of his audience who wanted him to release The Winds of Winter.
The Winds of Winter is not so much a novel as a dozen novels, each with a different protagonist, each having a different cast of supporting players and antagonists and allies and lovers around them, and all of these weaving together in an extremely complex fashion.
However, the author single-handedly revived the franchise but writing Fire and Blood led to the making of House of the Dragon. A prequel show to the main events with dragons, familial conflicts, and politics was all that fans needed to restore their faith in the epic fantasy world. From the initial conception of a minor historical expansion to the creation of a comprehensive and captivating historical account, Martin’s work has significantly shaped the lore of Westeros.
Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon are currently streaming on HBO Max.
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