Advertisement
The vast, violent, and stunning world of Game of Thrones, one of the most recognizable fantasy epics ever, started as something much smaller than it is today. Game of Thrones was just an idea that struck author George R.R. Martin before it became a cultural phenomenon and gave rise to HBO’s record-breaking series. He initially believed he was only penning a short story. It’s difficult to imagine, isn’t it?
But it’s true, Game of Thrones didn’t begin as a grand plan. In 1991, Martin wrote a chapter about a noble family discovering direwolf pups in the snow. That was it. While writing, he thought it might be a short story. Yet something about that world gripped him. The characters began to take shape, the families grew deeper, and the fascinating world of Westeros came into existence.
Advertisement
“When I began, I didn’t know what the hell I had. I thought it might be a short story; it was just this chapter, where they find these direwolf pups. Then I started exploring these families, and the world started coming alive. It was all there in my head; I couldn’t write it. So it wasn’t an entirely rational decision, but writers aren’t entirely rational creatures,” Martin revealed, as retrieved via The Guardian. But what inspired George R.R. Martin to write this epic tale?
Advertisement
Martin once acknowledged that J.R.R. Tolkien and Thomas B. Costain were prominent influences on him while writing A Song of Ice and Fire. When Martin first encountered Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings in middle school, he described the experience as mind-blowing.
Although Tolkien’s majesty had a profound effect, Martin aimed to create a more realistic, ethically nuanced world, which differed vastly from Tolkien’s writing. “I think every contemporary fantasy writer writes under the shadow of Tolkien, but there was no way I could capture his voice, which is singular and unique… I had a very different take on it, on basic attitudes about the war and s*xuality, so I was just telling my story,” Martin shared.
Advertisement
Then there was Thomas B. Costain’s four-volume history of the Plantagenets, written in the 1950s. Martin was fascinated by medieval England’s betrayals, wars, and bloody succession crises. Costain’s work wasn’t about analyzing culture or economics; it was about the drama of kings and queens, battles and broken oaths. That spirit, the messiness of absolute power, found its way into Westeros.
Well, whatever the reason may be for the beginning of the epic tale of A Song of Ice and Fire, the series surely captured audiences across the globe. The story redefined the fantasy genre, captivated millions, and turned George R.R Martin into a literary giant.
For more such stories, check out TV updates!
Follow Us: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube | Google News
Advertisement
