On last week's revelation about the White Walkers, Game of Thrones director Michelle MacLaren stated, "I was so blown away to find out what they are doing with the babies. I thought 'Wow.' I was very excited to do that. I had thought they ate the babies – isn't that horrible?" She continued, "Dan (Weiss) and David (Benioff) are such great writers. It's exciting to see where they are going to go moving beyond the books, which is starting to happen more and more."
Thus far, 'A Song of Ice and Fire" has five published novels from George R.R. Martin. The sixth, "The Winds of Winter" will be published in 2015 and already has sample chapters online for loyal readers to ponder over. But the seventh and final novel, "A Dream of Spring" is still a long ways off if we go by Martin's usual writing pace. There was a six year gap between "A Feast for Crows" and "A Dance with Dragons" and four years will have elapsed before "The Winds of Winter" is published. We're probably looking at 2018 or 2019 as the year that "A Dream of Spring" is released. By that time, the HBO series will long be over. Heck, a prequel series centered around "Dunk and Egg" might already be on television screens by the time "A Dream of Spring" is released.
As a reader of the series, starting many years ago, it's a little disconcerting to think that the show will spoil the broader points of the series long before the printed manuscripts arrive on Amazon and at Barnes and Nobles. No matter how good the HBO series is, it still pales in comparison to the level of detail Martin's put in the books.
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GAME OF THRONES SEASON 3 AVAILABLE NOW ON BLU-RAY/DVD 02/18th
Running Time: 60 minutes
Release Date: April 6, 2014 (Season 4)
TV Rating: TV-MA for sex & nudity, violence & gore, profanity, alcohol/drugs/smoking and frightening/intense scenes
Starring: Mark Addy, Michelle Fairley, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Lena Headey, Emilia Clarke, Iain Glen, Aidan Gillen, Harry Lloyd, Kit Harington, Richard Madden, Sophie Turner, Maisie Williams, Alfie Allen, Isaac Hempstead Wright, Jack Gleeson, Rory McCann, Peter Dinklage.
Creators: David Benioff (series), D. B. Weiss (series), George R. R. Martin (novels)
Written by: David Benioff, D. B. Weiss, Bryan Cogman, Jane Espenson, George R. R. Martin
"Game of Thrones Season 3 is based on A Storm of Swords, the third novel in the A Song of Ice and Fire book series from author George R.R. Martin. Due to the sheer length of the third novel, which is roughly 1.5 times the size of the first novel, the events of A Stomr of Swords will be split over two seasons. The cruel reign of the boy-king Joffrey Baratheon continues thanks to an alliance with House Tyrell. King of the North Robb Stark must decide whether to remain in the field against the Lannisters or return to Winterfell and address the actions of a traitor. Bran Stark journeys across a frozen wasteland to reach The Wall and what lies beyond. Daenerys Targaryen searches for an army to take back her homeland. Jon Snow must navigated dangerous waters filled with White Walkers and the bloodthirsty wildlings of the King-Beyond-the-Wall Mance Rayder."