George R.R. Martin has been one of the most celebrated fantasy writers of his time and his incredible body of work has made him a popular figure in pop culture. His books in the A Song of Fire of Ice series have been adapted into the HBO series Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon. At 75, he has no signs of slowing down and continues to inspire many writers who came after him.
Martin has been often compared to J.R.R. Tolkien and his works. He admired Tolkien who paved the way for the rise of fantasy storytelling today. Martin is an avid reader and often goes through other works of historical fantasy by other writers. The author found a problematic trend with the current stories that were being told in that genre.
George R. R. Martin Criticized Historically Inaccurate and Exaggerated Novels Set In the Middle Ages
George R.R. Martin was a big fan of J.R.R Tolkien‘s works, especially his Lord of the Rings books. He was inspired to create his own epic fantasy narrative but did not want to simply replicate what Tolkien did. With his Song of Fire and Ice series, Martin created a unique world of his own and is now a celebrated writer whose works are often compared to Tolkien.
Many writers look up to these two legendary writers for inspiration and there have been many works in the historical fantasy genre. Many of them have tried to replicate the writing style and narrative themes that Tolkien tackled in his works, but Martin feels that they just end up as imitators who do not care about accuracy or authentic representation.
In an interview with Maximum Fun, he expressed his frustration with the inferior quality of historical fantasy in current times. The writer pointed out that most works of the genre that are coming out are set in the Middle Ages. However, their depiction of the period was all culturally/historically wrong, describing it as a ‘Disneyfied’ version of that age. Martin also criticized the subpar efforts to include elements of class systems. He said,
…the Middle Ages or some version of the quasi middle ages was the preferred setting of a vast majority of the fantasy novels that I was reading by Tolkien imitators and other fantasists, yet they were getting it all wrong. It was a sort of Disneyland Middle Ages, where they had castles and princesses and all that. The trappings of a class system, but they didn’t seem to understand what a class system actually meant.
Modern historical fantasy writers seem to have lost the essence of what makes the genre work and seem more interested in trying to replicate other superior works. Martin has no problems with including fantasy elements in a narrative but representing a false idea of a particular period is misleading audiences to have a wrong notion of that time. Thus, Martin wants writers to avoid doing that.
George R.R. Martin Did Not Want The Hedge Knight Series To Be Called Tales Of Dunk And Egg
The exciting adventures of Ser Duncan The Tall and King Aegon V Targaryen in George R.R. Martin‘s novellas The Hedge Knight, The Sworn Sword, and The Mystery Knight have been collectively dubbed Tales of Dunk & Egg. The series is set to get an HBO adaptation that has been called A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.
On his blog, the celebrated writer explained why he was against calling the series Tales of Dunk & Egg or The Adventures of Dunk & Egg and similar other names. He stated that the term ‘Dunk & Egg’ sounds like a sitcom similar to Laverne & Shirley. Abbott & Costello, and Beavis & Butt-Head. He wanted to set a certain idea of the series with the title for people unfamiliar with the material by including the word ‘Knight’ in it. He said,
There are millions of people out there who do not know the stories and the title needs to intrigue them too. If you don’t know the characters, Dunk & Egg sounds like a sitcom, Laverne & Shirley. Abott & Costello. Beavis & Butt-Head. So, no. We want ‘knight’ in the title.
The series began filming in June and will star Peter Claffey as Ser Duncan and Dexter Sol Ansell as Prince Aegon Targaryen. Fans are excited about this new series that promises to expand the Game of Thrones lore in new and exciting ways.
The first season of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms will consist of 6 episodes and will be released on Max in late 2025.
