Fans of the "Game of Thrones." According to the author, he's taken lots of inspiration from fellow heavily-initialed author J.R.R. Tolkien, and the last two books in the series, "The Winds of Winter" and "A Dream of Spring," will reflect that.

But for those thinking that Gollum or a giant glowing eye are going to show up, think again. Instead, Martin revealed that he's really looking to mimic the tone that Tolkien established in the final book in the "LOTR" series, "Return of the King." During an alumni event at Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism on Wednesday, the author expanded on that thought. Vulture reports:

"I think you need to have some hope," he said, referencing the manners in which sagas end. "We all yearn for happy endings in a sense. Myself, I'm attracted to the bittersweet ending. People ask me how Game of Thrones is gonna end, and I'm not gonna tell them ... but I always say to expect something bittersweet in the end, like [J.R.R. Tolkien]. I think Tolkien did this brilliantly."

Martin went on to explain that he himself "didn't understand that" when he read the book as a boy. Now, however, he has a different view, as reported by Vulture:

Tolkien's use of allegory to reveal life's grittier truths (the tragedy of post-war Britain in the late '40s and early '50s, in the case of Lord of the Rings), even in the face of a well-earned victory is brilliant. You can't just fulfill a quest and then pretend life is perfect, he said. Life doesn't work that way.

Those comments reflect similar statements Martin has made about the series's end in the past, and it's good to know that his vision hasn't wavered since then. That also could mean he's actually a lot closer to releasing those elusive books, the next of which may or may not be coming out sometime next year.

Either way, audiences can expect to see some of this vision play out their television screens soon, since the show is set to overtake the events of the already-published books any time now. May we suggest (with lots of love, of course) that Martin stop talking about "ASOIAF"'s ending so much and maybe just write it already?

[via: Vulture]

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