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Although a pretty congenial man, George R.R. Martin is notable for penning some of the most gruesome battles in fantasy, which doesn’t shy away from delving into the grotesque nature of wars. Opposed to other fantasy works, the bloodshed in Martin’sGame of Thronesis exponentially high, which makes sense, as he initially set out to pen the novel series in response to High Fantasy.
Explaining his reasoning behind incorporating such bloody battles, the author explained he wanted to depict both sides of a war, and its ugly nature, which many fantasy works stray away from.
George R.R. Martin Wanted to Capture the Ugliness WithGame of Thrones
While a big admirer of J.R.R. Tolkien’s work,George R.R. Martinstressed that the template he set for wars in fantasy led his imitators to create endless sludge“of dark lords and their evil minions“. However, in reality, things aren’t completely black and white, and in response to these bloodless wars“where the heroes are killing unending Orcs”, Martin wroteA Song of Ice and Fire.
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Instead of rehashing the same trope that Tolkien imitators were using, the author opted to lean into the ugliness of war, combining the wonder of Tolkien’s fantasy with the gloom of historical fiction. He further chose to showcase both sides of the war, instead of opting for another good vs evil narration.
Heexplained:
“War is so central to fantasy… and yet it’s these bloodless wars where the heroes are killing unending Orcs, and the heroes are not being killed… I think that if you’re going to write about war and violence then show the cost – show how ugly it is, show both sides of it… Those of us who are opposed to war tend to try to pretend it doesn’t exist, but if you read the ancient historical sources… people are always talking about the banners that ‘stirred the heart’… I think that if you’re going to write about that period then you should reflect honestly what it’s about and capture both sides of it…”
While not a total pacifist, as he believes certain wars were necessary, Martin’s works have served as a critique of the ugliness of war, which was absent in the works of Tolkien imitators.
George R.R. Martin wasn’t a fan of J.R.R. Tolkien’s treatment of war
AlthoughJ.R.R. Tolkien‘sLord of the Ringshas served as a huge inspiration for Martin as a kid, he has been critical of Tolkien for the oversimplification of certain themes.
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TheFire & Bloodauthor criticized Tolkien’s treatment of war, which revolved around“the fate of civilization and the future of humanity”, which wasn’t the case for most wars throughout history.
“The war that Tolkien wrote about was a war for the fate of civilization and the future of humanity, and that’s become the template. I’m not sure that it’s a good template, though. The Tolkien model led generations of fantasy writers to produce these endless series of dark lords and their evil minions who are all very ugly and wear black clothes. But the vast majority of wars throughout history are not like that.”
But despite his criticism, Martin reveres Tolkien and hisLord of the Ringsseries, which he admitted to rereading every few years.
Santanu Roy
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2540
Santanu Roy is a Senior Entertainment Writer at FandomWire, majorly focusing on movies, with over 2,000 articles under his belt. He has been pursuing a degree in Animation and possesses a deep love for the medium of animation. Having spent the better part of the last two years pumping out articles for FW, Santanu excels at covering movie analysis and news surrounding Pixar, DCU, DreamWorks, and Batman’s cinematic legacy.With psychological thrillers and intimate slice-of-life dramas ranking among his favorite genres, Santanu is a big admirer of Luca Guadagnino, Shane Black, Park Chan-wook, and Brad Bird.
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Game of ThronesGeorge R. R. MartinJ.R.R. Tolkien
