Game of Thrones Was Inspired By The Most Unlikely Death
In a revelation that would have Dr. Freud reaching for his notepad, George R.R. Martin admitted that the inspiration for his bestselling series, A Song of Ice and Fire (better known as Game of Thrones to TV fans) was rooted in his childhood traumas.
During a Hall of Fame speech, Martin shared that he drew on the deaths of his childhood pet turtles for the many characters who meet their untimely ends in the fantasy epic.
"I had a toy castle," Martin revealed. "that was big enough for [two turtle bowls] in the courtyard, so I put two turtle bowls side by side in my castle...the thing was, dime store turtles don't live very long. I don't think the food they give you—the little shakers of turtle food—were really very nutritious. So my turtles were always dying, which broke my heart, and I had to come up with some explanation as to why they were dying."
The young Martin used his vivid imagination to come up with terrifying stories to understand the reasons for his pet's deaths. One of these stories ultimately inspired A Song of Ice and Fire years later.
"They lived in a castle, and obviously they were knights and kings, and princes, and they were competing for the turtle throne so they were murdering each other. Long before Game of Thrones, Turtle Castle was one of my first Fantasy epics."
The success of the series and its adaptation in the HBO hit show Game of Thrones is well known by all. Over 8 seasons, and many deaths later, the series received critical acclaim, numerous awards and a massive fanbase. Martin's unique approach to storytelling and the creation of a fantasy world full of political and social intrigue has made it one of the most popular and successful fantasy series of all time. Worth a couple of dead pet turtles, maybe?
As for the future, Martin has recently promised to finish the highly anticipated The Winds of Winter (yet again), but for now he's seemingly busy with the script for the upcoming Season 2 of House of Dragons which tells the story of how the Targaryens conquered the Seven Kingdoms and became the most powerful dynasty in Westeros.