George Martin Claims Star Wars’ Most Iconic Tragedy Has ‘No Emotional Impact’

Summary:

• Many fans blame George Martin for killing too many characters purely for the shock factor.
• The author disagrees with the sentiment and suggests he merely makes every death emotional.
• Martin compares his franchise with Star Wars which failed to make the death of billions have an impact.

Say what you will about George Martin, but this man has no knack for compromise, whether we’re talking about his killing dozens of book characters, taking his sweet time with The Winds of Winter, or being blunt about other franchises’ imperfections. Whatever GRRM deems necessary, GRRM does, and nothing else matters.

Recently, A Song of Ice and Fire author addressed the common accusation that he kills too many characters in his books. Needless to say, Martin didn’t agree with the sentiment, and while arguing with it, he also bashed Star Wars for making “no impact.” What did the man, the myth, the legend mean by that? Let’s see it together.

What’s the Deal with George Martin and Deaths?

A Song of Ice and Fire is a phenomenal book series that defined the genre of dark fantasy for years to come. Thanks to the (even more) popular TV adaptation, Game of Thrones, George Martin became a worldwide star, and he retains the title today. But however much the fans love him, the author is not perfect in their eyes.

No, we won’t jump on the opportunity to bash GRRM for the 12 years of waiting for The Winds of Winter this time. We’re tempted, but we’ll save it for another day.

The thing is, readers and viewers alike tend to fall in love with fictional characters, and George Martin creates incredibly lifelike and compelling protagonists. But unlike many other franchises, GRRM is not afraid to kill them; if anything, he’s famous for doing so on a day-to-day basis. Not a book goes by without several huge deaths.

Some fans accuse the author of killing too many characters purely for the shock factor; others are thrilled with the feeling of uncertainty and genuine fear for their favorites whenever the situation gets dangerous. But George Martin himself believes that he doesn’t kill more characters than others; he merely does it better.

What Did George Martin Bash Star Wars for?

Recently, A Song of Ice and Fire author joined the BANGCAST podcast and, among other things, he addressed the “Martin kills too many characters” sentiment. The writer started by saying that his books’ death count is not higher than in other iconic franchises like Star Wars, but he makes sure each death makes an actual impact.

“You know, as I’ve said in other interviews, Star Wars kills more characters than I do. <...> In the beginning of the first movie, the entire planet of Alderaan is blown up. Alderaan is a highly civilized planet. It has billions of people. So they have killed billions of people right there. But it has no impact on you except, ‘OK, they blew up a planet. They’re bad guys.’ No emotional impact,” George Martin shared.

His own approach to fictional deaths is very different: GRRM wants every character that’s killed off to feel personal. You get to know them first, you get to love (or love to hate) them — and only then, when a properly risky situation occurs, they might die.

“You never know who’s gonna die. So I think my reputation for killing more people is exaggerated, but I will accept that I try to kill people unexpectedly and realistically and I keep my readers off balance there and I want the deaths to have more emotional impact even if it’s a bad guy,” the author explained.

Can’t really argue with that, can we? No one felt true dread when Alderaan was destroyed — but George Martin turns every death into a terrifying experience.

Can’t wait for more to come in another decade or so. Sorry, but it had to be said.

Source: BANGCAST via YouTube