One way Tolkien adds tension and time is to end with a cliffhanger for Sam and Frodo in book 4 (part 2 of Two Towers) you then start following Merry and Pippin in book 5 (part 1 of Return Of The King) and have to read all of that before returning to Frodo and Sam in book 6.
Yes! The Two Towers novel ended with Frodo supposedly dead from Shelob, and Sam picking up the ring to finish the journey. It was almost halfway into Return of the King that we find out Frodo is still alive and Sam needs to rescue him!
That was such a great plot twist. I was kind of sad they didn’t follow that chain of events in the movies. The whole Shelob thing was resolved really quickly, about halfway into Return of the King.
I haven’t read or watched it so take it with a huge block of salt but …
I don’t think GRRM has it in him anymore. The hype was too great, the wait has been too long, he’s been harassed about it for years, probably hates even thinking about it by now. add to that a very badly received conclusion to the TV series which already left a bad taste with the audience, probably doesn’t help.
it’s the HL3 problem: it’s been so long nothing can possibly match the expectation. Trying to do it would be dumb at this point.
What the other guy said plus: it’s kind of an ego thing. Could you imagine writing one of the most prolific series in history and then when you finish it everyone is like “yeah well at least it was better than the show”
I just wouldn’t write it if that’s all I can expect out of my audience lol
One way Tolkien adds tension and time is to end with a cliffhanger for Sam and Frodo in book 4 (part 2 of Two Towers) you then start following Merry and Pippin in book 5 (part 1 of Return Of The King) and have to read all of that before returning to Frodo and Sam in book 6.
Reference: A bit about the 6 books https://screenrant.com/lord-of-the-rings-tolkien-6-books-why/
Yes! The Two Towers novel ended with Frodo supposedly dead from Shelob, and Sam picking up the ring to finish the journey. It was almost halfway into Return of the King that we find out Frodo is still alive and Sam needs to rescue him!
That was such a great plot twist. I was kind of sad they didn’t follow that chain of events in the movies. The whole Shelob thing was resolved really quickly, about halfway into Return of the King.
The other R. R. tried that too, except he still hasn’t finished the book where the cliffhanger should resolve.
I haven’t read or watched it so take it with a huge block of salt but …
I don’t think GRRM has it in him anymore. The hype was too great, the wait has been too long, he’s been harassed about it for years, probably hates even thinking about it by now. add to that a very badly received conclusion to the TV series which already left a bad taste with the audience, probably doesn’t help.
it’s the HL3 problem: it’s been so long nothing can possibly match the expectation. Trying to do it would be dumb at this point.
As a counter point, hasn’t the poorly received TV show set a low bar to clear in terms of expectations?
Even if he doesn’t write a great conclusion people could always say “well at least it was better than the TV series”.
Disclaimer: I have not read or watched Game of Thrones yet.
What the other guy said plus: it’s kind of an ego thing. Could you imagine writing one of the most prolific series in history and then when you finish it everyone is like “yeah well at least it was better than the show”
I just wouldn’t write it if that’s all I can expect out of my audience lol
yeah but that sort of bad taste in conjuction with a long frustrated waiting period may lead to just vitriol no matter what.