8 George R.R. Martin Tropes And What They Really Mean

Turns out there's a reason why your favourite characters keep getting killed...

George R.R. Martin published the first book in the A Song Of Ice And Fire series way back in 1996. It's almost been twenty years since the series started, and we've still got two more books to be published before it ends. Over the course of those twenty years, Martin has written thousands and thousands of pages, created hundreds of characters and intricately detailed a massive number of places. His practically innumerable characters have found themselves in all kinds of shocking and violent situations, and somehow his story has stayed incredibly engaging throughout five massive tomes of writing. Indeed, when it comes to Martin, there are certain things that fans associate with his writing. Mass death, for example €“ the ruthless slaughter of dozens of beloved characters. There's sex, too, and lots and lots of food. Having written so much over such a long period of time, it's no surprise to find recurring tropes cropping up in Martin's novels. But why they're there €“ and how he uses them to benefit his writing €“ isn't always as clear...

Contributor
Contributor

Commonly found reading, sitting firmly in a seat at the cinema (bottle of water and a Freddo bar, please) or listening to the Mountain Goats.