30 Years Ago This Week, The First Book in a Blockbuster Fantasy Series Was Published & Fans Are Still Waiting for Its True Ending
30 years ago this week, a blockbuster fantasy series began — and it changed everything for the genre on-screen. However, fans are still waiting for its true ending. There are many incredible fantasy books out there, but not all of them get the love they deserve. Even fewer become household names, earning the blockbuster designation. That makes it more exciting when a novel reaches those heights, appealing to fantasy lovers and mainstream audiences alike. Those are usually the books that set trends for the category, and in this case, that extended beyond the page.
Despite this blockbuster fantasy book celebrating its 30th anniversary, however, readers still don’t know how the story ends. Lengthy runs aren’t that uncommon for the genre, especially when individual books and complete series tend to go long. This one comes with a silver lining: that readers got some closure on-screen. Many are still eager to see how the author concludes things, though, so hopefully they’ll get the chance in the semi-near future.
A Game of Thrones Was Published 30 Years Ago on August 1st
A Game of Thrones was published 30 years ago this week, with George R.R. Martin’s hit fantasy novel arriving on August 1, 1996. It’s hard to believe now, but it wasn’t an immediate smash hit. The novel saw a decent amount of interest, and it won the Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel in 1997. However, its popularity came gradually with its sequels, and it didn’t hit the New York Times bestseller list until 2011 — right as HBO was bringing it to the small screen. At the time, no one could have guessed what the story would become, Martin included. It went on to inspire other politically charged, dark fantasy novels. And that’s saying nothing of its influence on fantasy television, which is still obvious today.
George R.R. Martin’s Novel Would Go on to Produce a Blockbuster Series & Change Fantasy Television
Not only did Martin’s 1996 novel eventually spawn a blockbuster book series, but its adaptation became one of the greatest fantasy TV series of all time. Game of Thrones dominated the 2010s with its eight seasons, proving to Hollywood that the category could have a broad appeal when done well. Game of Thrones had the dragons and magic associated with so many other fantasy offerings, but it also had deeply human elements — from its political scheming to the believable consequences its flawed characters faced. It took off in a huge way, and it inspired more high fantasy series like it. Few of them have actually achieved the same level of success, but the influx of projects in the genre was new all the same.
We can thank Game of Thrones, and thus Martin’s novel, for massive projects like House of the Dragon and The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, as well as more niche ones. Martin’s story forced Hollywood to reconsider what fantasy was capable of, and now its fans have plenty of exciting TV shows to enjoy. Even with the shift to sci-fi, there are more on the horizon, too.
Fans Are Still Waiting for the Proper Ending to A Song of Ice and Fire Today
Despite A Game of Thrones coming out a whopping 30 years ago, there is one sad realization that comes with its anniversary: readers still have no idea how the story really ends. The most recent addition to the series, A Dance With Dragons, hit shelves in 2011. Martin has two more books planned, but The Winds of Winter continues to face delays. Waits are par for the course in the fantasy genre, but it even passed a wild milestone recently: it’s officially taken the next ASOIAF longer to come out than it took to release the first five. Even with the frustrations, however, fans of Martin’s work will be ready to show up when the sequel does finally arrive. The story has blockbuster status for a reason.
And there’s a silver lining with A Song of Ice and Fire at least: that fans have the TV show’s ending to look to, regardless of how divisive it turned out to be. It may not be exactly send-off Martin envisioned, as his books have different pacing and more moving parts. But we can assume some of the broader strokes signal where he intends to take the characters. Plus, as we await The Winds of Winter, it’s good to have some ending in mind. It certainly makes the wait a little less agonizing, which is more than we can say for similar sequels that are years in the making.
