A few points that occurred to me while reading this discussion:
1. There's quite a few literature classics which never got finished because the author died, and personally I would consider it sacrilege if they were continued by someone else. 2 examples from memory:
The Good Soldier Svejk by Jaroslav Hasek and Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol.
2. And there are several examples of series which were continued by someone else (either as a sequel or based on the author's notes) that I wished were not - the most obvious example are the Dune books not written by Frank Herbert. In fact, I think that the relatively successful ending for WOT by Sanderson is the exception and not the norm.
3. If all someone wants is to know how ASoIaF ends, all they've got to do is to wait 2 years until the end of the TV series. I know Martin said the ending of the series will be different in each format, but I seriously doubt that it will be that much different. After all, according to earlier interviews (which I'm way too lazy to find and provide the link for) he already provided the entire story arc for HBO.
There is one point in which I'm in agreement with @Darwin , but for different reasons: I do think that Martin comes off as an asshole, but not because he doesn't want anyone to continue his work - that I can understand. He comes off as an asshole because he clearly doesn't care about his fans. Basically, for the past 15 years (since the publication of the third book) he's done everything but continue what's bound to be his greatest legacy. Over 15 years he published 2 ASoIaF books, but on the other side he has been engaged in a lot of other projects so clearly time wasn't in issue. While I agree with @Alucard that Martin doesn't owe me anything, I also think that what's Martin doing - which is basically procrastinating in writing the long awaited sequels without giving explanations other that "you can't rush quality" (again, no link, just something I remember reading) comes off as way too obnoxious - especially to his original fans who started reading the series almost 20 years ago.
The other thing is, while Martin has done a great service to fantasy by elevating the level and opening the door to new writers and fans, it is my view that he's also done a disservice to a lot of new authors because I know a lot of people (e.g our very own @TomTB ) who will not buy or read a book from a new series until it's completed because of the example Martin - and apparently, Rothfuss - are providing, so that can hurt sales of new authors. No one wants to start reading a story in their 20's and finish it in their 50's.
So basically both sides has a point and fuck it all, I think I'm gonna start a GGK book. A standalone, just to be on the safe side.
1. There's quite a few literature classics which never got finished because the author died, and personally I would consider it sacrilege if they were continued by someone else. 2 examples from memory:
The Good Soldier Svejk by Jaroslav Hasek and Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol.
2. And there are several examples of series which were continued by someone else (either as a sequel or based on the author's notes) that I wished were not - the most obvious example are the Dune books not written by Frank Herbert. In fact, I think that the relatively successful ending for WOT by Sanderson is the exception and not the norm.
3. If all someone wants is to know how ASoIaF ends, all they've got to do is to wait 2 years until the end of the TV series. I know Martin said the ending of the series will be different in each format, but I seriously doubt that it will be that much different. After all, according to earlier interviews (which I'm way too lazy to find and provide the link for) he already provided the entire story arc for HBO.
There is one point in which I'm in agreement with @Darwin , but for different reasons: I do think that Martin comes off as an asshole, but not because he doesn't want anyone to continue his work - that I can understand. He comes off as an asshole because he clearly doesn't care about his fans. Basically, for the past 15 years (since the publication of the third book) he's done everything but continue what's bound to be his greatest legacy. Over 15 years he published 2 ASoIaF books, but on the other side he has been engaged in a lot of other projects so clearly time wasn't in issue. While I agree with @Alucard that Martin doesn't owe me anything, I also think that what's Martin doing - which is basically procrastinating in writing the long awaited sequels without giving explanations other that "you can't rush quality" (again, no link, just something I remember reading) comes off as way too obnoxious - especially to his original fans who started reading the series almost 20 years ago.
The other thing is, while Martin has done a great service to fantasy by elevating the level and opening the door to new writers and fans, it is my view that he's also done a disservice to a lot of new authors because I know a lot of people (e.g our very own @TomTB ) who will not buy or read a book from a new series until it's completed because of the example Martin - and apparently, Rothfuss - are providing, so that can hurt sales of new authors. No one wants to start reading a story in their 20's and finish it in their 50's.
So basically both sides has a point and fuck it all, I think I'm gonna start a GGK book. A standalone, just to be on the safe side.