The two installments of this series should not be the sole focus of everyone's minds. Although I don't like the false extension dates of the publications of the two final installments, I still hold the opinion that George R. R. Martin should not be pressured to finish writing the "Song of Ice and Fire" series. He owns his personal work and obliges to no fan's selfish desires.
The tragedy within this controversy is that George R. R. Martin wrote the "Song of Ice and Fire" series as a means of escape from his hum-drum career as a Hollywood screenwriter. Now two decades later, it became business as usual for him with the management of constant interviews, managing the newly restored Jean Cocteau film theatre, script-writing for the HBO television series based on the book series, and other writing projects, such as editing the "Wild Card" series and creating the encyclopedias for his main work adding to his constant delays.
News of his possible death resorted him to flip off everyone who entertained such worries. Although watching his interviews can be as fascinating as reading his book series, he would not develop such a response if his life was not stressful. Obviously, there is the concern that Martin could follow the path of Frank Herbert and Robert Jordan, who were world-renowned writers who left their unfinished series to be posthumously written by other authors.
However, Martin told David Benioff and Dan Weiss, the show's directors, the crucial points of the last two installments in case any unexpected occurrence happens. Although the show became its own beast, I would expect Daniel Abraham or Gardner Dozois to finish the series since they have a history of collaborating with Martin in such works as "Hunter's Run."
I could just tell all of the fans pressing him to finish the series to "grow up," but I want to suggest taking alternative paths when exploring Martin's writing. My recommendation to those who are complaining is to read his earlier work, such as "Fevre Dream," which takes place in the steamboat industry in Mississippi in the 1800's...also it includes vampires. If you want to walk a step further, read the authors who inspired George R. R. Martin, such as Robert Heinlein and J. R. R. Tolkien and imbibe what material Martin could have taken from as inspiration.
While the First-World problems of some fans can be worthy of placing a hand over the eyes, it can be agreed by all fans that the "Song of Ice and Fire" series is a phenomenal work of literature. The point I try to convey is that an author should not be judged solely by his best-selling work, but by his entire bibliography and by his empathetic nature as a human being with needs. Yes, we can make jokes about George R. R. Martin not "writing like the wind," but remember that "The Winds of Winter" and "A Dream of Spring" will eventually come out, sooner or later.
