George R.R. Martin, the author of the fantasy series on which Game of Thrones is based, found himself in the position of having to correct a report stating he didn’t watch the series.
This narrative came out of a number of interviews he did while attending a Russian fan convention, including a headline from Metro stating “I do not watch Game of Thrones.” Although earlier seasons were adaptations of A Song of Ice and Fire, the show has now surpassed the scope of Martin’s books—guaranteeing the show will finish Martin’s story before he will—so the notion that Martin’s opinion of the show has soured has persisted for some time.
According to Entertainment Weekly, Martin said that he “can’t recall saying he doesn’t watch the acclaimed HBO drama series” and pinned the miscommunication on a possible translation issue. Martin didn’t say that he didn’t watch Game of Thrones, though, rather that he’s been traveling lately so he hasn’t had time to watch any television including Game of Thrones’ seventh season.
His clarification is also supported by a list of questions journalists interviewing Martin in Russia were told not to ask that circulated online last week. Via a translation courtesy of r/asoiaf, they were advised not to talk about Game of Thrones season 7 because Martin hadn’t had time to watch it yet and didn’t want it spoiled.
At the moment the author is working on [The Winds of Winter], so he has no time to watch the new season of “The Game of Thrones”, and he will be sincerely grateful to the fans for the lack of spoilers!
It’s also true that Martin has been particularly busy. He updated his LiveJournal blog for the first time in nearly a month on Wednesday to reveal he was now back home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, after much traveling. In that time he attended a wedding; met editors, publishers, and friends in New York; attended WorldCon in Helsinki; and traveled to Russia for a fan convention. And given the big Game of Thrones hiatus looming after Sunday’s season finale, he’ll have plenty of time to catch up.