George RR Martin: Game of Thrones characters die because 'it has to be done'

The Song of Ice and Fire writer has told an interviewer it’s dishonest not to show how war kills heroes as easily as minor characters

George RR Martin, renowned for killing off major characters unexpectedly in his bestselling novel series A Song of Ice and Fire, adapted for TV as A Game of Thrones, has said that stories in which only the extras die are “such a cheat”.

Martin, returning to his origins in science fiction magazines with an interview with Galaxy’s Edge, told writer Joy Ward that “a writer, even a fantasy writer, has an obligation to tell the truth and the truth is, as we say in Game of Thrones, all men must die”.

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