George R.R. Martin, author of the A Song of Ice and Fire novels where Game of Thrones is based,, reveals he gets requests from people asking for explicit male sex scenes, and most of these come from women.
It’s safe to say that A Song of Ice and Fire books — and the Game of Thrones TV show its based on, isn’t lacking when it comes to gratuitous sex scenes. However, most — if not all — of these said sex scenes normally show female nudity. Recently, author George R.R. Martin appeared during the Edinburgh International Book Festival to talk about his work in the novels. In the discussion, Martin revealed that he often gets requests from fans for male gay love scenes — something he’s not going to shy away from doing, but only if the situation calls for it.
I do get letters from fans that want me to present an explicit male sex scene. Most of these letters come from women. I don’t pretend to understand this, I merely read my emails. I’m not going to shy away from doing it if it has to happen, but I don’t think you can just insert things because everyone wants to see them.
In the same session, Martin said that he’s OK being called the “American Tolkien,” which is, of course, in reference to J.R.R. Tolkien, writer of The Lord of the Rings books. However, Martin also thinks that Tolkien imitators “cheapened” the fantasy genre over the years.
I revere Lord of the Rings, I reread it every few years, it had an enormous effect on me as a kid. In some sense, when I started this saga I was replying to Tolkien, but even more to his modern imitators.
But they cheapened it. The audience were being sold degraded goods. I thought: “This is not how it should be done.” Writers would take the structure of medieval times – castles, princesses, etc – but writing it from a 20th-century point of view. I wanted to combine the wonder and image of Tolkien fantasy with the gloom of historical fiction.
In other George R.R. Martin news, you can read up on his comments on Game of Thrones’ lack of racial diversity here; or check out how the pressure from both fans and HBO to finish the books affect him.
Do you want to see more male love scenes in Game of Thrones? And do you agree with Martin’s statement that Tolkien imitators has cheapened the fantasy genre over the years?
Source: The Guardian
