George RR Martin and HBO at ‘loggerheads’ over author’s House of the Dragon criticism

The ‘Game of Thrones’ creator has been vocal about what has ‘gone wrong’ with ‘ House of the Dragon’

George RR Martin’s recent criticism of the Game of Thrones spin-off shows has reportedly “frustrated but not surprised” executives at HBO.

As of late, the 75-year-old author has not shied away from sharing his frustrations about various projects, including House of the Dragon, on his Not a Blog website.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, HBO officials were “frustrated but not surprised” by Martin’s recent outburst, with the report adding: “Martin and HBO have been increasingly at loggerheads, with the author privately making his concerns known for a while.”

In a post on 30 August, Martin hinted at his potential dissatisfaction with the prequel series but stopped short of sharing his full opinion.

The majority of the blog post in question was about the Burning of Zozobra, a celebration over Labour Day weekend in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

However, the final paragraph saw the 75-year-old author write: “I do not look forward to other posts I need to write, about everything that’s gone wrong with HOUSE OF THE DRAGON… but I need to do that too, and I will. Not today, though.”

Earlier in the post he wrote: “This has not been a good year for anyone, with war everywhere and fascism on the rise… and on a more personal level, I have had a pretty wretched year as well, one full of stress, anger, conflict, and defeat.”

In a more recent post, the author expressed “fury and despair” when trying to provide an update on the next “A Song of Ice and Fire” book, A Dream of Spring, which he began writing in 2010.

He explained: “Writing came hard, and though I did produce some new pages on both The Winds of Winter (yes) and Blood & Fire (the sequel to Fire & Blood the second part of my Targaryen history), I would have liked to turn out a lot more.”

George R.R. Martin attends HBO's "Game Of Thrones" panel and Q&A during Comic-Con International 2014 (Getty Images)

However, it’s not all bad from Martin’s perspective. In a statement given to The Hollywood Reporter, the author was full of praise for the next Game of Thrones prequel series A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, due for release in late 2025.

“I visited the set in Northern Ireland in July and loved what I saw,” Martin told the publication. “Great cast. [The lead characters] Dunk and Egg look as if they walked out of the pages of my book. My readers are going to love them. I certainly do. [Showrunner Ira Parker] is doing a great job,” he added.