Game of Thrones Season 5ended at an interesting place this past spring. It finally caught up with the books upon which it is based, by authorGeorge R.R. Martin. TV and novel fans alike are finally at the same point in the story, with neither knowing what will happen next. WhileGeorge R.R. Martinplans to have his next book published sometime in 2016, it’s pretty clear that it won’t happen beforeGame of Thrones Season 6premiers on HBO. The show will likely air for two more seasons after that, withGeorge R.R. Martinplanning two final books. It seems inevitable that the TV show will come to an end first. But guess what?George R.R. Martindoesn’t care.

Game of Throneshas only continued to grow in popularity since it launched on HBO in 2010. The most recent run of episodes brought in a ratings high for the series, setting a new record. During the first three seasons, the show followed the corresponding novels inGeorge R.R. Martin’s ASong of Ice and Fireseries. But that all started to change inGame of Thrones Season 4, withGame of Thrones Season 5providing a few surprises for readers that went beyond the books.

Fans have been more worried about theTV series endingbefore the books than the author ever appeared to be. Though, it has remained a point of stress for him, weighing his creative freedom. The growing concern that he would not reach the finish line seems even more omnipresent now. Of the seven planned books in theIce and Fire series, only five have been published.George R.R. Martinhas been working on the sixth novel, The Winds of Winter, for what seems like an eternity. While at the Sasquan science-fiction convention in Spokane, Washington this weekend, the author read an excerpt from the unpublished book. He then took questions from the fans about both his novels and the TV series.GeekWireasked if he thought the TV show would end first, and he responded with ‘Anything’s possible’. He then went onto claim that the TV series is ‘moving forward like a jet locomotive.’

David Benioff and Dan Weiss, the two men behind the TV series, are tasked with writing 10 fifty paged scripts every year.George R.R. Martin, on the other hand, is penning a massive long-form novel. That could explain some of the hold-up. But the author has had to change his thought process on how this all works.

“There was a period where I was worried about that. Then I said, to hell with that. Worrying about it isn’t going to change it one way or another. I still sit down at the typewriter, and I have to write the next scene and the next sentence… I’m just going to tell my story, and they’re telling their story and adapting my books, and we shall see.”

Because he is so deep into trying to finish The Winds of Winter,George R.R. Martinhas been less active in the development and progression of theGame of ThronesTV series. Throughout the first four seasons, the author penned one script for each season. He didn’t do that forGame of Thrones Season 5, though. And he says he’s not doing it forGame of Thrones Season 6either. Another big question on everyone’s mind is ifGeorge R.R. Martinwill be able to finish the next book beforeGame of Thrones Season 6debuts in the spring. It doesn’t sound likely though, as this was his response (we’re not sure if he was joking).

“Don’t ask me when the book is going to be done - I’ll ask my minions to lop your head off.”

It will be many, many years before the seventh and final Ice and Fire book, A Dream of Spring, is published, so fans wanting to wait until they’ve caught up on the novel series before they watch the TV show will have a very long wait. TheGame of Thronesseries has already made some substantial changes from the books, and that’s likely to remain true as the show heads into the future without the crutch ofGeorge R.R. Martin’s written word. The show runners have been given the ‘broad strokes’ as to where the book series is heading, and that will certainly leave room for interpretation. It’s clear that now, with the TV show having caught up with the books, both entities are on their own paths.

Those who finish watching theGame of ThronesHBO series first will likely get a very different experience when reading the books. It will be the same story told in two vastly different ways, which has to be exciting for a lot of fans. What about you? How do you feel about the TV series reaching its conclusion before the books are allowed to do so?