Seasons 1 and 2 of Game of Thrones mostly covered the first two books in his “A Song of Ice and Fire” series, Game of Thrones and A Clash of Kings. The third and fourth seasons align with the third book, A Storm of Swords. The TV series also has material from the next two books, A Feast For Crows and A Dance With Dragons.
Seasons 7 and 8 of the TV series eclipsed Martin’s written output. Martin has said that when he finishes the novels, the endings will likely differ from aspects of how the TV series ended.
“By Season 5 and 6, and certainly 7 and 8, I was pretty much out of the loop,” Martin said. Why? “I don’t know — you have to ask (show producers) Dan and David,” referring to Daniel Weiss and David Benioff.
Martin is involved in the Game of Thrones spinoff House of the Dragon, debuting on HBO and HBO Max on Aug. 21.
The Times report says David Benioff and D.B. Weiss declined to comment.