George R. R. Martin Says House of the Dragon Improved One of His Characters

House of the Dragon is on its way to HBO later this year and the Game of Thrones spinoff has some fans anxious. The flagship series drew everything from the pages of Martin’s series of books while the new show draws its inspiration from the “Fire & Blood” text, a novel that told the history of The Targaryen Dynasty, but in a different style of writing from the character POV chapters of A Song of Ice and Fire. Martin has taken to his Not A Blog to offer another update on the status of the series, including his thoughts on something many fans may not expect him to admit, he thinks the show has made one of the characters from his book even better.

“I’ve now watched rough cuts of nine of the ten episodes, and I continue to be impressed,” Martin wrote. “I cannot speak to the SFX, many of which are not in yet, but the look of it is great, and the acting, the directing, and writing are first rate. And yes, for all you book fans, it IS my story. Sure, there are some changes from FIRE & BLOOD — we could not present three alternative versions of every major event, not and keep our sanity — but I think Ryan Condal and his writers made good choices. Even some improvements. (Heresy, I know, but being the author, I am allowed to say so).”

He continued, “For years, as some of you may recall, I have been saying the TV version of Shae, as portrayed by Sibel Kekilli, was a deeper, richer, and more nuanced characters than the Shae in my novels. In a similar vein, I am vastly impressed by the show’s version of King Viserys, played by Paddy Considine, who gives the character a tragic majesty  that my book Viserys never quite achieved. Kudos to Paddy, Ryan and his writers, and Miguel and the other directors. (There are a lot of great performances in HOUSE OF THE DRAGON — or HOT D, as I hear some are calling it. You may never have heard of some of our actors, but I think you will learn to love them, just as you did with the cast of GAME OF THRONES).”

Regarding the series release timeline, House of the Dragon debuts on HBO on August 21st just weeks before Amazon’s Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Martin told The Independent. “I hope both shows succeed. I’m competitive enough. I hope we succeed more. If they win six Emmys – and I hope they do – I hope we win seven. But nonetheless, it’s good for fantasy. I love fantasy. I love science fiction. I want more shows on television.”

What are you hoping to see in House of the Dragon? Are you looking forward to it more than The Rings of Power? Sound off in the comments below and let us know.