| George RR Martin would like you to know he’s alive and well. Photo: AP |
LONDON — Wednesday morning was a sad day for music fans, after news of the death of George Martin, the “Fifth Beatle” who helped make the Fab Four a reality and produced some of their greatest
music. But while the music world celebrated his contribution, over on Twitter, Game Of Thrones fans spent their time sharing their passionate grief for a totally different — and, we gather, alive — man: writer George RR Martin, who created the fantasy series and has already missed his deadline for the long-awaited sixth Game Of Thrones novel, Winds Of Winter.
The communal emotional rollercoaster took on a number of turns, including unblinking grief.
“RIP IN PEACE GEORGE RR MARTIN CREATER OF GAME OF THRONE” said @chetkelly69.
Even some news organisations got confused — one American television station posted an AP story about the late music producer but used a photo of the other George.
Many people swiftly realised their mistake, but took time to recover from the shock, such as @MeganMishMash who tweeted: “I thought I read George RR Martin died, dif George Martin Nearly fainted, thank the Old Gods and The New.#allmartinsmustdie just #nottoday”
Others were far more concerned about the fate of George RR Martin’s unfinished books (if they were being honest).
“RIP George Martin. Hopefully this serves as a warning to George RR Martin to finish the damn books” said @Terry_Denness89.
So what did the author have to say after he heard of the confusion? He shared a post on LiveJournal assuring everyone: “I expect to hang around for quite a while yet.”
“While it is strangely moving to realize that so many people around the world care so deeply about my life and death, I have to go with Mark Twain and insist that the rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated,” he wrote. “But thank you all for caring.” AGENCIES