Fans are boycotting George R. R. Martin’s new book over allegedly racist co-authors

George R. R. Martin, the writer of A Song of Ice And Fire and many more book series, has been building his fantasy world since the ’90s. And it’s ever-growing. And its fandom grows along with it, welcoming new audiences through the series. His latest book, “The Rise of the Dragon: An Illustrated History of the Targaryen Dynasty, Volume One,” has come under fire for having allegedly racist co-writers. The history of racism of co-authors, Linda Antonsson, and Elio M. García Jr. has upset fans.

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Problematic History

In a conversation with Variety, the pair defended themselves. The couple has served as fact-checkers for his book, “A Feast for Crows” and co-authors for “The World of Ice & Fire.” Fans and critics have found themselves with a deep dislike for Linda’s blog posts. In her almost decade-old blogs, she complains about Xaro Xhoan Daxos being a black person in the series Game of Thrones while he was described as “pale” in the books. But when a white actor was cast as Daario Naharis, she had no issue with it. Even though she was aware the production team was looking for a person of color.

Antonsson even claimed Steve Toussaint was “miscast” as Corlys Velaryon. The writers declare they only want to stay true to George’s original works. But it bugs the readers the wrong way when the same isn’t done for white actors. She says, “diversity should not trump story”. Antonsson continues, “If George had indeed made the Valyrians Black instead of white, we would have had the same issue with it and would have shared the same opinion”. The writer claims to only have issues with the logistics of the story by making the Velaryons black.

Linda informs Variety that while George R. R. Martin is aware of the discourse on social media, he prefers not to engage with it. Antonsson agrees with readers boycotting authors but wishes it was “because of our actual opinions rather than those they project on us.”

Do you think it’s right for the fans to boycott the book? Join the discourse on our Discord server.

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