I love fantasy. I grew up reading fantasy. But, I wanted to put a somewhat different spin on it. The whole trope of absolute good versus absolute evil, which was wonderful in the hands of J.R. Tolkien, became cliche and rote in the hands of the many Tolkien imitators that followed.
George R. R. MartinA lot of fantasy names are too much. Theyโre too difficult to pronounce. I wanted the flavour of medieval England. I took actual names we still use today, like โRobertโ, and in some case I tweaked them a little bit. I made โEdwardโ into โEddardโ. If you look back at medieval times, no one knew how to spell their own names. There are a lot of variations that weโve lost.
George R. R. MartinRemember this, boy. All dwarfs may be bastards, yet not all bastards need be dwarfs." And with that he turned and sauntered back into the feast, whistling a tune. When he opened the door, the light from within threw his shadow clear across the yard, and for just a moment Tyrion Lannister stood tall as a king.
George R. R. Martin