George RR Martin and HBO to Adapt Fantasy Novel ‘Who Fears Death,’ Says Author

[LevelUp]

Nnedi Okorafor says series based on her 2010 book is in “early development” by “Game of Thrones” author

George R.R. Martin is working with HBO on an adaptation of the 2010 sci-fi and fantasy novel “Who Fears Death,” author Nnedi Okorafor tweeted on Monday.

“Who Fears Death” was published by Penguin Books imprint DAW, and it was awarded the World Fantasy Award for Best Novel in 2011.

The book centers on a fictionalized, post-apocalyptic version of Sudan, where lead character Onyesonwu heads out to defeat her father using her magical abilities.

Martin is author of the “A Song of Ice and Fire” books, upon which HBO’s Emmy-winning series “Game of Thrones” is based. His fans continue to wait for him to finish the highly anticipated sixth book in that series.

HBO told TheWrap that a deal has not yet been finalized.

Okorafor’s tweet is below.


Homewood, IL - Twitter Search

 

[obarth]

This fat motherfukker is adapting other people's books when he should be finishing up Winds of Winter?

 

[Jax]

This nikka GRRM thinks he got time to be doing all these side projects but doesn't finish the damn books mind you he got Winds of Winter PLUS another book.

 

[Ziggiy]

I hope the author HERSELF is also working on this adaptation heavily and HBO is not just letting this Cac run roughshod

 

[Return of the Jedi]

I don't want to be morbid or anything, but this man is not in the greatest shape..and is approaching 70. How much time you got left man

 

[obarth]

I don't want to be morbid or anything, but this man is not in the greatest shape..and is approaching 70. How much time you got left man

You're not being morbid, fam. The first book came out when Pac was still aliveThis nikka likes to take his sweet ass time with these books

 

[Red Shield]

main character sounds like some tragic mulatto/litebright trope

 

[Piff Perkins]

I hope the author HERSELF is also working on this adaptation heavily and HBO is not just letting this Cac run roughshod

She has input, HBO is pretty good about winning over authors with collaboration levels (and bags of cash). Plus of course Martin is very old school when it comes to adaptions, he wouldn't sign on if she wasn't involved. Exec producer=he's helping financing it and his name is being used to sell it. Prob doesn't have much direct involvement outside of that, he's not writing episodes or anything.

MY problem is that even though his role will be minimal, this is just another distraction for him. I don't think he should be chained in his basement writing 24/7 but jesus. If you juggling 5-6 projects all the time, how much time do you have to complete your damn books.

Breh is gonna fukk up and ruin his magnum opus by not completing it. For someone so well versed in the genre and aiming to challenge LOTR....he's risking it all.

 

[Ziggiy]

She has input, HBO is pretty good about winning over authors with collaboration levels (and bags of cash). Plus of course Martin is very old school when it comes to adaptions, he wouldn't sign on if she wasn't involved. Exec producer=he's helping financing it and his name is being used to sell it. Prob doesn't have much direct involvement outside of that, he's not writing episodes or anything.

MY problem is that even though his role will be minimal, this is just another distraction for him. I don't think he should be chained in his basement writing 24/7 but jesus. If you juggling 5-6 projects all the time, how much time do you have to complete your damn books.

Breh is gonna fukk up and ruin his magnum opus by not completing it. For someone so well versed in the genre and aiming to challenge LOTR....he's risking it all.

Because he doesn't WANT to finish.

He never finishes the series and his legacy lives on with so many questions and "what ifs" instead of ending it properly and risking people being disappointed.

It's why I always preferred Robert Jordan over GRM

 

[FlyRy]

You're not being morbid, fam. The first book came out when Pac was still aliveThis nikka likes to take his sweet ass time with these books

He's not the only one. It's been 6 years since the 2nd book in the KingKiller chronicles.

Before the first one came out 10 years ago the author said the trilogy was completed and they would be released in subsequent years

 

[Tical]

I hope the author HERSELF is also working on this adaptation heavily and HBO is not just letting this Cac run roughshod

She is involved. He's just using his clout to help get the show made. From his blog:

Who Fears Death?

Not me, for sure. I don't fear death a bit. But sometimes I fear the internet.

Yes, HBO is developing Nnedi Okorafor's novel WHO FEARS DEATH as a series.

Yes, I am attached to the project, as an Executive Producer.

I am pleased and excited to confirm that much. I met Nnedi a few years ago, and I'm a great admirer of her work. She's an exciting new talent in our field, with a unique voice. Even in this Golden Age of television drama, there's nothing like WHO FEARS DEATH on the small screen at present, and if I can play a part, however small, in helping to bring this project to fruition, I'll be thrilled.

As usual, however, the internet is blowing this story all out of proportion, at least in regards to my own participation.

I will be an Executive Producer on WHO FEARS DEATH but I will not be the Executive Produce, i.e. the showrunner. That's an important distinction. Should we move forward, there will be a number of Executive Producers, and probably some Co-Executive Producers and Supervising Producers and Producers as well. This is television.

I will not be writing the pilot script or adapting Nnedi's novel, and it's doubtful that I will write any episodes should we go to series. Look, I probably won't be writing episodes of ANY television shows until WINDS OF WINTER is done and delivered, and that goes for the five GAME OF THRONES successor shows as well. Other writers will be scripting those pilots, and the same is true for WHO FEARS DEATH. Last week we spent most of an afternoon interviewing some great young talents, in hopes of finding the right person to script the pilot. I was part of that process, and Nnedi was too. No deal yet, but we may have an announcement soon.

Who Fears Death?

 

[obarth]

He's not the only one. It's been 6 years since the 2nd book in the KingKiller chronicles.

Before the first one came out 10 years ago the author said the trilogy was completed and they would be released in subsequent years

I've been selective as hell when it comes to fantasy series. Too many of these cats die before they finish and some other author ends up completing it. The Malazan Book of the Fallen series has kept me fed, doe

 

[ORDER_66]

He's probably finished all of these books and you dudes think he's not working... he's just saying that shyt to play you...

 

[Piff Perkins]

Because he doesn't WANT to finish.

He never finishes the series and his legacy lives on with so many questions and "what ifs" instead of ending it properly and risking people being disappointed.

It's why I always preferred Robert Jordan over GRM

I think he wants to finish but wrote himself into a corner and got too greedy with HBO. The corner: he has too many characters and likely has a bunch of TWOW chapters/pages with no end in sight. He's said he plans on killing a lot of characters in TWOW but I still think he'll need to add an 8th book.

Like Jordan, Martin got distracted by worldbuilding. That being said Martin was only distracted for one and a half books or so, whereas Jordan was bogged down for multiple books. I definitely prefer Martin. I never finished WoT though. I've heard that many fans enjoyed Sanderson's ending though.

 

[Ziggiy]

I think he wants to finish but wrote himself into a corner and got too greedy with HBO. The corner: he has too many characters and likely has a bunch of TWOW chapters/pages with no end in sight. He's said he plans on killing a lot of characters in TWOW but I still think he'll need to add an 8th book.

Like Jordan, Martin got distracted by worldbuilding. That being said Martin was only distracted for one and a half books or so, whereas Jordan was bogged down for multiple books. I definitely prefer Martin. I never finished WoT though. I've heard that many fans enjoyed Sanderson's ending though.

Maybe because I started reading Jordan first but I've always preferred both his world building and his characters. Also because the heroes are a bit more "heroic" in the classical sense where GOT heroes are more in the grey area (which isn't a fault just a preference)

Also the books that many say "bogged down" the series were amongst my favorites (Path Of Daggers, Winters Heart)

I'm really excited for the WOT series that's coming out in a few years. It'll probably be the last fantasy related Series I really really check for unless this Who Fears Death comes to fruition.