--- title: George R.R. Martin Says 2016 Was 'Too Much to Bear' description: "Game of Thrones" author George R.R. Martin pleads for the wretched 2016 to come to an end in a new blog post. canonical: https://time.com/4618915/george-r-r-martin-celebrity-deaths-2016/ author: Melissa Locker article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-12-28T16:38:35.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:47:36.788Z og:title: Even George R.R. Martin Thinks 2016 Was 'Too Much to Bear' og:description: “Please, let this wretched year come to an end" og:url: https://time.com/4618915/george-r-r-martin-celebrity-deaths-2016/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbaeb60f70c92e936/69889bade20a87b7e5a91915/george-rr-martin-game-of-thrones-slot-machine.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: HBO's "Game Of Thrones" Season 5 - San Francisco Premiere og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Even George R.R. Martin Thinks 2016 Was 'Too Much to Bear' twitter:description: “Please, let this wretched year come to an end" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbaeb60f70c92e936/69889bade20a87b7e5a91915/george-rr-martin-game-of-thrones-slot-machine.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Even George R.R. Martin Thinks 2016 Was 'Too Much to Bear' > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME Newsletters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME publishes seven free email newsletters, written and edited by TIME journalists, reaching more than 1.1 million engaged readers. TIME has reported on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world since 1923, and its newsletters bring that same authority directly to the inbox. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=f2f1dbda-175b-4a5e-8521-9816ebe1be17&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) by [Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Dec 28, 2016 4:38 PM UTC  George R.R. Martin attends HBO's "Game Of Thrones" Season 5 San Francisco Premiere at San Francisco Opera House on March 23, 2015 in San Francisco, California. George R.R. Martin attends HBO's "Game Of Thrones" Season 5 San Francisco Premiere at San Francisco Opera House on March 23, 2015 in San Francisco, California. Steve Jennings—WireImage by [Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Dec 28, 2016 4:38 PM UTC George R.R. Martin agrees 2016 was an overwhelming year. “Death, death, and more death… this year just keeps getting worse and worse,” the [_Game of Thrones_ ](http://time.com/4606814/game-of-thrones-stars-hanging-out/?xid=homepage)scribe wrote on his [Live Journal blog](http://grrm.livejournal.com/514263.html) yesterday. He wasn’t giving a sneak peek of the new season of _Game of Thrones_ or of the action in the next installment of his _A_ _Song of Ice and Fire_ books—instead, he was bemoaning the loss of [Carrie Fisher](http://time.com/4618441/carrie-fisher-dead/?xid=homepage) and [Richard Adams](http://time.com/4618671/watership-down-shardik-author-richard-adams-dies/?xid=homepage), the author of _Watership Down_, who both passed away on Tuesday. In his post, Martin described [Fisher](http://time.com/4618848/carrie-fisher-star-wars-force-awakens/?xid=homepage) as “a bright, beautiful, talented actress, and a strong, witty, outspoken woman” and urged people to read Adams’s book, which he called “one of the three great fantasy novels of the twentieth century.” These recent deaths come at the tale end of a year that has cost the world [George Michael](http://time.com/4618347/frank-sinatra-george-michael-letter/?xid=homepage), David Bowie, Prince, Gene Wilder, Muhammad Ali, Leonard Cohen, and many [other beloved actors](http://time.com/4598032/milestones-2016/?xid=homepage), musicians and athletes. It’s all been too much for Martin, who wrote, “Please, let this wretched year come to an end.” That’s right, even the blood-thirsty mastermind behind the brutal Red Wedding—an author who has no qualms about killing off his most cherished characters—thinks 2016 is just too much to bear. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4618915/george-r-r-martin-celebrity-deaths-2016/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4618915/george-r-r-martin-celebrity-deaths-2016/"},"headline":"Even George R.R. 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