--- 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: August 2026. ## TIME The Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition The Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors. The Brief brings TIME's perspective to the day's most important stories, helping readers understand not just what is happening, but why it matters. It combines original reporting and analysis with the best of TIME, spanning politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. 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The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. 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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