ILLINOIS, Nov 8 — There will be no happily ever afters, George R.R Martin declared as he spoke to an audience at Northwestern University. Martin was there to accept the hall of Achievement alumni award from the Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications.

Martin admitted he had never expected the TV version of his Song of Ice and Fire novels to catch up, but took the blame for that, saying he was a very slow writer.

The Wrap quoted Martin, on his love of bittersweet endings: "You can’t just fulfill a quest and then pretend life is perfect. Life doesn’t work that way." He considers J.R.R Tolkien's ending to the final book in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Return of the King as his model of a finely done bittersweet ending.

So, Game of Thrones fans, expect more deaths, dismemberments, injustices and atrocities coming soon on both the TV series and in the books.