Game of Thrones: George RR Martin points at who you should blame for your favourite character's deathAug 12 (AZINS) Game of Thrones is known for killing the characters that are loved by most without any regard for the fan following. Over the course of seven seasons, incidents like Ned Stark's death, the Red Wedding, Hodor's death have left fans reeling with pain. Of course, the show takes after the precedent set by the books written by George RR Martin in which the author kills these characters to serve the purpose of the story.

Why does that happen? Why does GRRM love to serve these shocks on the literary platter?

In an interview with Gizmodo about induction of A Song of Ice and Fire into PBS' 'The Great American Read,' Martin revealed that Tolkien's killing of Gandalf the Grey in The Lord of the Rings is to be blamed for the deaths in GoT.

Martin said, "And then Gandalf dies! I can’t explain the impact that had on me at 13. You can’t kill Gandalf. I mean, Conan didn’t die in the Conan books, you know? Tolkien just broke that rule, and I’ll love him forever for it.

"The minute you kill Gandalf, the suspense of everything that follows is a thousand times greater, because now anybody could die. Of course, that’s had a profound impact on my own willingness to kill characters off at the drop of a hat,” Martin continued.

The author was not very amused when Gandalf the White returned. Maybe this is why, with the exception of Lady Stoneheart and Beric Donadarrion, all the characters in Game of Thrones remain dead when kissed by Grimm Reaper.

In a 2011 interview with comedian John Hodgman, Martin said, "What power that had (Gandalf dying in Mines of Moria), how that grabbed me. And then he comes back as Gandalf the White, and if anything he’s sort of improved. I never liked Gandalf the White as much as Gandalf the Grey, and I never liked him coming back. I think it would have been an even stronger story if Tolkien had left him dead."

Martin has not wrapped up the novel series and the TV adaptation will only air the final season in mid-2019. Fans, you need to brace yourselves to witness more deaths because people creating these worlds are willing to kill at the drop of hat.