In a rare public response, George R.R. Martin‘s team has addressed the accusations that the latest edition of A Feast for Crows was created using generative artificial intelligence. The controversy comes after the release of Penguin Random House Worlds’ twentieth anniversary edition of the novel, which featured illustrations by imaginative realism artist Jeffery R McDonald.
Released as a premium collector’s edition, the visuals quickly drew backlash from A Song of Ice and Fire fans, who criticized what they deemed as odd anatomical distortions, repeated character models, and heraldic details that allegedly borrowed from online fan art. Many argued that the art resembled generative AI rather than bespoke illustrations.
In a statement posted on Martin’s Not a Blog, Raya Golden, manager of art direction and licensing development at Fevre River, working closely with GRRM, revealed that she was responsible for the approval of all the licensed art that accompanies ASOIAF book-driven materials. Golden responded to the accusations and stated that they do not work with AI-generative artists. Read the statement below:
My name is Raya Golden and I manage the art direction and licensing development here at Fevre River working closely with GRRM as his schedule will allow. But I alone am responsible for approving all the licensed art that accompanies our SOI&F book driven materials.
Recently there have been accusations floating around that the Penguin Random House’s illustrated edition of A Feast For Crows was produced using AI generative art. To our knowledge and as presented by the artist who completed the work in question there was no such programing used.
While he is a digital multimedia artist and relies on digital programing to complete his work, he has expressed unequivocally that no AI was used, and we believe him. SO The official word from our office is, of course, that we do not willingly work with A.I generative artists in any way shape or form.
Martin’s stance on AI is well-documented, as he’s called it “the world’s most expensive and energy-intensive plagiarism machine.” The licensing team’s swift public response indicates an awareness of the broader implications of such serious allegations, as collector’s editions aren’t just content products; instead, they’re used to reinforce a brand’s identity, integrity, and trust with its fanbase.
The controversy highlights a wider concern across publishing, where AI-assisted tools undermine creative lines. Fans on Reddit and X have compared dozens of pictures, claiming to see repeating features and distorted details, both of which are often associated with generative art; however, the similarities are not confirmation that generative AI was used.
These accusations are particularly striking as they come after GRRM’s ongoing legal battle against OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, where he and multiple other authors claim that the company had infringed on their copyrights by using their books without permission to train its language models, resulting in outputs that mirror their works. In a recent ruling, a U.S. judge ruled that the class action lawsuit against OpenAI can proceed.
Meanwhile, the Game of Thrones universe continues to expand with HBO’s upcoming prequel, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. Based on George R.R. Martin‘s Tales of Dunk & Egg novellas, the series will take place about 90 years before the original show, and will follow Ser Duncan the Tall (Peter Claffey) and his young esquire, Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell), the future King Aegon V Targaryen. The six-episode first season is set to premiere in early 2026 on HBO Max.
- Created by
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George R.R. Martin
- First TV Show
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Game Of Thrones
- Cast
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Emilia Clarke, Peter Dinklage, Sophie Turner, Kit Harington, Lena Headey, Maisie Williams, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Iain Glen, John Bradley, Alfie Allen, Conleth Hill, Liam Cunningham, Gwendoline Christie, Aidan Gillen, Isaac Hempstead-Wright, Rory McCann, Nathalie Emmanuel, Jerome Flynn, Rhys Ifans, Matt Smith, Graham McTavish, Fabien Frankel, Steve Toussaint, Eve Best, Emma D’Arcy, Matthew Needham, Olivia Cooke, Milly Alcock, Emily Carey
- TV Show(s)
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Game Of Thrones, House of the Dragon, A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight
Game of Thrones is a multimedia franchise created by George R.R. Martin. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire is the basis for the award-winning HBO series Game of Thrones, which lasted for eight seasons. After the incredibly divisive final season of Game of Thrones, the series was followed up by the prequel series House of the Dragon, which also received critical acclaim.
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