Halfway through lunch at the Delaunay, a fashionable European-style brasserie in London, George RR Martin compares the giant slab of breaded chicken on my plate to a map of a fantasy kingdom. The fact that he is one of the world’s biggest-selling fantasy writers, and creator of the books on which the hit television series Game of Thrones is based, makes this a little less surprising than it might otherwise be. But not much. Pointing at my irregularly shaped food with his knife, he elaborates: “There are various little inlets where cities could be,” he says jovially, as if he were making the most obvious comparison in the world.

我们在伦敦的时尚欧式餐厅Delaunay的午餐吃到一半时，乔治•R•R•马丁(George RR Martin)把我盘中一大块裹着面包屑的炸鸡比作一张梦幻王国的地图。他是世界上作品最畅销的奇幻作家之一，他创作的小说被改编成了热播电视剧《权力的游戏》(Game of Thrones)，因此，他作出这样的比喻并不奇怪。他用餐刀指着我盘中形状不规则的炸鸡块，解释道：“上面有各种各样的小海湾，城市就可能在这里，”他开心地说，仿佛自己作出了世界上最一目了然的比喻。

It’s an entertaining moment and Martin, 63, does seem to be enjoying life. As well he might - 9m copies of his books were sold last year. The five volumes of A Song of Ice and Fire, his dizzying saga of medieval kingdoms locked in internecine warfare, total more than 5,000 pages and there are two more (very long) books to come before the cycle is complete.

这是非常愉快的一刻，67岁的马丁的确似乎在享受生活。他也应该享受生活——截至2015年4月，他的书已卖出逾6000万册。《冰与火之歌》(A Song of Ice and Fire)是一部令人眼花缭乱、描绘中世纪王国间血腥混战的奇幻巨作，已完成的五部共有5000多页，再有（很长的）两部之后，该系列才会完结。

The first, called A Game of Thrones, took Martin five years to write, and was published in 1996. By 2005, when the fourth volume, A Feast for Crows, came out, he was a successful genre author, nudging the mainstream bestseller lists. Then, in April 2011, things changed utterly for Martin. Overnight, he became globally famous when HBO, the American pay-TV channel renowned for making high-quality drama, put out the first episode of its new series Game of Thrones. This lavish, faithful, and very expensive (a reported $60m per series) adaptation of Martin’s tale of sorcery – and a lot of sex – became a huge hit. As the second series reaches its climax this week in the US and the UK, it has become HBO’s most successful series, shown in 29 countries and with average US viewing figures of more than 10m per episode. Fans include Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, who held a Game of Thrones-themed barbecue (featuring goat and “obscure animal parts”) for close friends last month.

马丁用5年时间完成了第一部《权力的游戏》(A Game of Thrones)的写作，并于1996年出版。到2005年，当第四部《群鸦的盛宴》(A Feast for Crows)问世时，他已成为一名成功的流派作家，跻身主流畅销书作家排行榜。然后是在2011年4月，马丁的生活发生了翻天覆地的变化。当以制作高品质电视剧闻名的美国付费电视频道HBO推出的新剧《权力的游戏》(Game of Thrones)首集开播时，马丁一夜之间在全球成名。这部根据马丁的奇幻小说（包括很多性描写）改编的、阵容豪华、忠实原著且成本高昂（据称每季耗资6000万美元）的电视剧取得了巨大的成功。该剧已成为HBO史上最成功的系列剧，在170个国家播出，平均每集在美国的收视人数超过1000万。Facebook创始人马克•扎克伯格(Mark Zuckerberg)也是该剧的粉丝，他还为密友们举办了一场《权力的游戏》主题的烧烤派对（有羊和“不明动物部位”）。

I arrive early, only to find my guest is already waiting, settled on a green leather banquette. There’s a jug of water and two glasses on the crisp white tablecloth, along with some artisan-looking breadsticks and butter. It’s a simple, peaceful scene and Martin looks as though he might have been here for hours. In his richly-imagined world of the kingdoms of Westeros, fortune favours the quick and the well-prepared.

我提前来到餐厅，却发现马丁已在等我，坐在绿色的皮质长软座上。洁白无瑕的桌布上放着一壶水、两个玻璃杯，还有一些精致的面包棒和黄油。这一幕看起来简单而又宁静，马丁似乎已经在这里待了好几个小时。在他极富想象力的维斯特洛(Westeros)大陆诸王国的世界里，运气总是青睐那些行动迅速、准备充分的人。

With his lavish beard and big glasses, Martin cuts a striking figure. He is wearing a dark purple embroidered waistcoat over a black shirt. Most eye-catching is his black fisherman’s cap, which has a small brooch in the shape of a turtle pinned to its front. It’s not a look much favoured at the Delaunay, where the other tables are starting to fill with men in suits. From snatches of conversation I overhear, deals are done here, and takeovers hatched – a modern take on the scheming courtiers of King’s Landing, the affluent, southern capital of Westeros.

浓密的胡须、大号眼镜很容易让他成为引人注目的人物。他身穿一件深紫色、带刺绣的马甲，里面搭配黑色衬衫。最惹眼的是他的黑色渔夫帽，帽子正面别着一枚海龟形状的小别针。在Delaunay，这样的打扮并不常见，陆续入座其他桌的男士都西装革履。从我无意中听到的一些谈话片断可以推断，他们在这里达成了交易，敲定了收购——就像维斯特洛南部富庶的首都君临城(King's Landing)中诡计多端的廷臣的现代版。