George RR Martin tests positive for Covid, misses House of the Dragon premiere

In the days surrounding one of television's most anticipated premieres, George RR Martin — architect of Westeros and its many sorrows — found himself quarantined in a Los Angeles hotel room, felled by the very virus he had worked so carefully to avoid. At 73, having taken every precaution, he tested positive after San Diego Comic-Con and was forced to miss the world premiere of House of the Dragon, the HBO prequel built from his own mythology. It is a quietly human moment: the creator, absent from the celebration of his creation, reminded that some forces resist even the most careful preparati