George R.R. Martin, author of the "Song of Ice and Fire" fantasy series that is the basis of the television series "Game of Thrones", gestures during his masterclass at the Neuchatel International Fantastic Film Festival (NIFFF) in Neu
George R.R. Martin, author of the "Song of Ice and Fire" fantasy series that is the basis of the television series "Game of Thrones", gestures during his masterclass at the Neuchatel International Fantastic Film Festival (NIFFF) in Neuchatel July 10, 2014. REUTERS

Best-selling author George RR Martin reveals why there are not as many gay sex scenes in the "A Song of Ice and Fire" books compared to the TV adaptation in HBO's hit series "Game of Thrones." The popular HBO series is based on Martin's series of books but the story lines have deviated from the books from time to time. The author shares that the books are limited to the characters' point-of-view while the series is not.

"Game of Thrones" is best known for the controversial topics of sex and violence mixed in with intrigue, drama and magical powers. The series also includes a few dabbles at taboo subjects such as incest. Nudity is common in almost every episode both for male and female characters but readers of the books have noted that while present in the series, gay sex is not present in the books.

George RR Martin took questions at the Edinburgh International Book Festival and addressed the issue. Martin explained that while gay and bisexual scenes abound in the TV adaptation, he is limited by the books because of his writing style. He explains that the books are written from the point of view of several characters and so far, the characters that he had been using as viewpoints have not had any direct encounters with gay or bisexual sex. Notable gay characters included Loras Tyrell and his lover, the now deceased Renly Baratheon. Another well-loved character, Oberyn Martell was also revealed to have bisexual tendencies in the series but not in the books.

Martin is not closing his doors to the possibility of including more gay sex in the books in the future since he is still deep into writing the next installment of the book series. He said that if the plot leads him in that direction then he will do it but on the same note, he said that he does not change the storyline because of influence from fanatical readers. This was brought up when questions were raised about the validity of fan theories regarding Jon Snow's parentage. The story started out with Jon being introduced as the bastard son of Ned Stark, one of the central characters in the show's first season who was unceremoniously killed off in the penultimate episode of season 1.

He declared that the way the story goes is not based on a democracy. Well-loved characters will die and villains may live longer than some fans may like citing Joffrey Baratheon as an example saying that if fans' wishes were to have been granted, Joffrey would have been dead sooner.