By most estimates, more than 150,000 people have been killed in the seven seasons of HBO's "Game of Thrones." Among those have been some of the most beloved characters of the series, a few villains and many innocent residents of Westeros. Anyone who's familiar with author George R.R. Martin's work knows two things: One, he loves writing about food and two, he really loves killing off his own characters. He makes this clear at the end of the first book when he abruptly kills the main character, Ned Stark. From there, the rest of the series is an absolute bloodbath.As it turns out, we can blame noted Gandalf killer J.R.R. Tolkien.In "The Great American Read" on PBS, Martin spoke about how "Lord of the Rings" inspired him while growing up 바카라 게임 웹사이트� specifically Gandalf's death in "The Fellowship of the Ring."Martin explains in a clip from the show:And then Gandalf dies! I can바카라 게임 웹사이트�t explain the impact that had on me at 13. You can바카라 게임 웹사이트�t kill Gandalf. I mean, Conan didn바카라 게임 웹사이트�t die in the Conan books, you know? Tolkien just broke that rule, and I바카라 게임 웹사이트�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, that바카라 게임 웹사이트�s had a profound effect on my own willingness to kill characters off at the drop of a hat.That's exactly how Martin treated Ned in "Game of Thrones." From then on, fans know that the stakes are high in this series. Anyone could die at any moment 바카라 게임 웹사이트� and typically, they do.Of course, Tolkien brought back Gandalf in the "Two Towers," and "Game of Thrones" fans are still convinced that Ned might get the same treatment. If Martin's love of Tolkien is any indication, then they just might get their wish.