Actually it was meant to show the other guy running away, that yellow bastard!

Null pointer exception.
Martin is a paranoid hack. He's deathly afraid of, of all things, fans who might guess the plot and subsequently sue him over plagiarism. (I'm serious.) As such, the books don't actually have any overarching "vision" beyond a shell game scam. So while it might be interesting and rewarding to read the books that have already been written, if Martin pulls a Jordan, no artistic value will be lost.

Oh well, on a side note, Steven Erikson has already finished the Malazan Book of the Fallen, which does have an overarching story. And it's a great series... Which reminds me.. off I go to continue Dust of Dreams...