Now That HBO’s ‘Game Of Thrones’ Has Ended, How Far Away Is The Next George R. R. Martin Book?
Now that fans have had a few days to come down from the hype of the final season of HBO’s Game of Thrones, they are looking forward to their next binge. For some of those fans, this includes a return to waiting for the much-anticipated new book from author George R. R. Martin. But how far away is the next installment in the A Song of Ice and Fire series?
HBO’s Game of Thrones is based on the successful book series by George R. R. Martin. When production began on the TV series, it was hopeful that the sixth book in the series, The Winds of Winter, would be completed before HBO reached a point in the TV series where they would run out of source material. Unfortunately, this didn’t happen. On top of that, the A Song of Ice and Fire series is supposed to be seven books in length, which means book fans are actually waiting on two more installments in the epic fantasy series.
When questioned, George R. R. Martin has insisted that he is still working on The Winds of Winter. However, fans are anxious for a release date now that Game of Thrones has finished. The Telegraph notes that The Winds of Winter has been in the pipeline for publication since 2014 but delays have slowed everything down. As previously reported by The Inquisitr, Martin has stated in the past that “travel, interviewing, and the myriad other distractions in his professional life” have led to the delay on completion on The Winds of Winter.
Unfortunately, if fans of Game of Thrones are expecting a release date for the next book soon, it seems there is no official word other than George R. R. Martin is still currently working on it.
The next #GameOfThrones book has been in the works for nearly 8 years — but George R.R. Martin still isn’t done.
Here’s what we know about it: https://t.co/msik0R96Dp
— Vox (@voxdotcom) May 20, 2019
While the next Game of Thrones installment is not ready yet, it doesn’t mean that fans can’t partake of some sample chapters and bonus content. A deleted chapter on Theon was cut from A Dance of Dragons but published to Martin’s website instead. Several weeks after that installment, Martin’s website also included a chapter on Arianne. Martin has also published chapters and extracts on other characters from the A Song of Ice and Fire series on which HBO’s Game of Thrones is based. In addition to these chapters, Martin has read out several chapters over the years. These chapters include ones for Tyrion, Victarion, and Barristan II.
More recently, at a Russian convention, the actor who played Barristan Selmy in the TV series claimed that the last two books of Martin’s were in fact written. Ian McElhinney stated that the last two books in the A Song of Ice and Fire series, The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring, would be released together after HBO’s Game of Thrones finished airing. However, as Digital Spy points out, this rumor was quickly shut down by George R. R. Martin.
“No, The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring are not finished,” Martin stated on his website.
“Dream is not even begun; I am not going to start writing volume seven until I finish volume six. It seems absurd to me that I need to state this.”
He then went on to state that he couldn’t believe anyone would believe the rumor.
“It boggles me that anyone would believe this story, even for an instant. It makes not a whit of sense. Why would I sit for years on completed novels? Why would my publishers — not just here in the US, but all around the world — ever consent to this? They make millions and millions of dollars every time a new Ice & Fire book comes out, as do I. Delaying makes no sense.”
