After the divisive series finale of Game of Thrones, many fans shifted their focus to George R.R. Martin and the release of his final two books. Martin’s books have been nothing short of magnificent thus far, pages filled with layered and nuanced three-dimensional characters whose journeys feel organic and consequential. However, Martin’s method of writing also means that the process can at times, be very very long.
George R.R. Martin initially envisioned his story as a trilogy. But after he began writing, the story and its characters took a life of their own and soon the planned trilogy organically morphed into seven books, five of which have already been published. The fourth book in the series titled, A Dance With Dragons was published in 2011 after six years of writing. Since then, Martin has been working tirelessly on his next two books, The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring as hardcore book readers salivate in anticipation.
For the longest time, it was unclear as to when the 6th book would get published. Many even worried that the 71-year-old George R.R. Martin will not be able to finish his books before his eventual passing. But finally, it looks like we’ve got some massive updates. In a recent and humorous blog post, Martin discussed when we can expect The Winds of Winter to be out.
“As for finishing my book… I fear that New Zealand would distract me entirely too much. Best leave me here in Westeros for the nonce. But I tell you this — if I don’t have The Winds of Winter in hand when I arrive in New Zealand for Worldcon, you have here my formal written permission to imprison me in a small cabin on White Island, overlooking that lake of sulfuric acid, until I’m done. Just so long as the acrid fumes do not screw up my old DOS word processor, I’ll be fine.”
There you have it folks. Martin says we can finally expect The Winds of Winter to be out before Worldcon, which takes place in August 2020. However, I think it’s important that we keep our excitement in check as George R.R. Martin is infamous for not meeting his own release dates.
