George R. R. Martin on Progress on The Winds of Winter
In the latest entry on his official blog, George R.R. Martin shared the progress on The Winds of Winter, another part of the A Song of Ice and Fire saga. The writer hopes that the novel will be completed next year.
- George R.R. Martin shared his progress on The Winds of Winter, another installment in the book series A Song of Ice and Fire, which was the basis for the hit series Game of Thrones.
- He revealed that subsequent chapters are written regularly, but there is still a long way to go before the book is finished.
- However, the writer hopes that The Winds of Winter will be published next year.
Nine years - that's how long it's been since the release of A Dance with Dragons, the latest main part of the book saga A Song of Ice and Fire. Since then, lovers of this fantasy series have been looking forward to the next installment, titled The Winds of Winter. Recently, on his official blog, the author of the series, George R.R. Martin, shared his progress on the next novel. As the writer revealed, the work has gained some momentum, thanks to, among other things, the quarantine enforced by the coronavirus pandemic.
Let's quote an excerpt from the last entry on Martin's blog:
"I am spending long hours every day on THE WINDS OF WINTER, and making steady progress. I finished a new chapter yesterday, another one three days ago, another one the previous week. But no, this does not mean that the book will be finished tomorrow or published next week. It’s going to be a huge book, and I still have a long way to go. Please do not give any credence to any of the click-bait websites that like to parse every word of my posts as if they were papal encyclicals to divine hidden meanings."
So we still don't know exactly when The Winds of Winter will be released. However, Martin has some hopes for it. He expressed these hopes when he raised the subject of the physical edition of the CoNZealand event, to be held in Wellington, New Zealand, which was canceled due to the coronavirus. Again quoting his words:
"I was heartbroken when CoNZealand was forced to go virtual due to the pandemic and I had to cancel my plans (exciting plans) for a long trip down to Wellington with Parris and my minions… but there is definitely a silver lining in that cloud. The last thing I need right now is a long interruption that might cost me all the momentum I have built up. I can always visit Wellington next year, when I hope that both Covid-19 and THE WINDS OF WINTER will be done."
But can reality live up to Martin's expectations? That's what we should find out in the coming months.
Of other interesting things, Martin has also told us which stories he has been dealing with recently and what he will focus on in the near future. Let's give the writer the floor again:
"Of late I have been visiting with Cersei, Asha, Tyrion, Ser Barristan, and Areo Hotah. I will be dropping back into Braavos next week."
Of course, it should be remembered that The Winds of Winter will not be the last part of the A Song of Ice and Fire cycle. There is another book planned, A Dream of Spring. Will we also have to wait for it another 10 years? Fans surely keep their fingers crossed so that it doesn't happen.
Finally, it is worth mentioning that recently Martin has also been involved in creating a video game. He acts as a consultant for the development of Elden Ring, the upcoming game developed by FromSoftware (Bloodborne, the Souls series).
