Will we ever get The Winds of Winter?

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It's been six years since A Dance with Dragons was published. In 2015, we were told by the publisher that the sixth book, The Winds of Winter, would be released November of that year. George R. R. Martin then came out and said he was stopping all guest appearances and working on the book to be released in April 2016, right before Season 6 began. Again, that date came and went with no book.

Now there is talk of 4-5 "spin-off" series that would be prequels to Game of Thrones with pilot scripts being written for HBO as we speak. Martin is heavily involved in this process, which is further taking his attention away from the sixth and seventh books of the series. It's been over a year since we heard any rumors of a publication date. George R. R. Martin encourages his fans to be patient while most articles refer to us all as "impatient fans." I think we've been more than patient since we've already waited six years for The Winds of Winter with no possible date to even look forward too. Martin keeps reassuring us saying, "And yes, before someone asks, I AM STILL WORKING ON ‘WINDS OF WINTER’ and will continue working on it until it's done. I will confess, I do wish I could clone myself, or find a way to squeeze more hours into the day, or a way to go without sleep. But this is what it is, so I keep on juggling."

My fear is that he has abandoned the books altogether. With the show only having two more seasons and other shows in the works, he may be happy with HBO and the producers completing the story for him based on his architecture. Which leaves us avid book fans in the dark on those interesting characters that are only in the books and how their stories end, such as Young Griff.

I have no evidence to back my claim and I hope I'm wrong and will be presently surprised, but having the books come out years after the show is finished feels like it diminishes them. Maybe it's my OCD, or maybe it's just because I really love reading and don't want anything to mess with that experience. Thank God the producers have been able to continue the show and have not had to wait on Martin to publish the books. I'm not for that either, but as time goes on, I grow more and more nervous.


Courtenay | Mother of Dragons