George R.R. Martin has been hard at work on The Winds of Winter for over a decade now, which is the longest gap between two entries in the A Song of Ice and Fire series. Even if Game of Thrones, the show based on the novel series, is over, the books are far from it, with A Dream of Spring yet to follow after The Winds of Winter‘s release.
However, rumors have been circulating about the book being finished, which has caused a lot of speculation among the fans of the series, who have been trying to figure out when exactly will Martin release The Winds of Winter. However, the author has come out with an update on the book, one that is sure to put these rumors to rest.
George R.R. Martin says it won’t be quiet when he finishes The Winds of Winter
George R.R. Martin has updated his fans on how they can expect news of The Winds of Winter being complete. The author has said:
When Winds of Winter is done, the word will not trickle out, there WILL be a big announcement… where and when I cannot say.
While George R.R. Martin has long maintained that he has finished about three-quarters of the book, with the final leg still not done, there has been little progress on that front. While Martin has been able to work on other projects successfully, such as Fire & Blood, it seems that the last parts of Winds of Winter have held the author down for longer than he had expected.
Given that there are a slew of separate subplots in the books and more characters to juggle (such as Jon Connington, the still-living son of Elia Martell and Rhaegar Targaryen, Aegon, and Lady Stoneheart, the resurrected corpse of Catelyn Stark), The Winds of Winter could not just follow the blueprint set by the final season of the show, even if the outline for those seasons was provided by Martin himself.
Perhaps the Dream of Spring will come out faster than expected
While The Winds of Winter might be taking longer than expected, the final leg of the novel might just come easily to the author. The Winds of Winter will probably serve as the dramatic high point of the story, after which, the series will focus on unraveling plots and completing character arcs.
The Winds of Winter will have to be slightly more intricate as compared to the other books, given that it will be the funnel that allows characters to finish off their character arcs in a satisfying manner.
Also, given the subplots that Martin has introduced in the books, the author will need to be extremely careful to make sure that these storylines are not left dangling, given that some of these arcs were put into motion all the way back in 1996, and deserve a proper answer for all the mysteries therein.
