It seems increasingly ironic the most famous phrase for something never happening in the English language involves Hell freezing over. The Winds of Winter have been blowing long and cold in fans’ hearts as they hunker down and wait nine years and counting for the sequel to 2011’s A Dance With Dragons. Every sign, including a promise from Martin himself, indicated the next book would be with fans by summer this year. And then the author made a new statement…
Fans are still reeling from Martin’s rather unfortunate excited announcement about a new book release.
There was some anger when it turned out to be a new version of Fire and Blood, the Targaryen prequel.
Not only had fans had their hopes raised and then dashed, many already blame the time spent on side projects and related books as the primary reason the main Song of Ice and Fire cycle is taking so long to complete.
Another, seemingly harmless comment from Martin then ignited mass fears that Winds of Winter would face a new series of delays.
READ MORE: Game of Thrones shock: Sansa responsible for TWO Stark deaths not one
One possible support for this worry is Martin’s own comparison of his writing style to being a “gardener.” He says he plants the plotline and character “seeds” and nourishes them but he is never quite sure how and where they will grow. In his own words, he said he has “no clear plan.”
The Game of Thrones team revealed that Martin had told them to main, most important endings he had planned for the central plotlines. With so much rejection of what was shown on TV, which was presumably drawn from the author’s own plans, could Martin have changed his mind?
Almost certainly not. He has repeatedly said the backlash against the TV show would have no bearing on what he writes and it seems extremely unlikely the author will change anything to please disgruntled fans.
So, can readers still expect the book to be released before one important date this summer?
