The last Game of Thrones book, A Dance With Dragons, was released way back in 2011.
And ever since fans have been clamouring for George R.R. Martin to hurry up and pen the sixth books in his hit series, A Song of Ice and Fire (which the hugely popular TV series is based on).
It looked as though there might finally be some light at the end of the tunnel for Thrones fans, as it was widely thought the author would released the novel this year.
But having pushed it back a fair few times already it seems that the book may not land until at least next year during a Q&A with his fans on his Livejournal page.
Martin said he’s throwing his efforts into Fire & Blood, the two-volume encyclopedia for A Song of Ice and Fire, and that he plans to finish the first volume of that before returning to The Winds of Winter.
‘The first volume should be completed soon,’ Martin wrote. ‘The second is hardly begun. Most of Fire & Blood consists of the “sidebars” I originally wrote for The World of Ice and Fire.
‘Abridged versions of some of those pieces appeared as “The Princess and the Queen,” “The Rogue Prince,” and “The Sons of the Dragon,” but these are the full versions, together with some chapters that have never appeared anywhere.’
Martin didn’t tease out when The Winds of Winter is to be expected, but suggested only Fire & Blood’s first volume will be released this year – meaning that fans of the books will have to wait even longer to find out what happens next.
This wait is almost certainly longer than any Winter there’s ever been in Westeros.
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