Can we talk about this yet? Is making this thread naive and overly optimistic? Probably, but I honestly think this book stands a chance of being released this year. Martin has updated his blog quite a bit recently, and apparently he’s self-isolating at a mountain retreat, writing everyday. I know many fans have given up on the idea of Martin ever finishing this series, but I’ve always thought at the very least Winds will end up seeing the light of day.
Am I an idiot for believing this? Feel free to let me know! What are everyone’s thoughts on this long awaited book? Story predictions? Is Dany going to finally make it to Westeros? Is this the end of our friend Stannis? Who the hell wrote the pink letter that sealed Jon’s fate? How much closer will we be to the end game of ASOIAF at the end of this book?
I’ll start with a few general predictions:
Mance wrote the letter that was sent to the Wall at the end of ADWD, possibly with Melisandre’s help. Both Boltons will die at some point in this book.
By the end of the book Dany will have reached Westeros and Young Griff/Aegon will be a more formidable threat to her than Cersei.
Victarion will die early on in the Battle of Slaver’s Bay, possibly along with Bariston Selmy. Euron will make it through to the final book, and will have a significant role to play in the White Walker invasion of the south.
And I’d argue that Dany has to make it to Westeros by no later than the middle of the book, because there’s no fucking way Martin could write only one more book about her attempted conquest of Westeros. That’s, at a minimum, a two book arc.
I’d say it’s not out of the realm of possibilities that Winds of Winter, written by Martin, gets published in the next few years. But he never finishes the series.
I would agree that Dany needs to make it to Westeros no later than halfway through the book in order to give that particular storyline the weight it deserves. And I also doubt very much we’ll ever see A Dream of Spring. At this point, I’d be happy just to see Winds.
I also wouldn’t be shocked to learn Winds is going to be split up into two volumes, similar to Feast/Dance. I’m curious to know if that’s the issue, that he’s struggling to condense two books worth of story into a single novel, or if he’s just dealing with writer’s block.
I don’t think we can attribute 9 years between books to writer’s block. Martin wrote for television; he, in theory, can write when he doesn’t “feel” like it.
This is a result of being a “pantser” as a writer and allowing himself to be involved in far too many other projects.
If Brandon Sanderson can assume control over The Wheel of Time and not just finish it but improve it in four years (three VERY large books), Martin has no excuse for publishing only two books in his series in the last 15 years.
And here I thought the bump in this thread was going to be an announcement of an actual release date. HAHAHA
I’ve thought about how WoT ended for awhile since I finished it awhile back and I have to say it still leaves a bad taste in my mouth IMHO. Nothing against Sanderson, who did as good a job as he could with the massive task he was given.
This series is never going to be finished or it will be concluded in a very half-assed way.
Hahaha I don’t read the books but this is all very amusing to me. I feel bad for him because he’s like a dude stuck in a bad marriage. He clearly doesn’t WANT to finish the series but a feels a lot of pressure to nonetheless. He’d save everyone a ton of headaches if he just passes it off onto a writer he trusts with all his notes.
I can’t imagine this is true. Every time he’s mentioned Winds in the past five years, he sounds like he’s carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. I’m sure the pressure he must being feeling from his publisher is immense, they’ve got a surefire best-seller just waiting to be unleashed to the legions of Thrones fans. It’s annoying, and I would agree with Michael that he’s overextended himself with dozens of projects, but I don’t believe that he doesn’t want these books finished. He knows he will be remembered for this series, whether he likes it or not.
Also, in fairness to our dear friend George, he’s writing a book that will be longer than Fellowship of the Ring, Two Towers and Return of the King combined, just as Dance with Dragons was.
It was an interesting post, and it furthers my belief that he truly does care about this series and at least wants to finish it. Whether or not he’s successful, that remains to be seen. I fully understand why the post will be met with eye rolls and continued skepticism, it’s certainly warranted at this point. But on the other hand, this is probably the most substantive update on Winds he’s given us in years.
Having said that, holy shit- how long would we have have been waiting for this book without Coivd? It sounds like our only hope of getting him to concentrate on the task at hand is a worldwide crisis that’s forced him to isolate himself in his mountain retreat.
I do wonder if the negative reaction to the end of the TV show paradoxically reinvigorated his interest, as it created a chance to “fix” the ending that previously had been usurped from him by the megapopular Frankenstein’s monster that had eclipsed his original creation.
That’s a perspective I hadn’t considered. Whatever it takes to motivate him to deliver this book, I’m all for it. He’s said publicly that that he felt the show should have run ten seasons, so I wouldn’t at all be surprised if he was less than satisfied with the last few seasons of the show.
GoT is his legacy. The TV series will always overshadow the books due to audience size, but I can’t imagine he wants that version of his story to be the -only- complete one.
More than the fan reaction I think is the fact that the characters are his creations; his children. And they were turned into cheesy action-movie caricatures. That’s gotta sting.
I’m sure there will be a heel turn for Dany, it well just be handled far better in the books, with more nuance and logic, than what the show gave us. Martin’s already begun laying the foundation for that turn with Dance, where diplomacy got her nowhere and Quaithe is urging her to “remember who you are.” I suspect the Dany that emerges from the Dothraki Sea will have a slightly different outlook regarding warfare/ruling.
I do think we’ll see Winds at some point. I don’t have much hope for A Dream of Spring.
I look forward to Brandon Sandersons Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring published within two years of each other, both receiving rave reviews despite Jon Snow suddenly developing Wushu super powers.