Fans of the vibrant fictional ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ universe have dealt with disappointments. upon disappointments when it comes to the release of the sixth book of the franchise, ‘Winds of Winter.' Initially set to release in 2014, it had been pushed further and further away due to the writer’s overlapping commitments and blocks.
On top of that, the HBO series ‘Game of Thrones’ that ended almost a year ago severely disappointed the book fans as it did not follow the plotline of the books and failed to include many major characters such as Lady Stoneheart and Jeyne Westerling, which certainly altered the course of the story by a mile. Weak sentence structures, present & connect the ideas properly or delete this part.
Can the fans hope for a release date any time soon for the ‘Winds of Winter’?
In a recent tweet, ‘Game of Thrones’ writer George R.R. Martin revealed that thanks to the current coronavirus pandemic and the time he has spent in isolation, he has been finding more time to write ‘Winds of Winter’ and that he has been making “steady progress.”
“I have to confess, after half a year of pandemic, I am showing signs of cabin fever. If nothing else, the enforced isolation has helped me write. I am spending long hours every day on THE WINDS OF WINTER, and making steady progress.”
In a blog post that he linked in his tweet, the 71-year-old writer also hoped that both the pandemic and the book would be over by the next year. However, mentioning that he “finished a new chapter yesterday, another one three days ago, another one the previous week,” he did go on to say that it is going to be a “huge book,” and he still has a “long way to go.”
For some fans, this came as hopeful news as ‘Winds of Winter’ is the penultimate book in the series that has long left many questions unanswered. However, others have refused to believe this news unless they have a date set shortly, as they have been snubbed many times in the past.
The first book of ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ titled ‘Game of Thrones’ was released in 1996, whereas the latest one in the series, ‘A Dance with Dragons’, was released in 2011.
The long wait between the books has left many fans disgruntled with the writer speculating that he has tied his plot into an impossible knot and is trying to prolong the end of the series as much as possible.
What can we expect from ‘Winds of Winter’?
When ‘A Dance with Dragons’ ended with a cliffhanger, many fans were upset as the entire book did not help proceed the story further than its previous installment, ‘A Feast For Crows.' However, it is speculated that ‘Winds of Winter’ will be different as it finally takes the story further North.
Moreover, George R.R. Martin himself has mentioned that this book will finally set a precedent for the big war brought forth by winter that has been hinted at since the start of the series.
Fans also speculate that the story will take a much darker tone. To quote the author himself,
“Winter is the time when things die and cold and ice and darkness fill the world, so this is not going to be the happy feel-good that people may be hoping for."
