Now that Martin has said he’s done predicting when he’ll finish the book, we look back at his long, long process.
It’s been over a decade since the last book in the A Song of Ice and Fire saga, Dance of Dragons, hit shelves. Game of Thrones has started and ended. House of the Dragon, the first of multiple planned spinoffs, is about to air. And in all that time, we’ve been waiting for The Winds of Winter to howl. And yet, here we are.
Now that Martin has declared that he’s sick of offering updates on a book he’s been offering updates on for 11 years at this point, we take a look back at the long history of The Winds of Winter not happening, from preview chapters and hope, to delays and despair, and even a global pandemic in between.
Contemplating how A Song of Ice and Fire’s conclusion could stretch to three books rather than the planned two, Martin gives his first Winds of Winter estimate for around 2014.
The first taste of Winds of Winter takes us to Dorne, and we’re all so excited, all so naive, all so innocent: surely previews mean it’s coming soon?
Okay that’s a bit silly. Maybe this book’s further off than we thought.
Make up for that little joke last month with an actual preview, this time taking us to Braavos for some Game of Thrones trademark misery.
The first, but sadly not last, time George R.R. Martin has to ask people to stop speculating about his health, and he starts off strong, with a hearty “fuck you” and the above middle-finger.
Nice of him to get our expectations in check early into the year. Martin coincided the news with the release of a trailer for Game of Thrones’ fifth season, which is deeply funny.
A whole Sansa chapter of her mastering her disguise as Littlefinger’s daughter distracts us from the fact the book’s not coming out this year.
But in a lengthy update, Martin doesn’t say it’s not going to come before the end of 2016, either.
