While every fan of the fantasy novel “A Song of Ice and Fire” by critically-acclaimed author George R.R. Martin is anxiously waiting for the release of “The Winds of Winter,” the master novelist pulled a big surprise when he recently released “A Knight of Seven Kingdoms” novel instead.
“The Winds of Winter” is the sixth book of “A Song of Ice and Fire,” which will wrap up with the seventh and final book titled “A Dream of Spring.”
“A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms,” on the other hand, is actually a prequel novella to “A Song of Ice and Fire.” The new novel comes with three book titles, namely: “The Hedge Knight,” “The Sworn Sword,” and “The Mystery Knight,” details the Day Herald.
As a prequel to “A Song of Ice and Fire,” the new novel will take readers to the times when the Targaryens still held the Iron Throne. Martin revealed that the novel also tells the story of Ser Duncan the Tall, also known as Dunk, and Egg, his young squire, who later became King Aegon V Targaryen, the great-grandfather of Daenerys.
The story of Dunk and Egg is actually comparable to that of Tyrion Lannister and Podrick Payne. Ser Duncan was a young, naïve but a really courageous knight and he lorded over his rivals both with his height and his fighting experience.
Egg, on the other hand, is a diminutive squire, whose real name is hidden from all that he and Dunk encounter. Their duo cannot just be found in Westeros, but they were both destined to greatness amid powerful foes, royal intrigue, and outrageous exploits.
The latest novel from George Martin is now available for $18 for its hardcover edition and $14.99 for its kindle edition.
Coming before Season 6 of ‘Game of Thrones’
As early as July this year, there have been reports that the sixth book in the fantasy novel series of George Martin will come out anytime from October this year to March next year, just before Season 6 of the very popular “Game of Thrones” premieres in HBO in April.
Martin has been very secretive about the release date of “The Winds of Winter,” even saying in a recent interview that he has yet to finish writing the book, which many of his fans believe was not true at all.
The author was quoted as saying that he has yet to finish writing two books, one of which is “The Winds of Winter,” and he still has so much to do. He also admitted that he is such a slow writer that fans get upset because he does not write faster.
In fact, Martin also said that the pressure is now on him to finish the book soon so that it comes out before Season 6 of “Game of Thrones.”
As of this time, nearly everyone believes that Martin is through writing the sixth book and he is merely playing coy about its exact release date since “The Winds of Winter” shall become the ultimate spoiler to Season 6 of “Game of Thrones” when it airs on HBO in April next year.
A major leak
However, a Polish translator Michael Jakuszewski, made a monumental slip when he said during an interview that he was asked by the publishers of the book of “The Winds of Winter” to reserve his time before the end of the year to translate the sixth book in the “A Song of Ice and Fire” fantasy novel series into Polish, details the Latin Post.
The interview with Jakuszewski was also published by the Polish website Piesn Lodu I Ognia. However, the translator also said in the same website that he is a bit of skeptical about the information relayed to him.
Assuming that the timetable for translation given to the Polish translator is true, then it only confirms that the book is already through and may be in mass production already at this time, at least its English version that is.