With 2015 about to draw to a close, it is very likely that the sixth book “The Winds of Winter” in the fantasy novel series titled “A Song of Ice and Fire” by critically-acclaimed author George R.R. Martin, will come out next year.
Previous reports indicate that the release date window for “The Winds of Winter” will be anytime from January to early April 2016, prior to the Season 6 premiere of the popular “Game of Thrones” TV series on HBO.
While HBO has yet to come out with the official premiere date of “Game of Thrones” Season 6, what is clear is that it will happen on a Sunday night in April, which many critics believe will be on April 24.
The April 24 premiere date of Season 6 of “Game of Thrones” also means that George Martin has until April 23 to officially release “The Winds of Winter.”
Reports have it that the major reason why Martin is holding the release of “The Winds of Winter” is because the book is to be the ultimate spoiler for the main plotlines for Season 6 of “Game of Thrones.”
Once the book is released, fans and viewers of the popular TV series would already know what shall happen in practically all of the 10 episodes of Season 6, despite claims by the show creators that they have made creative changes on the TV series compared to what is written in the books. In fact, there are even reports that “The Winds of Winter” will also detail some of the plotlines for Season 7 of “Game of Thrones” set to premiere on HBO in 2017.
Availability of manuscript
There were reports that came out early this month that a manuscript of the book would finally be released on February 23, 2016 based on a blog posted on Wars and Politics of Ice and Fire, notes the Ecumenical News.
However, the rumor might not be possible because there is also a different factor why there will be a delay in the release date of the book and it has something to do with the publishers’ timeline.
The publishers usually take four to eight months before they can have the book ready for sale in the public. They explained that if Martin is able to meet his own deadline in writing the book, it won’t be able to release in February even with accelerated publishing.
In fact, there are now speculations that based on the publishers’ timeline, there is now a huge possibility that “The Winds of Winter” could come out after the premiere of Season 6 of “Game of Thrones” on HBO.
Not releasing on time
According to the Parent Herald, despite the supposed efforts of Martin to write faster, it is very unlikely that “The Winds of Winter” will make it before the Season 6 premiere of “Game of Thrones.”
There is a good chance that both George Martin and the producers of “Game of Thrones” have been discussing the release date of “The Winds of Winter.”
It is already certain that “The Winds of Winter” will come out in 2016. However, what seems clear at this point is that the seventh and final book of the fantasy novel series, titled “A Dream of Spring” will not come out next year before Season 7 of “Game of Thrones” premieres on HBO.
Based on Martin’s writing timeline, it took him five years from releasing the third book of the series “A Storm of Swords” to the unveiling of the fourth book titled “A Feast for Crows.” Then from the fourth book to the fifth book titled “A Dance of Dragons,” Martin took all of six years to complete. From the fifth book to “The Winds of Winter,” the author spent another five years so it is very unlikely that he would be able to complete the seventh book in just one year.