It looks like the situation around “Winds of Winter” is changing on a nearly weekly basis, as we keep getting new reports from people allegedly close to George R. R. Martin or his work. Previously, it was believed that the author will need significantly more time than usual to get the book finished, and there was speculation that it will not be ready for a 2017 release, much to the dismay of fans who’ve been waiting for a long time.
New rumors have surfaced recently indicating that the author could actually be closing in on the completion of the next chapter in his work, and with that in mind, he could actually have it ready for next year.
The exact release date remains unknown however, as do any specific details about what the book will involve. There are many rumors about how the plot is going to evolve, and what Martin is planning to do to various characters, but of course, it’s pretty much impossible to get any real information on that at the moment.
Fans already got some hints about where things were headed thanks to “Game of Thrones”, the popular TV show based on Martin’s book series. Still, it’s possible that the two works could conflict on some of the more important points in their plots, as we’ve already seen in the past that the producers of “Game of Thrones” like to take some creative liberties with their work.
Martin himself has been warning fans to not feel optimistic about the developments coming up in the next book, as it will apparently be a heavy and dark one. It’s pretty much guaranteed that we’re going to see multiple character deaths coming up, but the exact names remain unknown and the subject of much speculation among the show’s fans.
Anyone who’s been following Martin’s books for some time should be well prepared for something like this though, and in fact we would have been surprised if there weren’t any major negative developments coming up in “Winds of Winter”. At the same time, some of the author’s fans are apparently getting a little too tired of the constant drama, judging by some recent discussions, but they are mostly in a minority for now.
It doesn’t make sense for one to follow “Game of Thrones” or “A Song of Ice and Fire” and be displeased with the dramatic developments in their plots though. It’s just part of their style at this point, and it’s pretty much guaranteed that this aspect is not going away anytime soon.
For now though, the biggest question on most fans’ minds is about the release date of the book. 2017 is starting to seem like a possibility, according to some recent rumors, but it’s hard to tell what to trust at this point. Fans should probably not give too much credibility to those claims if they don’t want to end up disappointed, and they should keep an eye on the official sources of information for now.
That probably excludes Martin himself though, as the author has been particularly secretive about his work recently, even more than usual. It’s normal for Martin to avoid talking about the current status of his projects, but lately he’s been even more reluctant to talk to the public. Whether this indicates a problem or that he’s too concentrated is impossible to tell, but we’ll find out sooner or later in any case.