George R. R. Martin is known for his slow working pace, and this is something his fans have pretty much gotten used to by this point. Most people are aware of the fact that the writer commonly needs a lot of time to get his projects completed, which is why the delays in his work on “Winds of Winter” didn’t really come as a surprise to anyone. However, work on the book is apparently coming along more slowly than anticipated, and after some delays it’s still not clear when we are going to get it exactly.
While most fans were hoping that the book would be finished at some point during this year, the chances of that are starting to look slimmer and slimmer. There is some speculation that Martin will not actually be able to get the book finished on time and that “Game of Thrones” will have to move forward without his direct involvement. Which, given the circumstances, could be a disaster for the show itself.
The main issue stems from the fact that the producers of “Game of Thrones” have traditionally been reliant on Martin for information about his plans for the plot, so that they would know what to do with the story on their own end. And knowing the production schedule of the show, if the next book actually does take until 2017 to come out, that would mean leaving the showrunners on their own and letting them figure out the direction of the story for themselves. On one hand, this could work out in an interesting way if they come up with some clever ideas for the plot, but on the other, it could also spell disaster for the production if fans aren’t happy with how things are moving.
There were actually reports indicating that the producers of the show have had to meet up with Martin in private in order to sort out certain details about its plot, and while the author was reportedly cooperative during those meetings and more than happy to help, there is only so much he can reveal about a book he hasn’t finished writing yet.
There are some things we know for sure which are relatively reassuring – for example, the show is supposedly going to stick to the main developments from the books themselves, so important plot points will not be affected at all. This includes the event that is undoubtedly on everyone’s mind right now, the fate of Jon Snow. Whatever happens to the character in “Winds of Winter”, we will see the same outcome on the screen as well. Fans were hopeful that this would give them some hints about what’s going to happen with Snow, but it seems like this is not the case and we will have to wait for the show to conclude this part of the story. In any case, those who insist on reading the book first will have to be careful to avoid spoilers once the show delivers that moment.
In general, we can see a lot of worrying among fans of both the books and the TV series right now, as people aren’t sure where things are going to go and how much longer they will have to wait before the books resume. Considering that the show is reportedly leaning towards its conclusion, it would be disappointing if so many things were left unsaid. But in the end, it’s good to at least know that the people behind “Game of Thrones” aren’t giving up on their project that easily.
GRRM in an interview once said that he has told HBO all the main points to his story in case something should happen to him… so they are not trudging blindly. Also I’m sure the story has been written out already from before… HBO wouldn’t have cleared past the first season without a future that was guaranteed to be good. Come on now, there’s too much $ at stake.
It’s unfortunate, really is. Last season was the first season without his direct involvement and it was by far the worst. All the awesomeness that Pedro Pascal brought for Dorne, was pissed away.
My God this book was supposed to be out in January 2015 that was the first preliminary release date now we are looking at a two plus year delay. That is down right pathetic