Winter is coming. Eventually.
Fantasy author George R.R. Martin offered fans an update on The Winds of Winter, the long-awaited next installment of A Song of Ice and Fire, the book series that formed the basis for HBO’s Game of Thrones.
“I wrote hundreds and hundreds of pages of THE WINDS OF WINTER in 2020,” Martin wrote on his blog. “The best year I’ve had on WOW since I began it. Why? I don’t know. Maybe the isolation. Or maybe I just got on a roll. Sometimes I do get on a roll.”
The “roll” is far from over. Martin continued, “I need to keep rolling, though. I still have hundreds of more pages to write to bring the novel to a satisfactory conclusion. That’s what 2021 is for, I hope.”
Martin’s fans have been clamoring for The Winds of Winter ever since the last installment, A Dance With Dragons, was published in 2011.
Is Martin committed to a specific release date for The Winds of Winter? He is not!
“I will make no predictions on when I will finish,” Martin wrote. “Every time I do, assholes on the internet take that as a ‘promise,’ and then wait eagerly to crucify me when I miss the deadline. All I will say is that I am hopeful.”
Message received. Don’t be an asshole on the internet, and let the nice man finish his book. Winter will come if you’re patient.
Michael Schaub is a Texas-based journalist and regular contributor to NPR.
