[Winds of] Winter is not coming this year

George R.R. Martin confirmed that the next book in the Song of Ice and Fire series, The Winds of Winter, will not be released this year.

Game of Thrones will surely be disappointed but it had long been suspected.

The fifth book in the series, A Dance with Dragons, hit bookstores in 2011, the same year that the world was introduced to the TV series Game of Thrones on HBO. We have had seven seasons and 67 episodes but no new book. The show overtook the story timeline starting with season six.

Martin confirmed the news as he was writing a press release for his new book, Fire and Blood, a history of the Targaryens set in the world of Game of Thrones.

“No, winter is not coming… not in 2018, at least. You’re going to have to keep waiting for The Winds of Winter. You will, however, be able to return to Westeros this year. I do want to stress… indeed, I want to shout… that Fire and Blood is not a novel. This is not a traditional narrative and was never intended to be… let’s call this one ‘imaginary history’ instead. The essential point being the ‘history’ part. I love reading popular histories myself, and that’s what I was aiming for here … (Though there are enough stories here for twenty novels. Battles, bloodshed, betrayals, love, lust, horror, religious wars, politics, incest, historical revisionism, all the fun stuff) .… As for me, I’m returning once again to The Winds of Winter.”

Throughout the past few years, George R.R. Martin has given several reasons including the stress and pressures of working on the show, handling multiple projects, and living up to the unreal expectations of himself and the fans.

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Each of the first five books in the series is a massive chapter novel that takes Martin years to write, so it does not come as a shock that this one is taking equally as long.

Though, with the final season of Game of Thrones returning to HBO in 2019, the storyline of the show will be finished while the books still have two more to be completed.

At least there is another story set in the world of Game of Thrones to look forward to.

Fire and Blood will hit stores on November 20 and features a definitive history of the Targaryens and their conquest of Westeros.

What do you think of having to wait another year for The Winds of Winter?

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