Is The Winds of Winter finally close to being released? It’s been 15 years since the fifth and, as it stands, most recent book in George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series was published. In that time, Game of Thrones has completed an eight-season run, launched two TV spinoffs (with more on the way), and might even be getting a movie. Martin himself has been busy with books like Fire & Blood and his involvement in various movie and TV projects, but it’s the wait for Winds that is most pressing.
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Fans recently got their hopes up after a claim about The Winds of Winter‘s release and marketing rollout plan went viral on social media, after first appearing on 4Chan. Purportedly from someone who worked for publisher Bantam Spectra, it posited that the book was done, there’d be an announcement at San Diego Comic-Con, and a release in the fall. While there was rightly some skepticism, there were also those who chose to believe it and get their hopes up. However, Bantam has now officially responded to the rumor, and shut it down, with a statement to EW: “The online chatter you are seeing regarding a supposed leak is false.”
Why Is The Winds Of Winter Taking So Long?
Of course, this being the internet, the debunking of the claim has actually served to increase hope (or at the very least, increased cope, in jest) among some fans. That’s because, while the 4Chan post seemed obviously fake, it’s unusual for the publisher to go to the effort of responding to such spurious claims, especially given how many have arisen over the years. Could that be because there is some truth to the matter, and that they do have a plan for The Winds of Winter this year?
The harsh reality, though, is that The Winds of Winter doesn’t seem close to being finished. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter that was published back in January, Martin was rather downbeat when talking about the next ASOIAF novel, saying:
“I have to write more Dunk and Egg. There’s supposed to be another Fire and Blood book, too. I do think if I can just get some of these other things off my back, I could finish The Winds of Winter pretty soon. It’s been made clear to me that Winds is the priority, but … I don’t know. Sometimes I’m not in the mood for that. [He sighs] I’m so far behind on everything.”
The author expects this to be the longest book in the series, and it probably will be by a comfortable margin. He’s previously revealed having around 1100-1200 manuscript pages written, having expected it to be around 1500-1600 in total, if not more. It is undoubtedly a gargantuan undertaking, though one that he has stressed he wants to finish. When you consider the length of the book, Martin’s other projects and time commitments, and the sheer number of plotlines that need to be figured out – and, because it’s the penultimate installment, start coming together – it’s no surprise things are taking so long.
There’s the matter of Jon Snow’s resurrection, Daenerys Targaryen having to return to Meereen and then, presumably, finally head to Westeros, the presence of Young Griff/Aegon Targaryen when she does arrive, the increased threat of the Others, and dozens more characters and storylines to start coalescing and progressing towards an endpoint. An endpoint that, notably, already happened with Game of Thrones‘ series finale, of which the books might hit some of the same broad plot beats, if with very different destinations, which cannot help either, given the backlash to it.
Hopefully, though, The Winds of Winter, and after it, A Dream of Spring (which often seems forgotten about), will come. Martin doesn’t owe anybody anything, and art can’t be forced and certainly cannot be rushed (and thankfully, there’s obviously no sign of him just churning something out to be done with it), but with so much work done on the book, then maybe it will eventually happen, whether that’s this year, 2027, or further in the future. If and when it does, though, it’s probably a safe bet that we won’t be hearing about it from a 4Chan thread.
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