The Winds of Winter is a novel that fans are hotly anticipating, even more so after the horrible ending that Game of Thrones received. The idea that this story might have to deal with what the show put on as its canon ending is not something fans can bear.
However, there seems to be steady but slow progress on the part of the aging author, with a lot of optimism growing as each new year begins. George R.R. Martin has already said that there will be a big announcement when he is done, and fans only need to be patient.
George R.R. Martin revealed that he is at least done with 1100 pages
George R.R. Martin, speaking with Bangast (via Business Insider) in 2023, revealed how much he was done with it. He said:
I’m 12 years late on this damn novel, and I’m struggling with it. I have like 1,100 pages written but I still have hundreds more pages to go. It’s a big mother of a book for whatever reason. Maybe I should’ve started writing smaller books when I began this, but it’s tough.
His struggle with the manuscript was further compounded when the author said that he might never finish the book, or the series, but remained committed to getting the thing out. Given how convoluted the story of Game of Thrones is, it makes sense that the author would take his time to set up his end game, which might be able to come sooner if he does his penultimate entry right.
The Winds of Winter has a lot to do
The Winds of Winter is going to set up the final endgame of the entire saga of A Song of Ice and Fire, which has already been shown to be very easy to fumble with the end of Game of Thrones. There are far more characters and theatres that need to be juggled in the books, which makes it all the more important that George R.R. Martin takes all the time he needs to move the relevant pieces to their positions, such that characters could have satisfying endings.
After The Winds of Winter, given that a lot of the ending and characters’ arc finish lines will already be in place, A Dream of Spring might not take as long as Winds of Winter took to get done. Aside from writing his dense plot in a manner that is easy to read, Martin should have a breezy time dealing with the final book.
Game of Thrones can be streamed on HBO Max
