George RR Martin’s The Winds of Winter has truly been a long time coming for fans. A significant number of delays have befallen Martin’s progress, making it one of the most hotly anticipated books of the series. While COVID-19 has slowed many down, it seems the pandemic has given him time to get the book done, giving fans new hope.
This year an airline even offered Martin free air fare to their country so he can finish The Winds of Winter in peace.
However, in a blog post, Martin replied to this, saying: “If I don’t have THE WINDS OF WINTER in hand when I arrive in New Zealand for Worldcon 2020, you have here my formal written permission to imprison me in a small cabin on White Island, overlooking that lake of sulfuric acid, until I’m done.
“Just so long as the acrid fumes do not screw up my old DOS word processor, I’ll be fine.”
The dates of the convention are July 29 to August 2, 2020, meaning Martin has a few months left to finish it before a likely Christmas release.
Of course, since then, things have taken a turn, and WorldCon will now be a virtual event as Martin is forced to self-isolate.
The coronavirus may, however, provide an accidental joy for fans, as it has meant Martin will definitely have time to write the novel.
Martin has revealed he has locked himself away to write the book, writing on his blog that he is “making progress” with the book in his quarantine.
Adding to this, there is another thing which will hopefully push Martin forward in ensure his book is delivered this year.
This is the upcoming series which will act as a prequel to Game of Thrones: The House of the Dragon.
The prequel series will “track the beginning of the end for House Targaryen,” to which Daenerys mother of dragons belongs.
In another blog post, the author promised his fans again there is reason to expect The Winds of Winter soon – so he can get going on working on the new House of the Dragon series.
He posted in October 2019: “But… let me make this perfectly clear… I am not taking on any scripts until I have finished and delivered WINDS OF WINTER.
“Winter is still coming, and WINDS remains my priority, as much as I’d love to write an episodes of HOUSE.”
Of course, this was just after the end of Game of Thrones, and the series had finally concluded.
With this being the case, fans will be desperate to hear a snippet the new book, in the hopes it will come sooner rather than later.
One reason for the delay, however, is that the GoT series did not end in a way popular with fans, so many will be expecting Martin to have to seriously revisit his plot for The Winds of Winter before it can be released.
But, if he is not working on House of the Dragon to write The Winds of Winter, this could mean he speeds up his process, even if he has had to revisit the entire plot after the abysmal GoT ending.
All in all, there is certainly reason to hope the book will be finished this year, hopefully meaning fans may get their copies in time for Christmas, or at the very least next year.
