“The Winds of Winter” is the sixth installment of the of “A Song of Ice and Fire,” the basis of HBO’s popular series “Game of Thrones.” (Photo : YouTube/ The Winds of Winter)
"Game of Thrones" creator George R.R. Martin has issued an update, sort of, on his work on "The Winds of Winter" so far. GRRM revealed that "I've made progress," presumably in putting the finishing touches on the TWoW manuscript but refused to commit on a definite release date for the sixth instalment of his epic "A Song of Ice and Fire" novel.
That he is at least moving forward, however glacial the pace is, in completing TWoW was the best that Martin can offer for now. As for when the book is actually coming out, GRRM can only tease. "I think it will be out this year," the author speculated and as reported by IGN. But Martin quickly added: "Hey, I thought the same thing last year."
Last year was January 2016 when he admitted that The Winds of Winter will make it on time or will not be published ahead of GoT Season 6 that HBO started airing April of the same year. And as it turned out, Season 6 of Game of Thrones broadcasted all 10 episodes and 2016 ended but TWoW was not delivered.
The likelihood it will be the same scenario this 2017 notwithstanding the unreliable hint from GRRM of some form of progress in the writing process of TWoW and the possibility that Bantam Books will finally get the manuscript from Martin. The chance is higher that HBO will get to air Season 7 of GoT and complete the seven extra-long episodes and The Winds of Winter is still not on bookstore shelves.
The truth is Martin is unwilling to commit on a deadline or even issue solid updates to GoT and ASOIAF fans alike. In a Reddit post, one fan claimed that GRRM is deliberate on his decision to withhold the completion and delivery dates for TWoW. His reason: "I will start to get emails demanding to know how A DREAM OF SPRING is coming," which surely makes sense.
And as noted by IGN, the GoT creator is not one to make excuses on the TWoW release date delays, the responsibility of which he fairly assumed." I am going back to my stance from last March, before all this. It will be done when it's done. And it will be as good as I can possibly make it," the same report quoted Martin as saying.
So it's fair to presume that once again, Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss will overtake GRRM with Season 7 of the HBO fantasy-drama series, which reportedly is set for July 2017 airing. And hopefully, the show will be immediately followed by The Winds of Winters release date, likely to happen between September and October.
