Rumors abound that "Winds of Winter" release may happen in Jan. 2017, and Neil Gaiman may be the co-author.
Author George R. R. Martin is unable to finish "Winds of Winter" as he is suffering from writer's block. He also had a very hectic schedule earlier, which may be the underlying reason for the writer's block.
Martin may take the help of Gaiman to complete the much-awaited book and release it soon. Gaiman is the author of numerous fantasy novels, such as "American Gods," "Star Dust," "The Graveyard Book," and "Coraline." He has also authored "Sandman," which is a graphic novel series.
Even after Martin finishes writing it with the help of his capable co-aiuthor, proof-reading and re-writing plus editing will consume a lot of time. So, readers can hope that it will be out in early 2017.
Fans blame Martin's several distractions for the extreme delay of the book. He was so busy in writing the scripts of "Game of Thrones" episodes, and going for promotional tours, that "Winds of Winter" was unknowingly put on a back burner.
It is now confirmed that the book will not be out before "Game of Thrones" season 6 premieres on April 24. Due to the delay in finishing "Winds of Winter," the fans will need to wait longer for the entire book series to be completed.
The author recently wrote on his live journal that the next book in the series of "A Song of Ice and Fire" may get completed, till the TV show series reaches season 10, which means roughly 4 to 5 years. This implies that the seventh book in the series of "A Song of Ice and Fire," which is titled "A Dream of Spring" will hit the shelves not before 2019.
"Game of Thrones" showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss revealed in an interview to Entertainment Weekly, that "Winds of Winter" contains a big twist and that the HBO show will not include it.This twist involves a dead character, who is dead in the show, but is not dead in the book series.
Watch this video to learn about the expected spoilers in the upcoming book: