‘The Winds of Winter’: 'Game of Thrones' Author George R.R. Martin has declared that he will finish 'The Winds of Winter' before the premiere of 'Game of Thrones' Season 7 (Photo : YouTube/ IGN)
celebration of the 20-year anniversary of "Game of Thrones," Apple has partnered with George R.R. Martin to release enhanced editions of the best-selling tomes. The enhanced version is available exclusive on iBooks, sources confirm.
"A Game of Thrones: Enhanced Edition" was released on iBooks on Sept. 29 to mark the 20th anniversary of Martin's epic fantasy novel series, which is sold at $8.99.
HarperCollins stated that the book offers "a world of additional content," which ranges from interactive maps to character journeys, timelines, family trees and summary of the 92 family sigils, The Guardian reported. The ebook also contains new illustrations and audio clips narrated by actor Roy Doctrice.
The most exciting of it all is that the enhanced edition will exclusively feature an extract from the highly-anticipated sixth book in the series, "The Winds of Winter." HarperCollins said that the excerpt was previously viewable on Martin's website, but is now only available in the enhanced editions.
"We're now entering a new period in the history of publishing," Variety quoted Martin's statement about the new release. He added that never-before-seen "rich secondary material" is available right at readers' fingertips, and it will also give answers to anything that might have confused readers or anything they want to know more about the realm of "Game of Thrones."
Meanwhile, the release date of "The Winds of Winter" is still shrouded in mystery. Martin and his publishers have remained tight-lipped about any developments on the book. In the past months, he unveiled short excerpts from the book.
Following rumors that an ISBN has been reserved for "The Winds of Winter" and that publication is likely to happen in 2017, HarperCollins denied it and said nothing has been finalized with respect to the book's release.
In January, Martin revealed that he was not yet finished with "The Winds of Winter," which was initially thought to come out before the premiere of "Game of Thrones" Season 6 on HBO. At that time, he admitted that there was "a lot still left to write" and that he's "months away" from completing it.
