George R.R. Martin says 2014 is the earliest for The Winds of Winter

NewJeffCT · Aug 8, 2012

2 more years. Some interesting revelations in this interview - translated from Spanish & posted originally at Westeros.org:

1) The series could go eight book, or more.
2) Howland Reed did not witness Ned's promise to Lyanna.
3) He's got about 400 pages of manuscript done for book 6, but book 5 had about 1,500 pages of manuscript (and was about 1,000 when published.)

More info at the link:

New GRRM interview - General (ASoIaF) - A Forum of Ice and Fire

Hopefully, we (including GRRM) can all live long enough to see the end of the series.

Janx · Aug 8, 2012

well gosh darn it, what;'s wrong with that boy.

it ain't that hard to finish a story if he'd just stop killin off the people tryin to end it.

Kaodi · Aug 8, 2012

If he put a book out every two years after that, we could maybe have Game of Throne right up until Season 8 before the writing schedule becomes prohibitive.

delericho · Aug 8, 2012

Not surprised at the date. I wonder when it will actually be released? Hopefully, it will be a bit better than the last two volumes.

NewJeffCT said:
1) The series could go eight book, or more.

Damn. Every time this series gains an extra volume, my enthusiasm dies a little.

3) He's got about 400 pages of manuscript done for book 6, but book 5 had about 1,500 pages of manuscript (and was about 1,000 when published.)

Ah. Not 2014 then.

Jhaelen · Aug 8, 2012

delericho said:
Damn. Every time this series gains an extra volume, my enthusiasm dies a little.

Yup, extremely discouraging. I stopped reading after the second installment since it had written Wheel-of-Time-Syndrome all over it.

I wished I hadn't read any book, then I might have enjoyed the TV show more.

I'll go back reading the books after the whole series is done (or not at all).

delericho · Aug 8, 2012

Jhaelen said:
Yup, extremely discouraging. I stopped reading after the second installment since it had written Wheel-of-Time-Syndrome all over it.

In that case, I do recommend picking up the third volume, and then treating it as the greatest unfinished story of all time. Because those three volumes truly are excellent.

That's part of what hurts so much about the series as a whole - such a great start, and then huge delays and creeping mediocrity.

(The anaology with "Wheel of Time" is also apt. That was another series that, after the first half-book, was extremely good for a long time. But it got bogged down in too many minor characters, too many minor plot threads, and long delays between long books in which nothing happened. Fortunately, WoT seems to have developed some real urgency since Sanderson took over, and seems to be finishing <i>very</i> strongly.)

I'll go back reading the books after the whole series is done (or not at all).

Aye. My recommendation to anyone who hasn't yet started is "don't".

Morrus · Aug 8, 2012

It's a typo. He means 2024.

variant · Aug 8, 2012

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7lp3RhzfgI]Write Like the Wind (George R. R. Martin) - YouTube[/ame]

Hand of Evil · Aug 8, 2012

Getting like Jordan...someone else will be finishing these books. :erm:

Umbran · Aug 8, 2012

Dear Mr. Martin,

We do enjoy your works. Truly, we do. But you seem to forget some very simple facts about your core audience: we are a fickle lot, and we have dozens of other authors out there trying to gain our attention. While there's some marketing value to artificial scarcity, taking it too far means your audience gets bored waiting, and wanders away and gives their passion to other works.

You are in competition with others, sir. Remember that. Write with that in mind, and you'll produce good, tight works on a regular basis - you clearly have the skill. Take for granted that your audience will always be there, and you'll find we won't be.

Thank you for your time and attention.

-Your Readers

*******

I read the first book, and loved it. But, I, too, saw the Wheel of Time Syndrome approaching, so I didn't pick up the second book. Since I haven't read the books, I'm also not watching the TV show, not wanting to be spoiled. End result, I'm now not a customer for this series, much as I'd like to be. Meanwhile, other authors, who at least knows how to put out a decent book each year (like Jim Butcher), have gotten a nice stack of my money.