George R.R. Martin Has An ETA For The Next 'GoT' Book

For super fans who're still reeling from that finale, Game Of Thrones has become a slightly thorny topic. Diehard stans of the books the hit TV show was based on, however, have been dealing with the added stress and anxiety of waiting for the latest literary instalment. But they need no longer worry: George R.R. Martin has been dropping major hints about when the next book, The Winds of Winter' is coming.

Considering it's been nine long years since A Dance with Dragons, the last book in the A Song Of Ice & Fire fantasy series, was released, this has been a while coming. Sharing an insight into the ETA of his latest novel, Martin shared a blog post detailing how the coronavirus pandemic and resulting lockdown have proven professionally positive for the author. "I am spending long hours every day on The Winds Of Winter, and making steady progress," he wrote. He says he's completing chapters, in the series' penultimate book, at a fairly steady pace but adds, "this does not mean that the book will be finished tomorrow or published next week. It's going to be a huge book, and I still have a long way to go."

The writer added that he "hopes" it will be ready by 2021, which perhaps makes the potential of it being published then slightly tenuous. As the old saying goes, you can't rush genius and I hate to keep banging on about the season finale of GOT but... Case in point.

The finale was so unpopular that a petition set up by fans to remake season 8 of the hit HBO series garnered 1.7 million signatures. Actor Carice Van Houtenm who plays Melisandre, described the backlash as "extremism." While Jon Snow, played by Kit Harrington, said to Esquire that critics, "can go f*** themselves." Entertainment Weekly reported that the president of programming at HBO, Casey Bloys, finally responded to fan's anguish at the Television Critics Association's press tour in California. Putting a positive spin on it he said, "the petition shows a lot of enthusiasm and passion for the show, but it wasn't something we seriously considered."

So the question on everyone's lips is, will the ending be the same as the TV show? In another blog post Martin said, "well… yes. And no. And yes. And no. And yes. And no. And yes." I'll leave that to be interpreted by experts in the field, it's all Dothraki to me.