Winds of Winter not coming out in 2018. Won't release any more advanced chapters, says GRRM

Game of Thrones ends with Season 8 in 2019. On the other hand, the series of books on which it is based, A Song of Ice and Fire, is yet two volumes away from finishing. The show has already surpassed the story-line of the books, and we were expecting the next book, The Winds of Winter to come out this year, but a recent announcement by author George R. R. Martin himself, says that the book isn’t coming out this year. Read on!

George recently gave an update on his Not a Blog, about the upcoming Fire and Blood book, the first volume of which is arriving this year. Speaking of Winds of Winter in the post, he said:

“No, winter is not coming… not in 2018, at least. You’re going to have to keep waiting for THE WINDS OF WINTER.”

That’s that. No ETA. He also commented on the Game of Thrones prequel series development, especially whether one of them is based off of Fire and Blood:

“Oh, and I should also say… as most of you know, HBO is presently developing a number of different prequels to GAME OF THRONES. I know I am going to be asked whether those shows are going to be based on material from FIRE & BLOOD. It’s a logical question. The only answer I can give is… ah, well, no one is sure yet, and anyway, I am not allowed to say. So let’s move that to the side.”

Now, as you know, George has given us some samples chapters and such from the book, and it seems like he plans on not releasing or reading more of them. George said in the comments section:

“I think I have probably released too many sample chapters already. Put them all together, and what, there are probably more than a hundred pages (I honestly don’t know, I have never tried the exercise).

In the past, I have always been happy to release sample chapters, and to read other chapters at cons. But in this age of the internet, no good deed goes unpunished. That was brought home to me when the Dozois anthology BOOK OF SWORDS was released, and I found myself reading reviews that slammed “Sons of the Dragon” as ‘old, retread’ material because I’d read the story at a couple cons… for the entertainment of the few hundred people in the audience, but of course summaries went up all over the web, and somehow in the minds of some what should have been a brand new reading experience became old and familiar. It’s not worth it putting up sample chapters and giving readings if it means it will come back and bite me in the ass when the book is finally published.”

He also responded to an angry fan who noted that George should have focused on finishing Winds before working on prequel series and Fire and Blood:

“I am not sure HBO would agree that the spinoffs (I prefer the term “successor shows” myself) could have waited. With GOT set to end in 2019, they put five of them in the works, so as to have a new show… or more than one… to take up the mantle in 2020. (Development takes time). The successor shows were going to happen regardless. I prefer that they happen with my participation and guidance, rather than without it.”

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