GRRM confirms that he’s missed all deadlines to get Winds of Winter published before season 6 starts airing in mid-April.
Anyone surprised? I’m not. I’m sure it’s tough for George to admit it… good luck to him with his writing!
Here is a simple solution. Why do the books need to be 900+ pages? I don’t think anyone cares if the story takes 7 books or 10 to write it all.
I think it’s very rare for authors to write such long books, there is probably a good reason for that.
I consider that good news.
I thought the first three books were the best fantasy I’d ever read. The fourth book was a disappointment, but hey, they can’t all be home runs. But then the fifth book was literally a chore to read, and a struggle to finish, and seemed hopelessly padded, as if he were being paid by the word.
So maybe the series overtaking the books will convince him that he doesn’t have to stretch it out. Maybe he’ll tighten it up. Maybe it won’t contain 300 pages where not one interesting thing happens.
I don’t think he’ll ever finish the series. I know I wouldn’t. I’d be having too much fun being rich and famous.
Yeah, at this point he clearly does not enjoy what he is doing. Spend the last years of your life miserably doing a chore you have no interest in? no thanks.
Sine I watch the show on DVD, I suppose there is a chance the book will be out before I see season 6…
Brian
there have been authors who died and other people came along and continued to write books in their series. For example they are still putting out “Tom Clancy” books even though he died in 2013. And of course Ian Fleming died in 1964 but they are still putting out Bond movies and books now. The latest Bond book came out last Sept.
Huh, my experience was kinda the opposite. I though 4 was a big let down, but 5 was a partial ( but far from complete ) return to form. I suspect it mostly has to do with my preferences of featured characters. I do think you opinion is more common.
But at any rate, I agree with you in a general sense. Let him noodle away at his own pace and hopefully the finished product will be better.
I’m with you on this. The first three books were all excellent. The fourth was a bit of a struggle (no Tyrion? No Daenerys? You kidding me?), but the fifth was much better than the fourth. And the fifth book was much better than the fifth season of the show.
I think what I’m going to do is quit the TV series until the books are finished. If that means I’m not going to learn how it ends until 2025, meh, so be it. I like the show a lot, but I’m not too bothered about it.
If anyone needs me, I’ll be in a concrete bunker a hundred feet underground with my head in a bucket of sand.
I agree with the last two posts that 4 was a let down, largely because of some of the best characters being missing. 5 was good/great, but not as good as 1-3.
I will be a minority of one. The first 3 books were interesting but still a chore to read. I kept shouting ‘get to the point already’ in my head. I have the attention span of a gnat, so I don’t do book series well. I quit at book 4.
I am fine with him not finishing, unless he gets an editor with a sword.
Frankly, I think he’s long since lost the thread of his own story.
Might have helped if he outlined his story arc better- probably did it on a napkin and lost it in his taxes 5 years ago.
I will be goddamned. How did I miss that? The last book of his I liked was Executive Orders, and the last one I read was The Bear and The Dragon, but jeez, I thought I followed the news.
So, does this mean that once we start Season 6, we don’t have to worry about book spoilers anymore? I mean book spoilers about future events, not things that might have been different in the books concerning scenes already aired.
I wish, but the anti-book crowd will likely still pitch hissy fits at any mention of the books in the show threads. Which is unfortunate, but whaddya gonna do? The dope is nerd Xanadu.
In some story lines, the books are still a bit ahead (and behind in others). So no.
I’m not either. It just doesn’t seem important to him anymore. Or maybe it just wasn’t important to him ever.
He’s been involved with other stuff all along. The Wild Cards relaunch, co-editing various anthologies, and so on. Hell, in the recent release of the Dunk and Egg stories, he was supposed to have a new story included that he couldn’t be bothered to write. But that he’ll write someday.
So, fuck it. He’s not getting any more of my money. I’m sure HBO will cover that loss, but still. . . fuck it.
Ugh. A big disappointment, but hardly a surprise. He needs a fire lit under his ass and a talented editor who’s not afraid to wield a sharp red pen.
No he doesn’t, he needs to tell the show writers how the story is going to end then retire in peace to do something he actually enjoys for what little time he has left.