A Song of Ice and Fire (Possible Spoilers, tread carefully)

[BrentS]

I finally finished Feast of Crows this week.  I'm going to download Dance with Dragons on my iPad next.  Looking forward to getting the other characters POVs.  I thought the note at the end of FoC was funny that next book was coming soon (dated 2005). 

[Nicklab]

LOL!  It's almost three years since A Dance with Dragons was released.  Before that, it had been six years since A Feast for Crows was published.  And there was a five year gap between AFFC and the third book in the series, A Storm of Swords.

I think we may still be waiting a little while for The Winds of Winter.  Although I do get the sense that the HBO series may have lit a fire under George R.R. Martin's ass.  I do get the sense that TWoW is going to be released before the HBO series catches up with the books.  But I'm not as optimistic about that happening with A Dream of Spring.

[evenflow]

Finally finished the last book. Have to say, it's going to be a long wait with wondering about my favorite character with his cliffhanger.  can only imagine the anger for those have been waiting in between each release.

[evenflow]

This saddens me….longer wait not just for the next book but now an 8th.

http://www.ecumenicalnews.com/article/winds-of-winter-release-date-not-this-year-but-a-song-of-ice-and-fire-to-have-eight-books-25076

[BillCable]

I heard the quote was along the lines of "ask me when I'm half-way done with book 7 if there will be book 8."  Nothing definitive.

[evenflow]

I guess that is a little better. 

[Nicklab]

I'm fine if it goes to book 8.  I figured that book 6 was not going to be released this year.  But here's hoping for next year.

[Nicklab]

Stopped in a Barnes & Noble today, and saw the new George R.R. Martin collection, ROGUES which came out last week.  It's a collection of short stories penned by GRRM, Neil Gaiman, and a few other authors.  There's one story penned by Martin that deals with some of the earlier Targaryens.  I was genuinely tempted to buy it.  But then I thought better of it, and I'll probably download it for my iPad.  I can't fathom buying such a cumbersome hardcover book.  Especially if I'm really only interested in one particular story.

[Nicklab]

So George R.R. Martin is talking seriously about finishing 'The Winds Of Winter'.  To the point where he is trimming down his appearance schedule, and he will also not be writing an episode of GoT season 5.

[Nicklab]

George R.R. Martin has released another excerpt from The Winds of Winter.  Check out this Alayne chapter.

According to GRRM's blog, this will almost certainly be the last excerpt to be posted before The Winds of Winter gets published.  Still, it's disappointing that we're almost certainly not going to see the new book published in 2015.

[BrentS]

Finally finished Dance with Dragons tonight. I think I have as many questions as answers!  Glad to finally be "caught up".  I went back to read the last few pages of this thread too.

[Nicklab]

George R.R. Martin has officially shot down a fairly popular fan theory surrounding the character 'Coldhands'.

[Nicklab]

Hints are dropping that we might see The Winds of Winter published within the next few months.  WinterIsComing.net has gotten word of publishers reaching out to a Polish translator to reserve their services around the end of this year to work on Book 6.  Not anything close to an official announcement, but encouraging news.

[Nicklab]

It's official.  The Winds of Winter will not be published before "Game of Thrones" returns to HBO for it's 6th season.

http://grrm.livejournal.com/465247.html

[Scott]

While totally believable it still totally sucks.  If your job was to write this book, wouldn't you lock yourself in your writing space and do only that.  The issue is obviously that there is so much money to make by his publisher that They really have no control over this but it is so disappointing

I now hope HBO sees this out and completes the story next year **** the books