GRRM clearing his con schedule to finish The Winds of Winter 

“Why does George R.R. Martin have time for [insert typical activity here] and yet he hasn’t finished the book yet?” is a frequent refrain heard from fans of the

And while it’s unreasonable to expect the author to set aside enjoying the occasional football game, people have brought up his convention schedule as an impediment to his writing- and that is a more reasonable complaint as Martin has famously said that he does not write when he travels.

in a new blog entry, Martin confirmed that he’ll be skipping some of the conventions he had planned on attending this year, including San Diego Comic Con. For a lifelong bona fide comic nerd like Martin, that’s a sacrifice indeed.

Martin expresses his regrets at not being able to be able the cons this year as an enthusiastic fan, and that his reasons have nothing “to do with the con itself,” and that “it’s just a matter of time.”

The author says, “I have too much to do. Too many things on my plate. Son of Kong

[His nickname for The Winds of Winter- Editor’s note.]

foremost amongst them.  My apologies to anyone who saw Saratoga on my Appearances page and planned to go in order to see me.”

Martin concludes with the sentence that really has fans buzzing tonight:

(Should I complete and deliver WINDS OF WINTER before these cons roll round, I reserve the right to change my mind).

San Diego Comic Con runs July 9-12 this year and the World Fantasy Convention falls in November. Martin’s remark is playful, but could there be a real chance of him completing

Martin is ever the optimist, in my opinion, and if he does complete the draft, I would rather the editing process not be rushed as it was with

I think a 2015 release for TWOW is still very unlikely and I would rather a quality book be released than a rushed one. What do you all think of his remarks?

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Well… I will get excited when it’s finally released. In the meantime I hope everything goes as GRRM is planning it. *fingers crossed*

Re-posting my comment from /r/asoiaf just so that the hype train doesn’t go off the rails here either:

I hate to be “the hypeslayer” for my own post, but cancelling convention appearances is something that GRRM has done previously for

in 2007. If memory serves, this was done “in order to ‘finish ADWD.\'” But I think it’s decent enough news all the same — at least he hasn’t fully abandoned TWOW with the juggernaut of the show bearing down on him.

Yesterday for fun, I went through GRRM’s writing speed for ADWD, and came out thinking that his fastest pace was 2009-2010 was about 400 pages/year (though probably more). If GRRM was writing TWOW at 400pg/year pace, he’d be done by mid-2015 or so.

However, between JAN 2012 and MAR 2013, GRRM only wrote about 225 MS pages of TWOW. Here’s the known-knows, some factoids to give context and the math: Book expected to be 1500pgs.

– GRRM began writing new TWOW material in JAN ’12

– GRRM stated he was 1/4 way done TWOW at GoT S03 premier IN MAR ’13.

So, maybe GRRM has massively picked up the pace, but he has been mentioning lately that he’s grown slower, not faster. But now I’m wondering if GRRM thinking that he might be able to go to the cons if he can turn in TWOW is just undue optimism on George’s part. It’s happened before (c.f. AFFC, ADWD)

Also, “complete and deliver” does not mean that the book will be published by November or this year. ADWD took 4 months to edit after it was completed and delivered. We can expect at least as long for TWOW if not longer since GRRM has not been sending manuscript partials to his editor every few months or so like he did with ADWD.

I have too much to do. Too many things on my plate. Son of Kong foremost amongst them.

I won’t be. I think he’ll deliver it by the end of the year. The more you write, the easier it gets. So once he gets on a roll, he’ll write faster… though, the faster you write the more likely it is that you’ll need to fix it later.

In this case would it be unreasonable to hope at least for a release in early 2016?

I predict it will be out before Season 6 of the show. Glad he’s on it mainly because I’m fed up of all the whinging from people about him not writing fast enough.

Best case scenario is before season six, but 2017 seems more likely. Remember when the whole show-overtaking-the-books thing was a big debate?

Let’s hope you are right and I’m just a grumpy pessimist.

We can only hope. Write like the wind, grand maester! Is it too greedy to ask for a sneak Sansa chapter before all hell breaks loose this season?

I’m not sure if this is because he’s really in the home stretch, or if this is just a desperate and futile attempt to beat season 6. Let’s hope.

I think December 2015 is too much to hope for but I would place my bet on a release date between 2/16 – 3/15/16. Gives people enough time to finish before the early-mid April start of S6 and George’s ego wins out. I have always felt his ego would not let D&D tell the end of his story before he does. It’s pretty much a given they will end the show before A Dream of Spring is out but I can’t see him letting the show finish before both books are out.

It’s not unreasonable per se, but we’re totally in the dark on George’s actual progress. He’s been known to be overly optimistic about his progress and how quickly he can finish something. I’d be skeptical that he’ll submit a complete manuscript by November 2015 as well. If he was averaging 225 MS pages/year, AND he’s grown slower AND he had a ton of work to put in for

, (Which he all-the-way finished in April 2014) I’d be extremely skeptical.

Best advice: stay pessimistic and if pessimism is subverted, it’s a pleasant surprise.

First Marvel, now this. At least it’s not the whole cast missing SDCC.

People sure seem to be reading a lot into that last line. To me it sounds more like a joke.

I would paraphrase it as “”When the sun rises in the west and sets in the east. When the seas go dry and mountains blow in the wind like leaves, only then will I change my schedule.”

Judging from Martin’s prior comments, what does this mean? Absolutely nothing lol.

I would paraphrase it as “”When the sun rises in the west and sets in the east. When the seas go dry and mountains blow in the wind like leaves, only then will I change my schedule.”

He just trolled us so bad with that last statement lol

I bet he secretly finished Winds years ago and will release it and Dream of Spring at the same time, as a special surprise. Hehe!

I notice the things he cancels tend to be GoT related. SDCC panel :`( Writing an episode :`( :`(

Laura: It’s pretty much a given they will end the show before A Dream of Spring is out but I can’t see him letting the show finish before both books are out.

We have seen GRRM let many other self-suggested deadlines come and go. He might not want to let it happen, but give what a glacially slow writer he is, it probably will.

Correcting a bit for GRRM’s optimism, and knowing how publishing works, I feel relatively safe with a 2016 release date, but I think early 2016 might be overly optimistic.

2015 is just a fantasy and is definitely not happening as a release date. It just isn’t.

goodkinghenry: Judging from Martin’s prior comments, what does this mean? Absolutely nothing lol.

It does sometimes feel like Xeno had nothing on GRRM.

I’m slightly more optimistic than some. He not only cancelled some convention appearances, he isn’t writing an episode for Season 5 either. His mentality is different than it was last year or the year before when he wrote for the show. That to me indicates that how much of a bind he’s in is finally dawning on him, and he’s reacting appropriately.

I’m going to try to be more skeptical, but I can’t help but hope…

Good! Mr. Too-Fat-To-Finish-A-Book needs to stay away from all these GOT events. He’s been showing up every year and I’m sure he’s tired of the same questions, you know, the one about him and the books.

I just want the book to be properly edited and not shoved out the door in a draft-like state to meet some arbitrary deadline. *cough* Dance *cough*

But who can make GRRM listen to his editor these days?

It’s pretty clear this season won’t have anything much to do with her TWOW content, so I’d say the odds of that are pretty slim.

Anyway, I wouldn’t read anything into his final line. He teases like that without any greater meaning.

My personal prediction is that TWOW will be out in 2016, but not before season 6.

King Stannis: Good! Mr. Too-Fat-To-Finish-A-Book needs to stay away from all these GOT events. He’s been showing up every year and I’m sure he’s tired of the same questions, you know, the one about him and the books.

The question is, do the majority of SDCC attendees flock the panel to see/ask questions to GRRM or to the producers/writers/actors?

I was convinced it was coming out last year or this year. Not hoping again this year.

Agreed. Also, I for one am more than a little dubious about whether the full series is ever finished-ESPECIALLY given the hints about extending the series to eight books. It just seems there are too many different threads and sub-plots now to finish it in just two books-especially if those books have ANY of the pacing issues of AFFC or ADWD.

Let’s hope you are right and I’m just a grumpy pessimist.

I’m more of a pessimist than an optimist. But I’m also all about looking at his writing history and facts as he’s stated them over the years… and that puts the book being finished at the end of this year.

The longer the better. I need to sell more GoT handcrafted coasters.

Honestly, at this point, I’m content to let him finish whenever he finishes. The show’s passing the books anyway, so he might as well take his time. Just so long as doesn’t just give up on the whole thing (which, despite some fans’ snarkiness, I certainly don’t believe would ever happen).

Sean C.: It’s pretty clear this season won’t have anything much to do with her TWOW content, so I’d say the odds of that are pretty slim.

at the end of March last year, before S4 kicked-off, with ep1’s subtle connection to the chapter. It would be a nice treat for all of us patient ones who haven’t heard from Sansa or Sam in 10 years.

I dont know GRRM has been very pessimistic about his release plans and has learned from giving any statements that can be misinterpreted as oh the book is coming out soon! I think he has gotten to the home stretch where the writing is coming a lot faster to him and he feels optimistic that he can finish for the first time. I also feel that the seventh book will be a lot easier to write. Hes always said he knew the beginning and end of the story its the middle that is hard. Hes had the last book in his head for decades so when he actually gets to it he should be writing at A Game of Thrones pace. Besides the things that really slow him down is creating prophecies, foreshadowing, symbolism. Every two pages of his books have some sort of foreshadowing for an event that will happen in the last book. If the show goes to 8 seasons there is still a chance. I mean its like a one percent chance but still.

Kill the hype Jon Snow! Kill the hype and let the man be born!

Thanks for the update BFish. I’m hoping GRRM finishes in late December. I’m just worried about the editing. For ADWD he would turn in work on a regular basis. He hasn’t done this for TWOW. We might get a longer editing time even if he does miraculously complete it by December :/. I don’t see him completing it by season 6

ADWD took 4 months to edit. TWOW will take atleast 5 months imo

GRRM stated that he will not be giving any more TWOW sample chapters unfortunately

I’d like to find out what happens to Jon in the books, including confirmation on who his parents are. So I’m really hoping for an early 2016 release.

Well, Rowling finished Deathly Hallows in January of 2007, and it was released (with some fanfare, if I recall) in July of 2007. Six months or so is pretty typical of ms -> proof -> publication for books in my world, too.

Crabber’s Son: Every two pages of his books have some sort of foreshadowing for an event that will happen in the last book.

It’s like Family Guy. Every scene has a cutaway. Right now GRRM is probably writing a Damphair chapter & rubbing his forehead like

Tyrion Pimpslap: I’d like to find out what happens to Jon in the books, including confirmation on who his parents are.

I would hope that GRRM puts that in Winter. Of course, by now most of the Dayneists probably don’t even remember who Ashara Dayne was, so rubbing it in their noses will lose some of it’s puerile and ill-mannered fun.

Turncloak: I’m just worried about the editing.

At least the 150pgs cut from ADWD won’t have to be edited again…

Rygritte: At least the 150pgs cut from ADWD won’t have to be edited again…

I don’t think that Martin cancelling his Con appearances for the next few months is a veiled indication, teasing or otherwise, that he’s close finishing The Winds of Winter. The man genuinely enjoys attending conventions. He thinks that he’s too busy to attend any of them this year, and he’s expressing his disappointment about that unfortunate reality. I’m not really inclined to read any further meaning into his words – certainly not with respect to a timetable. The following statement, posted by Martin to his blog on December 9, is the only statement that I place any stock in with respect to any and all speculation about his progress on the next book.

“When it’s done, I will announce it here. There won’t be any clues to decipher, any codes or hidden meanings, the announcement will be straightforward and to the point … I won’t time it to coincide with Xmas or Valentine’s Day or Lincoln’s Birthday, the book will not rise from the dead with Jesus on Easter Sunday. When it is done, I will say that’s it is done, on whatever day I happen to finish. I don’t know how I can make it any clearer.”

I truly don’t mind that approach. Martin can, and should, take as long as he needs to finish the novels and be satisfied that he’s created a great final product. He shouldn’t rush his process to meet some artificial deadline with respect to the show or readers’ expectations, and he

shouldn’t rush the editing process (can’t stress that enough). To his credit, we have no reason to expect that he will.

In the meantime, I’m perfectly happy to continue watching Game of Thrones, which – honest to God – I prefer to the ASOIAF novels at this point, for a multitude of reasons. I have absolutely no issues with learning the end of this saga from the TV show. If anything, I’m rather excited for that inevitability! I’ll still be happy to read the books whenever they’re published, be that in 2016 or 2026. Knowing the major plot points and fates of the major characters won’t detract at all from my enjoyment of watching the journey unfold in either medium.

GRRM realized HBO is skipping all the nonsense side plots and going straight to the meaty parts of the story. The train isn’t slowing down Mr Martin write like the wind

I like connections. Next year seems more realistic than any time later this year for ‘Son of Kong’. This ties with an anniversary which I doubt GRRM wouldn’t know.

The window I’m looking at is between late February and late April. Clearly, that looks like it ties in with Season 6 of the show. That’s coincidental. The connection is that Son of Kong is expected to have two significant battles within it’s opening chapters. The anniversary concerns two very specific battles, at different moments in time. Both of these battles had heavy prices paid on both sides. Both of the battles to come in ‘Son of Kong’ will see heavy prices paid by all sides.

Maybe I ought to point out, where I live (not that it has any bearing). I live in the North-West of England, just south of Hadrian’s Wall. If I know of both historic battles, anyone should also, including GRRM.

If you like numbers, to give perspective on casualties – there was around 500,000 casualties on either side, for one battle, with around 150,000 killed on either side. That’s almost parallel to the scale of what’s going on in Meereen. (Who thought GRRM needed to exaggerate all the time?)

The other battle? Between 600 and 900 total casualties on both sides. Sizes of casualties do not make this one any less significant. In comparative scale, to Winterfell, how does that match up to expected fatalities from a 1st battle-sortie? (Freys & Manderleys versus Stannis.)

BTW – It looks like a further battle will be necessary to conclude Winterfell, and that echoes with history too.

538’s math shows that if GRRM’s final WPD for TWOW is as slow as when he wrote AFFC, we’re looking at an approximately April 2018 publication. If he’s as “fast” (har!) as when he wrote ADWD, approximately November 2016. So yeah, I don’t have any hope for a release date soon.

Well said. While I want George to finish first I also want him to do his own thing. If the books need to be different than the show then so be it.

He can take as long as he pleases, he owes nothing to anyone

The man is free to do whatever he wants but I’m pretty sure it would be a dick move if he said fuck the fans I’m not giving them an ending.

My little birds tell me he’s got a lot more words squirrelled away than most of us think. He’s currently dealing with a knotty plot problem in Book 13,

Everything you said it’s accurate, except the 1/4 refers to actual writing, not including the stuff cut and moved from the other two books into winds. So, by March 2013 you it is fair to say he had about 400 new pages written plus the 150 moved for a total of roughly 550.

I also think he has written more this fall and early in the year because he was expected to deliver a few chapters of the essential plots to be used for the script of s6.

To sum up, it would be reasonable to expect a grad total of 1000 pages written so far. A pessimistic outlook would be 800 minimum, while an optimistic expectation would raise that to 1200. Still, a lot remaining to write, a publication in early or spring 2016 seems most likely.

Not if he wants to finish his magnum opus before he dies. Which he’s said he does

As for these remarks, I don’t believe them for a second. I’m sure he’ll miss a few cons, but he’ll be back at them in a few months time. He’s forever saying things like this. “Oh, I’m not writing an episode this year so I can write more Winds”! That saved you at most two weeks to a month George, and during that time you went to several conventions. “I’m clearing myself of all side projects!” then he comes out with those history novellas.

And fine, he can do whatever the hell he wants. That doesn’t mean anyone has to respect him for it

A month before S6 would be just fine, thank you very much

I think he gets a bit more grief than he deserves from some, to be honest. Quite a lot has been cut out of the TV series, let’s not forget. If they added even some of the flashbacks, characters and events that have been cut/streamlined, they’d probably be at the build-up for the Red Wedding by now, so he could well have thought he had plenty of time.

I do wonder though if “Dream of Spring” could end up being the literary version of Chinese Democracy, though. Takes years in the writing only to be released to a rather muted response, as everyone will broadly know the outcome before reading it.

Still, a lot remaining to write, a publication in early or spring 2016 seems most likely.

I envy your optimism, people. I really do. I mean, actually I think there’s pretty much no way we’ll see the book before 2017 (ok, or december 2016) and that’s a very optimistic guess from my side.. still, i understand, a man can dream..

I think it’s bullshit like all recent GRRM interviews .

Good! Mr. Too-Fat-To-Finish-A-Book needs to stay away from all these GOT events. He’s been showing up every year and I’m sure he’s tired of the same questions, you know, the one about him and the books.

Can we please not do the fat-shaming thing? It’s disrespectful and has nothing to do with the issue at hand.

Yes, he writes slowly, and if you have a problem with that, you can criticize him for his work ethic or his bad decision-making. But criticizing him for his body because you are dissatisfied with his work is just low and mean.

(And don’t bring out the health argument either. You implied that his girth prevented him from writing now, not a health risk for later.)

Many of us remember this day, Apr. 27th, 2011, when G.R.R.M. posted his announcement that A Dance With Dragons was completed:

Maybe we’ll see a similar “Son of Kong” post by the end of the year. Fingers crossed. If

sees publication prior to the airing of Season 6, all well and good, but the scripts would have been completed nearly a year before that. Hopefully well informed by

but I expect the show and the book will continue to diverge further from each other…

Bright side if the book’s delayed further: unsullied show watchers can’t be spoiled by the book readers. We’ll all be on the edge of our seats. Cold comfort.

That was never an option. 4 seasons to get to the Red Wedding? The pacing would be abysmal.

Not to mention that he had 4 years before the show even began. George is getting the grief he deserves.

I agree with you, but there is an added pressure from HBO to deliver. No one expects him to finish both books (although they did at some point), but there was a requirement that he provide drafts for some important story lines, not necessarily for s7 or beyond, but certainly for s6. So, one can hope…

I would rather the editing process not be rushed as it was with A Dance with Dragons.

I would rather the editing process wasn’t rushed either, but was that the case with

? I didn’t know that. I always thought GRRM simply stuck to his guns on every piece of his convoluted story. Don’t get me wrong, I love the fourth and the fifth books, especially when read intertwined, but they are markedly different from the first three —there’s much more

, which is surprising considering these two volumes make up a two thousand page ton of a tome.

Anyway, great news! If TWOW is released before April 2016, it will mollify some of the book readers for a while in terms of the show spoiling the books. Now, there’s no hope for ADOS, since it would have to be released within a year of TWOW to not be spoiled by the show, but we have known that for a while.

So this is a common thing people say then? What does it make ADWD look like a draft, more than, say, AFFC? It did feel a bit rough, that’s true, but I can’t say I can pinpoint anything specific.

I’m quite excited as well. For me the show overtaking the books it’s not so much a catastrophe as an opportunity. I’d love to finish the story watching it instead of reading it. After all, that’s how it started for me. And watching without knowing what happens, like in Season 1! It will be glorious.

Is that something we know for a fact? I wasn’t aware of this. I thought GRRM helped D&D with the Season 6 outline, sure, but I didn’t think he was pressured into writing key chapters. That said, I do think D&D probably have access to the unfinished manuscripts and his annotations, or at least will have access to them when they start not only outlining but actually writing, which should be… right about now, if I’m not mistaken. Having details of the story is helpful, of course, but I’m sure D&D also want to actually see some of his writing. In my opinion, the show’s dialogue has been at its best when it has reformulated the book’s prose, not when it has sticked to it 100% or when it has invented completely new dialogue (though there are many wonderful examples of completely invented scenes, to be sure.)

Filming for Season 6 should start about ten weeks from now, so I hope the scripts are being polished up now, based upon Martin’s storyline drafts. We can only speculate.

Further speculation: by April 19th-20th, we could have an announcement of a 7th season for the show. Maybe HBO will opt to split the 7th season and make it longer, as they’ve done with final seasons of other shows in the past. I’m beginning to favor a regular length 7th season, and a 10 episode 8th season to cap the series. That’s an expensive option for HBO, however, as they would need to negotiate a new contract.

seems destined to see publication years after the show ceases production.

Maester of Ceremonies: You meant 2014 Filming for Season 6 should start about ten weeks from now, so I hope the scripts are being polished up now, based upon Martin’s storyline drafts. We can only speculate.

Yeah, that’s what I meant. December 2014!

Weird feeling, right? The adapted TWOW is being written now and will be finished in a matter of weeks, while the real TWOW keeps being written. A shorter, simpler version of TWOW’s story will be in the mouths of the cast and crew for months; that is, GRRM’s secret story revealed to hundreds of people, and then millions if the book is not released by April of 2016.

A small announcement: I will not be posting for a few months due to very busy schedule at work. I will be back in May, hopefully with some news. If you see someone posting with my name, just know it ain’t me. When I returned last week, I saw someone had (again) impersonated me. So beware! Thanks and see y’all in May.

So they will start filming Winds of winter when summer has just begun? Thats crazy. Its supposed to be ice and cold almost everywhere.

So I suppose you’ll be happy to wait another 6 months so that the show can me more book accurate?

I think you are right. I thought it was “tongue in cheek”. I’ve wondered from time to time if he is less enthusiastic in more recent times than when he first started writing the series. Ah well, it’ll be finished when it’s finished I guess.

Is that something we know for a fact? I wasn’t aware of this. I thought GRRM helped D&D with the Season 6 outline, sure, but I didn’t think he was pressured into writing key chapters. That said, I do think D&D probably have access to the unfinished manuscripts and his annotations, or at least will have access to them when they start not only outlining but actually writing, which should be… right about now, if I’m not mistaken. Having details of the story is helpful, of course, but I’m sure D&D also want to actually see some of his writing. In my opinion, the show’s dialogue has been at its best when it has reformulated the book’s prose, not when it has sticked to it 100% or when it has invented completely new dialogue (though there are many wonderful examples of completely invented scenes, to be sure.)

Sorry man, I saw your query after my announcement. Yeah, it kinda is. I hear this was part of the agreement between Martin and D&D when they met. Martin was relieved of his duties to write a script, but he was supposed to deliver more than general arcs. Apart from the major plots, D&D wanted to stay true in as much as possible to the more evocative moments in the story telling. (didn’t I report this last year?) This was also part of the reason Martin released the Mercy chapter for the public. Anyway, if last year is any indication, the script for s6 should be close to completion around this time, and they will soon begin exploring casting options. This was my last post. Signing out!

This sums up the whiny, grasping, immediate-gratification seeking, life-owes-you-everything attitude that is prevalent in today’s age and I hate it.

I don’t know you but I doubt you’re fit to even tie the laces of his shoes. Stop whining.

Back on topic, I’m staying wildly optimistic with an end of 2015 release. You never know…

GRRM has been extremely chatty for the last days and weeks and mentioned TWOW more often than he did for many months. Whatever that means.

I too would be very surprised if it comes out this year.

They aren’t going to shift the whole production by half a year just in the off chance that it gets a bit chillier in Croatia; a look which can be accomplished with set dressing and VFX, and thank God that’s the case, because they cannot even rely on the certainty that it will snow in Ireland, let alone Croatia.

As always, they will film from July to December and make use of the Winter months in Iceland if they see fit. Even then, there will be plenty of scenes in which the heavy snows will be accomplished entirely with fake snow and CGI, especially if they need a snowed-in King’s Landing, or if they are planning for huge sets and/or set-pieces in the snow (e.g., the Battle of Ice), which would be a logistical nightmare to build in Iceland and in real snow. I may be understating it: maybe it’s not just a nightmare but an impossibility! Let us consider that they aren’t even allowed to bring in “real” horses to Iceland (they were forced to use the local ponies instead, and place them far away from Arya and the Hound so that it’s not noticeable on-screen), so I don’t think we can expect them to make use of Iceland for anything half-way grandiose, let alone any huge set-piece.

Ross: This sums up the whiny, grasping, immediate-gratification seeking, life-owes-you-everything attitude that is prevalent in today’s age and I hate it.

Nowhere did I say I wanted the books now dumbass. I’m talking about him selling the rights to the tv show before he was even close to finishing the books. He doesn’t owe me shit, just as I don’t owe him shit. Surprised you didn’t put in a “GRRM is not your bitch” to make your argument even more cliched.

Ross: I don’t know you but I doubt you’re fit to even tie the laces of his shoes. Stop whining.

What a stupid thing to say. Just because you worship at his altar doesn’t mean I have to. I think this sums up the blind, childish celebrity

I can only wonder how crazy the boards will be a year from now, after fans have exhaustively parsed the Season 5 dialogue for any clues to the path of Season 6, & harassed Bryan Cogman on Twitter for clues. Poor guy.

will be out by then. We can only hope by April 2016.

I hate seeing the Unsullied get spoiled by YouTube commenters that take a perverse delight in being asshats. I’d prefer that everyone read the books to become relatively spoiler proof.

Failing that, people can install Herp Derp for YouTube, to convert comments to gibberish. I’d prefer an addon to “Hodor” them instead.

worship so many book readers seem to have. You can piss right off with your ad-hominem bullshit.

Maybe he should just adapt the season 6 script when he reads it.

I’m a cautious semi-optimist that TWoW may indeed be finished ahead of Season 6. I know we’ve been burned before–hello

–but it seems Martin can at least see the light at the end of tunnel if he speculates the book may even be finished in six months.

So yeah, maybe it comes out sooner rather than later… Whatever happens, I think Martin is really trying to publish it before rampant spoilerage courtesy of HBO occurs.

“Clearing his con schedule”? Really, Sue. C’mon. He goes to about half a dozen cons every year. Even with the one cancellation and a confirmation of no ComiCon appearance, he is still going to about half a dozen cons this year. Hardly clearing his con schedule.

And it’s much too little far too late. If Martin had taken this approach years ago, maybe it would have an impact. If memory serves, he skipped a con in Japan in 2007 to focus on writing ADWD. Yeah, that helped. Either this is a GURM snowjob to curry some goodwill among his fans or he is truly delusional. He may as well go to those cons; a few weeks off signing bewbs and creeping on cosplayers is going to have minimal impact on a book that is four years in the making.

OT: apologies if already covered, haven’t had a chance to read any comments since yesterday. The story so far programme was on Sky Atlantic last night (repeated tonight at 10pm and a few other times no doubt). No link to watch it on their website at the moment but I’ll keep an eye out for one and post when it appears.

It was very similar in style to the 20 greatest moments programme with lots of

clips and mini-interviews talking about them. Basically an introduction to S5 for anyone who hasn’t seen the show before, briefly covering some of the main story lines so far. The interviews would be the only bit of real interest to anyone on here; people you would know were GRRM, Bryan Cogman and the actors who play Barristan, Cat, Grey Worm, Hodor, Loras, Lysa, Melisandre, Ros and the main White Walker (not the NK). Probably forgotten someone, I’ve only skim watched it so far. The few brief clips from S5 we’ve seen before. The only thing I can remember anyone saying about S5 (apart from Hodor’s “

”) was Bryan C who, when talking about Stannis, said

paired with Jon Snow. That storyline is going to have huge ramifications in season 5

Not sure if that really counts as a spoiler but covering it just in case.

I used to get annoyed at book-readers who ripped every change the show made no matter how small.

Now I get annoyed at people who insist that Martin write faster to finish a book series they apparently don’t like anyway.

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