Will winds of winter be two books?

George R. R. Martin has been working on The Winds of Winter, the second-to-last book in the A Song of Ice and Fireseries since at least 2010.

During a San Diego Comic Con panel for House of the Dragon, the highly anticipatedprequel about the Targaryen civil war, Martin revealed he won't be making a cameo on the show until he finishes the Winds of Winter.

"For the last couple years since COVID hit I’ve barely left my house," he said in response to a fan's question about a cameo. "Also, you may not know this but there’s this book I’m writing and it’s a little late. So I won’t be doing any acting until I finish and deliver that book and if the show is still running then then maybe."

A Dance with Dragons, Martin's fifth Game of Thrones novel, came out in July 2011. In the ensuing decade, Martin has provided updates on his blog about the status of the sixth novel and updates in various interviews and panels. In October 2022, he told Stephen Colbert, "I think it’s going to be a very big book [more than 1500 pages] and I think I’m about three-quarters of the way done. The characters all interweave and I’m actually finished with a couple of the characters, but not others. I have to finish all that weaving."

This is not his first status update of 2022. "Most of you know by now that I do not like to give detailed updates on WINDS. I am working on it, I have been working on it, I will continue to work on it. (Yes, I work on other things as well)," he shared in August 2022 in a blog post. " I love nothing more than to surprise my readers with twists and turns they did not see coming, and I risk losing those moments if I go into too much detail. Spoilers, you know."

So while he didn't want to prove a "detailed report" on Winds of Winter, Martin did write: "I will say this. I have been at work in my winter garden. Things are growing… and changing, as does happen with us gardeners. Things twist, things change, new ideas come to me (thank you, muse), old ideas prove unworkable, I write, I rewrite, I restructure, I rip everything apart and rewrite again, I go through doors that lead nowhere, and doors that open on marvels. Sounds mad, I know. But it’s how I write. Always has been. Always will be. For good or ill."

Yet, he specified that "of late" his writing is taking him "further and further away from the television series." Though there may be some elements from the final seasons in the books, Martin writes, it will be "quite different."

Martin does admit that he fears readers will hate the book—based only on how long it's taken him to complete. As he writes, "I do fear that a certain proportion of fans are so angry about how long WINDS has taken me that they are prepared to hate the book, unread. That saddens me, but there nothing I can do about it, but write the best book that I can, and hope that when it comes out most fans will read it with clean hands and an open mind."

In an interview in the New York Times, Martin further clarified that his "ending will be very different" from the show, and that he was "out of the loop" on the show's ending.

We'll update this as soon as we learn more about The Winds of Winter by George R. R. Martin.

Emily Burack (she/her) is the news writer for Town & Country, where she covers entertainment, culture, the royals, and a range of other subjects. Before joining T&C, she was the deputy managing editor at Hey Alma, a Jewish culture site. Follow her @emburack on Twitter and Instagram. 

At the end of 'A Dance with Dragons' we were left with many cliffhangers, but the most pressing are the outcome of the four major battles happening.

Euron against Oldtown, Stannis sieging Winterfell, JonCon taking Storms End and the Battle of Meereen. These four battles must all have satisfying outcomes, particularly Meereen and Winterfell, therefore taking up numerous chapters.

It seems that Dany's invasion of Westeros needs to happen sometime during 'Winds' as well. The problem is, after the battle of Meereen, Dany still has a lot to do in Essos. There are storylines that need to be cleared up in Asshai, Qarth, Volantis and Pentos. Not to mention she needs to deal with Tyrion, Jorah etc. The other needling storylines that I would love to have satisfying conclusions to include Sam in Oldtown, Sansa/Littlefinger, Jamie/Brienne/Stoneheart storyline and what's happening in Kings Landing.

George's only real clue about what 'Winds' will be about is that we are travelling further north than we ever have before, implying the book will explore more about The Others, as well as Bran and Jon's story. But there is so much to do before even getting to the Others, including any kind of war between Aegon and Dany.

So I believe that this book should be split. The first part should be the one wrapping up the battles and extra little storylines. I'd give it a title more in line with the first three books, something like "A Fray of Flame" Then the second part can still be called "The Winds of Winter" and it begins with Dany's invasion of Westeros, her battle against Aegon and revealing the truth about the Others.

I mean wouldn't this be much better to hope for?? The book isn't being published because there is too much of it, rather than not enough. lol

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