It's still going to be a long wait for "A Song of Ice and Fire" fans, as author George R.R. Martin made it clear that the next book in the series, "The Winds of Winter," won't make it in time for the release of "Game of Thrones" season 6.
Writing on LiveJournal on Jan. 2, Martin announced that the next book is not finished. "Believe me, it gave me no pleasure to type those words," the author wrote.
"You're disappointed, and you're not alone. My editors and publishers are disappointed, HBO is disappointed, my agents and foreign publishers and translators are disappointed... but no one could possibly be more disappointed than me."
Martin explained that there are just a lot of stories to write and more pages and chapters to complete. He also confessed that he has problems with meeting deadlines and that he's more comfortable if he's writing at his own pace.
Despite the delays, a prediction from The Washington Post stated that "The Winds of Winter" might just be right on schedule. According to the 2014 article, the next book is likely to be finished and released in 2017.
This is because Martin's books are lengthier compared to other fantasy novels by J.K. Rowling ("Harry Potter" series) or C.S. Lewis ("The Chronicles of Narnia" series).
The Washington Post also reported that Martin said that the last two books in the saga would be as lengthy as "A Dance with Dragons," which will be around 1,150 paperback pages. If the author maintains his pace, "The Winds of Winter" will see a release in 2017 and "A Dream of Spring" in 2023.
Fans are also worried about the author's untimely death before he could finish his saga, but according to the Post's research, the author will likely have nine years more even after he completes all the books.
As for the viewers of the show, the delay in the book's release won't make much difference since the HBO adaptation has already diverted from the books for the past two seasons. The bright side to this is that there will be no one who can spoil the show for viewers.
