Fans of the popular fantasy book series "A Song of Ice and Fire" have been waiting since 2011 for author George R. R. Martin to release the sixth book, "The Winds of Winter," especially now that the TV adaptation "Game of Thrones" is quickly catching up to the books' events, potentially spoiling the last story arc of the series.
According to a report from Entertainment Weekly, Martin has stated that he will get the book out before season 6 of "Game of Thrones" airs. The show is currently mid-way through the fifth season so this would give the author approximately one year to get the book out and on store shelves.
"I wish it was out now," the author told EW. "Maybe I'm being overly optimistic about how quickly I can finish. But I canceled two convention appearances, I'm turning down a lot more interviews — anything I can do to clear my decks and get this done."
Martin did post on his official site, NotABlog, that he would be skipping out of the San Diego Comic-Con in July and the World Fantasy Convention in Saratoga in order to focus on the book. The writer has been busy with numerous projects, including a new science-fiction series for HBO, all of which have slowed down his writing process.
The author has also skipped out of writing an episode for "Game of Thrones" season 5 and season 6 just to focus on "The Winds of Winter."
Since it's been a long wait, fans have dissected the five existing books to no end. A new report from iDigitalTimes even hints that Young Griff, a character not seen in the HBO series, may not be as important as he was touted to be in the books.
In the source material, Young Griff is actually Aegon Targaryen and he has a stronger claim to the Iron Throne than Daenerys does. However, the site quotes a warning given to Daenerys, "Beware the mummer's dragon," so it is possible that Young Griff is only an imposter. If this is true, then the character may not play an important role and was reasonably cut out of the show.
