It's been some time since author George R.R. Martin released the fifth book in "A Song of Ice and Fire" saga, and it has long been rumored that he may get book 6, "The Winds of Winter," out before season 6 of "Game of Thrones" airs on HBO. However, the author recently revealed that he is no longer bothered by the possibility that the show will finish before he can release the final book.
"There was a period where I was worried about that," he told GeekWire. "Then I said, to hell with that. Worrying about it isn't going to change it one way or another. I still sit down at the typewriter, and I have to write the next scene and the next sentence... I'm just going to tell my story, and they're telling their story and adapting my books, and we shall see."
"Game of Thrones" has begun to stray from the source materials that Martin wrote, and according to the report, this is likely to happen more frequently in season 6 as the showrunners will no longer have a book to base their script on. However, Martin has already conferred with the show's creators on how the rest of the story — and its ending — will play out.
Several characters from the books have been cut out of the show, such as Arianne of Dorne, Young Griff, and Lady Stoneheart. Entire events have also been altered such as Tyrion going to Mereen, and Jaime Lannister heading to Dorne instead of the Riverlands.
Martin also explained that the body of work that the showrunners and Martin have to deal with are quite different, with each episode asking a team of writers to come up with a 60-page script while Martin has the task of finishing a 1,500-page manuscript for each novel.
As to when "The Winds of Winter" will roll out, Martin jokingly stated, "Don't ask me when the book is going to be done — I'll ask my minions to lop your head off."
