George R. R. Martin still has fans waiting for his release of the sixth installment of his highly-esteemed masterwork series, "A Song of Ice and Fire". He is not close to ending his diehard followers' agony and curiosity as the 66-year-old bestselling author was reportedly requesting to have the release date of "Winds of Winter" moved to 2016 from the original 2015 schedule.
Of course, one can imagine the enormous pandemonium brought about by the author's request. The years of waiting has been too long already. The curiosity is taking its toll.
The reports came after Martin spoke at the Santa Fe Independent Film Festival with filmmaker Pen Densham. In the conversation about the progress and release of the sixth book, the author revealed how sidetracked he became over the course of penning the much-anticipated title. His distractions were in the form of interviews and travel after the worldwide recognition of his book series as well as the TV show "Game of Thrones" which adapted his stories.
Martin had to visit country after country, answering the same questions and giving the same answers over and over. This reportedly got the well-loved writer 'drained'. He added that cutting back from the interviews may help his creativity flow the way it should be. However, the dilemma lies on his urge to nod to interviews here and there. The author seems to take pleasure in travelling across the globe, not to mention he can go to the other side of the world for at no cost. "Who's passing up a free trip to Dubai?" he reportedly asked via IB Times.
Meanwhile, Martin has been generous to give hints and clues about "Winds of Winters" to fans who keenly await for answers, deaths, betrayals and bloodbaths. Crossmap's main question revolves around John Snow and his foreseen demise. While fatalities are not new, and in fact rampant in Martin's series, the fun and anxiety dwell on who gets to meet a brutal death and whose bloody hands it will come from.
Fans were waiting for so long, which bought them time to speculate on the events to take place on the sixth book. The titles that came before it are generous of wars and deaths so the next one is set to feature not just one but two battles. First is the war Daenerys Targaryen against the Yunkai. Second is between the legion behind Stannis Baratheon against Ramsay Bolton and his army.
Speculations on Arya Stark and her lens maneuvering the sixth book also exist. A Dance with Dragon ended with Arya and her plans to become an assassin. So it is not impossible that "Winds of Winter" will continue her tale. To mix the conventional betrayal enveloped in the series, speculations suggest on having her deal with an impostor stealing her life, which means Arya will go face to face with Jeyne Poole.
The "Game of Thrones" has garnered unmatched popularity and a growing fanbase. This composes the major horde of fans relying on Martin's genius to continue more of the thrill and excitement. As the show is a direct adaptation, it has become reliant of Martin's writing. Good news, though is that enough material is ready and the cast is already filming.
Aside from Martin's so-called distractions, fans cannot disregard the fact that the 66-year old writer's health working on a rather time-consuming task.
