Bestselling "A Song of Ice and Fire" author George R.R. Martin shoots down rumors about "The Winds of Winter" coming out this month. On his online journal Not a Blog, he replied to a fan who sought rebuff of the rumors going around.
The 67-year-old novelist said that the reports about the book launching this month have no truth in them. "Who makes up these stories?" he continued.
He did not give any more information on when fans can expect the sixth "Game of Thrones" novel to come out. He did say that there's still so much work that has to be done in "The Winds of Winter."
In the same blog post, Martin revealed that the sample Alayne chapter from the book on his website was replaced by the one centered on Arianne Martell.
Before rumors about the "The Winds of Winter" release date could emerge from this, Martin warned "Changing the sample chapter does NOT mean I am done... Monkey is still on my back... but he's growing, he is, and one day."
[Spoiler Alert! Details about the latest "Game of Thrones" season 6 episode "The Door" below]
Just recently, "Game of Thrones" fans were blown away by the big reveal in the episode "The Door," where the origin of Hodor's (Kristian Nairn) name was revealed.
How the name came about and why he repeatedly utters it was a result of Bran's (Isaac Hempstead Wright) time-travel mayhem with Three-Eyed Raven (Max Von Sydow) in the Winterfell courtyard scene as seen in the "Home" episode.
There, a young version of Hodor, whose real name is Wyllis, heard Meera (Ellie Kendrick) from the present time as she instructs Hodor's adult counterpart to "hold the door" so that the White Walkers won't get to them.
Wyllis heard this phrase due to Bran being a channel to both timelines. He begins seizing and starts to repeatedly recite the words until they get shortened into "Hodor." This mind-blowing reveal is believed to have come from "The Winds of Winter."
"We had this meeting with George Martin where we're trying to get as much information as possible out of him," showrunner David Benioff said in "Inside the Episode," adding that Hodor's backstory was the "most shocking revelation" Martin gave.
Whether or not this storyline is included in "The Winds of Winter" remains to be seen, but seeing as it came from Martin, it might just be one big moment from the book that "Game of Thrones" had to spoil.
