This is a sad day for fans eagerly awaiting the release of "A Songs Of Ice And Fire" book 6!
Bestselling author George RR Martin, who wrote the phenomenal series, will not be releasing the sixth book in the "A Song Of Ice And Fire" series, titled "The Winds Of Winter," anytime this year.
The writer's publisher, Jane Johnson, as well as the HarperCollins publishing company itself confirmed this piece of news.
"These are increasingly complex books, and require immense amounts of concentration to write," Johnson reportedly explained the delay to The Guardian. "Fans really ought to appreciate that the length of these monsters is equivalent to two or three novels by other writers."
Meanwhile, the HBO series "Game Of Thrones" is already on its fifth season, which will reportedly contain some events from the fourth book, "A Feast Of Crows," as well as the next one, "A Dance With Dragons."
With the delay of "A Song Of Ice And Fire" book 6, it looks like HBO is more likely to reach the story's end first before George RR Martin can finish his novels.
Either way, co-creators Daniel Benioff and D.B. Weiss have already made certain changes to the TV version that were totally different from the books.
The outspoken author previously called out rude fans who implied that he might die first before completing the series.
Despite the delay, fans can rest assured that there will still be some new material for the series. HarperCollins also confirmed that a series of "prequel novellas" talking about Westeros will be released later this year.
According to Johnson, they will be "illustrated in black and white line drawings throughout by Gary Gianni in classic style. It will be a truly lovely book, and I adore these clever, funny stories."
These novellas will also "give fascinating insights into the ongoing story, from the point of view of Ser Duncan the Tall, a hedge knight, and his squire Egg - who may be rather more than he first seems."
She added, "The short novels have been previously published in separate anthologies but never put together before, and this will be a particularly beautiful edition."
Do you think these "prequel novellas" will assuage fans' need for the "A Song Of Ice And Fire" book 6?
