Fans have been waiting for what seems to be an eternity for the sixth installment of George RR Martin's bestselling "A Song of Ice and Fire" series.
Following confirmation that "The Winds of Winter" will not be released in 2015, The Guardian reported,an illustrated edition of three previously anthologized novellas will be launched in October.
"These are increasingly complex books and require immense amounts of concentration to write," said Jane Johnson, Martin's HarperCollins publisher. "Fans really ought to appreciate that the length of these monsters is equivalent to two or three novels by other writers."
2017 Earliest Release Date?
As it stands, all we know is that a 2015 date is out of the question and no one dares mention if a 2016 is feasible. The author recently fired off a comment on his official blog regarding his stance on scheduled releases. "I certainly hope that THE WINDS OF WINTER is not on the schedule of ANY of my publishers," said Martin.
He further added: " I have spent years trying to persuade them all not to schedule my books until they are completed and delivered. Scheduling, and then having to reschedule and postpone, just pisses people off. I'd rather not schedule at all until the date is real and certain. This flies against standard publishing practice, however, so it's a battle that I do not always win."
The first book three books were published every two years, recalled Capital City Weekly. For the fourth and five installment, Ecumenical News added that the last two books -- each with 1,500 pages each -- took much longer to write with the last book taking 6 years to release.
Based on the trend and history of Martin's release dates, we could be looking at a 2017 release but Capital City Weekly even pegged it for 2018.
"The first book came out in 1996, the second in 1998 and the third in 2000. So far so good, right? I mean, we can wait two years for a book when it tops 500 pages. That seems reasonable. But then the waits get longer: 'A Feast for Crows' came out in 2005 and 'A Dance with Dragons' in 2011. At this rate, 'Winds of Winter' will come out in 2018. By that time the TV show will have given us all the spoilers."
Nevertheless, fans can still hope for 2016 because according to Martin (via Ecumenical News), the author has two more books to write, which "he expects the next two books to be completed a bit faster than his previous pace."
While fans wait for the book, to hold everyone over, "Game of Thrones" season five is set to return April 12, 9 p.m. on HBO.
