He posted an update on his blog today. The book isn't coming out in 2018.
Don't worry though, "Fire and Blood", a history of the Targaryens will be coming out in November. Of course, don't expect the whole history in Fire and Blood, it's only volume 1, and there's no release date for volume 2.
http://georgerrmartin.com/notablog/2018/04/25/fire-blood-on-the-way/ - (
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Finishing up WoW is probably pretty low on his priority list.
I stopped reading his Not A Blog years ago when it was clear he wasn't going to come across with the goods.
Sadly, if I'm not dead I'll pre-order it the day it becomes available on Amazon.
I'm certainly not buying a history book about a series that he can't seem to concentrate on.
And besides, who knows if the series would have been as good as it is if he stuck to a more traditional story outline type of approach. The series as originally visioned sounded much, much different after all.
There are a million other books, films, and shows to occupy yourselves with that it's not worth getting agitated over. I'm much more agitated at Benioff & Weiss for mailing in their work on the HBO show the last 2 seasons because they're so eager to work on future turd burger Confederate.
And besides, who knows if the series would have been as good as it is if he stuck to a more traditional story outline type of approach. The series as originally visioned sounded much, much different after all.
There are a million other books, films, and shows to occupy yourselves with that it's not worth getting agitated over. I'm much more agitated at Benioff & Weiss for mailing in their work on the HBO show the last 2 seasons because they're so eager to work on future turd burger Confederate.
Ironically, according to a book editor I know who used to do some work for Tor, GRRM is by all accounts ridiculously fast at putting words on paper. It's not work ethic (even accounting for him taking most falls off), he wrote himself into a couple of corners, and in the last book mostly botched the execution of getting out of those corners. I don't think the TV show helps as I think he feels he needs to put in additional surprises to keep it fresh.
He's also had a few falling out with editors and doesn't take notes well which slow down the entire process.
And besides, who knows if the series would have been as good as it is if he stuck to a more traditional story outline type of approach. The series as originally visioned sounded much, much different after all.
There are a million other books, films, and shows to occupy yourselves with that it's not worth getting agitated over. I'm much more agitated at Benioff & Weiss for mailing in their work on the HBO show the last 2 seasons because they're so eager to work on future turd burger Confederate.
I don't think anyone is apoplectic about it, but your advice is like saying (and this is made up) "who cares it's taken the Giants 5 seasons to get back to the playoffs, there are plenty of other teams you can root for."
some of us have been reading this series for almost 30 years, to say there are millions of other books to read is analogous to me to saying root for another team.
I'm not exactly saying Martin owes the readers more than what he's given, some say he owes them nothing, but he kind of does of them a deadline with when he plans to finish the series, IMO.
It's beyond assuming and arrogant to disregard the readers.
I'm not exactly saying Martin owes the readers more than what he's given, some say he owes them nothing, but he kind of does of them a deadline with when he plans to finish the series, IMO.[/quote]
Isn't that exactly what he has been doing for years, updating his audience on the general progress of the book? He's obviously awful at estimating when he'll be finished (again because of his wildly inefficient writing style), but he has pretty consistently given fans the "I'm still plugging away" type of updates.
It's totally reasonable to dislike how long the series is taking to conclude and to subsequently lose interest. But for some people to get so bent out of shape... it just seems needless and mean. It's a work of art that requires a lot of inspiration and creativity, it's not something he can just rush out the door. And if he did, the same people would get angry that it wasn't of the same quality as the previous books - just like what we're seeing with Benioff & Weiss' rush jobs the last two seasons.
I wish he'd make that a priority instead of the other projects he's working on.
And I want it to be as high quality as the rest of the series.
is that asking too much?
Of the series out in the time in now takes him To write one. It's hard to believe his silly explanations at this kind. It's obvious. He has no clue how to end the books.
He's stuck and he's not going to finish. That's what he should say. But if he said that people might get pissed and it would hurt him financially. And he might not get the adulation he must crave. Good luck to those waiting.
He's not finshing. Maybe. I'm wrong but 22 years? Look for other books as
Was Suggested. Best advice in this thread.
Those of us who are unhappy because we'd like to read the ending before we die, we're the real assholes here.
It isn't the same, but scratches a similar itch.
Those of us who are unhappy because we'd like to read the ending before we die, we're the real assholes here.
The thing is that he doesn't owe you a goddamn thing.
That's the part that irritates people, the entitled attitude of fans at know notging abput the creative process and think he is obliged to write them a book on their schedule.
However, it's really an asshole thing to do to write books that were always meant to be a series and not complete the series.
I mean fans knew going in that it was intended to be a 6/7 volume series. So as we all bought and read the first 5 we had an expectation the author, aka the sales person, would fulfill their unwritten commitment to actually finish the series.
I don't think it's unreasonable for fans to have this view and I think fans have been patient.
So, no he doesn't owe anyone anything. Won't speak for everyone, but I am of course reading other books, and I think Martin though is kind of an asshole for dragging this out so long.
However, it's really an asshole thing to do to write books that were always meant to be a series and not complete the series.
I mean fans knew going in that it was intended to be a 6/7 volume series. So as we all bought and read the first 5 we had an expectation the author, aka the sales person, would fulfill their unwritten commitment to actually finish the series.
I don't think it's unreasonable for fans to have this view and I think fans have been patient.
So, no he doesn't owe anyone anything. Won't speak for everyone, but I am of course reading other books, and I think Martin though is kind of an asshole for dragging this out so long.
This is where I stand on it as well. I started reading the series under the assumption that I would eventually get to read the entire story, start to conclusion. Through 5 books, I am over $100 in to the series, and I would have spent that money else where had I known that I wasn’t going to be eventually getting a completed story. So no, he doesn’t technically “owe the reader” anything, but he kind of does.
The thing is that he doesn't owe you a goddamn thing.
That's the part that irritates people, the entitled attitude of fans at know notging abput the creative process and think he is obliged to write them a book on their schedule.
Horseshit.
Honestly, the whole "Martin doesn't owe you anything" response to complaints about series not being finished is just moronic. Would you tell someone who complained about the poor play of a particular Giant that "they don't owe you anything". No, because you'd get roasted. Whether they "owe" me something or not is irrelevant to the conversation.
As a fan of the work, I'm unhappy that it's not finished. I'm not going to file a lawsuit. I'm not going to kidnap the author, chain them to the bed and make them write. I'm not going to send harassing e-mails or stand outside his window with a boom box over my head.
However, when the mood strikes me, I am going to complain about it on the internet. I'm pretty sure I have the right to do that.
If Martin would just level with us, I'd be a lot more sanguine about the situation. Tell us you've hit a big roadblock and you don't know how to get past it. Tell us you're bored with the story and you're going to write something else for a while. Tell us us you have no clue how to end things. Tell us that you've got the worst case of writer's block in history and even composing a hundred and forty character tweet causes you existential pain. Whatever the truth is, tell me that. Stop with the hints and posts where you clearly want me to infer that a completed manuscript is right around the corner, or at least that it might actually be coming before the heat death of the universe.
It's Lucy and the football and it's just odd that some people think we're all supposed to just be okay with it. I mean, it's not like it takes up a lot of my brain space these days. Every few months there will a story on the internet about it and we'll all be like, "Nope, not done. Probably never will be" then go back to our lives.
At this point, I'm not going to believe that I will actually get to read the next book until the lump of dead tree shows up at my house in a box from Amazon.com. Even then I'll half expect that, when I open the cover, there will be six hundred blank pages and a personal, handwritten note from George R.R. Martin telling me to go fuck myself.
The funny thing is, we know that George is a big Giants fan. There's a non-zero chance that he reads BBI. He might be reading this comment right now.
Quote:
The thing is that he doesn't owe you a goddamn thing.
That's the part that irritates people, the entitled attitude of fans at know notging abput the creative process and think he is obliged to write them a book on their schedule.
Horseshit.
Honestly, the whole "Martin doesn't owe you anything" response to complaints about series not being finished is just moronic. Would you tell someone who complained about the poor play of a particular Giant that "they don't owe you anything". No, because you'd get roasted. Whether they "owe" me something or not is irrelevant to the conversation.
As a fan of the work, I'm unhappy that it's not finished. I'm not going to file a lawsuit. I'm not going to kidnap the author, chain them to the bed and make them write. I'm not going to send harassing e-mails or stand outside his window with a boom box over my head.
However, when the mood strikes me, I am going to complain about it on the internet. I'm pretty sure I have the right to do that.
If Martin would just level with us, I'd be a lot more sanguine about the situation. Tell us you've hit a big roadblock and you don't know how to get past it. Tell us you're bored with the story and you're going to write something else for a while. Tell us us you have no clue how to end things. Tell us that you've got the worst case of writer's block in history and even composing a hundred and forty character tweet causes you existential pain. Whatever the truth is, tell me that. Stop with the hints and posts where you clearly want me to infer that a completed manuscript is right around the corner, or at least that it might actually be coming before the heat death of the universe.
It's Lucy and the football and it's just odd that some people think we're all supposed to just be okay with it. I mean, it's not like it takes up a lot of my brain space these days. Every few months there will a story on the internet about it and we'll all be like, "Nope, not done. Probably never will be" then go back to our lives.
At this point, I'm not going to believe that I will actually get to read the next book until the lump of dead tree shows up at my house in a box from Amazon.com. Even then I'll half expect that, when I open the cover, there will be six hundred blank pages and a personal, handwritten note from George R.R. Martin telling me to go fuck myself.
The funny thing is, we know that George is a big Giants fan. There's a non-zero chance that he reads BBI. He might be reading this comment right now.
He might be one of the people on this thread!
I get that it's art and inspiration and all of that. I do, but I am in your camp. I want to finish the series. I want it to be over and it'd be great if there was some sort of reasoning as to why he wrote 3 books in 5 or 6 years and it's taken 15 to write the next 2/3.
He's editing stuff, he's putting out a history book, he's working on the TV show, he's going to Santa Fe sci fi conventions. And that's all fine, but I will continue to be unhappy about it because I will never know his progress.
And as for hifh quality, he hasn’t had a high quality book in this series since book 3. That’s not the delay. It has t bothered him before to put out shit. HBO made him rich behind his dreams.
He’s eithet a liar or a coward or both who is about money. I don’t fault him for that as it’s the PT Barnum rule. But let’s not pretend he gives a shit about his fans or that he will ever finish. that
. It’s a fantasy novel. We made it to space in less time. Please stop with fake updates and lies. It’s just annoying. The only thing more annoying is people who defend his supposed process. Like he’s Tolstoy or Dickens.