A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones Spoiler-Filled Discussion

I'm sure his publisher would LOVE it in time for Christmas, but I agree that we shouldn't get out hopes up. I will wait for as long as it takes as long as it is an improvement on the previous two installments.

 

^This.

Travelogues are fine, but there needs to be some plot in TWoW.

 

I read 'em all together a year or so ago and although they meandered somewhat, I didn't find they compared that badly to the earlier novels.

Well, apart from the Dondarrion/Lady Stoneheart stuff.

 

Websites make up Winds of Winter rumors as clickbait all the time. October 2015 is already pretty much impossible.

On the other hand, Martin did make an intriguing aside in a blog post tonight. After announcing that he wouldn't be attending this year's San Diego Comic-Con (July) or World Fantasy Convention (November) due to various professional commitments including TWOW, he added "(Should I complete and deliver WINDS OF WINTER before these cons roll round, I reserve the right to change my mind)." I wouldn't read too much into that-- he felt like he was close to delivering ADWD in 2009, and then it ended up taking two more years-- but it at least indicates that his finishing the book this year isn't laughably implausible.

Pretty sure HBO already knows that further contract extensions would be an expensive proposition. But GOT is the network's biggest overall success since The Sopranos; they're not going to be afraid to spend money on it. Ten seasons sounds like hyperbole, but I wouldn't be surprised if they tried hard to get Benioff and Weiss to go at least one year beyond their preferred seven.

 

October 2015 is definitely possible; Martin only finished DWD four months before it went to publication. Now, whether there's any truth to this rumor, well, that is much more questionable.

 

The reason I discount October for Winds is that the Dunk & Egg collection, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, is scheduled for October. Bantam has to be confident enough that they're not getting Winds this year for publication to put Dunk & Egg on the schedule. True, Knight would be quite easy to move, because Bantam wouldn't want two GRRM books coming out at the same time.

I guess the thing to look for would be the release date on Knight of the Seven Kingdoms around the beginning of July. If it hasn't moved, don't expect Winds this year.

 

Would they really postpone the release of something that the fans of the series have been rabidly clamoring for since the TV show started if it was ready ... over Dunk & Egg??

 

No, I think you misunderstand me. Bantam would postpone the release of Dunk & Egg if Winds of Winter were available. But my hunch is that Bantam put Dunk & Egg on the schedule because they have no realistic expectation of Winds of Winter in 2015.

 

Ah! Yes, thank you for the clarification. Agreed on that. Still hoping we will see TWoW. 2015 was always rumored to be the unofficial release year and I'll be needing something new to read once I get through all the Harry Potter & Tolkien books by the fall.

 

Yup, I'm calling October.

George still seems to think there's an outside chance he'll be done before Comicon, which is in July :

http://www.ew.com/article/2015/03/17/george-rr-martin-comic-con-next-book

 

He cancelled convention appearances in 2007 to work on A Dance With Dragons. It didn't come out until 2011.

 

Those were very different circumstances. He'd just returned from his world tour for A Feast for Crows.

 

And we're certainly not looking at a wait until 2019.

I hope.

 

We are...but likely for A Dream of Spring.

 

Reviews of the first episode of S5 are in (mildly spoilerish, very positive)

http://www.denofgeek.com/tv/game-of...pisode-1-spoiler-free-review-the-wars-to-come

http://www.gamesradar.com/game-thrones-season-5-premiere-first-look-reaction-mild-spoilers/

 

Huh..."an untimely end for another key character". I wonder if that's Brienne's hanging by Lady Stoneheart or something else. Could they be doing Jon Snow's stabbing this soon? I honestly can't think of who else they would be referring to there... Is Stoneheart even in the casting calls this season?

 

I seem to recall reading somewhere (probably io9's morning spoilers) that a character will die who hasn't died in the books (yet) and the actor didn't see it coming. The report came from another actor who recalled how the actor was surprised by the moment.

 

Interesting. I really hope it's not Bronn. IIRC, they will have him and Jaime going down to Dorne instead of the former going off to live with Lollies and the latter traipsing around in the Riverlands. Although I wouldn't consider Bronn a "key character" per se... Could be anyone really...

 

I'll put my money on Theon or Varys.

 

I suppose it could be Theon if they're not going to go down the faux-Arya route. But I think that he has a role to play, else they could simply have killed him at the end of Season 2.

I'd hate to think that they kept him round through all that torture porn in S3 just to off him now. Surely there has to be more of an arc for him than that?

Don't think its Varys either. My money would be on Sam. No Citadel travelogue for the tv series?