George R.R. Martin Gives Massive 'Winds of Winter' Update After 'House of Dragon' Season Finale
George R.R. Martin, the perennial updater and author of "Winds of Winter," has just announced that he has an update, just two months after he swore off providing updates on the book.
The "Game of Thrones" universe creator appeared on "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert" on Tuesday, where he provided an update on the long-awaited "The Winds of Winter," the sixth book in the wildly famous "A Song of Ice and Fire" series.
Martin previously stated that he would no longer provide updates on the book, but he complied with Colbert's request.
He stated that he is making progress on "The Winds of Winter," but it is not yet complete. He said it'll be a pretty large book.
He explained that the two largest books to date have been the third volume, "A Storm of Swords," and the fifth volume, "A Dance With Dragons." These were both approximately 1,500 pages in length, but this one will be longer, which feels as if he's saying that people should forgive him for taking so much time. Still, he did say that he's about three-quarters complete.
For it to be 75% done is a huge news indeed.
Martin has spent around ten years on "The Winds of Winter," but he has also worked on other volumes, including "The Rise of the Dragon," an illustrated chronicle of the House Targaryen, which was published on Tuesday.
Martin disclosed that he has completed writing a few of the characters and discussed his progress. He shared that all of the characters intertwine. He said he completed the stories of a few of the characters, but not the others. The author explained that must complete all of that weaving so it will still take him again, some more time.
Martin feels he knows how readers will respond when the book is published -- look for "The Dream of Spring?"
Colbert also questioned Martin in the same interview why he believed science fiction works released in the last few decades tended to focus so heavily on the demise of humanity and dystopian collapse.
Martin stated that science fiction reflects people's anxieties, recalling how books in the 1950s dealt with the prospect of nuclear war and the possibility of a zombie apocalypse. "Suddenly nuclear war seems more and more feasible again," he told Colbert. "It's back there. We may have a nuclear war. And we have new pandemic diseases that are wiping us out." "Can we be optimistic about climate change? What are we going to do if Putin actually does use nuclear bombs?" he said.
