Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin says The Winds of Winter could be the longest book in A Song of Ice and Fire (ASOIAF) thus far. Martin’s series of fantasy novels began in 1996 with the publication of A Game of Thrones. Despite HBO’s game-changing adaptation, Game of Thrones, ending in 2019, fans continue to anticipate Martin’s final two books, The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring.
In the wake of the first ASOIAF novel, subsequent books were published every few years until the six-year gap between the fourth and fifth books. A Dance with Dragons, the fifth—and, still, latest—installment, came out in 2011, which is the same year Game of Thrones premiered on HBO. At the time, Martin appeared confident he would be able to finish work on the books before the show ran its course. Game of Thrones season 5 began to run out of source material, with the series’ final three seasons chronicling events that had not taken place on the page. Now, as A Dance with Dragons approaches its twelfth anniversary, Martin has given another update on his progress.
In a post from Martin, the writer once again addressed questions surrounding The Winds of Winter. Revealing that his penultimate novel will be very big, Martin went on to say The Winds of Winter may even be bigger than A Storm of Swords and A Dance with Dragons. Martin's full comment can be read below:
The Winds of Winter is going to be a big book. The way it is going, it could be bigger than A Storm of Swords or A Dance With Dragons, the longest books in the series to date. I do usually cut and trim once I finish, but I need to finish first.
For context, A Storm of Swords’ page count is 973, while A Dance with Dragons is 1,040. In the past, Martin has said The Winds of Winter is intended to run around 1,500 pages. He’s even admitted that his publishers have suggested he split up the book as there’s a good chance he'll go beyond that. Given the amount of time he’s had, the fact that he wrote hundreds of pages during the pandemic, and all of ASOIAF’s plot threats, The Winds of Winter should be a big book. Following what many call one of the worst endings of all time for a television series, there’s a gargantuan amount of pressure on Martin to deliver with The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring.
The Winds of Winter likely won’t release this year but there’s still plenty of Westerosi content on the horizon. Several Game of Thrones prequels have been announced and are in development. These shows include the working-titled 9 Voyages, Flea Bottom, Tales of Dunk and Egg, and 10,000 ships. The most prominent spin-off is House of the Dragon, which is loosely based on Martin’s pseudo-historical novel focusing on the Targaryen family, Fire & Blood. Season 1 of the upcoming series will consist of 10 episodes and premieres on August 21 on HBO. In addition to The Winds of Winter, Martin is reportedly working on a second volume of 2018’s Fire & Blood, which will benefit the prequel series where ASOIAF failed Game of Thrones.
Source: George R.R .Martin