Similar to the armies of the Seven Kingdoms, author George R.R. Martin marches ever onward with the highly anticipated sixth book in his "A Song of Ice and Fire" series, "The Winds of Winter." The author released a new chapter from the novel Wednesday and gave a brief progress report on his work.
The new chapter takes place in Dorne and follows a couple characters who - spoiler alert for those that are not up to date on HBO's "Game of Thrones" - were recently killed off on-screen.
Unfortunately, the new chapter is not an indication that "The Winds of Winter" is near completion or that a publication date is forthcoming. Here's what Martin had to say on his blog:
"You want to know what the Sand Snakes, Prince Doran, Areo Hotah, Ellaria Sand, Darkstar, and the rest will be up to in Winds of Winter?" Martin wrote. "Quite a lot, actually. The sample will give you a taste. For the rest, you will need to wait. And no, just to spike any bullsh-- rumors, changing the sample chapter does NOT mean I am done. See the icon above? Monkey is still on my back...but he's growing, he is, and one day..."
The most recent novel in the series was 2011's "A Dance With Dragons." Since then, HBO's "Game of Thrones" has surpassed Martin's narrative timeline, though he did warn fans of this back in January.
"I still thought I could do it," Martin wrote at the time. "But the days and weeks flew by faster than the pile of pages grew, and (as I often do) I grew unhappy with some of the choices I'd made and began to revise...There are no excuses. No one else is to blame...I tried, and I am still trying."
The showrunners have tried to argue that "Game of Thrones" will share familiar details with Martin's upcoming novels but will not spoil major reveals. However, it is known that Martin has provided them with the broad strokes of his planned ending, suggesting that a significant chunk of the remaining story will be seen on screen before the page.
"Game of Thrones" airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO.
Follow Brandon Katz at @Great_Katzby
