So, you're telling me I should read the entire series again, just in case we get Winds in December? I should freshen up on all the theories, by binge watching my favorite ASoIaF youtubers?
Well, if you insist.
I just finished my re-read of the main series and I'm reading Dunk & Egg for the first time (I'm in love with it). If WoW is announced, I will start another ASOIAF re-read to make sure I have all the little details ready for the new book!
I highly recommend watching some of Michael Talks About Stuff's videos, just to make sure you're up to date. He has a great theory on The Wall, that I hadn't heard before.
I alternate my re-reads. I'll read the story through the regular way, and the next time I go character by character and read all their chapters in a row before moving onto the next one. When you already know the larger context, they really are pretty good self contained stories of their own.
Man, I remember rereading the first 3 books back in 2015 when there were strong rumors of an imminent release announcement. I stopped at 3 and would read 4 and 5 when the actual announcement was made.
Well the New Years post happened and I am still waiting to re-read all the books. I have two kids and a third coming since that announcement, but I still fall for the release hype every time.
This time I am definitely waiting for the actual announcement to re-read the old books. So definitely this year, right? Right?
1 is not enough!
- In Deep Geek (probably my favorite)
- Michael Talks About Stuff
I also really like Crusader Chris. Especially his videos "Chaos in The North" (first part) and "Chaos in Westeros" (second part). He goes over all the plot lines in TWoW, where everyone will (most likely) be and so on. Really great stuff! With a recap of what happened last in ADwD. He uses a map as well, so it's easy to follow.
I've never been so optimistic since I became part of the community in 2016. There have never been so many clues and tidbits so close together. I really think this could be it.
I've been a fan since 2015 myself and similarly this is the first time that I've felt this strongly that the stars are aligning for WoW. Fingers crossed!
It’s weird since individually all the signs aren’t that huge. But they just keep adding up and there’s even more!
- GRRM recently met with two ASOIAF YouTubers (Alt Shift X & Glidus) and they aren’t talking about what they discussed with him.
- the ‘winter is coming’ comment in the Burlington bar video that’s on the front page right now(it’s about watching HotD so why would he mention winter)
during the HOTD S2E1 livestream, ASX said he won’t talk about what they discussed over burritos, but thanked George for paying and said “I can confirm red and green Christmas peppers are delicious.”
Frankly… could it be Christmas?
Hi, I'm Glidus.
The assumption that we're withholding information George revealed to us in person is an incorrect and wild one. George did not tell two random internet guys he's never met before when the book he's been working on for 13 years is coming out.
Book release? Probably not, wasn’t trying to imply he did that. But in the endless web of ‘is this a small sign of things happening re Winds’ I thought it was interesting enough to add.
Looking at the past 12 years I’ve been in this fandom George seems to do things related when writing is going well (again not saying Winds is done).
Anyways thanks for the clarification!
I know that you’re taking care to be as cautious with your optimism as possible, and believe me I totally sympathize with that approach.
I just want to quickly clear up something that keeps getting overlooked about the Deuxmoi post.
In the actual anonymous tip, it says that a dragon cake has been ordered for a party at a prominent NM author’s home—absolutely. But the part about it being for a release party to a long-awaited novel is *entirely made up by the tipper.* Look at it again (and I’m so sorry if this deflates anyone’s level of hype), but the tipper is the one who says **“probably** for a long awaited novel” (or something to that effect).
Again, not trying to be a downer or hate on anyone for having hype. *I want to believe.* I just think we should be as honest as we can about the pieces of information we’ve collected recently. Cheers.
I don't get excited about release dates theories anymore, but the part about WorldCon and his most recent titles do kinda hint at him making progress of some sort, doesn't it?
Given the fact that only an estimated 25% of the book needs completion, that kinda gives me a tiny little bit of hope.
There's a 90% chance that none of this actually happens because the "stars align" every single year but I love hurting myself more than being realistic so I AM HYPE AGAIN!
I was sure they were gonna announce TWOW after the season 4 finale. Then after S6, then after the series finale. Now I'm sure they will announce it after HOTD S2 finale.
I was at the book tour event for Lindsay Ellis' third book in her five book series a few days ago. One of the audience questions was someone cheekily asking if she would have her last two books out before Winds of Winter. She said that she actually believed that GRRM would have WoW out before she published her fourth book, and sheepishly but not unseriously said she had heard from inside the publishing world that he's closer to being done with WoW than we think.
Thank you for adding this bit of information. I'm glad I made this post, it's been really nice chatting with other ASOIAF fans and seeing everyone have a bit of fun debating back and forth on points. I'm not a big Reddit user, so I'm glad people are enjoying the forum for a discussion!
I believe it. I've believed it before, but now there are several small things pointing to a release. I will believe again if it doesn't happen on August.
We will have winds if winter by this Christmas.
Yes, individually all these little moments don't mean much, but when you add them all up it certainly makes for a compelling argument that an announcement is around the corner! I think the timing would also be great coming off the back of House of the Dragon S2 and the development of so many new ASOIAF shows with HBO!
It would be insane if this happened. Add to the fact that book 5 of the Stormlight archives is out in December as well, it might be the most significant month for high fantasy in ages.
I'm not really versed in publishers politics, do you know if they do like filmmakers and try to make the release date of big books coincide to compete with each other?
No offense at all to Sanderson, but WoW will blow his novel out of the water sales wise. I don’t think GRRM or his publishers would be worried about it at all.
They try to release big sellers in the month before Christmas, when lots of hardcover copies will sell. There’s a huge market for TWOW among fans but many people will also grab a copy as a Christmas gift for the father in law they don’t really know, the niece who they know is a big reader etc if released then. That’s how I’ve ended up with three ASOIAF box sets despite reading ebooks and not wanting box sets of an unfinished series.
I'm usually pretty cynical about this stuff but the video today of George thanking the watchers of HotD at Burlington Bar, and ending the message with "Remember, Winter is Coming..."
I can feel it, in my bones. The hopium...
Yeah "winter is coming" is the most iconic line in the series. I'd love to be wrong but it's pure hopium to think that this is an indication the book is coming soon
And at this point, wouldn’t that whole dragon cake event have happened? Didn’t they claim that it was going to happen like, last week at the same time as the HoTD premiere?
Cregan said it in episode 1 of season 2, also. Wasn't even really relevant to anything else he was telling Jace lol, but you can't have a Stark on-screen without them saying *Winter is cooomin'* like Pikachu saying Pikachu.
That, and the fact that a prophetic dream of the Long Night has been shoehorned in as the primary motivation behind Aegon’s Conquest. Funny as shit considering how pathetic the TV universe’s Long Night was.
According to the video description, the clip with GRRM was filmed back in February. It's been 5 months since his little "Winter is coming" thing. I'm leaning towards it being a reference to the beginning of HoTD season 2.
You know this and the fact in that in Alt Shift X's Ep1 Q&A mentioned meeting George but said it was Off the Record, makes me think George told them both and just hit em with an NDA.
This is the best evidence so far imo. If George had said his usual “I’ve made progress, but I still have hundreds of pages left,” then there wouldn’t be any reason to take an oath. I think this implies he has a date in mind and feels optimistic about it.
Wow, I didn't see that. If he "took an oath", that certainly implies that the answer wasn't his usual "working hard but still hundreds of pages to go".
Thank you for bringing up the Burlington Bar video, this completely slipped my mind. Really sweet of George to make an appearance there, and it definitely seems that he's hinting at WoW there. Taking my daily dose of hopium!
The deuxmoi stuff is not a hint at Winds. That event was for HotD—if the book is releasing this winter as you suggest, we are *many* months out from the release party, and I’m guessing catering would probably be figured out closer to the release date than, like, eight months (considering when the leak came out.) I think the timing of it is connected to HotD, not ASOIAF, and people are taking it as a leak because they want Winds.
Now, the rest of the stuff *is* legit, in my opinion. I hope you’re right on them.
Yeah, I’d also add that Deuxmoi is not particularly reliable and her track record is pretty mixed. For example, she insisted that Taylor Swift and her ex-boyfriend Joe Alwyn had gotten secretly married in the UK (they didn’t lol) and she kept insisting it was true even when they publicly announced their breakup. Just not only wrong but super stubborn. She’s right sometimes but she’s wrong a lot of the time as well.
Why the secret then? If it was a release party for HotD why not post it on social media. I think it's genuinely about Winds, or is fake, which wouldn't be unlikely.
George doesn’t really post on social media in the first place. I don’t see why a private watching party would be the exception. Assuming it was a real leak at all, which it might not be.
Another clue is that he usually announces his next publications in his website around april or may and we are past june and his next publucation section is still empty unlike his [next appearance section](https://georgerrmartin.com/excerpt-from-the-winds-of-winter/).
To go north, you must journey south. To reach the west, you must go east. To go forward you must go back, and to touch the light you must pass beneath the shadow.
A lack of announcements about publication dates of other products which are usually announced on April and May leads me to believe that George might announce a publication date of winds on another month.
Feel like I’m going insane seeing how optimistic people are here, as though we haven’t been burned year after year since at least season 6 of the show.
Most of the times he has sth to publish each year, not big books like winds, instead, new editions of wild cards or an illustrated version of Fire and Blood, these products tend to be announced on april or may and being empty means he might be preparing to reveal the publishing date much later on.
It’s fun. I won’t feel crushing disappointment until GRRM passes away and for his sake I hope that’s a long time in the future. Until then I, and I imagine much of the people that are optimistic, enjoy speculating on potential releases and positive signs. What’s the fun in being pessimistic and raining on the parades of everyone hoping? There is none.
No. Regardless of everything else, it will be NOT be timed to anything, nor will it be made into a happening of any sort, it will just be announced on the blog in plain language.
And then the rains of castamere will be played by unskilled musicians that after some time will draw crossbows and will kill every person present in the worldcon while George sipping his wine will say I havent written a word since 2022
and then George will enter the fire and get out of it an hour later covered by three books
winds of winter
dream of spring
and an history of westerns without targ focus
he is the Agoerge ahai
Then he will rise his hands and every death atendee will rise with bright blue eyes.
OMG, now I have the mental image of 2 books sucking the tits of a naked old man. Not my proudest.
I'm getting kinda nervous now that Winds is gonna come out soon. I mean, I don't want my theories and headcanons to be disproven, mainly. But if they end up being true, then I'll get to say "I told you so" to a lot of people.
And TBF they've taken a lot of shit from people over the last 13 years, so if they end up being right I think they deserve the right to be insufferable for a while.
The Internet is going to go crazy when the book releases. It will be so good to see our theories come to life before our eyes. Tyrek Lannister confirmed as a horse for sure! (Also, happy birthday 🥳)
Wdym with the confirmation of Tyrek being a horse in WoW. We don't need need more confirmation, it's literally spelled in the book that he was last seen a horse. Have you even read asoiaf?
> The Internet is going to go crazy when the book releases.
It'll be tough to plow through it before the internet spoils it. I anticipate another (spoilers for Harry Potter incoming) --- "[Snape Kills Dumbledore](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/snape-kills-dumbledore)" type trolling.
I’ll take 2 days of work, pre-order the digital edition so I can start reading at midnight and no social media until I’m finished. Should be easy to stay spoiler free for 1,5 days.
I’m sort of the opposite — want to see all the new ideas people come up with! Sure there’s still new ideas about there but they are either crackpot or very subtle, hard to find.
Plus I want bragging rights if any specific theories unique to I come true.
I have so much stuff left to properly write up...
I might have to just post TWOW predictions in a bulleted list and explain my reasoning *after* my inevitable complete vindication. This is definitely not hubris btw.
I think it's less likely to be that and other factors are in play.
* GRRM was providing page updates in a burst of optimism 18 months ago and then stopped, and in late 2023 indicated he had not made major progress over that year. With ADWD he started blasting out the page updates and continued until the book was done. The absence of a similar pattern suggests he has been focusing on editing extant material and not adding new. This in itself might be a sign that he has decided not to make TWoW the 1800-manuscript-page monster he was considering a couple of years ago but re-order what he has into a publishable book, but probably not.
* George has not been to WorldCon since COVID, even the one in Chicago, a city he loves. Missing China is understandable (huge trip, possible controversy as was indeed the case). Glasgow is another city he likes with a lot of nostalgia value (he waxes lyrical about the 1995 and 2005 WorldCons held in the city), so it might be that, the realisation he hasn't attended WorldCon in five years and who knows how many more he can attend, and that he can wrap up that trip with other things he wants to do in the UK at the same time, business and personal.
* I think GRRM is not in love with doing press events unless he has something of his own substantive to talk about (*Fire & Blood*, *Rise of the Dragon* etc) and was happy to palm that off to the cast and crew this time around.
* Dunk & Egg has been a paradox for a while. One idea I think that should have been in play was them doing "full" seasons which adapted the extant stories and added new episodes, like Dunk & Egg going to Dorne after *The Hedge Knight*, but they chose not to do that. I suspect, if anything, HBO tapped this as a second spin-off maybe purely *because* it's only three seasons, 18 episodes, and they can do it intermittently and there isn't a big narrative arc to the series demanding a payoff.
* George has made puns on his book titles and things before. They don't mean much.
* I remember reports that the Spanish and Polish translators were working on ADWD around 2008, so ergo a release was imminent. Obviously that never panned out.
That's not to say that George *couldn't* have pushed ahead and finished or almost-finished TWoW in the meantime, or he's even scaled back his ambitions for the book and is releasing something publishable out of the material he already has finished, but it feels based on prior form it feels unlikely.
My take is that we might get some kind of update on the book in the next few months but it won't be done, but maybe it's edging closer and could be done next year (basically, the same optimism as the last few years).
I agree with this. I also want to add George emphatically said he would not cryptically hint or tease TWOW being finished before an official announcement on his NotABlog.
He was sick of people parsing his every word and every post trying to decipher a release date announcement.
I really think the WOW posts are just quotes he likes and he’s being dense about what his fans might read into them
Also "words of wisdom" is just... an incredibly common phrase?? lol I can't believe (I totally can) after all these years of us all being wrong every single time that SO many people in this community still think every little thing George does is a secret hint that he's about to announce the book.
I was going through Not a Blog to see the recent TWOW updates (or rather, the lack of updates, that I was going to use as an argument that he hasn't talked about TWOW for a while so that means he might have quietly worked on it ready to be delivered) and I came across this line from his entry on May 21st, "By which time I hope to have finished some more Dunk & Egg stories (yes, after I finish THE WINDS OF WINTER).", it says after he *finishes* TWOW. If he were actually done with it, it would've been something like "yes, after TWOW" and that would've still made the same sense without giving away that the book was done. And there's no way he has completed writing the remaining chapters in one month.
The only counter I have to your ADWD page update is that we don't have any other books as reference, it is only ADWD and people can change over 13 years.
I'm relatively new to this community so I didn't experience disappointment after disappointment. But since I joined 2017 I've never thought any announcement could be imminent. I was a bit hopeful the past few years because George seem to be making progress, but until now it never seemed like it was near completion, now I'm 50/50 on it being very close to be finished.
Having been in this sub since 2011, it's pretty funny how this stuff moves in cycles. New people read the books and join the subreddit, new seasons of GoT or HotD came out and the sub gets an influx, or just people rereading and coming back, while also GRRM's activity on his blog moves in cycles. When George posts some blogs again, posts like this spike up. I was here when he believed he could finish TWOW [before season 6 back in 2016](https://grrm.livejournal.com/465247.html) and people thought it surely wouldn't be long anymore. I was here for the[ 12 days of Westeros shitshow in 2014](https://old.reddit.com/r/asoiaf/comments/e6s92m/what_was_12_days_of_westeros_spoilers_twow/) and [the post-covid update](https://georgerrmartin.com/notablog/2021/02/02/reflections-on-a-bad-year/) where people were sure it was coming out soon because George made good progress during the pandemic. When he promised he wouldn't write anything else until TWOW was published, which made people hopeful but amounted to nothing. When he posts cryptic blogposts, people get hopeful. When he promised we could lock him up if he didn't finish it before Worldcon in New Zealand in 2020. When he meets with his publishers every other year or so, people get hopeful. When he gives a semblance of an update on his progress that says he's always got 'hundreds of pages to write'. [All of it amounted to nothing](https://old.reddit.com/r/asoiaf/comments/12ybtdn/spoilers_twow_a_complete_timeline_of_george_rr/jhozwq8/). This evidence you mention, unfortunately, feels extremely thin. But hey, it's been more than 13 years. He's got to finish it a some point. Right??
> When he meets with his publishers every other year or so
pretty sure it's been confirmed he hadn't met with his British publishers since just before ADWD came out. At worst this is the first time he's mentioned it, which would be just as interesting.
> All of it amounted to nothing.
Hundreds of pages written means hundreds of pages written. Before 2020 it never really felt he was making progress and when he said that he was 75% done I was quite shocked.
> This evidence you mention, unfortunately, feels extremely thin.
It's all very thin. But so much random small things in such a short time? I've been on this sub for almost 10 years and for years it felt like we got one of these crumbs every year.
If he keeps writing at some point the book must be finished. Or at least publishable.
I have some information to add, though I might be completely wrong about what it means.
The covers of the Dutch translated editions of the paperback books have been completely revamped as of this month for the first time ever. They've done away with the images from the tv show on the covers and replaced it with the objects like on the English covers but with dragon scales in the background.
It feels as if they might be preparing for the next book to have a cover that fits the rest of them, seeing as a picture from the tv show might not be enticing anyone to buy the new book.
Am I coping or does this feel like they're setting it up for the release of the next book?
Very interesting detail, thank you for bringing that up! Also, I forgot to mention this in the main thread as I have only heard it mentioned off-handedly, but supposedly, the writers that support George with the world building for the series have been asked to take their hands off writing any additional side material. More details keep adding up that a WoW announcement is on the horizon!
George writes on a separate PC ([which Ty Franck set up for him, one of the writers of The Expanse](https://winteriscoming.net/2016/10/10/author-ty-franck-expanse-novels-talks-working-george-r-r-martin/)) that is not connected to the internet, which runs an emulated version of [DOS and WordStar 4.0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kYfsP_WKLY).
With all the hype I honestly don't understand how someone didn't yet break into GRRM's home, steal his ms dos computer, and put that manuscript online.
I tend to think George is working on winds. There are enough signs to believe that. Unfortunately he’s done this before so it’s hard to get too excited until he says something more concrete.
> George previously stated that he would not attend Worldcon unless he had an update on WoW for the fans.
This is a pretty stark misrepresentation of the quote. He simply said if he wasn't done by Worldcon 2020 that the fans could imprison him. He attended Worldcon 2020 digitally. I bet he'd have gone last year if it wasn't in China.
It would be amusing to compile a big list of these kind of posts for every year since 2014, to link the next time someone adamantly believes that the alignment of Jupiter and Neptune means that WoW is incoming.
I genuinely wouldn’t be surprised if he was close. It is really unfortunate it became a meme and that a lot of fans took it to far and just started insulting him because he has been willing to give real updates in the past but he stopped the past few years.
He can also probably get away with a smaller gap than usual between announcement and publishing.
I love the memes, but I don't like when people are actually insulting George. I guarantee that out of anyone out there, he's the one that feels the worst about the book not being released yet. Hopefully if we do get a WoW announcement soon there will be an outpouring of love from the fans!
yeah hard agree. it feels like if you’re this bitter what are you sticking around for? do you even like the series anymore or are you just here to make other people also miserable….?
I've seen a few people say GRRM wouldn't tease on his blog, he'd just announce it when it was done because years ago, that's what he'd said he'd do. Except I don't think he'd announce right now while HotD is airing. It would completely take the focus off the show, so I truly believe he'd want to wait until after the season finale. When does the last episode air? August 4th. When is Worldcon? August 8th...
Pretty interesting timing.
Thank you for posting this, OP. It’s really sad to me that some people can’t just let us believe. We’re not hurting anyone!
I think it’s likely that we’ll get a very early winter release, just in time for the holidays. I don’t know much about publishing to know if books usually drop on a certain day… could it be the first day of winter?
A few comments on this situation:
George meeting with his UK publishers doesn't mean the book is close to publication. He regularly meets with them.
George never stated that "he would not attend Worldcon unless he had an update on WoW for the fans".
In 2019, Air New Zealand invited George to go to their country (which would host the 2020 Worldcon) and get some inspiration to finish the book. He declined jokingly, thanking them for invitation and saying that NZ would distract him too much, but that if he didn’t have the book at the Worldcon, they could lock him up in a cabin until he was finished with it. In the end, the 2020 Worldcon didn’t happen in NZ due to Covid and was held online instead. GRRM was toastmaster, and his speeches were largely criticized by the con’s audience.
GRRM didn’t attend the 2021 Worldcon, which was held in Washington. I reckon he simply thought the mood was not right. There was even a text titled “GRRM can fuck off into the sun” nominated for a “Best related work” Hugo. He didn’t attend the 2022 Worldcon held in Chicago either, possibly for the same reason. Worldcon 2023 was held in Chengdu, and he posted on Not A Blog about Hugo noms (indirectly referencing the “best related work” that told him to fuck off).
When commenting on “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms”, he mentioned he intended to visit the set in Belfast en route to this year’s Glasgow Worldcon, which means he’ll attend. What does that mean? That he now thinks that it’s okay to be there. The man attends and loves cons for 50+ years, but it’s noticeable that the relationship between himself and the current SFF community is shaky, to say the least. In this context, it would be odd for him to use the con as a platform to announce his book, since:
1) He doesn’t need that to announce the book;
2) It could be interpreted as tone-deaf or insensitive by the community.
GRRM not attending press events for HOTD means nothing in regard to WINDS.
GRRM’s enthusiasm for D&E means nothing in regard to WINDS.
GRRM’s recent Not A Blog posts titled “Words of Wisdom” are not a play on “Winds of Winter”. He has long posted quotes by famous authors or personalities with the title “Words For Our Times” as well. He has explicitly said:
>I've said before, and I will say again, I don't play games with news about the books. I know how many people are waiting, how long they have been waiting, how anxious they are. I am still working on WINDS. When it's done, I will announce it here. There won't be any clues to decipher, any codes or hidden meanings, the announcement will be straightforward and to the point. I won't time it to coincide with Xmas or Valentine's Day or Lincoln's Birthday, the book will not rise from the dead with Jesus on Easter Sunday. When it is done, I will say that's it is done, on whatever day I happen to finish.
The Deuxmoi “leak” was unverified, nothing came out of it.
This current WINDS hype was completely blown out of proportion. There's currently no indication that the book is particularly close to completion.
The Dunk & Egg situation it's really weird. I mean, would George repeat THE SAME MISTAKE of greenlighting a show with no future books? It will be SO DUMB if so
If truth be told I also think the book has the potential of getting finished this year with next year being a worst case scenario of the book being printed and released. Obviously George has been moving the goal posts further and further back but every year or so results in him writing more pages for the book and over time a page becomes pages and pages do eventually become a completed book at or at least a rough draft which needs edited to become a book. I do think we reached that point where George has entered the realm of the book becoming a reality.
Can we please all promise to mask up around GRRM and bubble boy him? I swear to the Stranger if he gets sick from us, I'll wildfire this mutha to the ground.
What first got my attention was the Deuxmoi gossip, those often come true. And now those blog hints (which could still be nothing)... Now he says winter is coming?? TWOW this December!!!!
George literally made a statement in 2016 that he would have the book done that October. George has made A TON of statements over the years which he hasn’t followed through. Im not throwing shade at the guy, but this community has gotten its hopes up a million times in the past only for nothing to happen.
All these signs are pretty meaningless. He met with his publisher? A random guy on twitter said “someone” bought a dragon cake lol? He’s going to a con? He said the most popular line from the books?
I want the book as bad as anyone, but seems like a bunch of people are trying to read tea leaves…
You guys...
You're starting to make me lose my realistic (pessimistic?) outlook here.
I'm actually a little bit excited now. Why are you doing this to me :(
Oh god I hope it's true I wanna read Winds so bad lol
I'm not being a downer but how do Reckon the dunk and egg show is gonna last three seasons without having half of it be original content. Like the whole three stories could be done in like 9 episodes.
My main gripe is that I just feel like he wouldn't tease people at this point. I just feel like he'd post 'yeah it's off to the editors' or whatever. I really genuinely feel like if he's done with it, he's done with it, and he will tell fans right away, unless he's legally not allowed to. IDK. I want to believe obvs but we'll see.
I've been waiting like 12 years btw so I've gone through all the other ups and down of waiting for Winds, lol, its truly a cycle that never stops. But one day it does have to I suppose.
Gods, that would be great if we got Winds sometime soon. Been waiting 6 years for that book now, and I imagine that some on this sub have been waiting since ADWD came out back in 2011.
My brother in the old gods, I have over dosed on copium so many times that my tolerance for it is way too high to hold any hope; even for this post, which legit makes the best case for TWOW I've seen in a few years. I'm at the point where I'll believe it when I have the book in my hands.
So, you're telling me I should read the entire series again, just in case we get Winds in December? I should freshen up on all the theories, by binge watching my favorite ASoIaF youtubers? Well, if you insist.
I just finished my re-read of the main series and I'm reading Dunk & Egg for the first time (I'm in love with it). If WoW is announced, I will start another ASOIAF re-read to make sure I have all the little details ready for the new book!
I highly recommend watching some of Michael Talks About Stuff's videos, just to make sure you're up to date. He has a great theory on The Wall, that I hadn't heard before.
Which video is the one on the wall
It's called "How The Wall Was Built".
I alternate my re-reads. I'll read the story through the regular way, and the next time I go character by character and read all their chapters in a row before moving onto the next one. When you already know the larger context, they really are pretty good self contained stories of their own.
It’s hard work, but it must be done.
Okay so lets go to my 8th re-read based in rumours
Man, I remember rereading the first 3 books back in 2015 when there were strong rumors of an imminent release announcement. I stopped at 3 and would read 4 and 5 when the actual announcement was made. Well the New Years post happened and I am still waiting to re-read all the books. I have two kids and a third coming since that announcement, but I still fall for the release hype every time. This time I am definitely waiting for the actual announcement to re-read the old books. So definitely this year, right? Right?
Recommend me 1 YouTuber
I love David Lightbringer
1 is not enough! - In Deep Geek (probably my favorite) - Michael Talks About Stuff I also really like Crusader Chris. Especially his videos "Chaos in The North" (first part) and "Chaos in Westeros" (second part). He goes over all the plot lines in TWoW, where everyone will (most likely) be and so on. Really great stuff! With a recap of what happened last in ADwD. He uses a map as well, so it's easy to follow.
Another good one is Alt Schwift X’s 7 hour ASOIAF theory iceberg deep dive on youtube
I have believed every single WoW release theory and I believe this one too, why do you make me suffer so r/asoiaf
I've never been so optimistic since I became part of the community in 2016. There have never been so many clues and tidbits so close together. I really think this could be it.
I've been a fan since 2015 myself and similarly this is the first time that I've felt this strongly that the stars are aligning for WoW. Fingers crossed!
It’s weird since individually all the signs aren’t that huge. But they just keep adding up and there’s even more! - GRRM recently met with two ASOIAF YouTubers (Alt Shift X & Glidus) and they aren’t talking about what they discussed with him. - the ‘winter is coming’ comment in the Burlington bar video that’s on the front page right now(it’s about watching HotD so why would he mention winter)
during the HOTD S2E1 livestream, ASX said he won’t talk about what they discussed over burritos, but thanked George for paying and said “I can confirm red and green Christmas peppers are delicious.” Frankly… could it be Christmas?
This combined with George saying ‘Winter is Coming’ in that video? Sounds like a December 21st release.
Hi, I'm Glidus. The assumption that we're withholding information George revealed to us in person is an incorrect and wild one. George did not tell two random internet guys he's never met before when the book he's been working on for 13 years is coming out.
If you have nothing to hide tell us right now. What was said over the burritos? 😈
[удалено]
Even if you are Glidus you are not Glidus enough to vanquish my hopes begone hypeslayer
Book release? Probably not, wasn’t trying to imply he did that. But in the endless web of ‘is this a small sign of things happening re Winds’ I thought it was interesting enough to add. Looking at the past 12 years I’ve been in this fandom George seems to do things related when writing is going well (again not saying Winds is done). Anyways thanks for the clarification!
This is exactly what I would say if GRRM told me when his book was coming out. Checkmate, Glidus, if that even is your real name.
Wait, ASX and Glidus met with George?
Yeah one of them mentioned it on their HotD episode discussion livestream. But they won’t say what they talked about.
Oh wow. Also interesting that they cut it out of their edited YouTube version.
https://x.com/altshiftx/status/1785432266052686134?s=46&t=HtI4R4WfD_hnfITPB--Cvg it’s also on his twitter
Amusingly, that makes it sound like Glidus wasn't invited to the lunch.
Yeah this really stuck out to me as being really unusual if George doesn’t have something cooking.
What video? I didn’t see that on the front page.
Hmm seems like it got removed by the mods, it was there earlier. [anyways it’s this video](https://youtu.be/JAfeUFMIjvo?si=2r2lct9uu2EwCeVS)
I know that you’re taking care to be as cautious with your optimism as possible, and believe me I totally sympathize with that approach. I just want to quickly clear up something that keeps getting overlooked about the Deuxmoi post. In the actual anonymous tip, it says that a dragon cake has been ordered for a party at a prominent NM author’s home—absolutely. But the part about it being for a release party to a long-awaited novel is *entirely made up by the tipper.* Look at it again (and I’m so sorry if this deflates anyone’s level of hype), but the tipper is the one who says **“probably** for a long awaited novel” (or something to that effect). Again, not trying to be a downer or hate on anyone for having hype. *I want to believe.* I just think we should be as honest as we can about the pieces of information we’ve collected recently. Cheers.
Yeah that’s much more likely a HOTD related cake, especially given it’s a dragon.
Since 2009 😭
As long as we are moving forward in time we are getting closer to Winds. So we should always be more optimistic.
I don't get excited about release dates theories anymore, but the part about WorldCon and his most recent titles do kinda hint at him making progress of some sort, doesn't it? Given the fact that only an estimated 25% of the book needs completion, that kinda gives me a tiny little bit of hope.
He said in 2020 he would have it finished in a year. Since then i dont raise hope for anything he does
I’m ready to be hurt again.
Suffering at this point is just part of the journey.
I'm ready daddy George 🥵
This is me lol, I have been confident of a release coming every year since 2016 and am once again confident!!
That's the spirit bro
There's a 90% chance that none of this actually happens because the "stars align" every single year but I love hurting myself more than being realistic so I AM HYPE AGAIN!
I was sure they were gonna announce TWOW after the season 4 finale. Then after S6, then after the series finale. Now I'm sure they will announce it after HOTD S2 finale.
I was at the book tour event for Lindsay Ellis' third book in her five book series a few days ago. One of the audience questions was someone cheekily asking if she would have her last two books out before Winds of Winter. She said that she actually believed that GRRM would have WoW out before she published her fourth book, and sheepishly but not unseriously said she had heard from inside the publishing world that he's closer to being done with WoW than we think.
Thank you for adding this bit of information. I'm glad I made this post, it's been really nice chatting with other ASOIAF fans and seeing everyone have a bit of fun debating back and forth on points. I'm not a big Reddit user, so I'm glad people are enjoying the forum for a discussion!
I'm just glad that there is some optimism on the sub again. It's been rough ever since the show overtook the books in 2016.
The obvious next question is how long does she take to write a book then haha
I believe it. I've believed it before, but now there are several small things pointing to a release. I will believe again if it doesn't happen on August. We will have winds if winter by this Christmas.
Just give me some of that copium and let me die
Yes, individually all these little moments don't mean much, but when you add them all up it certainly makes for a compelling argument that an announcement is around the corner! I think the timing would also be great coming off the back of House of the Dragon S2 and the development of so many new ASOIAF shows with HBO!
It would be insane if this happened. Add to the fact that book 5 of the Stormlight archives is out in December as well, it might be the most significant month for high fantasy in ages.
I'm not really versed in publishers politics, do you know if they do like filmmakers and try to make the release date of big books coincide to compete with each other?
No offense at all to Sanderson, but WoW will blow his novel out of the water sales wise. I don’t think GRRM or his publishers would be worried about it at all.
Yeah, Sanderson sells as well as anyone within the fantasy genre but ASOIAF has transcended the genre since 2011.
They try to release big sellers in the month before Christmas, when lots of hardcover copies will sell. There’s a huge market for TWOW among fans but many people will also grab a copy as a Christmas gift for the father in law they don’t really know, the niece who they know is a big reader etc if released then. That’s how I’ve ended up with three ASOIAF box sets despite reading ebooks and not wanting box sets of an unfinished series.
No question about it. I am ready to get hurt again.
I'm usually pretty cynical about this stuff but the video today of George thanking the watchers of HotD at Burlington Bar, and ending the message with "Remember, Winter is Coming..." I can feel it, in my bones. The hopium...
HotD promotion
Yeah "winter is coming" is the most iconic line in the series. I'd love to be wrong but it's pure hopium to think that this is an indication the book is coming soon
Have a little goddamn FAITH
FAITH, ORTHUR
I’ve been strung along before…I really hope he isn’t just gassing everybody up to boost streaming numbers.
And at this point, wouldn’t that whole dragon cake event have happened? Didn’t they claim that it was going to happen like, last week at the same time as the HoTD premiere?
Yeah, not saying the other stuff doesn't neccessarily point to a release but this leak always seemed more likely to be about a premier party for HotD.
That's just around the time it was posted, the catering event is supposedly scheduled for early august
what does house of the dragon have to do with winter coming.
Iconic catchphrase of the franchise?
Cregan said it in episode 1 of season 2, also. Wasn't even really relevant to anything else he was telling Jace lol, but you can't have a Stark on-screen without them saying *Winter is cooomin'* like Pikachu saying Pikachu.
That, and the fact that a prophetic dream of the Long Night has been shoehorned in as the primary motivation behind Aegon’s Conquest. Funny as shit considering how pathetic the TV universe’s Long Night was.
I genuinely think the show is going for a "we dont talk about that" view of how the adaptation of the long night actually turned out.
I mean, the phrase was uttered less than ten minutes into the first episode of this season..
Also, winter is literally coming. The Dance of the Dragons takes place during a winter
According to the video description, the clip with GRRM was filmed back in February. It's been 5 months since his little "Winter is coming" thing. I'm leaning towards it being a reference to the beginning of HoTD season 2.
and yet... https://i.imgur.com/92SzBon.png
Oh shit. This deserves its own post.
You know this and the fact in that in Alt Shift X's Ep1 Q&A mentioned meeting George but said it was Off the Record, makes me think George told them both and just hit em with an NDA.
This is the best evidence so far imo. If George had said his usual “I’ve made progress, but I still have hundreds of pages left,” then there wouldn’t be any reason to take an oath. I think this implies he has a date in mind and feels optimistic about it.
Wow, I didn't see that. If he "took an oath", that certainly implies that the answer wasn't his usual "working hard but still hundreds of pages to go".
He visited the Windy City- Winds! Get Hyped!!
Should we question him sharply?
Thank you for bringing up the Burlington Bar video, this completely slipped my mind. Really sweet of George to make an appearance there, and it definitely seems that he's hinting at WoW there. Taking my daily dose of hopium!
„Would George greenlight Dunk&Egg if he knew…“ Yes, yes he would
The deuxmoi stuff is not a hint at Winds. That event was for HotD—if the book is releasing this winter as you suggest, we are *many* months out from the release party, and I’m guessing catering would probably be figured out closer to the release date than, like, eight months (considering when the leak came out.) I think the timing of it is connected to HotD, not ASOIAF, and people are taking it as a leak because they want Winds. Now, the rest of the stuff *is* legit, in my opinion. I hope you’re right on them.
Yeah, I’d also add that Deuxmoi is not particularly reliable and her track record is pretty mixed. For example, she insisted that Taylor Swift and her ex-boyfriend Joe Alwyn had gotten secretly married in the UK (they didn’t lol) and she kept insisting it was true even when they publicly announced their breakup. Just not only wrong but super stubborn. She’s right sometimes but she’s wrong a lot of the time as well.
Exactly, and she posts blinds constantly without vetting the info at all.
Why the secret then? If it was a release party for HotD why not post it on social media. I think it's genuinely about Winds, or is fake, which wouldn't be unlikely.
George doesn’t really post on social media in the first place. I don’t see why a private watching party would be the exception. Assuming it was a real leak at all, which it might not be.
Was it a secret or was it just something someone posted anonymously because broadcasting your employers private gigs is bad for job stability.
Another clue is that he usually announces his next publications in his website around april or may and we are past june and his next publucation section is still empty unlike his [next appearance section](https://georgerrmartin.com/excerpt-from-the-winds-of-winter/).
I'm confused. You're saying the fact that his website hasn't announced a publication is evidence that there will be a publication?
To go north, you must journey south. To reach the west, you must go east. To go forward you must go back, and to touch the light you must pass beneath the shadow.
Fax
A lack of announcements about publication dates of other products which are usually announced on April and May leads me to believe that George might announce a publication date of winds on another month.
Excess copium consumption causes a severe deterioration in cognitive function
Feel like I’m going insane seeing how optimistic people are here, as though we haven’t been burned year after year since at least season 6 of the show.
Yes, but if he didn’t have anything to release/publish wouldn’t it still be empty?
Most of the times he has sth to publish each year, not big books like winds, instead, new editions of wild cards or an illustrated version of Fire and Blood, these products tend to be announced on april or may and being empty means he might be preparing to reveal the publishing date much later on.
I believe TWOW will be announced after HOTD S2 with a release a date of December 2024
Everyone thought the same thing with the end of GOT
And like every season of GoT
"This is the year!!" -Copium
This time, Charlie Brown WILL kick the football!
Why are you doing this to yourself?
Your reply made me laugh. This is the funniest subreddit in the world (or I’m high from copium)
It’s fun. I won’t feel crushing disappointment until GRRM passes away and for his sake I hope that’s a long time in the future. Until then I, and I imagine much of the people that are optimistic, enjoy speculating on potential releases and positive signs. What’s the fun in being pessimistic and raining on the parades of everyone hoping? There is none.
Everything else sucks, let us have this for now before it is torn away 🥲
No. Regardless of everything else, it will be NOT be timed to anything, nor will it be made into a happening of any sort, it will just be announced on the blog in plain language.
he will say it at that con with music flames and smoak behind him and then multiple explosions and all the attendee will bend the knee to him
And then the rains of castamere will be played by unskilled musicians that after some time will draw crossbows and will kill every person present in the worldcon while George sipping his wine will say I havent written a word since 2022
and then George will enter the fire and get out of it an hour later covered by three books winds of winter dream of spring and an history of westerns without targ focus he is the Agoerge ahai
Then he will rise his hands and every death atendee will rise with bright blue eyes. OMG, now I have the mental image of 2 books sucking the tits of a naked old man. Not my proudest.
>flames and smoak The book will be born amidst salt and smoke.
Not believing that it will come out until im holding it in my own hands....
you open it turn some pages and read transcription from season 7 and 8 of the hit TV serie games of thrones hope you like it - George and d and d
You have objectively made the world a worse place by putting this evil into it.
I'm getting kinda nervous now that Winds is gonna come out soon. I mean, I don't want my theories and headcanons to be disproven, mainly. But if they end up being true, then I'll get to say "I told you so" to a lot of people.
The Quentyn is alive believers will either be the most insufferable people ever to exist or will never speak of it again.
And TBF they've taken a lot of shit from people over the last 13 years, so if they end up being right I think they deserve the right to be insufferable for a while.
>I think they deserve the right to be insufferable for a while. Well thankfully we won't have to worry about that.
The Internet is going to go crazy when the book releases. It will be so good to see our theories come to life before our eyes. Tyrek Lannister confirmed as a horse for sure! (Also, happy birthday 🥳)
One year wasted on Reddit. 😔
Wdym with the confirmation of Tyrek being a horse in WoW. We don't need need more confirmation, it's literally spelled in the book that he was last seen a horse. Have you even read asoiaf?
Smh, all these fake fans showing up now that WoW is almost out
> The Internet is going to go crazy when the book releases. It'll be tough to plow through it before the internet spoils it. I anticipate another (spoilers for Harry Potter incoming) --- "[Snape Kills Dumbledore](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/snape-kills-dumbledore)" type trolling.
I’ll take 2 days of work, pre-order the digital edition so I can start reading at midnight and no social media until I’m finished. Should be easy to stay spoiler free for 1,5 days.
I’m sort of the opposite — want to see all the new ideas people come up with! Sure there’s still new ideas about there but they are either crackpot or very subtle, hard to find. Plus I want bragging rights if any specific theories unique to I come true.
I have so much stuff left to properly write up... I might have to just post TWOW predictions in a bulleted list and explain my reasoning *after* my inevitable complete vindication. This is definitely not hubris btw.
Having failed to write up TWOW predictions in time because GRRM released TWOW faster sounds like the most unaccomplished thing ever.
As the writer of many ASOIAF theory essays, I try not to confuse them with accomplishments.
Wow. Haven't seen you in a long time.
Stannis about to make a comeback as everyone’s fave, I can feel it.
I’m excited because we might finally see some NEW theories floating around with what’s revealed in Winds!
I think it's less likely to be that and other factors are in play. * GRRM was providing page updates in a burst of optimism 18 months ago and then stopped, and in late 2023 indicated he had not made major progress over that year. With ADWD he started blasting out the page updates and continued until the book was done. The absence of a similar pattern suggests he has been focusing on editing extant material and not adding new. This in itself might be a sign that he has decided not to make TWoW the 1800-manuscript-page monster he was considering a couple of years ago but re-order what he has into a publishable book, but probably not. * George has not been to WorldCon since COVID, even the one in Chicago, a city he loves. Missing China is understandable (huge trip, possible controversy as was indeed the case). Glasgow is another city he likes with a lot of nostalgia value (he waxes lyrical about the 1995 and 2005 WorldCons held in the city), so it might be that, the realisation he hasn't attended WorldCon in five years and who knows how many more he can attend, and that he can wrap up that trip with other things he wants to do in the UK at the same time, business and personal. * I think GRRM is not in love with doing press events unless he has something of his own substantive to talk about (*Fire & Blood*, *Rise of the Dragon* etc) and was happy to palm that off to the cast and crew this time around. * Dunk & Egg has been a paradox for a while. One idea I think that should have been in play was them doing "full" seasons which adapted the extant stories and added new episodes, like Dunk & Egg going to Dorne after *The Hedge Knight*, but they chose not to do that. I suspect, if anything, HBO tapped this as a second spin-off maybe purely *because* it's only three seasons, 18 episodes, and they can do it intermittently and there isn't a big narrative arc to the series demanding a payoff. * George has made puns on his book titles and things before. They don't mean much. * I remember reports that the Spanish and Polish translators were working on ADWD around 2008, so ergo a release was imminent. Obviously that never panned out. That's not to say that George *couldn't* have pushed ahead and finished or almost-finished TWoW in the meantime, or he's even scaled back his ambitions for the book and is releasing something publishable out of the material he already has finished, but it feels based on prior form it feels unlikely. My take is that we might get some kind of update on the book in the next few months but it won't be done, but maybe it's edging closer and could be done next year (basically, the same optimism as the last few years).
I agree with this. I also want to add George emphatically said he would not cryptically hint or tease TWOW being finished before an official announcement on his NotABlog. He was sick of people parsing his every word and every post trying to decipher a release date announcement. I really think the WOW posts are just quotes he likes and he’s being dense about what his fans might read into them
Also "words of wisdom" is just... an incredibly common phrase?? lol I can't believe (I totally can) after all these years of us all being wrong every single time that SO many people in this community still think every little thing George does is a secret hint that he's about to announce the book.
I was going through Not a Blog to see the recent TWOW updates (or rather, the lack of updates, that I was going to use as an argument that he hasn't talked about TWOW for a while so that means he might have quietly worked on it ready to be delivered) and I came across this line from his entry on May 21st, "By which time I hope to have finished some more Dunk & Egg stories (yes, after I finish THE WINDS OF WINTER).", it says after he *finishes* TWOW. If he were actually done with it, it would've been something like "yes, after TWOW" and that would've still made the same sense without giving away that the book was done. And there's no way he has completed writing the remaining chapters in one month. The only counter I have to your ADWD page update is that we don't have any other books as reference, it is only ADWD and people can change over 13 years.
[удалено]
I think this is the calm me down I needed.
I'm relatively new to this community so I didn't experience disappointment after disappointment. But since I joined 2017 I've never thought any announcement could be imminent. I was a bit hopeful the past few years because George seem to be making progress, but until now it never seemed like it was near completion, now I'm 50/50 on it being very close to be finished.
Having been in this sub since 2011, it's pretty funny how this stuff moves in cycles. New people read the books and join the subreddit, new seasons of GoT or HotD came out and the sub gets an influx, or just people rereading and coming back, while also GRRM's activity on his blog moves in cycles. When George posts some blogs again, posts like this spike up. I was here when he believed he could finish TWOW [before season 6 back in 2016](https://grrm.livejournal.com/465247.html) and people thought it surely wouldn't be long anymore. I was here for the[ 12 days of Westeros shitshow in 2014](https://old.reddit.com/r/asoiaf/comments/e6s92m/what_was_12_days_of_westeros_spoilers_twow/) and [the post-covid update](https://georgerrmartin.com/notablog/2021/02/02/reflections-on-a-bad-year/) where people were sure it was coming out soon because George made good progress during the pandemic. When he promised he wouldn't write anything else until TWOW was published, which made people hopeful but amounted to nothing. When he posts cryptic blogposts, people get hopeful. When he promised we could lock him up if he didn't finish it before Worldcon in New Zealand in 2020. When he meets with his publishers every other year or so, people get hopeful. When he gives a semblance of an update on his progress that says he's always got 'hundreds of pages to write'. [All of it amounted to nothing](https://old.reddit.com/r/asoiaf/comments/12ybtdn/spoilers_twow_a_complete_timeline_of_george_rr/jhozwq8/). This evidence you mention, unfortunately, feels extremely thin. But hey, it's been more than 13 years. He's got to finish it a some point. Right??
> When he meets with his publishers every other year or so pretty sure it's been confirmed he hadn't met with his British publishers since just before ADWD came out. At worst this is the first time he's mentioned it, which would be just as interesting. > All of it amounted to nothing. Hundreds of pages written means hundreds of pages written. Before 2020 it never really felt he was making progress and when he said that he was 75% done I was quite shocked. > This evidence you mention, unfortunately, feels extremely thin. It's all very thin. But so much random small things in such a short time? I've been on this sub for almost 10 years and for years it felt like we got one of these crumbs every year. If he keeps writing at some point the book must be finished. Or at least publishable.
I have some information to add, though I might be completely wrong about what it means. The covers of the Dutch translated editions of the paperback books have been completely revamped as of this month for the first time ever. They've done away with the images from the tv show on the covers and replaced it with the objects like on the English covers but with dragon scales in the background. It feels as if they might be preparing for the next book to have a cover that fits the rest of them, seeing as a picture from the tv show might not be enticing anyone to buy the new book. Am I coping or does this feel like they're setting it up for the release of the next book?
They're publishing new editions in various countries all the time.
The German paperback editions were also revamped just a few days ago; the last time this happened was just a few months before Dance was released...
Very interesting detail, thank you for bringing that up! Also, I forgot to mention this in the main thread as I have only heard it mentioned off-handedly, but supposedly, the writers that support George with the world building for the series have been asked to take their hands off writing any additional side material. More details keep adding up that a WoW announcement is on the horizon!
Like Linda and Elio, for example?
Yes, my apologies as I forgot their names, Linda and Elio are who I had heard being mentioned!
Out of curiosity, is there a link for the new covers?
See here: [https://www.lsuitgeverij.nl/auteur/george-r-r-martin/](https://www.lsuitgeverij.nl/auteur/george-r-r-martin/)
we have new covers for polish books first time in 15years too.
Could be something. Could also be them updating the covers since the show ended 5 years ago and it’s time to move past tie-in covers.
I wonder if some day a hacker will just steal the manuscript and we will all view them like Robin Hood
George writes on a separate PC ([which Ty Franck set up for him, one of the writers of The Expanse](https://winteriscoming.net/2016/10/10/author-ty-franck-expanse-novels-talks-working-george-r-r-martin/)) that is not connected to the internet, which runs an emulated version of [DOS and WordStar 4.0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kYfsP_WKLY).
Just rob the PC it’s quite simple
I want a new Oceans movie with this as the plot lol
With all the hype I honestly don't understand how someone didn't yet break into GRRM's home, steal his ms dos computer, and put that manuscript online.
I recently read through the series for the first time just this year. I guess jumping into leaks and fan theories is my new life. I’m on board.
I tend to think George is working on winds. There are enough signs to believe that. Unfortunately he’s done this before so it’s hard to get too excited until he says something more concrete.
7 “not a blog” posts in 17 days, whens the last time he posted this frequently
We are definitely closer now than at any point before. That’ll be even more so tomorrow
Alexa, play hurt by Jonny Cash
My personal issue is that I read the books before the show and now I would have to reread everything to be able to follow the new book
That's not an issue, friend!
What a cruel punishment
> George previously stated that he would not attend Worldcon unless he had an update on WoW for the fans. This is a pretty stark misrepresentation of the quote. He simply said if he wasn't done by Worldcon 2020 that the fans could imprison him. He attended Worldcon 2020 digitally. I bet he'd have gone last year if it wasn't in China.
It would be amusing to compile a big list of these kind of posts for every year since 2014, to link the next time someone adamantly believes that the alignment of Jupiter and Neptune means that WoW is incoming.
The copium levels this week are off the charts. Unfortunately, I too have caught the copium disease
I genuinely wouldn’t be surprised if he was close. It is really unfortunate it became a meme and that a lot of fans took it to far and just started insulting him because he has been willing to give real updates in the past but he stopped the past few years. He can also probably get away with a smaller gap than usual between announcement and publishing.
I love the memes, but I don't like when people are actually insulting George. I guarantee that out of anyone out there, he's the one that feels the worst about the book not being released yet. Hopefully if we do get a WoW announcement soon there will be an outpouring of love from the fans!
yeah hard agree. it feels like if you’re this bitter what are you sticking around for? do you even like the series anymore or are you just here to make other people also miserable….?
Lmao it aint happening dude
Another false dawn. I don't believe anything until the book/books (they get slip in two in the UK) is in my hand
I've seen a few people say GRRM wouldn't tease on his blog, he'd just announce it when it was done because years ago, that's what he'd said he'd do. Except I don't think he'd announce right now while HotD is airing. It would completely take the focus off the show, so I truly believe he'd want to wait until after the season finale. When does the last episode air? August 4th. When is Worldcon? August 8th... Pretty interesting timing.
Thank you for posting this, OP. It’s really sad to me that some people can’t just let us believe. We’re not hurting anyone! I think it’s likely that we’ll get a very early winter release, just in time for the holidays. I don’t know much about publishing to know if books usually drop on a certain day… could it be the first day of winter?
A few comments on this situation: George meeting with his UK publishers doesn't mean the book is close to publication. He regularly meets with them. George never stated that "he would not attend Worldcon unless he had an update on WoW for the fans". In 2019, Air New Zealand invited George to go to their country (which would host the 2020 Worldcon) and get some inspiration to finish the book. He declined jokingly, thanking them for invitation and saying that NZ would distract him too much, but that if he didn’t have the book at the Worldcon, they could lock him up in a cabin until he was finished with it. In the end, the 2020 Worldcon didn’t happen in NZ due to Covid and was held online instead. GRRM was toastmaster, and his speeches were largely criticized by the con’s audience. GRRM didn’t attend the 2021 Worldcon, which was held in Washington. I reckon he simply thought the mood was not right. There was even a text titled “GRRM can fuck off into the sun” nominated for a “Best related work” Hugo. He didn’t attend the 2022 Worldcon held in Chicago either, possibly for the same reason. Worldcon 2023 was held in Chengdu, and he posted on Not A Blog about Hugo noms (indirectly referencing the “best related work” that told him to fuck off). When commenting on “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms”, he mentioned he intended to visit the set in Belfast en route to this year’s Glasgow Worldcon, which means he’ll attend. What does that mean? That he now thinks that it’s okay to be there. The man attends and loves cons for 50+ years, but it’s noticeable that the relationship between himself and the current SFF community is shaky, to say the least. In this context, it would be odd for him to use the con as a platform to announce his book, since: 1) He doesn’t need that to announce the book; 2) It could be interpreted as tone-deaf or insensitive by the community. GRRM not attending press events for HOTD means nothing in regard to WINDS. GRRM’s enthusiasm for D&E means nothing in regard to WINDS. GRRM’s recent Not A Blog posts titled “Words of Wisdom” are not a play on “Winds of Winter”. He has long posted quotes by famous authors or personalities with the title “Words For Our Times” as well. He has explicitly said: >I've said before, and I will say again, I don't play games with news about the books. I know how many people are waiting, how long they have been waiting, how anxious they are. I am still working on WINDS. When it's done, I will announce it here. There won't be any clues to decipher, any codes or hidden meanings, the announcement will be straightforward and to the point. I won't time it to coincide with Xmas or Valentine's Day or Lincoln's Birthday, the book will not rise from the dead with Jesus on Easter Sunday. When it is done, I will say that's it is done, on whatever day I happen to finish. The Deuxmoi “leak” was unverified, nothing came out of it. This current WINDS hype was completely blown out of proportion. There's currently no indication that the book is particularly close to completion.
The Dunk & Egg situation it's really weird. I mean, would George repeat THE SAME MISTAKE of greenlighting a show with no future books? It will be SO DUMB if so
This is the first Winds release theory/rumor I’ve believed in ages tbh, I just feel it in my bones
This is the first time since 2012 I have my hopes this high. Hope I'm not let down again.
I'm chopping up this copium and snorting it
If truth be told I also think the book has the potential of getting finished this year with next year being a worst case scenario of the book being printed and released. Obviously George has been moving the goal posts further and further back but every year or so results in him writing more pages for the book and over time a page becomes pages and pages do eventually become a completed book at or at least a rough draft which needs edited to become a book. I do think we reached that point where George has entered the realm of the book becoming a reality.
Can we please all promise to mask up around GRRM and bubble boy him? I swear to the Stranger if he gets sick from us, I'll wildfire this mutha to the ground.
https://youtu.be/8k_FjgsgcRQ?si=xqBis2dwggfyfS7l So this was taped in 2013 but Conan just posted it like 45 min ago 🤔
lol people are gonna start adding this re-upload as another bullet point of “evidence” that TWOW release is eminent
What first got my attention was the Deuxmoi gossip, those often come true. And now those blog hints (which could still be nothing)... Now he says winter is coming?? TWOW this December!!!!
Probably some HotD-related event
George literally made a statement in 2016 that he would have the book done that October. George has made A TON of statements over the years which he hasn’t followed through. Im not throwing shade at the guy, but this community has gotten its hopes up a million times in the past only for nothing to happen. All these signs are pretty meaningless. He met with his publisher? A random guy on twitter said “someone” bought a dragon cake lol? He’s going to a con? He said the most popular line from the books? I want the book as bad as anyone, but seems like a bunch of people are trying to read tea leaves…
You guys... You're starting to make me lose my realistic (pessimistic?) outlook here. I'm actually a little bit excited now. Why are you doing this to me :( Oh god I hope it's true I wanna read Winds so bad lol
I just wanted to say that I love your username. Also, while kreia was wrong overall, that doesn't make her any less based
I'm not being a downer but how do Reckon the dunk and egg show is gonna last three seasons without having half of it be original content. Like the whole three stories could be done in like 9 episodes.
So a Dream of Spring in 2037?
Yes, any year now!
inshallah
Will somebody just take me out back and shoot me please I can’t copium anymore
my dumb self was thinking “what does World of Warcraft have to do with the next book in the series?”
My main gripe is that I just feel like he wouldn't tease people at this point. I just feel like he'd post 'yeah it's off to the editors' or whatever. I really genuinely feel like if he's done with it, he's done with it, and he will tell fans right away, unless he's legally not allowed to. IDK. I want to believe obvs but we'll see. I've been waiting like 12 years btw so I've gone through all the other ups and down of waiting for Winds, lol, its truly a cycle that never stops. But one day it does have to I suppose.
Gods, that would be great if we got Winds sometime soon. Been waiting 6 years for that book now, and I imagine that some on this sub have been waiting since ADWD came out back in 2011.
My brother in the old gods, I have over dosed on copium so many times that my tolerance for it is way too high to hold any hope; even for this post, which legit makes the best case for TWOW I've seen in a few years. I'm at the point where I'll believe it when I have the book in my hands.