Delay in publishing this book.

one thing that i find worrying is that in a feast for crows , he said at the end that he had written quite a lot about the other characters already so it appears that a good bit of work had been done for ADWD...the delay is painful and what will this mean for the Winds of Winter and a Memory of spring??? i despair... am rereading the books again and i get so much more out of them the seond time... ah, westeros!!!

He had written a bit, but he then decided that material wasn't good enough adn rewrote it, not quite from scratch but as good as.

One of the problems discussed on his last book tour was that in Books 3-5 the series is at its most 'expansive', with the largest number of POV chapters, characters, plots, subplots and locations to be covered. After Book 5 the characters apparently start being drawn to a convergence and the focus of the books will narrow back down again. Hopefully this means Books 6 and 7 will come out faster as there are less structrual complications to deal with, but we will see. I suspect we will still be looking at 3-4 years per book.

My fear is that this book will come out - and then we have too wait for the next one.............

I think it is inevietable that the next book wil take even longer, as that seems to be the pattern developing! I am currently re-reading the previous books, so I will be able to remember what was going on by the time this on gets published. I would definitely recommend re-reading in the meantime, when you do the books back to back, and know what is going to happen further along you get so much more out of the series! Hopefully the gap between this and the next book will be filled with the HBO series, so the wait won't seem as torturous as this one has been! And as for this book being about only half the characters, it's about dany and jon, who are my two favourite characters! I dread to think how long it has been since i read something new about those characters! I just hope Martin can keep to his goal to finish by June-july, so I get this book on the 29th october, without anymore delays!!

I have given up on this series. An author who can't manage to put out a book in a popular series at least every 2 years is really doing a dis-service to his readers. So much time spans between each of these novels I have to go to wikipedia to remind me what happened in the last books. I have an idea George, maybe write smaller books so we can get them more often. Crazy I know. But how about a 300-400 page book every 2 years as opposed to a 1000+ page book every 4 years.

"I just hope Martin can keep to his goal to finish by June-july, so I get this book on the 29th october, without anymore delays!!"

It's coming down to the wire, and the American publishers have just (rather quietly) put the release date back to early 2010, which might be a sign that GRRM was optimistic in how much time he had to finish the book. However, it is possible that the book could still come out this year, as the UK edition always comes out before the US one, sometimes by months.

On the front with the other two authors, Pat Rothfuss has finished and turned in THE WISE MAN'S FEAR (huzzah!) but too late to come out this year. It'll be out in the USA at the start of 2010 and in the UK a few months after that. Scott Lynch is due to hand in THE REPUBLIC OF THIEVES any day now, but it can no longer hit a 2009 release slot. Gollancz have it listed for April 2010 in the UK instead.

It might also have helped him in finishing the books if he hadn't already killed off all the main characters from the first books...

[Deleted by the author on 5 Jun 2009 21:33:43 BDT]

Oh how hilarious that comment about Lynch being prolific seems in hindsight, eh?

I can't believe the attitude of some of these posts. GRRM owes his readers absolutely nothing and they have no right to be making any kind of demand of him whatsoever. His books have provided readers with untold hours of entertainment and pleasure and all he asks in return is a bit of patience in order to ensure that his extremely high standards are maintained. Well I for one thank you George, I shall always feel in your debt, whether DoD gets finished next month, next year, or never.

Why do you designate Robin Hobb's books as 'crap'? GRRM himself doesn't agree with you!

I hugely enjoyed the books so far published in this series. Like all other readers I have been frustrated by the constant delays in the arrival of the latest volume. However, what Martin needs to consider is at what point will fans decide they no longer care if the book is ever published and move on. I class myself as belonging to this group.

It is a good question, although I wonder to what degree it is limited to this one book, which is coming out three and a half years after its originally-mooted date. If GRRM had said back in 2005 that we wouldn't see the next book for five years would people have just said "Fair enough?" If he says this time round that Book 6 won't come out until 2015 will people complain less? I'm not sure. I think people just don't like to wait.

I came across this series as it was recommended to me by a friend. It has totally blown me away! I have had the luxury of reading all books back to back, but now I'm in the same boat as everyone else here :-( Well, luckily some of you have recommended other authors for me to get stuck into whilst I wait.

I just love the ruthlessness of this author and his characters.

Im also erring on the side of abandoning the books. I personally think he is taking the piss. Lets face it hes not writing Moby Dick for ducks sake (to protect the more sensitive of us) - They are fantasy novels - Good ones true but thats what they are - Other good authors throw these out for fun. George is over-reaching the seriousness/ impact of these books. I imagine he could have released a good version years earlier and no-one would have batted an eye-lid.
Attack me if you wish but thats where I stand.
Why wait when there is just as good out there ?? If you pander to him he will only take 5 years to complete his next tome !

''They are fantasy novels - Good ones true but thats what they are - Other good authors throw these out for fun.''

'What they are'?? Excuse me, but do I detect a trace of self deprecating snobbery here? Fantasy carries the same weight as any other genre, and is entitled to the same respect too. Granted for every gifted author writing in the Fantasy genre there are a dozen churning out another uninspired LOTR knockoff, but there are still some truly excellent, creative and original works being done.

When I recently went to a university open day for English Lit I heared someone rather arrogantly comment (for laughs) on a certain author who shall go unnamed here, was a bit annoyed because I really enjoy their work.... Anyway, went along the lines of; ''so it doesn't matter if i read so and so?'' *cue widespread chuckling and laughter* lecturer: 'oh! no, we'll try not to hold it against you!''. Honestly, read what you want and don't get hung up on what the 'elite' doth decree on 'lesser arts'...

No snobbery here thanks
But lets face it writing a fantasy novel is a lot easier than coming up with a contemporary life depicting book. Or do you think inventing ur own world putting everyone on horses, (because that the rule apparantly) throw in a map on inside cover and letting the action begin is harder?
Ive read and enjoyed a lot of fantasy but I appreciate it for what it is - Enjoyable switch of leisure time - Great fun but not challenging. So thanks but Im not likely to get ung up on what I read.

Main point anyway was ditch Martin "he's taking the piss !

i sometimes think people should take their time before commenting.
look at past authors, and lets be fair to some of them...
David gemmel, early books fantastic latest book dire. if only he took his time.
another easy one Raymond Fiest, magician a classic, everything since A Darkness at Sethanon, has been awful and there are lots of authors whom we all wished they took their time and just thought about what they were writing.
As much as its frustrates me not to be able to get my hands on ADWD, i rather wait abit more and pray that its better than A Feast for Crows, which does not compare to his earlier books.
Anyway we have waited this long what's another year or 2? :-)

Unfortunatley for Gemell his Wife had to finish his last book, unless he can write from beyond the grave he has no chance of putting things right !

pfft.
in this day and age, death shouldn't be an issue!!

I can't imagine writing a book a complicated as this next one will be ... maybe it 'ran away from him' a bit? I'm prepared to hold on (no choice really). I'll just re-read (again) the rest of the series when I've got the latest one in my hands. And all those people who have cancelled their pre-orders ... well I have a hunch that eventually they'll end up reading the new book when it comes out!

Can someone please tell me as to when this book is actually coming out? Is it in April 2010 or Sep 2010?

I'd be surprised if it came out in 2010 at all? I've been reading this series since I was in school, I'm over 30 now. Forget about GRRM dieing before completion, I'm starting to worry if I'll live long eniugh.

Haha, true. I wonder if he'll ever finish this one...

has anyone heard he has ill health?
I hope he does not do a gemmell on us
A Game of Thrones, Bantam Books, 1996....and it is now 2010
if you read his bibliography he has been busy with others, but i think he should cancell all other commitments until he completes this series.
http://www.georgerrmartin.com/bibliography.html