George R.R. Martin’s writing again — but it’s still not The Winds of Winter
In a fresh Not a Blog post, George R.R. Martin says he’s writing again — but it’s elsewhere in Westeros than the book most readers are waiting for.
If you're still clinging to hope that George R.R. Martin might finish The Winds of Winter before the end of this decade, I've got news you're not going to love. Yes, Martin's picked up the pen again — but it's not for the Game of Thrones novel everyone's been begging him to finish. Instead, he's doubling down on his Dunk and Egg stories, the prequel novellas following Ser Duncan the Tall and young Aegon V Targaryen. That's where all the action is right now, at least according to the people putting 'A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms' together for telly.
Dunk and Egg Takes Priority
This latest bit of Martin news comes straight from Ira Parker, showrunner for the Dunk and Egg TV series. He spoke to The Hollywood Reporter, confirming everyone's suspicions: Martin's writing energy is being channelled into new stories about Dunk and Egg instead of the long-promised sixth Ice and Fire novel. For anyone who's spent the past ten years clutching their battered copy of A Dance with Dragons, wondering when the next chapter in the main saga will land, that's a harsh reality check.
I'd love to expand it from three seasons to maybe four or five. Book four, which George is working on, takes place in a very cool location. And five is the last story point of Egg as a boy. It's a very natural ending place for us to take a break and come back when Dexter is older. So then we can do Egg the Prince, do some politics, do some fun stuff in Summer Hall and King's Landing, and get a different vibe where they're not on the road all the time.
Parker's interview basically lays out a road map for the show: even more seasons than originally planned, with Martin supposedly fleshing out book four right now. Apparently, this next Dunk and Egg tale is set somewhere especially interesting in Westeros. If they make it through to a fifth story, the plan is to pause and then revisit things once the series' young star ages up a bit — giving Egg time to evolve from a boy into a right proper prince, ready for the court intrigue and Summerhall drama that obviously awaits.
What About Winds of Winter?
Martin does keep promising that he'll finish the A Song of Ice and Fire series one day. But, let's be honest, it's been a very long time since he actually released a book in the main saga. A Game of Thrones came out in 1996. The most recent novel, A Dance with Dragons, landed back in 2011. That was fifteen years ago now — you could've started secondary school and finished a university degree in the gap since. As for The Winds of Winter, there's still no release date of any kind. Instead, Martin's focus is solidly on new Dunk and Egg episodes, leaving Song of Ice and Fire diehards to keep waiting and, let's face it, growing increasingly sceptical.
It has now been 15 years since the last A Song of Ice and Fire novel, and there is still no release date for The Winds of Winter.
So, if you fancy more tales set in Westeros, it seems Dunk and Egg is where you'll get them first — whether you like it or not.