It's probably going to be a larger book than any of the previous volumes in the story,' he said. 'It's a big, big book, I've said that before. Martin went on to try and describe why the writing process has been so difficult in this case. The Winds of Winter will be the sixth book in his series A Song of Ice and Fire, which he says will have a different ending from HBO's Game of Thrones. In October, he gave one talk at The Strand Bookstore saying: 'I think I'm about three-quarters of the way done, maybe.' This was a more concrete answer than he has given in a long time, and a more optimistic one than some fans had expected. In the meantime, if you’re up for some fantasy content to tide you over - click here for our list of the fantasy films currently available on Peacock.Martin was on the road this fall with speaking engagements around the country. Sadly, it sounds like we’ll have to wait for a least a couple more years to see how exactly the stories differ. While the HBO show went beyond the first five volumes in his A Song of Ice and Fire books, Martin has also said that much of what happens in The Winds of Winter will be “ quite different” from what we saw in the last two seasons of the television series.

On the bright side, Martin did say that he wrote “ hundreds of pages” in 2020 while in pandemic lockdown, so maybe he’ll keep up that pace and finish sooner than Colbert calculated. Martin conceded that those numbers were depressing, and we’re sure many fans would agree. “They all interweave, so I’m done with a couple of the characters - I got their whole story - but not others … it’s still going to take me awhile.”Ĭolbert did some quick math while talking to the author and said that if Martin continues at his current pace, it will be three more years before The Winds of Winter comes out. “I’m done with some of the characters,” he said. Martin went on to estimate that he’s about three-quarters of the way done with The Winds of Winter, with some of the storylines completed. The longest books thus far - the third volume, Storm and Swords, and the fifth volume, A Dance With Dragons - run about 1,500 pages each. How big, you ask? According to Martin, The Winds of Winter will be bigger than the biggest books in A Song of Ice and Fire to date. “I think it's going to be a very big book.” 'I am making progress with The Winds of Winter, but it's still not done yet,” Martin told Colbert when the host asked for a status update.

Martin teases next 'A Song of Ice and Fire' novel won’t mimic 'Game of Thrones' TV show

Grr martin the winds of winter