The Winds of Winter is an upcoming novel by George R.R. Martin. It will be the sixth novel in the epic fantasy series A Song of Fire and Ice. Fans have been speculating for a long time as to when the novel will finally hit the shelves.
The latest batch of reports regarding the book suggests that George R. R. Martin might be working on the last few chapters of the novel. After he is done with it, the author will send out his draft to the editors who will be proofreading the material to determine the final draft that will be printed.
Rumors also have it that Neil Gaiman, who is himself a renowned author, is providing his expertise and knowledge to Martin in finishing the novel. Fans of the series from all over the world will be able to enjoy the novel when it comes out because it has been reported that it will be published in various languages.
The proofreading of the novel, then determining the final copy for print and then translating it into different languages is quite an arduous task for the publishers. Reports indicate that all of these will take a minimum of five to six months, and thus it is unlikely that the novel will release before January 2017.
The first book of the series was A Game of Thrones, and it was released back in 1996. The second book which was titled A Clash of Kings hit the shelves in 1998.
The third book was released in 2000, and it was titled A Storm of Swords. Till this point of time, Martin managed to finish his books on time, and they were published periodically with a gap of two years in between them.
However, after this, Martin started failing in keeping up with the schedule. The next book which was A Feast of Crows was supposed to release in 2002. Instead, it was published in 2005 because Martin failed to complete it in time.
The fifth book took him even longer to finish, and it was released in 2011. It was titled- A Dance with Dragons.
It is likely that the sixth book will release at the beginning of the oncoming year. At the same time, it can be assumed that fans will not be able to get their hands on the seventh book of the series before 2020.
It has come to light that Martin initially did not plan to kill off Joffrey at his wedding. Instead, he was to become the father of the child that would be borne by his wife e Sansa Stark. Martin also wanted him to battle for the Iron Throne with Robb Stark. However, ultimately Martin changed his mind and decided to kill off both the characters.
Other rumors related to the upcoming novel state that it might feature a showdown between Daenerys Targaryen’s dragons and the White Walkers. Apparently, the dragons are the only ones capable of defeating the White Walkers led by the Night’s King.
Fans are speculating whether she will be able to achieve her goal to become the Queen of the Seven Kingdoms. Some fans are of the opinion that similar to her father- Mad King Aerys Targaryen, she too will become crazy.
Some other theories state that Jon Snow and Daenerys might be seen ruling the Westeros together in Winds of Winter. Jon Snow will be one of the major contenders in the race to take the Iron Throne.
Several spoilers from the upcoming novel also suggested that Jon Snow might be seen some romantic feelings towards his half-sister Arya Stark. The spoilers go on to state that Arya too will fall in love with Jon, and it could be that the duo will end up marrying in the upcoming novel.