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George RR Martin makes promise to eager fans awaiting an update on his latest novel

George R.R. Martin has shared an update on all things Game of Thrones with eager fans

Finn Cliff Hodges
Wednesday 10 July 2024 15:04 BST
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George R.R. Martin introduces his novel Fire & Blood

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The wait for George R.R. Martin’s latest fantasy novel The Winds of Winter only gets longer and longer for his sweet summer fans.

In a blog post on Tuesday (9 July), Martin shared that his latest novel was not yet finished, but that there would be a huge announcement when it is: “When WINDS OF WINTER is done, the word will not trickle out, there WILL be a big announcement… where and when I cannot say.”

The author of A Game of Thrones shared on his blog that after fans speculated The Winds of Winter was complete, he felt a need to shut that rumour down: “Last year, when I mentioned seeing my Voyager editor in London, the internet went nuts, throwing up all sorts of theories about how this meant that WINDS OF WINTER was done and a huge announcement was at hand.

“Uhhhh… sorry guys, but no.”

In 2022, Martin revealed to fans that the book was “three-quarters of the way done”, and stated that: “It’s a challenging book. It’s probably going to be a larger book than any of the previous volumes in the series.”

However, Martin didn’t ellaborate upon how close the book was to being finished in the latest blog post.

Instead, he shared that “the writers’ room for HOUSE OF THE DRAGON season 3 is also meeting in London”, in the midst of latest season of House of the Dragon airing on Now TV and HBO Max.

Phoebe Campbell, Emma D’Arcy in ‘House of the Dragon’
Phoebe Campbell, Emma D’Arcy in ‘House of the Dragon’ (Theo Whiteman/HBO)

Also, Martin did in fact shed some light on the production of a Game of Thrones West End show: “I also hope to get together with the scriptwriter and director on our stage play… HARRENHAL was our first title, since it is set during the fateful Harrenhal tourney, but now we are leaning toward THE IRON THRONE.

“It’s coming along well, I am told. Young Ned, Young Robert, Lyanna, Rhaegal, Howland Reed… should be fun. And jousting. On stage. The dream is to open somewhere on London’s West End in 2025… but there’s still a lot of work to do.”

The 75-year-old author is no stranger to spin-offs of his work, as he announced last month (11 June) that the previously scrapped prequel Ten Thousand Ships had been revived with the introduction of a new writer to take the reigns of production.

He announced that the Pulitzer prize-winning playwright Eboni Booth had been kept busy by himself “and HBO, working on a new pilot for TEN THOUSAND SHIPS, a GAME OF THRONES spinoff about Nymeria and the Rhoynar.

“We’re all very excited about this one… though we’re still trying to figure out how we’re going to pay for ten thousand ships, three hundred dragons, and those giant turtles.”

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