George R.R. Martin’s “The Winds Of Winter”, the fifth book of his bestselling fantasy saga “A Song Of Ice And Fire” (known to television fans as “Game Of Thrones”) will not be published in 2015.
Jane Johnson at HarperCollins Publishing has confirmed that it is not in this year’s schedule. “I have no information on likely delivery,” she said. “These are increasingly complex books and require immense amounts of concentration to write. Fans really ought to appreciate that the length of these monsters is equivalent to two or three novels by other writers.”
Instead, readers will have to comfort themselves with a collection, illustrated by Gary Gianni, of three previously anthologised novellas set in the world of Westeros. “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” takes place nearly a century before the bloody events of the “Song of Ice and Fire” series. Out in October, it is a compilation of the first three official prequel novellas to the series, “The Hedge Knight”, “The Sworn Sword” and “The Mystery Knight,” never before collected.
While this will undoubtedly draw the ire of fans of the highly-popular book series, it is important to point out that at this time there is simply no other information available, and there may yet be additional announcements/explanations.
-Dave Harlequin: Editor in Chief
- NERD NATION MAGAZINE - 