Once again breaking from our usual policy of sticking only to Thrones news, we just have to report on the latest update from George R. R. Martin concerning A Dance with Dragons, the upcoming fifth book in the A Song of Ice and Fire series. Martin’s Not A Blog has a new post showing a dead King Kong, his adopted metaphor for Dance. While not an out-and-out confirmation that he has completed writing on Dance, it sure is a pretty strong hint!
In any case, July 12th is still the official publication date for A Dance with Dragons, so if GRRM’s post doesn’t mark the final nail in Kong’s coffin, it can’t be too far off. We will update this post here, if and when, we get official word of completion.
UPDATE: Martin’s editor Anne Groell has confirmed it. A Dance with Dragons is done!
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206 Comments
Well, then let’s start waiting for the 6.
Sylwia MikołajczukQuote Reply
I would take it as a pretty strong hint that it’s done. Either way, July 12 isn’t far off!
ToddQuote Reply
Banner day. This, more than the announcement of the publishing date – something that’s always fungible, even when they say it isn’t – gets me excited. I’m more excited about the release of ADWD than I am the television show, if for nothing else, when it comes to the forthcoming book, I don’t know what will happen next.
Exciting.
Daniel RansomQuote Reply
Oh good, he bought himself another year of the TV show not catching up with him ;)
But seriously, congratulations are in order!
AzurecobaltQuote Reply
2.5 months, that’s nothing. I better get crackin’ on the re-read in the meantime.
ZackQuote Reply
So…when’s the next one coming out?
just kidding, but someone had to ask it :)
Saso AlaufQuote Reply
I don’t see how the pic of a dead Kong could be taken any other way. ADWD IS DONE!!!
As I said in the other thread, the freaky part is that I had a feeling THIS MORNING that today would be the day. WEIRD!
LexQuote Reply
Oh come on people – it’s obviously his announcement. Not everything has to be so damn literal.
Maxwell JamesQuote Reply
once again:
if you ask me, id say hes been done for YEARS and just held it back for marketing reasons.
first release date was given. then he learned about the tv show. then its taken back again and again and OH suddenly when the tv show is airing hes done with it. suprise!
BeneQuote Reply
He’s done, I’m sure (otherwise this post is pointless, “twas beauty”, dead Kong and Dance with dragons tag below – what else could it be).
I’m guessing he’ll make a proper announcement within days. R.I.P. Kong, you were a tough nut to crack :)
FilQuote Reply
Ha ha well I thought it was kinda ~already~ done (except for edits/amends/crushing hopes & dreams/etc) which was why they were able to set a firm publish date. Kong being dead says to me ‘there is nothing more I can add/take away/change/edit’ so yeah, DONE as in rly dead and done!
Can’t wait to feast on the corpse! Or Dance on it. XD
PS: So scared the only Stark to get of DwD alive will be a random kennel dog.
Franny BeeQuote Reply
Maxwell James, the reason I don’t want to jump to any conclusions is because of this post from GRRM back in Jan ’10:
So either he has decided to break that promise or this post isn’t what we all think (and hope) it is.
Winter Is ComingQuote Reply
Off topic:
Elio of westeros.org just digged that.
LOL
The RabbitQuote Reply
Such good news :D Expected, of course, but still so good to hear :D :D :D
EvilPicnicQuote Reply
Nope, not done:
http://grrm.livejournal.com/130504.html
JRQQuote Reply
I thought Kong referred to the knot, not the entire book.
The DarkStarQuote Reply
Bene,
You’re wrong. No release date has ever been given before. All he has done before is give estimates of when he thought he would finish, and he always made clear that they were just estimates. Only impatient fans like you jumped to the conclusion that they were set in stone.
ChrisQuote Reply
That’s one of the stupidest theories I’ve ever heard.
LexQuote Reply
That post is 3 months old.
LexQuote Reply
Well, his post is tagged “A Dance with Dragons” and “writing”.
I don’t think it can mean anything else.
AldarisQuote Reply
It probably means he is done, the publisher just need to accept delivery of it without requesting any further changes, then he will be officially done. If they do request changes, it is not quite done, but definitely lying there dying.
spacechampionQuote Reply
Lex,
You’re right — never mind.
JRQQuote Reply
I won’t believe it till http://www.isadancewithdragonsoutyet.com/ gets updated.
SteveQuote Reply
A year and three months. ;)
Drew FieldsQuote Reply
A year and 3 months, actually.
(Man, this book has taken forever.)
Winter Is ComingQuote Reply
JRQ,
Nice try. ;)
GalleanQuote Reply
Winter Is Coming,
OK, fair enough – I must have missed that one. Guess he asked for it.
Interesting that the post was submitted from New York, though.
Maxwell JamesQuote Reply
He is definitely done. The book is done. Clearly. Obviously. Done. He wouldn’t post as he posted otherwise knowing the pitchfork and torch crowd would increase in numbers and passion should it be otherwise.
He is probably out celebrating. He should be if he isn’t. Can you imagine the weight off his shoulders?
It is finished.
Larry D CurtisQuote Reply
No, that post is 15 months old.
Gregory KeltonQuote Reply
Off-topic, have a look at today’s Penny Arcade.
ShinyteapotQuote Reply
Chris,
i was no “impatient fan” at that time. i started reading the books much later. put the dates given for the development of the series next to the “estimated realese dates” given in the past and youll see what i mean.
also, i said this some months back and expected him to release dragons just after the show is aired. seems i wasnt wrong about that.
BeneQuote Reply
AHAAAAAAA!
So, now he says:
In that case, I revert by to my tounge-in-cheek comment in the last post except this time it’s not so tounge-in-cheek:
GRRM should be busy FINISHING THE DAMN FIFTH BOOK AND NOT POSTING PICTURES OF DEAD APES!!
He’s the devil, that one.
May The Others take him while being cheered on by The Stranger … after finishing the seventh book, of course.
Mike ChairQuote Reply
“He was a King in his world, but we’ll teach him fear.”
SnarkQuote Reply
Did you miss the part where the post you quoted is over a year old?
Drew FieldsQuote Reply
Mike Chair,
Dude. Check the date. ;-)
AldarisQuote Reply
Maybe Kong is dead, just because GRRM has thrown his hands up and just given up on ASoIF ?
(just kidding – it can’t be – can it ?)
Martin EQuote Reply
Sure.
We are DOOMED!
(as usual) ;)
The RabbitQuote Reply
YES I MISSED IT. OF COURSE I MISSED IT.
JRQ duped me, damn it!
I tried to edit it but it said I didn’t have permission to edit it.
Who do I have to ask for permission?
Anyway, I still won’t say it’s official until I see it here
http://www.georgerrmartin.com/if-update.html
where it still says it’s not done. Yeah, I know he’s in NYC and will probable update it when he can but right now I need a sedative.
Mike ChairQuote Reply
“…and then the Others crashed through the Wall and swarmed over the world, killing them all. The end. ”
JRQQuote Reply
I concur! I want to know why he’s here. :) George, please please please do a signing in NY/NJ!! The East Coast misses you terribly!!
I think he’s done. Kong is the beast, the untameable monster…clearly ADWD. As for his year+ -old blog post, he could have just forgotten that he ever wrote that. I mean, I know he’s GRRM and comes up with a crazy amount of detail for the ASOIAF world, but he’s also just a guy. We can’t expect him to remember every blog post he’s ever written. ;)
He must feel SO GREAT. This is probably unjustified because I don’t have kids, but the only thing I can think to equate this situation to is pregnancy. Except not months – YEARS. Carrying around that story and figuring out how to best give it life? Man, what a trial. It must be a great weight off his shoulders!
LinaQuote Reply
1) Picture of defeated Kong (metaphor for the book)
2) The beginning line “T’was beauty…” which we can all finish. It’s DEAD.
3) The avatar of GRRM with…a monkey on his back.
4)The tags “A Dance with Dragons” and “writing”.
That’s not a hint. That’s confirmation.
Josh ParkerQuote Reply
Guys,
It’s done.
Oh boyQuote Reply
From Twitter. He probably wont post to the website until that is done, but he couldn’t contain his glee about finishing the actual writing and ignored his own commitment to not give hints.
RoQuote Reply
It is finished – it is known!
:-)
CirothecariusQuote Reply
It is submitted from New York as George is in NYC today. He was at last night’s Time Top 100 of 2011 gala. I presume that today he is meeting with his publisher, turned over the remaining chapters and called the book “done”. Had Ty put up the King Kong post (no writing on the blog as GRRM is not there at home to do it) and called it that.
He said that he would let his publisher, Parris and then the readers know, in that order, when the book was done. I expect that is exactly what he did, too.
So, no great surprise. The July 12, 2011 date release date remains the released date, as promised. I never doubted it.
The only thing which could make all of this Westrerosi goodness even better is to hear that Random House has decided to cave-in and had Roy Dotrice record a new audiobook version of A Feast for Crows in addition to the already promised Dotrice verion of A Dance with Dragons. THAT would be the only news left that could improve upon the heaps of GRRM goodness that have been flowing our way lately.
Steel_WindQuote Reply
It is a hint. A very strong one, sure. But still a hint.
It would have been very easy to include all that and add the line, “A Dance with Dragons is DONE” to remove any shred of doubt and fulfill his promise.
Winter Is ComingQuote Reply
Inner voice: *speecheless of joy*
Other inner voice: Oh my, only 2.5 month and then X will be dead and Y and… whaaaa how will I be able to stand it? Do I want to know to whom I’ve got to say goodbye? Ah well it can’t be worse than the red wedding right. Right? Right?!
LiesieQuote Reply
It is known.
JhiquiQuote Reply
Josh Parker,
1) Jan 20th, 2010 post, while OLD still says: “When I finish DANCE, you’ll know it. I will write something like this: ‘I have finished A DANCE WITH DRAGONS.’ You won’t need to parse any hints” (emphasis added).
2) He hasn’t written something like that. He posted a picture of a dead ape.
3) georgerrmartin.com says “When the book is done, you will read it here.”
4) It ain’t there.
5) I need a Prozac!
Mike ChairQuote Reply
2.5 months is not enough to do the editing, reviewing, rewriting etc before the book has to be turned in for printing. Back when they announced the July date, they probably started the whole process and timed it with George finishing the book. He’s probably been working with assistants, reviewers and managers for the last few months. At least that’s how I imagine it. Kong dead can only mean one thing. He’s done his part and handed in the rest of the few missing chapters, completing the puzzle. Which means they’re on track.
RoffelQuote Reply
YA THINK?!
Mike ChairQuote Reply
Jhiqui,
Lol
sjweningsQuote Reply
Franny Bee,
You crack me up, this was hilarious, esp. the “crushing hopes and dreams” part. In a way, I hope he does NOT finish, so MY dreams of happy endings can stay in my heart. As of now,
Brienne’s face getting eaten by Biter is just a hallucination, brought on by moldy bread she just ate, and she ends up in a happy romance with Jaime;
Then Jon Snow and Dany fall in love, marry, and have a cute little baby, and all three of them go riding around Westeros on dragon patrol, keeping the land happy as the three heads of the dragon are restored again;
Jon relieves Sam of his oath at the Night’s Watch, and Sam lives happily ever after with Gilly;
Melisandre sends all the White Walkers back to Ice Spider land, and Winter goes back to a year like it should be, and the Starks change their words to: “Winter, meh, it’s not so bad!”
Yeah, right. Like any of that is going to happen. Instead it will be crushed hopes and dreams. I mean, come on, one of the last things the man did was turn poor Ser Loras into a human french fry.. So, um, Dance is not done yet? That’s OKAY!!
purplejillyQuote Reply
Random House confirms it.
http://suvudu.com/2011/04/yes-it-is-done-really.html
ScottQuote Reply
Liesie,
AARRRGGHH I intended to spoiler tag that, but what do I do: I make the text bold :s Can somebody please fix this or delete my comment?
LiesieQuote Reply
My best guess is he means he has finished writing. But the book still has to go through editors for corrections and all that, and when that’s done, he will post the clearer message. Maybe?
ZackQuote Reply
Scott,
Yup. Right here: http://suvudu.com/2011/04/yes-it-is-done-really.html
“It is true. Kong is dead.
There were a few moments of George in a spare office yesterday, cleaning up the last bits and inserting a few new bits in longhand, while I typed the changes into the electronic files, but we are honestly and officially done.
And there is MUCH rejoicing!
(Video evidence to follow shortly.)”
Steel_WindQuote Reply
Well, yes, I agree that IS a very strong hint, but….
(Oh OK, I’ll stop being an ass)
JRQQuote Reply
Yay!
WhipporowillQuote Reply
As far as i know, the “Kong” was a particularly nasty plot problem, not the book itself.
It is very probable that it is something that was keeping him from truly finishing the whole book, prolonging until the very ending chapters.
So he is saying that he finally solved that final, biggest of the problems and now he only needs to tidy everything up and then make the official proclamation for the Dance itself.
The Smiling KnightQuote Reply
Whew! Okay, so now I’ve got to switch from Prozac to good ol’ Kentucky Bourbon (champagne congests me).
Everyone say, “Thank you Anne Groell for posting that.”
Then everyone say, “Thank you Mr. Martin. May we please have another?”
Mike ChairQuote Reply
Given how 1 year turned into 6 years. How long is a GRRM “shortly”?
fuelpaganQuote Reply
fuelpagan,
Wasn’t GRRM who said it.
sjweningsQuote Reply
I always understood “Kong” to be the whole book, as contrasted with his other projects which were lesser “monkeys on his back”. And then the “knot” he would “hack away at” was the more specific plot problem.
JRQQuote Reply
Interestingly, ’twas Beauty who killed the Beast.
So the final chapter for ADWD is Brienne?
Fire And BloodQuote Reply
Doesn’t matter who said it. Shortly for me is under 15 minutes. Just trying to calculate how long I must wait for this video evidence is all.
fuelpaganQuote Reply
Seriously WIC? This better not be some horrible late April Fools Day joke. The Others can take you if it is…
BroQuote Reply
Fire And Blood, either that or George is very vain when it comes to his looks.
Winter Is ComingQuote Reply
The Smiling Knight,
Nope. Kong was Dance. The plot issue you’re talking about was the Meerenese Knot.
GaRQuote Reply
No, the merenese knot was one problem, the Kong another (probably dealing with some kraken too)… at least thats the bets i can guess. Thats why he prolonged writing for these few months after he anounced the publishing date and turning in the rest of the book.
But it makes a small difference anyway. It basically means the book is finished.
The Smiling KnightQuote Reply
lol :)
KangaQuote Reply
George ought to finally get the Hugo next year for this one.
JRQQuote Reply
Actually, I believe the “particularly nasty plot problem” was referred to as “The Mereeneese Knot” and Kong referred to the whole book.
Now that it’s apparently done… WHAT THE HELL WAS THE MEREENEESE KNOT?!
I wonder if it will be obvious when we read the book.
I’m guessing it has to do with knitting together the storylines and POV chapters to get Whatshisname, the Dornish prince (Quentin?), and Maester Marwyn… and Victarion Greyjoy… AND Tyrion Lannister… all together with Daenerys. I don’t think there has been any point in the four previous books where so many major, sometimes POV characters came together at once. There’s a tricky “knot” for sure!
ChrisQuote Reply
I doubt he finished the chapters in the order they will eventually be arranged in the story…he just wanted to stick to his established metaphor I’m sure ;)
ZackQuote Reply
<3
JonQuote Reply
The Smiling Knight,
No, Kong was the monkey on his back, finishing ADWD. The Meereneese Knot was a particular writing issue that he ran into and had trouble solving that had to deal with continuity and chronology. The reason he still had stuff to write after the announcement of the release date is because he still hadn’t finished off Kong (meaning the entire novel, not just a particular writing issue).
90% of the novel was already in final, edited, print-ready form in the hands of the publishers so they felt confident that they could finish editing and reviewing the last pages as George finished them in time for the release date. They were just waiting for him to finish slaying Kong (he may have had a few threads of the Meereneese Knot to still hack away at too).
And the Kraken presumably referred to certain Greyjoy chapters that he was struggling with.
RoQuote Reply
His is very comely in his lobster bib.
Hey, George, you know where they have great lobster? Boston. Some seafood, some chowdah, some book signing …
Mike ChairQuote Reply
The mighty beast is slain! Hip-hip-hooray!
ChantalQuote Reply
Ouch! Maybe that would be more along the lines of “‘Twas UNDEAD Beauty killed the Beast!”
ChrisQuote Reply
I thought it referred to how to get Dany to move on from Meereen.
MetalgoddessAMBQuote Reply
So is Finish the book George going to be changed to Finish the next book George?
dizzy_34Quote Reply
I am so glad that I only just read AFFC a few months ago. I had it for years but never read it.
I had read the other three but not Crows. So, in preparation for the show, I read them all. I think I’ll even read Crows again before ADWD comes out!
I wonder what will happen? I haven’t read any spoilers or speculation for it, although I know there is some stuff floating around out there on the Intertubes.
Hollyoak
Brotherhood without Previews
HollyoakQuote Reply
I tried not to get too excited when the release date was announced, because the book wasn’t done. This is more exciting, but we were already kind of expecting it.
I got two days of regular excitement instead of one day of face melting super excitement.
MoshQuote Reply
purplejilly,
Your hopes and dreams for ASOIAF are achingly beautiful… *CRUNCH* And they taste good with ketchup XD
Somebody hold me
Franny BeeQuote Reply
do you have a feeling i’m going to win a bunch of money? ;)
Elena AmiciQuote Reply
http://www.isadancewithdragonsoutyet.com/
SebastianQuote Reply
Bene,
Here’s what you wrote:
“first release date was given. then he learned about the tv show. then its taken back again and again and OH suddenly when the tv show is airing hes done with it. suprise!”
No release dates were given. GRRM simply gave estimates of when he thought he could finish (such as “I think I might be able to finish by June”), but always emphasized that he could be wrong. If you want to say that he intentionally held off on releasing it in order to time it with the show, fine, but don’t imply that he went back on his word or something.
ChrisQuote Reply
This is AMAZING.
The wait will be nothing–because the TV series will bring us through most of it!! :D
kerningQuote Reply
Fire And Blood,
If he finished the final chapter last, which is not certain.
Tywin’s BastardQuote Reply
Great news!!!
Vic SageQuote Reply
Tywin’s Bastard,
True, since he kept putting off writing the Red Wedding as the finishing touch to A Storm of Swords. And obviously that wasn’t the last chapter in the book.
Still, I wonder if a Brienne chapter had any sort of huge significance near the end. Love me some Brienne.
Maybe she whacks Jaime. Or she gets whacked.
Pure speculation.
Fire And BloodQuote Reply
Mike Chair,
LOL!!
Elena AmiciQuote Reply
As amazing as it is knowing he’s done, I gotta say it’s still making me itch knowing we’re so close to actually being able to read it but WE’RE STILL NOT THERE YET! It’s cool knowing that the announced release date will stand, but I still say it can’t get here fast enough. Bring on ADwD right now!
Josh ParkerQuote Reply
BTW, isadancewithdragonsoutyet.com is still accurate until July.
Josh ParkerQuote Reply
Ro,
Yes, thank you. I know very well what the Mereneese knot is/was, what the kraken is referring to and i just think differently. If thats alright with you?
The Smiling KnightQuote Reply
My Brienne theory: She’s looking for Sansa, but will find Arya or Ayra will find her. She’ll get out of that whole Lady Stoneheart situation somehow.
dizzy_34Quote Reply
He untied the Mereneese knot by killing off Dany.
SockMonkehQuote Reply
if you enjoy being wrong
BranQuote Reply
The Smiling Knight,
No, no, Kong was the book. The Meereenese Knot was a totally separate metaphor, and he solved that some time ago. The Knot was already handed in. Do you think anybody would have put a publication date on this book if GRRM was still hacking away at that knot?
Josh ParkerQuote Reply
Ive been checking that blog of his everyday since he started the damn thing. Now I check WIC coming at least five times a day. I love these sites! Thank God that book is done!!
VillianQuote Reply
Good idea about Brienne being “the beauty”.
Wonder who was “the beast”…
but no, Brienne will not kill Jaime or Jaime her.
The Smiling KnightQuote Reply
Brienne kills FrankenGregor.
it is known.
Alexander DubrovskyQuote Reply
Totally awesome! Now, let’s prey for a knotless Winds Of Winter.
AerionQuote Reply
Thank you George! Admittedly I was a bit worried when the weeks kept on going by without any updates.
Johan SporreQuote Reply
To any doubters, his editor has confirmed it on Suvudu.com. It’s done.
MCAQuote Reply
Actually, that is not a bad idea. I like it.
I know that Merenese knot was another problem. Ive already said so twice and now for the last time : I think that the “Kong” was actually another problem, dealing with the Krakens (Iron islands) or possibly some other plot lines – but regardless, this means that the book is virtually done.
It will be literally done when he writes that it is done, as he promised.
The Smiling KnightQuote Reply
The Smiling Knight,
You can think differently if you like. You can also be wrong. I’ll continue to correct people that are wrong, if that’s alright with you? After all, there are enough shades of gray in the novels and in reality itself that we don’t need to go around inventing relativism when there is an ACTUAL objective truth.
RoQuote Reply
Hound + Jaime kill UnGregor!
“One shadow was as dark as ash, with the terrible face of a hound. Another was armored like the sun, golden and beautiful. Over them both loomed a giant in armor made of stone, but when he opened his visor, there was nothing inside but darkness and thick black blood.”
ScottsdaleSamQuote Reply
Thank you WiC, posted this on IMDB along with your link, I think a lot of ppl will be happy cause of this! It is FINALLY done!
And now…. When will The Winds of Winter be done??????
Andrija Andrew PQuote Reply
Guys, why are we even talking about Brienne and Jamie?
Thought Dance will be all the other characters not covered in Feast, and we don’t find out the fates of Feast characters until Winds of Winter?
kerningQuote Reply
I think you need to get over yourself and probably get some psychotherapy too.
The Smiling KnightQuote Reply
The Smiling Knight,
Aw, see how easy it is to be annoyed when people are using passive-aggressive phrases like “if it’s okay with you?” Guess turnabout isn’t fair play for you.
RoQuote Reply
YESSS! =D
ScottsdaleSam
This. Would. ROCK! It would be pretty much the most epic fight ever, surpassing even Sandor vs Beric and Oberyn vs Gregor:D
I think GRRM said that there would be some chapters resolving some of the cliffhangers shown in AFFC, but I can be wrong…
DomQuote Reply
I hope I don’t have any big midterms or finals that week. I may call off work. :)
BrienneQuote Reply
So you got annoyed because of that line?
I guess my friendly advice about seeing the psychiatrist was indeed correct. Hope it works.
The Smiling KnightQuote Reply
OT: Penny Arcade comic strip on GoT.
War BloggerQuote Reply
The Smiling Knight,
Ad hominem attacks. The last refuge of the wrong. And you, friendly advice-giver, are the very definition of passive aggressive.
RoQuote Reply
Funny. I always hoped it was Arya who gets Franken Gregor.
Lord Ned's HeadQuote Reply
Great news. I’m running out of things to read. Almost done with The Cripple God, Ian Eslemont’s new Stonefields in his Malaz series doesn’t come out until next month and Glen Cook is so slow in getting out new books in his Instrumentalities of the Night series. I should have enough time to reread AGOT through AFFC before July.
LangkardQuote Reply
I believe George stated at one time that regarding the timeline that ADWD catches up to the end of AFFC rather quickly in the book, so there’s some syncing up as well as continuing where AFFC left off.
Argilac the ArrogantQuote Reply
Gaaah great news but WiC, please make the audio ads stooooooooooop!
MegQuote Reply
I was wondering about this and it would be great if someone could confirm we would get a Brienne chapter or two (which would include Jaime, of course – since he isnt going to go to Kingslanding) – because waiting for three or more years to find out “the word” would be just too much.
The Smiling KnightQuote Reply
The first half will be in line with AFFC, the other half surpasses it so we’ll get a lot of ALL the characters we love this time!
KnurkQuote Reply
Im afraid that does not mean we will be reading about all the characters from the Feast. It only means that the story about characters we did not see in the Feast will chronologically overlap.
The Smiling KnightQuote Reply
Seriously, they’re annoying as shit.
Anyone who thinks anyone but the Hound will be the one to kill whatever’s left of Gregor has no sense of foreshadowing or what actually makes sense. I don’t remember who tells who about Gregor, but they say something to the effect of “He’s not yours to kill.” Not to mention anyone but the Hound doing it would be so unspeakably lame it would be unbelievable
AdrianQuote Reply
So when is Winds of Winter coming out? And what mega-monster will GRRM refer to while he’s writing it? Mecha-Godzilla?
Lord Ned’s HeadQuote Reply
The Smiling Knight,
GRRM has referred to Dance as “Kong” for years. “thinking differently” or whatever doesn’t mean you weren’t a hundred percent wrong with your incorrect assumption that was also not true.
GaRQuote Reply
Great news, though the last announcement of the release date really me more excited. I wonder how much of Winds of Winter he has written since I think several ADWD chapters got pushed into that book?
GRRM BETTER explain the fates of the characters from AFFC. Wikipedia says he will in ADWD and wikipedia is always right, right? :) I’ve got to know what happens to Brienne and I’m dying to catch up with Arya. Plus I need more Lady Stoneheart. I REALLY hope we get to see Michelle Fairley play her on the TV show.
Oh and the comment about Jaime and The Hound killing Franken Gregor sounds logical based on that vision at the time but I thought The Hound and Gregor were killed until I read somewhere that that hackjob maester kept him Gregor alive and made him into an even crazier MF.
SKQuote Reply
Who cares about Brienned and Jaime… I want to know what happens at the Wall!
DekarQuote Reply
We will get Arya PoV chapters, true. And Jon.
But no one ever confirmed anything about Brienne or Jaime chapters.
The Smiling KnightQuote Reply
It’s already about halfway done.
fafhrdQuote Reply
THAT JUST MADE MY DAY! :)
I had no idea. That’s excellent news!
kerningQuote Reply
(from the other thread… sorry for the double-post!)
That piano cover of the Thrones music inspired me. I just recorded my own version, on guitar.
Hope you like it. :)
LexQuote Reply
Can’t read it anyway. Got eight books to read for my Lang and Lit degree, including my personal nemesis Middlemarch. Damn you, Eliot.
James WilkinsonQuote Reply
fafhrd,
I hope so, but I’ve heard that once before…
GaRQuote Reply
Lex,
This is great, Lex. And your arrangement doesn’t have the weird gaps that the piano arrangement had.
I look forward to more versions, everyone!
pualoQuote Reply
Great! I was expecting almost a year to get the fifth book translated to Spanish, but I hope that it will just take 6 to 8 months from now on. I would like to read this in original version but since the story has so many characters, and I will have to remember all the things that happened on former books, that could be surely hard to follow.
I ought to start with easy works. Like my teacher says “Slowly, slowly catch the monkey”.
LorenaQuote Reply
BTW did anyone try to order the book yet? Cause I visited Algoritam two weeks ago (my fellow Croatians will know what I am talking about) and they told me then that I can’t order the bloody thing yet… Does this mean that as of tomorrow I can walk in any bookstore and FINALLY order it?? Cause it takes 4 weeks for books to be shipped from the UK and 5-6 across the Atlantic…
Andrija Andrew PQuote Reply
Andrija Andrew P,
I pre-ordered the Kindle Edition from Amazon a couple of days after the July 12 announcement was made. It should be delivered wirelessly to my Kindle on July 12.
I’m in my second reading of GoT on the Kindle now. I love it.
I believe the Kindle is available in Croatia. You may not be able to use the AT&T 3G network, but you could download to a PC and use a USB connection (or even WiFi).
http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=110242
Mike ChairQuote Reply
Holy crap! That kicks ass! Great, great job.
EdQuote Reply
The Smiling Knight,
No, the plot problem was the Meranese knot. Kong was the ADWD book.
OzVikingQuote Reply
OMG, OMG, OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!
Absolute GEEKSTASIS!
Anna BackstromQuote Reply
So based on how long this took…
Winds of Winter: July 2017
Rite of Spring: July 2023
Unless HBO pushes him to finish them up, he has about 4 years until Winds of Winter is due for the show.
joeQuote Reply
Exponential Badassery, dude.
I’d love to play it on my piano, but I’d need the sheet music and a couple of weeks.
Mike ChairQuote Reply
Andrija Andrew P,
I preordered at mightyape.co.nz just after the date was announced. Probably not worth bothering with unless you’re a kiwi, however.
I ordered Battlefield 3 at the same time :D
GaRQuote Reply
Eep, I hope it doesn’t take that long! I read somewhere on the internet that GRRM had writing constipation with DWD, and that the next books will be like writing diarrhea.
And I laughed at Rite of Spring. Pagan sex/death rituals are totally in line with what’s in the books so far. :P
EggplantQuote Reply
Lex,
Lex!! Such Talent! Nice rock n roll guitar!!
purplejillyQuote Reply
Off topic but too funny not to post.
WHAT THE ROYAL WEDDING COULD LEARN FROM GAME OF THRONES
Mike ChairQuote Reply
Lex,
The real question everyone is asking…will we ever get another episode of “Bread Today”? :)
Also slightly off topic, but I tracked down a youtube of the ending credits from ep2. Its a really cool play on the opening theme.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2b-JgqJsBug
Ryan24Quote Reply
As long as you don’t mind douches intentionally spoiling big events, that is.
ZackQuote Reply
The first 3 books were my favorite books of all time. AFFC was tough for me to get through, I hope I enjoy it more the second time around. I can not wait for ADWD, I have a feeling it will be amazing and I will have to stay away from the internet for a few days…
FromChaosQuote Reply
Andrija Andrew P,
i’ll be in italy this summer, and my book should come by 3-7 days after july 12. (amazon.uk, standard expedition).
are you sure it takes so long?
EDIT: awesome, the edit button is back!!
Elena AmiciQuote Reply
kerning,
If you read the wiki for Dance, he decided to finish some of the cliffhangers in Feast so fans didn’t have to wait and find out what happened to certain characters
RemyQuote Reply
Meg,
To those complaining about audio ads on this site: I don’t get them. I use Firefox and the add-on Adblock Plus. I haven’t seen (or heard) an ad in almost 3 years on 99% of the sites I visit.
MCAQuote Reply
Ryan24,
Hahah… maybe, maybe. :)
LexQuote Reply
The article itself contained nothing close to a spoiler. Everything it used was from the first two episodes. You must be talking about the comments on the article. However, even the 4 comments are cryptic. There’s vague reference to The Red Wedding without calling it such followed by a reply that is, I agree, a little more specific. Another fool mentions a wedding that hasn’t happened yet, which is the only comment that used a character’s name.
Mike ChairQuote Reply
Silly Gatewatchers – clearly this means that Brienne will fight and defeat a giant ape in the next book.
… uh, jeez that was so stupid, I made myself stupider just typing it. Never mind.
ASTB.
KGQuote Reply
The audio ads are in Adobe Flash.
If your using Safari on the Mac there’s a really cool plug-in called Click to Flash. I believe it’s still free. It disables all Flash on any page you load. You can go to each Flash window on a page and activate it if you want. You can also enable and disable the feature at will.
http://clicktoflash.com/
N.B. there are not spoilers on the clicktoflash site.
Mike ChairQuote Reply
[Happy dance]
NymeriaQuote Reply
I m so happy for Dance!
I m also happy for George. Must be relieving when something that youțve struggled a lot with is finally done.
Party and drinks all around!
Aryas Horse CharleQuote Reply
Mike Chair,
Fair enough, but I still don’t hear these ads in Firefox, so, as I said, my solution works well. And Adblock is free, too. I prefer Firefox’s usability over Safari’s, though Safari would be my second choice, definitely. You can’t go wrong with either, to be honest. Safari is slightly safer, as I recall from my paleolithic browser research years ago, but Firefox runs so much more smoothly and intuitively. Fits like a glove, for me at least.
The main point here is: stop dealing with ads of all kinds (truly sorry, WiC). No one has to put up with this crap anymore. There are options available to you. Do a bit of research and leave your annoyances in the dust.
MCAQuote Reply
If anyone cares (or even if no one does), I gave the tip to i09.com to post info on the book release. They didn’t cite me as the tipster, but I’m proud to have given my all to the GRRM cause. I think the article’s writer had seen George’s blog post but hadn’t seen the Suvudu.com link yet. Over 6,500 people have viewed that link at this point. I’m also “FIRST” on the comments, though you’ll notice I refrained from common vulgarity. Until now.
MCAQuote Reply
Lex,
That’s awesome Lex!
Avalanche3319Quote Reply
Terrific news! We’ve been waiting so long. =)
Flo RioQuote Reply
Not connected to ADwD, but was just curious if this has been posted here yet?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvZ5be1AEj8
DelQuote Reply
Call him Ishmael. … hell of a fight. Thank you, George. Fire & Blood.
theophrastQuote Reply
Andrija Andrew P,
I’ve ordered mine via Amazon.com. Cheaper than .co.uk. I don’t think you’d save any time by ordering through Algoritam. And shipments from the USA rarely take that long! I usually wait for mine 10-14 days, although this time I chose expedited shipping so I expect it to be here sooner. In addition, they usually ship a few days before the release date :)
StarkyZGQuote Reply
Oh yeah!!!!
Tim MQuote Reply
I swear it’s true. Above the logo for Winter Is Coming there is a banner for Universal Studios displaying the image of King Kong himself, frowning at me.
Maester TcostQuote Reply
Incidentally, did anyone notice the IMDB board for Game of Thrones? It has shot up 3400% in popularity.
James WilkinsonQuote Reply
This is what George says about it:
KnurkQuote Reply
StarkyZG,
Hmmm dunno, the woman there (Algoritam) told me those numbers and I saw her ordering via Amazon when I was looking over her shoulder last year. I was ordering another book.. I mean I get it it takes longer for things to arrive from the US, but 4! weeks from the UK?? I could get there in 3 by just walking XD
Andrija Andrew PQuote Reply
Andrija Andrew P,
Ah, that’s another story. Of course it takes longer for them because they order in bulk to save on shipping. Plus, larger shippings are held at the customs etc. I buy stuff from Amazon (both .com and .co.uk) all the time and it never takes that long. I ordered a CD from .com using expedited shipping and it arrived within a week.
StarkyZGQuote Reply
I loved it…nice job Lex….
coltaine777Quote Reply
StarkyZG,
Aha, well my biggest issue now is not waiting for te book, it is whether I can order it or not cause I don’t have a credit card… Anyways I have to go to the centre tomorrow so I will try to stop by and ask around and see if I can order through them. There is always Paypal I guess…
Andrija Andrew PQuote Reply
kerning,
The first half of A DANCE WITH DRAGONS runs parallel to A FEAST FOR CROWS. The second half takes place after AFFC. AFFC characters will appear in the second half of ADWD, including Cersei and Arya. Asha Greyjoy is a major POV in ADWD for much of its length, due to her chapters in AFFC actually taking place halfway through A STORM OF SWORDS.
GRRM has said that some other AFFC characters will appear, but not which ones. He has confirmed that several will not appear: Sansa, Aeron and Arianne have had their chapters moved to Book 6. The ones he has not talked about at all are Jaime and Brienne, who may or may not appear. We don’t know. Based on his desire to resolve the AFFC cliffhangers and given that Brienne’s cliffhanger is the most notable, I think that that cliffhanger will be resolved or at least addressed somehow.
fafhrd,
No, THE WINDS OF WINTER is very definitely not halfway done, not even close. According to GRRM, the stuff that he has for WINDS OF WINTER is maybe 100 manuscript pages at best. If WINDS is as long as DANCE, that’s a lot less than even 10% of the book.
Adam WhiteheadQuote Reply
Andrija Andrew P,
If you like, I can add one more copy in my pre-order. We would save on shipping :)
StarkyZGQuote Reply
StarkyZG,
Yes! Please!
moj email je andrija1988@gmail.com :)
Andrija Andrew PQuote Reply
FromChaos,
I just finished a re-read of the first four books, and my experience with AFFC was MUCH better than my first reading. I actually fell in love with the Dorne stuff (the first time through, I thought it was just adding clutter), but on 2nd read, I began to see why these characters were important to the overall arc. And who doesn’t want to be a Sand Snake?
As for the “Beauty” stuff, are there theories of the “word” that she screams at the end? I have my theory, but I’m sure this has been discussed before. In my mind she shouts “Arya” and DeadCat lets her go once she realizes that Arya is free and roaming as long as she promises to find her.
Team SansaQuote Reply
I cannot wait! I do wonder why the paperback is 1. not on the American Amazon site and 2. why it is on the UK Amazon site, its release date being months later – namely in september?! Why would that be?
MLQuote Reply
Found the video evidence.
Click Here
fuelpaganQuote Reply
ML,
Usually the paperback versions are realeased months later so they can make the fans who cannot wait pay extra for the hardcovers. My guess is there’s just no release-date for the paperback yet.
KnurkQuote Reply
fuelpagan,
gheh, my ears are still bleeding from the terrible audio on that video. Can’t understand a thing.
KnurkQuote Reply
Knurk,
LOL. Well I didn’t create it, but yeah, audio quality is poor.
fuelpaganQuote Reply
fuelpagan,
gheghe I knew you didn’t. Found another terrible video of her via the westerosforums: more quotes from the book if you’re willing to let your ears bleed!
KnurkQuote Reply
Speaking of the books, my local SF/F bookstore posted on their blog that the top five best-selling SF/F titles in Canada last week were all ASoIaF titles, including AGoT at #1 and #4 (as well as #8 and #12). Nice.
Carol WittQuote Reply
Knurk,
That’s a lot of trees. I use a Kindle. It’s the environmentally conscious thing to do.
It’s also $3.82 less at Amazon for the Kindle edition vs. the hardcover. And it will be sent to me automatically, wirelessly and expeditiously on July 12! It’s a lean, mean, and green reading machine.
Mike ChairQuote Reply
Mike Chair,
Hey Mike, I’m new to the kindle world. Do you think this will be delivered midnight US Eastern time?
Sam DeGreeQuote Reply
Sam DeGree,
That seems to be what people say. Some say that sometimes, they even get it a day EARLY!
http://www.amazon.com/Delivery-Time-for-Kindle-Pre-Orders/forum/FxCD30MYDYTLGY/Tx2MEWRBFE2QUXA/1?_encoding=UTF8&asin=0307741907
I would love to get it a day early, come here and gloat.
Mike ChairQuote Reply
Steve,
Ha! Funniest thing I’ve seen all day.
stormschmooperQuote Reply
Sam DeGree,
In my experience all of my Kindle pre-orders have been delivered at 3:00am eastern time.
snakeDrQuote Reply
Interview with Kristian Nairn, concerning World of Warcraft.
KGQuote Reply
KG,
Thats pretty cool! It will be interesting to see what Hodor is like on screen.
Ryan24Quote Reply
http://www.georgerrmartin.com/if-update.html
Its officially official.
Yeehaw! :D
The Smiling KnightQuote Reply
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS! There is a heaven and God does not work in mysterious ways in this instance but in “A Song Of Ice And Fire” way…! Hallleeeeeluuuuuuyahhhhhh!
LOL…Now please alow me to pass out!
loco73Quote Reply
Dom,
Well, GRRMartin said that he would be covering most of the events about Kings Landing/not-beyond-the-Wall in Feast, and most everything in Dance is about beyond the Wall and the Freed Cities and such. Although there are a few Jamie chapters, I think we’ll find out Jamie/Brienne in Winds of Winter. Has it even been announced when Winds of Winter will come out?
RubyQuote Reply
Team Sansa,
That’s a really smart. I would think she would have shouted “Jamie!” because she’s been saying that in her feverish dreams all the time, but your theory sounds better. But does she really know where Arya is? Does she scream Sansa? Argh…
RubyQuote Reply
SK,
I know Gregor’s dead, but do we know about what happened to the Hound?
RubyQuote Reply
Fire And Blood,
Don’t read this until you have most definitely finished Dance.
I feel like Brienne and Jamie are just so in love and it just makes me soooooo happy and then when Brienne is alive–well, I believe she definitely screamed Arya, but how could she possibly know where Arya is? Goodness, how he infuriates me. Except I love him still.
RubyQuote Reply
SPOILERS! Okay, I know this is a tad bit dim of me, but WHY in the world did Varys kill Ser Kevan? I get why he killed Pycelle, but if Varys wants peace in the kingdom–wasn’t Ser Kevan trying to not carry out Cersei’s plan? What is going on? ARGGHHHH. As for Joffrey, I think that Varys killed him, because Varys would want only peace for the realm, and Joffrey would cause the opposite. Can’t wait for Winds. Nothing on release date yet?
RubyQuote Reply
I don’t know if you noticed Ruby but this thread is pretty much dead. If you want to discuss Dance where people read your comments you can go to the forum of http://www.westeros.org.
KnurkQuote Reply
And the release date of WoW will probably be 2020 or something.
KnurkQuote Reply
Yet? ADWD was released only like half a year ago. ADWD took 5 years to write, so doubt we’ll be hearing anything about a releasedate for winds before at least a couple of years has gone by.
sjweningsQuote Reply
Martin stated that he had 100 pages written (most just lingering chapters not included in ADWD), but that he wouldn’t begin writing again until January. He said to expect a release in 3 to 3.5 years.
TJ FlynnQuote Reply
Knurk,
Sorry. No one I know reads them and I am desperate. Thank you.
RubyQuote Reply
He did, huh? I didn’t know that, thanks.
sjweningsQuote Reply
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