George R.R. Martin likely done reading new sample chapters from The Winds of Winter
(Photo by Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images)
A Song of Ice and Fire author creator George R.R. Martin is still writing the sixth book in his series, The Winds of Winter, and recently announced that another story from him—The Sons of the Dragon—will feature in The Book of Swords, an anthology to be released in October. The Sons of the Dragon is actually compiled from leftover material Martin wrote for companion book The World of Ice and Fire—he’d even read the story in public before, at the 2014 London Con. That’s not uncommon for him. When visiting conventions, he’s occasionally even read advance chapters from The Winds of Winter at cons, but it sounds like that’s over.
Martin discussed Dragons on his Not A Blog, where a fan asked him if we can expect him to read any new chapters from Winds at future cons.
"I may give readings at upcoming cons, but they will probably be of chapters I’ve read before at other cons. There comes a point when you are simply putting too much of the book out there. It was not such a problem before the internet, but now everything I read gets transcribed and posted and leaked all over the world, so…"
For those who want a preview of the book, there are several advance chapters already out there, many of which you can read in either full of summary form. Reddit conveniently collected all the links to what’s available:
- Theon I
- Arianne I
- Arianne II
- Tyrion I (summary)
- Tyrion II (summary)—available through the World of Ice and Fire app via iTunes and Google Play
- Ser Barristan I (summary)—available in full in US paperback edition of A Dance with Dragons
- Ser Barristan II (summary)
- Mercy
- Alayne I
- Victarion I (partial live reading)
- The Forsaken (summary)
It should be noted, however, that Martin has said that he was done with sample chapters from The Winds of Winter before, back in 2014 when he released “Mercy.” “How do you decide which chapters to share and which to hold on to until publication?” a fan asked. “Do you ever worry about revealing too much too soon?”
"Yes. I worry about that all the time.And I think I may be at the limit with WINDS."
And then, a year later, along came “Alayne.”
"Yes, I know, I’d said there would be no more sample chapters, but (1) it had been more than a year since Mercy, (2) lots of you were asking, and (3) Anne Groell and my friends at Bantam twisted my arm."
Oh, how we all were sweet summer children back then. Still, that means it’s not impossible that Martin could release another chapter before Winds finally comes out, which Martin thinks is this year.