George R.R. Martin has a pretty strict rule about staying on-topic in the comments section of his Not A Blog posts, but even he couldn’t help answering a few questions related to The Winds of Winter on an entirely unrelated post. The post itself is an announcement of Wild Cards audiobooks on the way (Felicia Day is on the list of readers, heaven help my heart)—Wild Cards being the other major sci-fi/fantasy franchise under Martin’s purview.
But in the comments, Martin does stray off-topic to talk about The Winds of Winter. That’s no surprise, as the Big Honkin’ Post he produced around New Year’s Day caused quite a disturbance in the Forc—uh, internet. The answers are brief but revealing of what’s to come in 2016.
- Will we see more chapters from the book released ahead of its publication? “Possibly.”
- Is there a chance of HBO delaying the sixth season until the book’s publication? “No chance.” (That much was made obvious when HBO announced the premiere date at the TCAs this week.)
- Will Roy Dotrice narrate the audiobook for The Winds of Winter? “Depends on recording schedule and Roy’s other commitments.”
- Has Martin considered splitting the book into two parts in order to accelerate publication? “That would not be my preference.” (Given what happened when he split Dance into Feast/Dance, that’s understandable.)
The tantalizing possibility of more advance chapters is the most exciting news here, particularly if, as the questioner implies, those chapters could relate to material that will arrive in Season 6 of the show. Meanwhile, there was one other A Song of Ice and Fire-related question of a more lighthearted nature: “Will there ever be a ASOIAF song album? I mean, with bands playing the songs, like they did in the show with “The Bear and The Maiden Fair”?”
Martin’s answer? “Anything is possible.” Cue Aerosmith’s “Dream On” in the background.