As Game of Thrones comes to a close, fans’ attention will naturally begin to shift back to the book saga that started it all, A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin. Next up is the oft-delayed sixth novel in the series, The Winds of Winter. Martin talked just a little about the book while appearing on Neil DeGrasse Tyson’s StarTalk. At some point, the talk turned towards the sense of realism in Martin’s books, and this exchange happened:
"Martin: “I tried to be very accurate, for example, with horses. A lot of fantasy writers get horses all wrong. They make them these tireless beasts that can go anywhere and gallop for seven days straight.”Tyson: “You don’t give the horses wings on their backs, like pegasus.”Martin: “I have an interesting take on unicorns coming up in the new books. [smiles] Oops.”"
First of all, did Martin just take a swipe at Shadowfax? And second, there are unicorns in The Winds of Winter. Get hype!
In A Song of Ice and Fire, it’s said that there are unicorns on the isle of Skagos, a large island off the northeast coast of the continent. Home to the Skagosi, a cannibalistic people so fierce even the Starks leave them be, Jon glimpses unicorns once in a dream, where he sees as Rickon Stark’s direwolf Shaggydog eating one. At another point, a wildling passing through the Wall gives Jon a unicorn skull and horn as his “toll.”
In the books, so far as we know, Osha took Rickon to Skagos after the burning of Winterfell. Lord Wyman Manderly has sent Davos Seaworth to fetch him back. If we see unicorns, it’ll probably be through him. In Jon’s dream, the unicorns are short and shaggy and goat-like, which could be part of Martin’s “interesting take.”
Ultimately, we can add this to the list of reasons we’re excited to read Winds. Now all we need for it is to, y’know, happen.
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h/t Cinemablend