George R.R. Martin close to wrapping major storylines in The Winds of Winter

A Song of Ice and Fire author George R.R. Martin has returned from his recent, COVID-laden trip to California, and he’s ready to sprinkle little bits of news into our timeline. In a new blog post, he mentions loving The Sandman on Netflix (obviously), hypes the release of House of the Dragon, and even gives a little nugget about The Winds of Winter, the long-awaited sixth book in his book series.

About a month back, Martin sounded like he was rounding some important corners on this 11-years-in-the-making book. “I think I’m close to finishing the Tyrion arc in Winds of Winter,” he wrote, referring to one of the most popular characters from his story. “I think this chapter and maybe one further chapter; and I won’t be done with the book, but I’ll be done with Tyrion’s role in this particular book. And then I’ll have to focus on another character, some of whom are also close, some of whom are not at all close. And then hopefully it all fits together.”

Now, he seems even more confident: “I hope to wrap up the story line for one of the viewpoint characters of WINDS OF WINTER this week. Maybe even two.”

After over a decade of waiting for Winds, it seems insane — like, medically crazy — to still expect to read it…and yet here Martin is talking about wrapping up storylines for major characters. We may just get this book in our hands yet.

Of course, this doesn’t mean the book is finished, as there are quite a few viewpoint characters to deal with in Winds. Still, at least he’s talking about finishing some of their arcs. And given what he said the other week, it sounds like one of the characters he’s wrapping on is Tyrion Lannister, who is a huge presence.

George R.R. Martin: “House of the Dragon is “magnificent”

Closer in time, HBO premieres House of the Dragon this Sunday. The hype fires are burning bright, and Martin is on hand with the kerosene. “I’ve seen all ten episodes now (albeit in rough cuts), and I love what I’ve seen,” he wrote. “[Showrunners Ryan Condal and Miguel Sapochnik] and their amazing cast and crew have done some magnificent work. Hot D is all I hoped it would be; dark, powerful, visceral, disturbing, stunning to look at, peopled with complex and very human characters brought to life by some truly amazing actors.”

I wonder if “Hot D” will catch on…

And beyond that, there are the other Game of Thrones spinoff series HBO is developing. We don’t know if any of them will make it to air, but Martin is keeping tabs on them, “[a]nimated and live action both.”

"Development is a long and chancy process, of course, and there’s no telling how many series will be green lit in the end… I am really excited about the way some of them are coming along, though."

But that’ll be then. For now, House of the Dragon is out on August 21.

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