It’s the updateGame of Thronesfans have been waiting over a decade for:George R.R. Martinhas finally confirmed thatThe Winds of Winteris not only progressing — it’s officially going to be thelongestbook in theA Song of Ice and Fireseries. During a live stream interview with Penguin Random House, Martin admitted what many had already suspected based on his years of cryptic blog posts and teasing updates. “It’s a big, big book, I’ve said that before,” he said. “It’s a challenging book. It’s probably gonna be a larger book than any of the previous volumes in the series.”
Translation:The Winds of Winteris massive. Like, 1,500+ manuscript pages massive. And it might grow even bigger,once Martin finally figures a way to untangle that infamous Meereenese knot.
How Much of ‘The Winds of Winter’ Has George R. R. Martin Written?
After 14 long years of writing, Martin confirmed that he’s roughly 75% finished with the long-anticipated sixth installment. At the moment, he’s penned about 1,200 pages — with another 400 to 500 still to go. That alone would make it longer thanA Storm of SwordsandA Dance with Dragons, which previously held the record for size within the series.
Martin acknowledged that part of the delayhasn’t just been his famously packed schedule or various TV projects — it’s the scale of the story itself. With more characters in play and more plotlines converging, the narrative has ballooned in complexity.
“Some of the point-of-view characters’ chapters are already finished, but I still need to interweave their narratives to create one cohesive plot.”
One of the biggest challenges Martin has faced while writingThe Winds of Winteris what he’s dubbed theMeereenese Knot— a notoriously tricky narrative tangle involving the many characters converging on Daenerys Targaryen’s storyline in Meereen.
The knot refers to the logistical and storytelling nightmare of trying to weave together the arcs of characters likeTyrion Lannister, Victarion Greyjoy, Quentyn Martell, Ser Barristan Selmy, and more — all of whom are either in Meereen or heading there, each with their own goals, alliances, and plot momentum. The challenge is figuring out how to get them all into the same place, at the right time, with believable motivations and consistent pacing.
While Martin didn’t give a specific release date (of course he didn’t), fans finally have something concrete: the finish line is in sight — and the book is well underway. He also confirmed that some of the events from theGame of ThronesTV series — including Daenerys Targaryen’s eventual arrival in Westeros — will appear in his version of the story,though how closely the paths align is still a mystery.
Stay tuned to Collider for all the latest updates onThe Winds of Winter.
