Now, reports have emerged that there is vital, much-needed news on the novel’s release date.
A quote from Martin’s blog has been dug up saying: “I do think you will have a Westeros book from me in 2018…
“And who knows, maybe two. A boy can dream.”
Whilst it is encouraging to see some kind of tangible timeline from Martin, all is not as it seems here.
That’s because this new information is not in fact that new at all.
Despite catching on with various websites as a much-needed update, Martin actually wrote that way back in July.
So sadly, on an official level at least, there remains no news on when Winds of Winter will hit shelves.
It is set to be the penultimate entry in the A Song of Fire and Ice series, and is expected to be followed by A Dream of Spring.
It’s been a long wait: the fifth entry in the series, A Dance With Dragons, came out way back in 2011.
And it’s been over 20 years since the whole thing began, with 1996’s A Game of Thrones.
The massively popular TV show famously overtook the novels in terms of the narrative’s timeline.