Back in April, Game of Thrones ended; delivering the conclusion to the narrative that George RR Martin has always intended for A Song of Ice and Fire. As fans know all too well, the TV show’s storyline managed to get ahead of the books and the 70-year-old author still has two to go in The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring. As Game of Thrones’ narrative was approaching where Martin was up to in the books, the author admitted he felt “tremendous pressure” to get The Winds of Winter released. But now the show has finished at the end of his intended story, he’s not feeling as pressured to complete the books quite as quickly as before.
Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Martin said: “I felt a tremendous amount of pressure for years now.
“The most pressure I felt was a few years ago when I was desperately trying to stay ahead of the show.
“There was a point when the show was coming out in April and my editors said if I could finish the book by December they’d rush it out.
“And the pressure I felt that fall was the greatest pressure I’ve ever felt and then at a certain point it became apparent I’m not going to finish it by then.”
According to Coral, 2019 has odds of 2-1 but next year is on 1-3.
While 2021 or later are still strong possibilities on 4-1.
In fact, Martin has revealed his own deadline, which he hopes to meet is summer 2020.
This is when he takes part in New Zealand’s World Science Fiction Convention and he’s determined that The Winds of Winter will be released by then – a full nine years after the last novel in the series hit bookshelves.