George RR Martin still not sure when THE WINDS OF WINTER will be released – “I’m 12 years late”

After saying he was done “providing updates on Winds of Winter,” George R. R. Martin has offered a new update and, as expected, still has no idea when he will finish the book.

During a recent interview at an event with Shadowhunters writer Cassandra Clare, Martin joked that 2025 might see him finally finish the book, and while he joked, I can’t help but think there’s some truth to that. In fact, I’d be surprised if he doesn’t finish it by 2025.

When Clare shared that she has a new book coming in March 2025, The Ragpicker King, Martin jokingly added: “The really depressing thing is that it might still beat the winds of winterwho the hell knows?” He went on to say, “I’m 12 years late with Winds of Winter, as we know. I’ll put it right out there, guys, you don’t have to pester me about it.

He was the one who brought it up in this case, though, and of course people are going to pester him about it! People want to see what his version is like A song of ice and fire It will take place! Comparing the book with the game of Thrones series, Martin said, “Some of the stuff you saw on HBO in game of Thrones you’ll also see it in The Winds of Winter (though perhaps not in the same way)… but much of the rest will be very different.”

Martin went on to say that while there are some similarities between the novel and the television series, such as the grander scenes in both endings, everything else will end up being different: “And really, if you think about it, this was inevitable. The novels are much larger and much more complex than the series. Some things that happened on HBO won’t happen in the books. And viceversa. I have characters with points of view in the books never seen on the show: Victarion Greyjoy, Arianne Martell, Areo Hotah, Jon Connington, Aeron Damphair. They will all have chapters and the things they do and say will impact the story and the main characters that were on the show.

Martin then anticipated the ending of Game of Thrones by explaining that it would be very different from how the Song of Ice and Fire series will end: “One thing I can say, in general enough terms not to spoil anything: not all the characters who survived until the end of Game of Thrones will survive until the end of A Song of Ice & Fire, and not all the characters who died in Game of Thrones will die in A Song of Ice & Fire. Some will, of course. Obviously. Maybe most. But definitely not everything. Of course, I might change my mind again next week, with the next chapter I write. This is gardening. And the ending? You will have to wait until I arrive. Some things will be the same. Many don’t.”

Martin has also previously spoken about the process of writing The Winds of Winter, saying: “It’s a very, very big book, I’ve said that before. It’s a challenging book. It will likely be a larger book than any previous volume in the series. Dance with Dragons and Storm of Swords are the two largest books in the series, they were both around 1,500 manuscript pages. I think this will be longer than this when I finish it.

A couple of years ago, Martin spoke about how tiring it was for him to have people ask him to finish the book, saying: “Yes, of course, I’m still working on THE WINDS OF WINTER. I’ve said that a hundred times in a hundred locations, having to reiterate this over and over again is just tiring. I made a lot of progress on WINDS in 2020, and less in 2021… but ‘less’ is not ‘none.'”

You know, if he really wants people to stop asking him, all he has to do is finish the book.