George R.R Martin has expressed disappointment many times when he couldn’t finish ‘Winds of Winter’ on time. As a result, Game of Thrones show-makers had to depend on the existing material for season 6, provided by “Song of Ice & Fire” books, and add some of their storylines. For instance, Jaime Lannister going back to the Riverlands is part of Book 4 “A Feast for Crows” storyline where Cersei dispatches him to re-establish control of the Lannisters. Due to the inadequacy of new material, there were a lot more Bran visions and flashback scenes, etc.
There has been a cloud of uncertainty as far as release date is concerned, but it’s now revealed on the French version of Amazon.com that it will hit the shelves on March 9, 2017. It is not final and subject to change, and it’s unlikely that it will be launched before the season 7 of Game of Thrones. George R.R Martin recently said that he would be working solely on the book in 2017, his last appearance in 2016 is scheduled in Mexico. He wrote this in the personal blog – “I’m one of the guests at the conference. I’ll be doing interviews, a press conference, a live streaming event, and a signing. I expect I will be doing some tequila tasting as well. I am informed that Guadalajara is the tequila capital of Mexico.”
George R.R Martin dropped a hint earlier for a possible twist in the Winds of Winter; he said that it has to do with a particular character who is dead on the show but alive in the books. It’s either has to do with Stannis Baratheon or Barristan Selmy, although there are a number of characters who are alive in the books such as Shireen Baratheon, Myrcella Lannister, etc. In the books, Sansa Stark is hiding in the Vale whereas her friend from Kings Landing Jean Poole (fake Arya) is married to Ramsay Bolton. Further, Stannis Baratheon is preparing to fight against Bolton forces with his army approaching Winterfell, whereas on TV show his army has abandoned him and he is decimated by Ramsay Bolton. If Jon Snow is resurrected in the books, he could help Stannis win the “Battle for Winterfell” and crush the Boltons. He also revealed some interesting things about Brienne’s backstory. He named her the descendant of Ser Duncan the Tall, which is one of the most amazing lineages the character could have.
Well, let’s wait for the next year to get the answers.
