‘The Winds of Winter’ may be the last book in George RR Martin’s ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ series and here’s why

As the month of August is fast-approaching, it is already confirmed by now that George RR Martin will not be able to publish “The Winds of Winter” on his promised date this year. It is believed that the 71-year-old author declared last year that he would be releasing the book by the end of July or early August 2020, but apparently, this is not happening.

Martin’s statements about the 2020 release

In May last year, the famous writer wrote on his blog that “The Winds of Winter” will already be in his hands by the time he arrives at the 2020 WorldCon in New Zealand, where he was invited to be one of the special guests. Fans took Martin’s words by heart especially the lines that read: “If I don’t have ‘THE WINDS OF WINTER’ in hand when I arrive in New Zealand for Worldcon, you have here my formal written permission to imprison me in a small cabin on White Island, overlooking that lake of sulfuric acid, until I’m done.”

The WorldCon in New Zealand has been canceled because of the COVID-19 crisis that is not yet controlled up to this day. Even so, since the event has no direct relation to the publishing of “TWOW,” thus many fans hoped that it will still be released despite the situation and since Martin already said he has been continuously writing to complete the sixth book in his “A Song of Ice and Fire” series.

The author assures fans he did not abandon the book

In his new update, George RR Martin confessed he is still far from finishing “The Winds of Winter.” But then again, he assured everyone that he did not abandon the book, and he is currently focused on it.

He revealed that he is actually in the mountains and confined in a cabin while writing. The author further shared that he is working on the story and already finished several chapters in just a few days.

“I am spending long hours every day on ‘THE WINDS OF WINTER’ and making steady progress,” Martin wrote. “I finished a new chapter yesterday, another one three days ago, another one the previous week.”

“ASOIAF” ending in six books only

Martin previously said that his age and health are one of the reasons why he has not completed “The Winds of Winter” yet. While he might be able to finally release the book next year, the future of “A Dream of Spring,” the seventh and final book in the “ASOIAF” series, is uncertain.

Since he already admitted to having trouble writing “TWOW” as he is older now, then it is clear that it will be harder for him once he starts writing the final book. He will be a year older and could be busy as well thus Express suggested that Martin may just design “The Winds of Winter” to be the final book in the series.