‘The Winds of Winter’ Release Date, News & Update: Here's Why Novel Is Not Out Yet; George RR Martin Reveals Ending

“The Winds of Winter” is the sixth book in George R.R. Martin's “A Song of Ice and Fire” series. It was originally expected to be released in 2015 but the award-winning author keeps missing his deadlines, and some fans even thought that it will not make it to the bookstores anymore.

Martin has assured fans that it will be released. In fact, he recently opened up and seemed frustrated with himself too for not finishing it as scheduled. In his interview with The Hollywood Reporter last month, he confessed, “I'm working on ‘The Winds of Winter,’ and I wish I'd been done four years ago, but I'm slow."

He added that “The Winds of Winter” is very complex and this is another reason why it is not finished yet. Although he refuted reports that the novel is coming out in 2018, he refused to give an exact or estimated date since he is not sure too.

Fans came up with a list of possible other reasons why George R.R. Martin has failed to complete “The Winds of Winter” on time. They believe that one factor for the delay is the scale. They theorize that the “A Song of Ice and Fire” keeps getting expanded so Martin has had to write, rewrite and add more story sequences, Express reported.

Another fan suggested that the author could have written too much that he can make two books out of it. Now, he is presumably finding it hard to tie the loose ends or shorten the story so it can be released as one book only.

No one really knows the exact reason for the long delay of “The Winds of Winter” but fans should still be thankful since George R.R. Martin confirmed that it will still be out despite the wait. Now, it can be recalled that the 70-year-old author also shared some spoilers about “TWOW.”

Aside from sharing parts of the finished chapters, Martin also revealed the main plot and the ending of “The Winds of Winter.” Describing the plot, he said that the story will begin at a time when there are two big battles – the battle in the ice and the battle at Meereen (Battle of Slaver’s Bay), then things will develop from there.

As for “The Winds of Winter's” ending, George R.R. Martin said that it would be sad and grim. "I’ve been telling you for 20 years that winter was coming. Winter is the time when things die, and cold and ice and darkness fill the world, so this is not going to be the happy feel-good that people may be hoping for,” Entertainment Weekly quoted him as saying.

“The Winds of Winter” was supposed to be the last book in the “ASOIAF” series but in the end, Martin decided that it will be the second to the last. For the final chapter, he will be releasing “A Dream of Spring.”