re: GRRM Winds of Winter leaked chapters and imminent book release?

quote:

---

We went through this before in 2019 when the actor playing Barristan claimed he had finished the books and GRRM had to dispute it.

We also know that GRRM at one point told his publishers he was finished but then missed multiple deadlines.

---

Yeah, but those didn't come with elaborate, leaked plot summaries. They could be bullshite, but we all thought the Spanish-leaked show synapses were bullshite at first too.

quote:

---

Yeah, but those didn't come with elaborate, leaked plot summaries. They could be bullshite, but we all thought the Spanish-leaked show synapses were bullshite at first too.

---

Someone could easily ChatGPT those in this day and age.

This is all from his most recent interview:

quote:

---

There is, however, one potential problem for the show’s future. “The big issue is that I have only written three novellas, and I have a lot more stories about Dunk and Egg in my fricking head,” Martin says, looking a bit shamefaced. “I’ve got to get them down on paper. I began writing two at various points in the past year. One is set in Winterfell and one set in the Riverlands …”

---

quote:

---

Martin long has resisted sequels to Thrones because the ending of his Ice and Fire books is not going to align with the show and he wants to avoid further canonizing Thrones‘ controversial ending — even though he hasn’t written his own yet. “[The book’s ending is] going to be significantly different,” Martin says. “Some characters who are alive in my book are going to be dead in the show, and vice versa.”

---

quote:

---

Martin says he has around 1,100 manuscript pages finished. He’s also said the number for a while.

---

quote:

---

“I don’t know,” Martin says. “I think I’ll stay home. I have to write more Dunk and Egg. There’s supposed to be another Fire and Blood book, too. I do think if I can just get some of these other things off my back, I could finish The Winds of Winter pretty soon. It’s been made clear to me that Winds is the priority, but … I don’t know. Sometimes I’m not in the mood for that.”

He sighs. “I’m so far behind on everything.”

---

quote:

---

“I was going to kill more people,” he muses. “Not the ones they killed [in the show]. They made it more of a happy ending. I don’t see a happy ending for Tyrion. His whole arc has been tragic from the first. I was going to have Sansa die, but she’s been so appealing in the show, maybe I’ll let her live …”

---

None of that suggests he's anywhere actually near finished on WoW and that it would be coming soon. If anything he suggests Dunk and Egg are likely more of a priority at this point. It typically takes some time for the manuscript to be presented to publishing, edited, potential re-writes, then all of the marketing that goes with the manuscript being published. His comments from above are from an interview in January 2026.

Hollywood Reporter interview this year

He should kill Bran in the book for starters.

Nope. We’re never getting it

quote:

---

he could feed it all into AI and have it brainstorm multiple endings in his writing style that he could pick from and help finish it out

---

Yuck

In 2015 he said the book would likely release in the fall of that year.

quote:

---

. I’ve never flown through a book as quickly as I did with The Name of the Wind. Storm of Swords is still probably my number 1, but Name of the Wind is probably top 3.

---

Yep. Name of the Wind has great prose.

Lies of Locke Lamora a grittier/funnier story but also reads like poetry

JFC


if he expects me to read this book after not touching the series in 15 years ago...

Well ill read it but you better finish the dreams of spring you fat bastard



I also remember him saying during COVID that if he didnt finish the book wit all the free time quarantine gave , we can tar and feather him

I think it’s a matter of how they cut short the explanations that would have made more sense.
I think Snow would have had a more supernatural arc, too.
And Dany’s free fall into murderous rampaging would have been more gradual and explained better.
The written word makes things make more sense.
But yeah I forgot some of the details that deferentiated the show from the books.
I do think both books are finished, maybe not polished up.

quote:

---

Aren’t you cute….

---

quote:

---

imminent book release[?]

---

quote:

---

Because what he wanted to happen was what happened in the show. It was ripped to shreds be fans and critics.

---

Lazy nonsense answer. The show diverged greatly from the books, the ending of which will be 100x more complicated with dozens of additional significant characters.

The 'ending' could not possibly be the same, and even if Bran being king does happen, I really have no problem with it because it certainly won't be as clumsily executed as it was by Dumb and Dumber. Anyway, the guy you all want to be king will basically be a zombie, more so even than Beric, who never sleeps or eats and who is a shell of his former self.

Anyway, I'm not making a claim. As the question mark in the thread title indicates, it's a rumored leak of all 80+ chapters with interesting claimed plot developments and I'm just presenting it to the board.