George R.R. Martin Will Either Finish ‘The Winds of Winter’ or Die Trying

The George R.R. Martin profile in yesterday’s Hollywood Reporter is full of fun tidbits about the author, including his excitement over A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, his thoughts on whether or not that Jon Snow Game of Thrones sequel series will ever happen—and a tiny drop of tea about his feud with House of the Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal. But anytime Martin sits down for questions, the inevitable subject will always arise: what’s the latest on The Winds of Winter?

First things first. Martin is still smarting over that fan who asked him at last year’s WorldCon if he’d allow another author to finish the long-awaited next A Song of Ice and Fire book, given Martin’s advancing age (he’s 77). It was insulting back in August, and it still is now: “I really didn’t need that shit. Nobody needs that shit.”

However, it’s clear that Martin shares his fans’ awareness of the ruthless passage of time. He told THR he has 1,100 pages—yes, that’s the same number he cited back in 2022 and 2023, though it sounds like the content of those pages has shifted somewhat.

“I will open the last chapter I was working on and I’ll say, ‘Oh fuck, this is not very good.’ And I’ll go in and I’ll rewrite it. Or I’ll decide, ‘This Tyrion chapter is not coming along, let me write a Jon Snow chapter.’ If I’m not interrupted though, what happens—at least in the past—is sooner or later, I do get into it,” he told THR.

Even without interruptions, it’s slow going. During the pandemic, Martin retreated to an isolated cabin for some focused writing time; though he told THR that resulted in lots of new material, it also opened the door to second-guessing. “I wrote a Tyrion chapter I just loved. Then I looked at it and said: ‘I can’t do this, it will change the whole book. I’ll make this into a series of dreams. No! That doesn’t work either …’”

But he is still very determined. Giving up on The Winds of Winter is not an option. “It would feel like a total failure to me. I want to finish,” he said.

However, that WorldCon fan’s question also re-entered the interview here. Martin isn’t going to engage another writer to finish the book. That will not happen.

But what if Martin does die—or become incapacitated in some way—before he completes the story? Well, then, “My work won’t be finished,” he said, and offered Charles Dickens’ unfinished last novel as a point of comparison: “It’ll be like The Mystery of Edwin Drood.”

Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that! And while you wait (and wait) for the next Winds of Winter update, check out A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms—premiering January 18 on HBO and HBO Max.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.