The wait for George R.R. Martin's next chapter in his A Song of Ice and Fire saga, upon which HBO's Game of Thrones is based, has been a long and brutal one. The last installment, A Dance with Dragons, released in 2011, and it left the fate of many a fan favorite character hanging in the balance.
We've heard for months now that Martin's goal is to release The Winds of Winter in 2016, preferably ahead of season six of Game of Thrones. He canceled numerous convention appearances and said he was taking a break from doing press in order to double down on finishing the book. However, at this point, fans aren't sure whether to be hopeful or adopt the "I'll believe it when I see it approach."
Perhaps there is still hope, however. According to an editor for the Spanish publisher of Martin's work, The Winds of Winter is on track to release next year.
In a Spanish interview with El Mon RAC1 (translated by the fans over at Watchers on the Wall), editor Alejo Cuervo says that the book "is expected next year" and that the publisher is "confident" it will arrive on time.
"We have been promised the manuscript in advance of the release in English which we will translate, there won't be a big difference," Cuervo says, when asked if the Spanish translation will release in the same year as the book in English.
He does go on to say that he can't make any guarantees about the book's 2016 release, stating a meteor could fall and ruin it for everybody.
It's all good news for Game of Thrones fans, but it is far from a set-in-stone release date. Martin has said numerous times on his personal blog that the moment the book is finished and is sent off that he will let fans know. Until that happens, let the wild speculation and fan theories about the fate of Jon Snow, Tyrion Lannister and Stannis Baratheon run wild.
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