LOS ANGELES — Author George R.R. Martin
has hinted at the possibility of not one but two new "Game of
Thrones" books in 2018, whetting the appetites of fans who have
been waiting for the next installment of the epic saga since
2011.
Martin, whose "A Song of Ice and Fire" novels were adapted
into HBO's hit medieval fantasy series "Game of Thrones,"
currently is working on the sixth installment, "Winds of
Winter," continuing the story from 2011's "A Dance With
Dragons."
"I am still working on it, I am still months away (how many?
good question), I still have good days and bad days, and that's
all I care to say," Martin wrote on his blog,
grrm.livejournal.com, during the weekend.
"I do think you will have a Westeros book from me in 2018...
and who knows, maybe two. A boy can dream...," he said.
The seventh season of the television show, which premiered
this month, already has advanced beyond the events of Martin's
published books.
There have been recent contradictory reports about "Winds of
Winter" - that Martin had not even been started it or that he
had finished it but was holding it back - and the author
dismissed those as "equally false and equally moronic."
"Game of Thrones" follows the epic story of warring families
in a multi-generational struggle for control of the Iron Throne,
which rules over the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros.
Martin has come under fire from avid "Game of Thrones" fans
for taking so long to finish "Winds of Winter" and starting work
on other projects. The author said in his blog post that he was
working on a two-part history of Westeros' Targaryen kings
called "Fire and Blood," with the first part to be released
sometime late 2018 or early 2019.
A trailer for the HBO show, released last week, shows a
brewing battle between Cersei Lannister, who currently sits on
the Iron Throne, and Daenerys Targaryen, who has traveled with
her army and dragons to reclaim her ancestral home.
The series will conclude next year with the eighth season,
which will reveal who will sit on the Iron Throne. A series of
spin-offs is being developed at HBO.