A Song of Ice and Fire: George R.R Martin Denies Rumors of the Books Being Done

With the latest episode of Game of Thrones Season 8 disappointing thousands of fans, a lot are starting to look to the books for some kind of consolation. A rumor had recently gone out that Martin had finished the books and is waiting for the series to end, but now Martin himself has confirmed that those rumors were false.

Going on his blog, Martin confirms that The Winds of Winter hasn't been finished, and he hasn't even started on A Dream of Spring. He writes:

"No, the books are not done. HBO did not ask me to delay them. Nor did David & Dan. There is no 'deal' to hold back on the books. I assure you, HBO and David & Dan would both have been thrilled and delighted if The Winds of Winter had been delivered and published four or five years ago… and NO ONE would have been more delighted than me."

Martin also goes on to say that it's absurd that a publishing house would ever agree to hold on to the books before the series is completed. Martin continues:

"It seems absurd to me that I need to state this. The world is round, the Earth revolves around the sun, water is wet... do I need to say that too?" the author wrote. "It boggles me that anyone would believe this story, even for an instant. It makes not a whit of sense. Why would I sit for years on completed novels? Why would my publishers--not just here in the US, but all around the world--ever consent to this? They make millions and millions of dollars every time a new Ice & Fire book comes out, as do I. Delaying makes no sense. Why would HBO want the books delayed? The books help create interest in the show, just as the show creates interest in the books."

With the series finally going to be done, I guess there's less pressure for Martin to deliver the books now. One thing's for sure though, everyone who hated the series finale will be looking to the book to find out how Martin originally intended for the story to finish.

After almost a decade of Game of Thrones, it's kind of annoying that this final season would have half the episode number and give us this rushed plot to make Daenerys the primary antagonist for Jon. I'll tell you, I would have traded all those CGI setpieces for a 13-episode season with better character development.

Catch the final episode of Game of Thrones Season 8 when it airs on HBO this Sunday night.

See Also: Game of Thrones Season 8: Varys was Already Trying to Poison Daenerys and We Didn't Realize It