Waiting for the winter that never comes: George R. R. Martin, the long delay, and the afterlife of Game of Thrones

It’s been nearly fifteen years since A Dance with Dragons was published. That was 2011, the same year Game of Thrones first aired on HBO, when Twitter was still young, and we had no inkling of the juggernaut the series would become. 

Back then, The Winds of Winter seemed just over the horizon. George R. R. Martin had already begun writing it. Some readers expected it within a few years. Many still believed that the books would finish before the show caught up.

That never happened. HBO's Game of Thrones finished almost six years ago, and Martin has now been working on The Winds of Winter for well over a decade. 

He’s spoken, often candidly, about his struggles — how the pressure, expectations and scope of the project have made the writing slower, more difficult. There have been years when he made progress, and others when he found himself lost in side plots, timelines and the knotty interiors of characters who refuse to be hurried.

Meanwhile, the show went on. And on. And then, in 2019, it ended, in a finale that left many viewers stunned, not in awe, but in quiet disbelief. Me included, it was a mess that made no sense as it jettisoned pretty much everything that had been cleverly built in a race for the finish line. 

The ending that wasn’t his

Once the TV series surpassed the books around season six, it became clear that the final act of Game of Thrones would be its own invention. David Benioff and D. B. Weiss reportedly received a rough outline from Martin. They had certain key beats, but how they got there was up to them. And they got there quickly. Too quickly, many fans felt.

By season eight, character arcs were compressed. Political logic evaporated. Daenerys, who’d spent years building a vision of justice, torched a city. Jon Snow, our reluctant hero, stabbed her in an act that felt both inevitable and unearned. Bran, who’d spent entire seasons off-screen, became king. The North seceded. Tyrion gave speeches. The curtain closed.

It was big. It was bold. It was baffling. Bran? That cannot be the answer. 

And for many readers, it left a sour taste. Because the books had always given us more: more depth, more contradictions, more time. Martin’s storytelling was sprawling and slow, filled with detours and inner lives, moral grey zones and devastating reversals. The TV ending didn’t just feel rushed; it felt foreign. The soul of it had shifted.

Which made The Winds of Winter feel all the more necessary, a restoration of sorts. A chance to return to the story that once was.

Why the delay?

It’s easy to make jokes, and many have, about how long Martin has taken. But writing isn’t engineering. It doesn’t follow predictable timelines, especially not when it comes to a world as vast and layered as Westeros. Martin has called The Winds of Winter the “biggest and most difficult” book he’s ever written. And as much as fans want the ending, the man who’s writing it wants it to be right.

He’s also been busy. From spin-off shows like House of the Dragon to other creative projects and public appearances, his time and energy are spread across many fronts. Still, he insists he’s working on it. As of January 2024, he stated he had “hundreds of pages” written, but “hundreds more” to go.

There’s still no publication date.

Living in the gap

And so we wait.

We wait not just for the book, but for a return to a story that feels, at this point, like it belongs to another version of ourselves. The reader who first picked up A Game of Thrones might be older now. They may have read a hundred novels since. But there’s something about this unfinished tale that lingers.

Maybe it’s the uncertainty of it all, the way it mirrors life itself. Things don’t always resolve cleanly. People surprise us. Power shifts. Snow falls. And still, we wait.

What to read while the north keeps silent

If you're looking for something to read while the winter keeps its distance, here are a few novels and series that carry echoes of Martin’s world, in theme, in tone, or in sheer immersive depth:

• R. F. Kuang’s The Poppy War trilogy – Brutal, magical, morally complex and rooted in real-world history, this series is perfect for readers who want their fantasy with teeth.

• Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Left Hand of Darkness – If what you loved was the political intrigue and cultural depth, Le Guin’s speculative fiction offers both, with a lyrical sharpness.

• Katherine Arden’s Winternight trilogy – Set in medieval Russia and steeped in folklore, it blends icy atmosphere, strong female protagonists and themes of belief and power.

• Joe Abercrombie’s First Law trilogy – Gritty, cynical and character-driven, this is fantasy for those who enjoy clever reversals and unheroic heroes.

• T. H. White’s The Once and Future King – For a more classic and bittersweet take on destiny, idealism and failure, this Arthurian reimagining still feels heartbreakingly wise.

Final thoughts

Maybe The Winds of Winter will come this year. Maybe not. Maybe we’ll be waiting still, rereading A Storm of Swords and wondering how it all ends. But there’s something oddly beautiful in the waiting. In knowing the story is unfinished. That it still holds its breath.

And if George R. R. Martin has taught us anything, it’s that stories don’t owe us neatness. Only truth. However long that takes.