George R.R. Martin likens Winds of Winter delay to Frank Herbert

Movieweb reports that nearly 15 years after George R.R. Martin published A Dance With Dragons, he still hasn't finished The Winds of Winter and has compared his struggle to that of Dune author Frank Herbert. Martin told The Hollywood Reporter he met Herbert at a convention in 1975, when Herbert was being bombarded with demands and offers for more Dune despite wanting to work on other projects.

“He didn’t like Dune anymore, and he didn’t want to write any more Dune books,” Martin recalled. He added, “I’m not necessarily tired of the world [of Ice and Fire]. I love the world and the world-building. But, yes, I do.” At New York Comic Con last year he also addressed online backlash and deadline trouble, saying, “I've always had trouble with deadlines...

'Why the f--- is George R.R. Martin writing this other thing when he should be writing Winds of Winter? What is he doing?' I want to say, 'I did it in 1993, guys. Come on! It was lying in my drawer, and they wanted it, so I sold it to them!' Yes, I do love Winds of Winter. I'm still interested in it, I'm still working on it, but honestly, I love these other things, too.” An all-new Game of Thrones spinoff, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, is set to premiere on Sunday, Jan.

Key Topics

Culture, George R.r. Martin, Frank Herbert, Ser Duncan, Dune