George RR Martin, who turns 70 this summer, just announced on his blog that “Winds of Winter” -- his next novel about Daenrys Targaryan, Jon Snow, Tyrion Lannister, Arya Stark, Stannis Baratheon (and so on) -- will not be published this year, but he’ll be publishing in November a 1,000-page prequel titled “Fire and Blood” about Dany’s dragon-riding ancestors.
Martin’s last novel set in his Lannister-filled “Song of Ice & Fire” print universe, “A Dance With Dragaons,” came out in 2011, the same year “Game of Thrones” hit HBO. “Winds of Winter” is eventually expected to be followed by what is presumably the 7th and final Jon Snow novel, “A Dream of Spring.”
HBO is expected to air the eighth and final season of “Game of Thrones” in the spring or summer of 2019.
This year’s book will deal with Westeros’ first seven Targaryen kings, along with their wives, siblings, wars and travels, said Martin.
Martin also claimed he’s “not allowed to say” whether any of HBO’s in-development prequels will be based on “Fire and Blood.”
