We all knew that these books would get adapted eventually, although I find the timing to be incredibly curious. The unfortunate fact is that while George has penned 3 books concerning a Dunk and Egg(the main characters on which this series is based) he is by no means finished.

His recent not a blog post hints that there will actually be quite a few more tales concerning a Dunk and Egg. So this is in essence a Game of Thrones all over again. They are starting a series in which the source material ins unfinished. It's been over 10 years since A Dance with Dragons was released and we still haven't seen The Winds of Winter and it sounds like he still has at least 4 more novellas to write likely around 6.

The good news is that the short stories are much smaller length and the stories aren't world spanning they focus on two central characters. So in theory George should be able to bang out those stories a lot quicker once he starts focusing on them but that begs the question that if they were so easy to write why haven't they released already?

I think he has been so focused on so many other projects that he honestly just hasn't had the time.

The great thing about Martin though, is the fact that whenever he does release a new story its extremely high quality. I think he must be working on some yet unrevealed layering regarding the world of a song of ice and fire. Fleshing out the histories, family trees, cities, cultures and practices of the world. That's the only thing at this point that explains why the sequels for the mainline series haven't dropped yet.

I'm a hardcore fan of a Song of Ice and Fire so the more projects I hear about the better. Bring them all on!

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When I hear this my mind goes to two more years till we get the next book. But who knows, if he has the major plot scenes set presumably he could only be refining the prose.

I'm an eternal optimist so I'm hoping for a release sometime next year! 

I know know I'm going to love this book whenever it releases!

The new novel is titled "Cyberpunk 2077: No Coincidence" and is written by author Rafał Kosik it tells a story about a group of strangers as they discover the dangers of Night City.

If you ask me this also sounds like potential future material for another anime series. One thing this proves is that CD Projekt Red is committed to the Cyberpunk 2077 universe for the long term.

They are currently working on an expansion for Cyberpunk 2077 but they are also working on a full sequel. I expect that sequel to release sooner rather than later. I imagine they want a game exclusively made for next gen consoles and higher end PCs.

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I know Sanderson seemed disappointed when it was revealed George RR Martin was chosen to develop the story for Elden Ring, for developer FromSoftware. I'm thinking he'll really enjoy this collab.

It seems like Mercedes was talking about Slow Regard of Silent Things. It appears like there's nothing to see here. Oh well.😅

Let the hype begin!

It seems like Mercedes Lackey who is a very successful author, and that shares the same publisher and editor as Patrick Rothfuss. Has revealed that Doors of Stone is at the editor and has a release date. This is pretty cool.

 

Much of the information in this video comes from the world book. And I honestly feel like this material is just begging for some type of adaption. The problem is that their is no current story that takes place in the lands across the narrow sea.

One of the most interesting places to the far east is Asshai. Nothing grows there, its dark and mysterious. It's where Melissandre is from and its big enough to contain Volantis, Quarth, Kings Landing and Oldtown combine. But for some reason its super small.

The city just oozes mystery. Hopefully in future books, we get some additional information related to Asshai.

I for one am extremely glad that George added dragons. George does seem to have a very rational low level magic world in the early books. But as the story continues, it feels as though the more fantastical magic is slowly creeping into the world.

My favorite theory about Kvothe is that he has somehow affected the past and he is actually Taborlin the Great. Kvothe has been gifted many of the same items as Taborlin. It feels like there is something here, maybe not time travel but definitely a connection.

Something to do with names and the power of names. Maybe Kvothe has somehow changed his true name. Which is why he seems to be shell of himself. By renaming himself Kote and then telling the story about Taborlin the great doing all the things that he's done, has somehow transferred his old powers to this supposed historical figure.

Kvothe is Edema Ruh which are known as great storytellers. What if, in the central narrative timeline(where Kvothe is telling his life story to Chronicler) he is actually lying about those characters knowing about Taborlin the great. What if he began spreading tales of Taborlin the great only after Kvothe accomplished all these great deeds. 

There is a big emphasis on Naming in the series. By simply changing a person's name, you can change their identity and how other people in the world view them. What if Kvothe's true name is hidden away in that box in his bedroom. 🤯

I can't wait for book 3 The Doors of Stone. I know there is going to be some huge surprises!

How does a song of ice and fire and kingkiller chronicles differ? For me A song of ice and fire's world building is massive. Martin has so much more content to his series right now and he gives his readers a ton of details that for most authors, are completely insignificant for example, throughout the first 5 novels in the books we get a ton of paragraphs just describing the food that characters are eating. Some people view this level of food detail a bit gratuitous but I love it. I think it really helps to bring the world to life.

Also, Martin has a ridiculous number of characters in his novels. Most of them come from noble houses, great and small and those houses have long detailed histories with many members that don't even show up in the mainline series. Also since Martin uses multiple viewpoint characters we are able to explore the world through the eyes of characters of vastly different backgrounds and motivations. Since these characters are in different locations it makes the story more epic.

Rothfuss on the other hand choose a very unique way of telling telling his story, we see everything from Kvothe's viewpoint. Kvothe is in the present, telling a story mostly about past events to other characters who were not around. Since Kvothe is the only one telling the story, it opens up the possibility of an unreliable narrator.  Everything that we see and experience is from his perspective.

What makes it even more interesting is that Kvothe comes from an ethnic group that is known across the world as gifted in the art of storytelling. So there is even more reason to have doubts about how events unfolded. These ideas of unreliable storytelling and untrustworthy narrators run throughout the entire series. So for the reader even though we are getting information about the present condition of the world and have a first hand account of many past events we view it all as one big puzzle.

Piece by piece we are given information from certain characters in Kvothe's story about the history of the world, like little breadcrumbs leading to a greater truth but some of the clues conflict. Kvothe makes some characters seem unreliable and others completely trustworthy with good intentions. Its incredibly fun trying to put the grand mystery together without all the pieces fitting neatly. The Kingkiller Chronicles really gives me a sense of mystery. The tone is creepy and sad and mysterious. 

I love both of these series just in different ways. I think its really sad that neither author really comments all that much on the other's work.

On his not a blog, Martin recently spoke briefly, about The Winds of Winter.

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THE WINDS OF WINTER is going to be a big book.   The way it is going, it could be bigger than A STORM OF SWORDS or A DANCE WITH DRAGONS, the longest books in the series to date.   I do usually cut and trim once I finish, but I need to finish first.

Although he's already hinted at the size and scope of the book in the past, I love that he's reconfirming. Fans have been waiting an eternity for this new book so the more material we get the better! He could make the book 2,000 pages and I would still devour it. George's writing is excellent and I feel like his prose improves with each new book release.

I know some people were critical of Feast of Crows and Dance with Dragons but I personally found those books to be as high quality as the earlier entries.  The big issue that many fans had with those is that their favorite characters were mostly split between the two books. By making The Winds of Winter longer hopefully George has solved this issue and will be able to consolidate the different perspectives into one book. I highly suspect that he's done just that.

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First let me say, I think there is a decent chance that The Winds of Winter could release in late 2022.

It would be the perfect time to capitalize on the buzz that I'm sure will be generated when HBO's House of the Dragon show releases later in august of this year.

Assuming an 8-10 episode season of House of the Dragon, the show would finish around early October.

Can you imagine a better surprise after the season finale than announcing The Winds of Winter will release during the 2022 holiday season?

It would be an incredible marketing opportunity for George. And would give his hardcore fan base something to look forward to.

The above was my optimistic take on where we stand on a release date.

My more pessimistic stance says that we won't get the Winds of Winter until 2023 likely holiday 2023.

George has already announced that Rise of the Dragon, an illustrated deluxe reference book based on the same time period of his novel fire and blood, will release in October 2022.

The release of Rise of the Dragon would indicate that we probably shouldn't expect anything else book wise from George this year.

It's probably for the best. At the end of the day, I want a high quality book from George. We've waited over a decade. What's 1-2 more additional years if it allows him to truly flesh out his vision and give us the type of story that we've all come to enjoy so much.

• Hearing Rothfuss read the prologue brings back so many memories, it would be awesome if Doors of Stone released this year.
• He gives decent answers to a lot of questions.
• There is a magic related to music.
• Pat was asked an interesting question about Tinkers, are they human, fae, amyr or something else, I must admit I never thought about that.
• I was surprised to hear his answer on the cthaeh he makes it sound like its pretty straightforward and all the answers are in The Wise Man's fear.

 

• The Rise of The Dragon is basically an illustrated, condensed version of FIRE & BLOOD
• Lavish visual history of house of Targaryen
• Featuring over 180 all-new illustrations
• This book will be similar to The World of Ice and Fire

I personally can't wait for this book. I love artwork. And The World of Ice and Fire was perfect for me.

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My Quick Thoughts

• It's safe to say that Brandon Sanderson's Kickstarter is a success.
• He has pulled in over 22  million dollars
• He will be releasing 4 different novels 
• It seems like some people are complain but I'm glad to see this development.
• I think this Kickstarter campaign actually pushes  the industry forward.
• Brandon Sanderson is an absolute beast when it comes to sheer production and he has deservedly built up a huge fan base.
• If his fans want to support and give him some extra money for new novels and collectibles I say more power to him.
• Check it out here

Since I've read a number of Martin's posts on his Not a Blog on his personal website I know that he writes and rewrites chapters all the time. So this does not surprise. What does surprise me is that somehow two draft chapters from A Feast For Crows about Brienne were supposedly published in Russia. That sounds a bit fishy to me but I suppose its not outside the realm of possibility.

Martin has always stated he knows the end game in broad strokes and he is more or less letting the garden grow and tell the journey itself. I suspect that he has always known what Brienne's fate so I doubt that he would have changed it from death to life or vice versa in a couple of sample chapters. Brienne is a POV character so I imagine her death will be quite dramatic. That being said I feel she is more of a minor POV, which has mainly served to show us what's been going on in the crownlands and surrounding areas so if there was a POV character that had their fate changed or if he was still wrestling over it would not surprise me for it to be Brienne's. Either way I'm sure we'll find out soon enough.

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George posts a mysterious picture of a hand with eight fingers!

I'm sure most fans are like me and took this as a hint that there will now be eight books not seven. But who knows if this is true! This post could be completely unrelated to a song of ice and fire. Only time will tell.

I would absolutely love it if their were eight books though. It still feels like there is a ton of story left to tell.

Sounds like there is a ton of writing or revisions left to do. However, long it takes I'll be happy whenever Doors of Stone releases.

One day I read that Amazon's Wheel of Time Series adaption has wrapped filming and then the very next day I read that Amazon has already decided to renew the show for a 2nd season. They must have high confidence in what they've seen so far. 

I can't wait to see it! Amazon might finally get me to use their streaming platform consistently.

It might be time for me to start reading the Wheel of Time books. The reason I've held off for so long was because of what I've heard happens to the series during the middle. But this may hype me up enough to push me over the edge and just take the dive.

Either way those I know fans of the books have a lot of passion and that always bodes well, we'll see.

It is now being reported that the Wheel of Time adaption by Amazon has recently Wrapped filming.

I hope this new series does well. I'm sure that there are a lot of Robert Jordan fans that are looking forward to the trailer and to see the progress that's been made.

If the premiere is successful and Amazon goes on to greenlight the entire series I wonder if Brandon Sanderson will get any compensation since he was the author that finished the wheel of time series after Robert Jordan's passing.

Perhaps after a few more years it will be Sanderson's turn to have his fantasy epic 'The Stormlight Archive' turned into a TV series as well.

Either way though, congrats to the wheel of time fans and Amazon for wrapping the first season. I hope its well received and leads to many many more. Perhaps it will get me to finally go and checkout the books for myself.