Me too. But at this point I've kind of just accepted that they might not. As long as the show ends strongly I guess it will be ok if they're never done. At the same time, I'm also really struggling to not get my hopes up that The Winds of Winter is actually already finished and GRRM is just waiting for the show to end to announce it so as to not steal its thunder. It's some real tinfoil hat-level stuff but I'm a sucker, so.
I'm certain Jon will die after he's served his purpose for the Lord of Light, just like Beric did. Hopefully Dany is pregnant so though Targaryen line continues.
I do not think George R.R. Martin is going to finish the books. If anything, I think it'll end up being another author doing them posthumously "based on his notes", similar to the Robert Jordan Wheel of Time situation.
I don’t know if TWOW could steal the shows thunder, it does make sense for them not to announce right now *if* the book is done but the show has well surpassed the books popularity at this point. I’m sure there are plenty of people who have no interest in reading the series. I also thought I read that GRRM basically writes no notes or outlines.
There’s the nights king, who’s a totally separate character (he’s a human) who gets killed thousands of years before the books start but that’s it
I’ve been thinking similar things Only my version isn’t so much he’s waiting out of respect for the show but he’s waiting till shortly after the show is over to come through with a “alright now here’s that real shit” type announcement and we get it by the end of the year
It would be an enormous deal if the book was announced to be done and had a release date. But as GRRM has been so integral to the show's success and so heavily involved in it, I don't think he'd want to take anything away from it ending, even if the books aren't as hyped as the show.
We still have had very very limited interaction with the White Walkers in the books. Hardhome is nothing more than mentioned offhand as something that happened somewhere else, and the battle st the Fist if the First Men is mostly just wights
The show overtook the books at various points but it's crazy to think about where exactly certain people left off. Jon's dead, Sansa is still coming down from the Eyrie, Tyrion hasn't met Daenerys yet, Jaime and Brienne are involved with a subplot that the show cut entirely, Theon was helping someone who is not Sansa Stark escape from Ramsay, it's wild.
The plot is so enormously complicated that he is having a really hard time untangling it all into something coherent. So much has to be wrapped up and addressed. Press and involvement with the show doesn’t help, not to mention the many other projects that are easier to write and work on that he’s currently doing or has done.
I personally think George really has just gotten sidetracked by his various other projects. He was writing for the show, he wrote other books set in Westeros, he's done a lot of press stuff, etc. Also these things have been taking longer and longer to get written every time. Hell, there were six years between A Feast for Crows and A Dance With Dragons, and those were originally one book that George decided to split because it was too long lol
I would assume it’s almost impossible for him to separate the two in his mind as well, which is not surprising.
In relation to this, I love the fact that in two of the biggest battles Jon has been in command for, his sisters are the ones who ultimately save the day.
Aaaaaaand the other time he definitely would have died he was saved by his aunt girlfriend. The women in his family always come through when he blows it.
You all are so much more sympathetic than I am - I feel like if I were a fan of the books and GRRM I would be pretty damn annoyed with him right now.
We got past being annoyed with GRRM about three years ago. We've all moved on to mild apathy. If he finishes them, he finishes them. If he doesn't, well, no one will be surprised.
I’ve gone through all the stages of grief, I’m just at acceptance at this point. I was 100% sure it was coming out like 3 years ago when he was about to surpassed by the show. I have 0 expectations now.