I only came to know about GRRM after watching the HBO series (a HUGE thanks to them). Before this, apart the from the popular choices, i.e., LOTR, HP and the Chronicles of Narnia, I wasn't much into the fantasy genre. Martin changed my entire perspective about it. His sheer ambition and grandeur bowled me over completely. I started reading the series in late September, 2011 and since then have been thoroughly obsessed with it. I can't recall spending an entire day since then, without thinking about the world of ASOIAF. Thank you so much for this brilliant thread. I enjoyed reading it, a lot. My own opinion is, that atleast another book is needed apart from the already announced 6th and 7th book. The battles for the Iron Throne and the war with the Others together seems, atleast to me, to be quite a lengthy story to be finished with only 2 books remaining. I'm finding it increasingly difficult to wait for TWOW. But at the same time, I don't want Martin to rush to the ending. Westeros and Essos seem to exist in a parallel universe now, and its hard for me to imagine that the characters, in the end, will live like the cliched fairy-tale happily ever after.
