Belgarad Posted June 17, 2015 Share Posted June 17, 2015 Does anyone else think that there will be at least three more books before the story is over? Based on Martin's writing style I have very little faith that he will be able to wrap up the story in just two more books. It must have been incredibly galling to see a note from the author promising a quick followup after Feast only to have to wait 6 years for that followup. When you consider that Feast and Dance are mostly one book, that one book took over a decade to write! Considering his writing speed, we'd be looking at another possibly another decade before we get the conclusion. At least he still has A Time for Wolves in his back pocket as a title for an extra book. I like the sound of that more than A Dream of Spring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aryagonnakill#2 Posted June 17, 2015 Share Posted June 17, 2015 I don't think he needs 3 books, it's just that plot lines are going to start winding down and combining rather than appearing now that the books are entering their final phase. For example, this is 1 of the many reasons I think Stannis really is going to defeat the Boltons, because someone has to do it pretty soon and Stannis is right there to do it. In Mereen I really think Victarion and Jorah die because that will wrap up some loose ends and move the plot along. Likewise in Dorne we have had a lot of building up for some plotlines that are set to take off, Arianne going to see Aegon, the Dornish armies waiting in the passes, and Balon, Hotah, Obarra, and the Sunspear guards going after Darkstar. Once those are done we will likely leave Dorne permanently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Holy Goat Posted June 17, 2015 Share Posted June 17, 2015 Yes, an eight books series seem the most likely to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLightning Lord Posted June 17, 2015 Share Posted June 17, 2015 At least 10 books imo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belgarad Posted June 17, 2015 Author Share Posted June 17, 2015 At least 10 books imo If it goes that long will Brandon Sanderson have to finish this series too?!?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lost Melnibonean Posted June 17, 2015 Share Posted June 17, 2015 He should be able to tell the rest of the story in two to three more books. The problem is he has to finish the Secon Dance of the Dragons and he has only really laid the foundation for it. Aegon has invaded Westeros, but Daenerys doesn't seem anywhere near ready to come to his aid or to invade and usurp him. So, I'm thinking it might take The George two more books to complete the Dance, and then one final book to write the War for the Dawn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Consigliere Posted June 17, 2015 Share Posted June 17, 2015 2-3 more books, I'd say. If any more than that is needed then I doubt the series will ever be completed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oierem Posted June 17, 2015 Share Posted June 17, 2015 Does anyone else think that there will be at least three more books before the story is over? Based on Martin's writing style I have very little faith that he will be able to wrap up the story in just two more books. It must have been incredibly galling to see a note from the author promising a quick followup after Feast only to have to wait 6 years for that followup. When you consider that Feast and Dance are mostly one book, that one book took over a decade to write! Considering his writing speed, we'd be looking at another possibly another decade before we get the conclusion. At least he still has A Time for Wolves in his back pocket as a title for an extra book. I like the sound of that more than A Dream of Spring. Absolutely. Except for ASOS, every other book has included less content than what Martin intended. There is no reason to believe that he will manage to include everything he intends in both of the remaining books. Moreover, we know something about his original plans: when this thing was a trilogy, the middle book dealed with Dany's invasion of Westeros. Therefore, we can say that after five books, he's still NOT dealing with the events that were meant to happen in the middle of the story. And there's even more: when the story exanded into six novels with a five year gap, book 4 (Dance of Dragons) was meant to open with Daznar's Pit, Cersei's arrest... with events from the very end of the current Dance of the Dragons. Even when the five year gap was scrapped, the idea was that A Feast for Crows would deal with all the "bridge" material and Dance of the Dragons would involve Dany's invasion still. What happened? Martin's plans failed misserably: ADWD doesn't deal with Dany's invasion yet (it's been posponed to a later book that was meant to deal with stuff happening AFTER the invasion). It doesn't even include the climatic battle of Meereen, which has to happen before the invasion. Therefore, assuming Dany's invasion will happen in the second half of Winds, we have to imagine that there were meant to be two more books after that. At least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Viserys Targaryen IV Posted June 17, 2015 Share Posted June 17, 2015 My guess is 8 books, mainly because as the show passes the books next season the pressure to get them out before the show ends will be over.In fact he will then have incentive to add more to the books as a selling point for the final books "You may know the ending thanks to the show but there is a LOT more here than the show". So I think he pads book 7 and then it leads into book 8. So book 7 becomes a Time for Wolves and then book 8 is a Dream of Spring.book 6 should come out early 2016, book 7 @ 2019 and book 8 @ 2020 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wouter Posted June 17, 2015 Share Posted June 17, 2015 2-3 more books, I'd say. If any more than that is needed then I doubt the series will ever be completed. It's certainly possible that the series will not be completed. Luckily, the show will be able to use Martin's ending so we would still know the major beats to the ending even if Martin wouldn't reach the finish. I think at least 3 more books. I fully expect him to not get everything he wants into TWOW, especially if he makes an effort to get it out on shelves before S6. It looks like Dany will only barely make it to Westeros in that book, if at all. There are a zillion storylines to follow and even if he combines the Dance of Dragons conflict with the invasion of the Others, I still think there will be 2 full books needed after Dany has first set foot on Westerosi soil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wouter Posted June 17, 2015 Share Posted June 17, 2015 My guess is 8 books, mainly because as the show passes the books next season the pressure to get them out before the show ends will be over. In fact he will then have incentive to add more to the books as a selling point for the final books "You may know the ending thanks to the show but there is a LOT more here than the show". So I think he pads book 7 and then it leads into book 8. So book 7 becomes a Time for Wolves and then book 8 is a Dream of Spring. book 6 should come out early 2016, book 7 @ 2019 and book 8 @ 2020That's a very optimistic timetable. Martin hasn't been able to complete a book in less than 5 years, ever since ASOS came out. As he is getting older and the books are at their most complex now, I see him taking longer, not shorter to write book 7. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balerion the kitten Posted June 17, 2015 Share Posted June 17, 2015 Going to be tough here, cause that's the only way people learn.GRRM knows his books better than you. He knows his characters better than you. He knows his plots better than you. If he says it's seven books, it's seven books.He's writing it, he has the best guess on how many are going to be released. Just because you think that might be too hard for him doesn't mean it's true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitbert Strangejoy Posted June 17, 2015 Share Posted June 17, 2015 Going to be tough here, cause that's the only way people learn.GRRM knows his books better than you. He knows his characters better than you. He knows his plots better than you. If he says it's seven books, it's seven books.He's writing it, he has the best guess on how many are going to be released. Just because you think that might be too hard for him doesn't mean it's true. Mmmm, he did say "trilogy," no? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balerion the kitten Posted June 17, 2015 Share Posted June 17, 2015 Mmmm, he did say "trilogy," no?Jeez how many times is that going to he used as an argument?His original plan was three books. His original plan. His original one was completely different from this one, due to the many differences.One difference being that was three books. These books are seven books. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UnmaskedLurker Posted June 17, 2015 Share Posted June 17, 2015 Going to be tough here, cause that's the only way people learn.GRRM knows his books better than you. He knows his characters better than you. He knows his plots better than you. If he says it's seven books, it's seven books.He's writing it, he has the best guess on how many are going to be released. Just because you think that might be too hard for him doesn't mean it's true.Normally, I would find this way of thinking persuasive. The problem is that GRRM has been wrong about this issue before -- repeatedly. The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior. GRRM has been overly optimistic about the number of remaining books in the past -- so in the future . . . ETA: It is not just the original trilogy point. I also recall that he at one point thought it would be 6 books -- and then had to adjust to 7 books. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitbert Strangejoy Posted June 17, 2015 Share Posted June 17, 2015 Jeez how many times is that going to he used as an argument?His original plan was three books. His original plan. His original one was completely different from this one, due to the many differences.One difference being that was three books. These books are seven books. My understanding is that the number was quite fluid over the years. In its initial conception, Mr. Martin supposed it would be a trilogy, but part way through A Game of Thrones he decided it’d have to be four books. While working on A Clash of Kings, he came to realize that the story would require at least six novels, and for a long time he stuck to this. However, with the announcement of A Feast for Crows being completed in May 2005 (in part by splitting off some POVs which appeared instead in the fifth novel, A Dance with Dragons), GRRM started to state that seven books was the new target for the series. As recently as October 2014, he’s reaffirmed his intent to finish the series in seven novels. http://www.westeros.org/Citadel/FAQ/Entry/How_many_books_will_there_be_and_what_are_their_names Is the Citadel wrong on this point? Edit: By the way, I don't begrudge the man of his schedule or changes to the number of books. It's his series and his prerogative. But if we're going to make predictions, let's take the past into account. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Viserys Targaryen IV Posted June 17, 2015 Share Posted June 17, 2015 Jeez how many times is that going to he used as an argument?His original plan was three books. His original plan. His original one was completely different from this one, due to the many differences.One difference being that was three books. These books are seven books.His editor has even said in an interview that she thinks it will be eight. She said she recently found out there are actually 8 Kingdoms (Crownlands), so it would be fitting that there are 8 books. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UnmaskedLurker Posted June 17, 2015 Share Posted June 17, 2015 His editor has even said in an interview that she thinks it will be eight. She said she recently found out there are actually 8 Kingdoms (Crownlands), so it would be fitting that there are 8 books. 9 kingdoms if riverlands are included -- so maybe she will revise her thoughts to 9 books. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balerion the kitten Posted June 17, 2015 Share Posted June 17, 2015 My understanding is that the number was quite fluid over the years. http://www.westeros.org/Citadel/FAQ/Entry/How_many_books_will_there_be_and_what_are_their_names Is the Citadel wrong on this point? Edit: By the way, I don't begrudge the man of his schedule or changes to the number of books. It's his series and his prerogative. But if we're going to make predictions, let's take the past into account.Fair enough. I'll settle that 8 books is the max. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Viserys Targaryen IV Posted June 17, 2015 Share Posted June 17, 2015 9 kingdoms if riverlands are included -- so maybe she will revise her thoughts to 9 books. Riverlands the North Westerlands The Reach The Vale Stormlands Dorne Crownlands I am assuming you are counting the Iron Islands? Is that a Kingdom? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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