Roy Dotrice, GOT audiobook narrator, says George R. R. Martin has told him he's got another book nearly ready

[Rhaenys_Targaryen]

People overrate this problem imo. I would like to read the books first, especially since D&D are busy with making a giant turd out of GoT. But if the books aren't out, I'll watch it first. There is no way to avoid spoilers in this day and age. And if I have to be spoiled I prefer it to be when I'm watching the show, instead of on FB or on a random youtube video or etc.

It will most likely also depend on how much time will be in between the two I guess...

[Señor de la Tormenta 2]

Does anybody remembers how much time there was between english and spanish publication with the last books?

[Zylathas]

Also for those that think hbo will finish the series first. If that happens I am willing to bet 1000 euro's that Grr martin will write the last episode (as some sort of compensation) so we will atleast get 'his' end.

But I would love the winds of winter getting out soon.

[ebevan91]

Best case scenario is that TWoW is released late 2014 and ADoS is released in 2017, and Game of Thrones is finished in 2018, the year after ADoS releases.

There will be light at the end of the tunnel for GRRM so he'll probably buckle down and get this thing finished.

[Veltigar]

It will most likely also depend on how much time will be in between the two I guess...

Anything more than a week after the first episode would be impossible for most people. We're all busy people and most of us can't just turn the internet off anymore (because of school and jobs). The ammount of douchebaggery will be unbelievable, every troll will be busy trying to spoil people. And that's just the people who try to spoil on purpose.

[protar]

Anything more than a week after the first episode would be impossible for most people. We're all busy people and most of us can't just turn the internet off anymore (because of school and jobs). The ammount of douchebaggery will be unbelievable, every troll will be busy trying to spoil people. And that's just the people who try to spoil on purpose.

It's really not as hard as you're supposing to avoid spoilers. The books have been out since 1996 and yet most of the show watches have managed to stay virtually unspoiled.

Even on this site I would be very surprised if there weren't strict spoiler policies. I don't see the show overtaking the books by any more than a year (and I remain convinced that the books will stay ahead.).

[Veltigar]

It's really not as hard as you're supposing to avoid spoilers. The books have been out since 1996 and yet most of the show watches have managed to stay virtually unspoiled.

Even on this site I would be very surprised if there weren't strict spoiler policies. I don't see the show overtaking the books by any more than a year (and I remain convinced that the books will stay ahead.).

That's not the same that's in a scenario were the books come out first (and FWIW if I hadn't read all the books that were out before the first season I would have been spoiled more times than I can count). If the show comes out first, it will be an event. Everybody on and off the Internet would be talking about it, it would be so much more difficult.

[protar]

That's not the same that's in a scenario were the books come out first (and FWIW if I hadn't read all the books that were out before the first season I would have been spoiled more times than I can count). If the show comes out first, it will be an event. Everybody on and off the Internet would be talking about it, it would be so much more difficult.

It really wouldn't be like that. Most show watches don't read or care about the books and would probably be unaware that the show had even overtaken the books. The only people who would be talking about it would be the book readers, and we can hope that most people on here wouldn't be spouting spoilers everywhere.

[Veltigar]

It really wouldn't be like that. Most show watches don't read or care about the books and would probably be unaware that the show had even overtaken the books. The only people who would be talking about it would be the book readers, and we can hope that most people on here wouldn't be spouting spoilers everywhere.

Have you ever met trolls? They would be on this like a fat kid on cake.

[Viserion Stormborn]

Would be perfect timing since I've just finished ADWD. Gives me a year to get all caught up on the internet theories.

[Viserion Stormborn]

If the show does catch up with the books, and I don't think it will - if they need to they can simply cut less material to drag out the seaons - are HBO even legally cleared to air a new season? Would GRRM give his consent? Write the scripts? I just can't envision that happening.

[Rhaenys_Targaryen]

Well, there were already five books, three Dunk & Eggs and two seasons of the tv show when I started reading :)

And the only thing that got spoilered for me was the Red Wedding, because I spend too much time on the Wikipedia of Westeros, while I knew that I really shouldn't.

So it is possible. But whether or not it will still be possible for someone to avoid spoilers whilst they are already on the forums and such, that I can't really say :p

For instance, about a months before the Princess and the Queen came out, on many threads, there were bits of information from it in the reponses of people on all sorts of questions. So perhaps it can't entirely be avoided.

It will be a very difficult decision, I guess.. :)

[Cornishman]

Somewhat OT, but very relevant to this discussion:

What are the common opinions regarding AFFC and ADWD being adapted to the HBO series? It was a very popular, and as it turned out correct, guess that ASOS would end up being 2 seasons, not just one. I think AFFC and ADWD would end up being mushed into 2 season, although enough happened in ADWD to easily film 2 seasons as well like ASOS, at least in my opinion. AFFC I don't think would require this, as not as much seemed to happen in it, but maybe that's just because I disliked it so much the first time I read it, and those old feelings and bias are creeping into my opinion on the matter.

My point is, this is a very relevant question to be pondered when considering the pace of production on the books. It's my opinion that the whole "but the TV series is catching the books" is overblown, as 2015 will be season 5/AFFC, and it is easily within the realm of possibility that AFFC and ADWD could be combined sort of into 3 seasons of adapted TV episodes. That would take us to 2017, and if that is in fact the case, and there have been contracts signed to that effect, it would actually give GRRM until the late 2016 early 2017 roughly to release the next book, as they would need to have some idea at HBO what to write for scripts in time for production to start in the fall of 2017 for the 2018 HBO season.

That's my worst case scenario playing out regarding the release of TWOW - late 2016, which would be 5.5 years, which would IMO really blow, so I hope it's incorrect, even though it is in theory possible that it could play out that way. I'm still sticking with late 2014/early 2015 for the novel release, but it is an interesting thing to consider regarding the HBO series for me, wondering how they will pace the next 2 books.

[ColdDrake]

I don't think there's more than 1.5 seasons worth of material between AFFC and ADWD. I enjoyed the books but their flaws will be even more exaggerated on screen. If the show lasts 7 or 8 seasons they're not going to want to waste too much time covering those events when there's surely more interesting material to come.

[Viserion Stormborn]

Well, there were already five books, three Dunk & Eggs and two seasons of the tv show when I started reading :)

And the only thing that got spoilered for me was the Red Wedding, because I spend too much time on the Wikipedia of Westeros, while I knew that I really shouldn't.

So it is possible. But whether or not it will still be possible for someone to avoid spoilers whilst they are already on the forums and such, that I can't really say :P

For instance, about a months before the Princess and the Queen came out, on many threads, there were bits of information from it in the reponses of people on all sorts of questions. So perhaps it can't entirely be avoided.

It will be a very difficult decision, I guess.. :)

I haven't read TPATQ or any of the D&E stories yet. :blushing: I have to be careful about that around here.

[assjfjgjsgjljljglgjfjsduar]

It's really not as hard as you're supposing to avoid spoilers. The books have been out since 1996 and yet most of the show watches have managed to stay virtually unspoiled.

Even on this site I would be very surprised if there weren't strict spoiler policies. I don't see the show overtaking the books by any more than a year (and I remain convinced that the books will stay ahead.).

Ehhh ... the books were popular but not nearly as ubiquitous pop culture-wise as they are now. They were also published largely before the Internet really blew up as an outlet. Non-readers, before the show, could easily avoid spoilers just because they'd just have to avoid places like this. Whereas with the show and now with mass media so prevalent, it leaks into news sites, magazines, social media (which the books largely precede as well) and water cooler talk.

What are the common opinions regarding AFFC and ADWD being adapted to the HBO series?

I think they'll move a lot of fourth-book or even fifth-book material into the back half of season 4 (especially Jaime, Brienne, Arya, Davos, etc., people whose book 3 arcs are more or less done) to free up the fifth season for Jon-Dany-Tyrion stuff and to get finish up the fourth and fifth books in one go. There really isn't that much moving plot in those books, especially if they can use part of season 4 as a safety valve of sorts. That then gives them seasons 6, 7 and potentially 8 (and bear in mind that 6 seasons is typically the max for most HBO shows) to finish out the series.

[Zman1863]

I think they'll move a lot of fourth-book or even fifth-book material into the back half of season 4 (especially Jaime, Brienne, Arya, Davos, etc., people whose book 3 arcs are more or less done) to free up the fifth season for Jon-Dany-Tyrion stuff and to get finish up the fourth and fifth books in one go. There really isn't that much moving plot in those books, especially if they can use part of season 4 as a safety valve of sorts. That then gives them seasons 6, 7 and potentially 8 (and bear in mind that 6 seasons is typically the max for most HBO shows) to finish out the series.

I agree that AFFC and ADWD probably won't get the show much beyond season 5. Those two books are definitely a middle act in the saga, have a slower pace, and lack the action of the first three. I expect the show to reach a ratings zenith next season, but by the end of season five there will have been a dip and all the critics will be like "Where are da dragonz and why isn't Khaleesi as kool as she waz!?" I suspect the show will be in need of a boost by that time and I think reassurance that the source material is on track will be a necessary ingredient for that.

[Pecan]

It seems to me that AFFC and ADWD will probably take up three seasons total, so seasons 5-7 most likely. Then TWOW will be season 8.

2014 Season 4 (ASOS pt2)

2015 Season 5 (AFFC/ADWD Pt 1)

2016 Season 6 (AFFC/ADWD Pt 2)

2017 Season 7 (AFFC/ADWD Pt 3)

2018 Season 8 (TWOW)

2019 Season 9 (ADOS)

Or something like that. The thing is, there's a ton of source material to stretch this thing out if they need to. To me, even at 10 episodes/season it feels incredibly rushed. I don't know how non-book readers keep up with the pace and they've barely even touched on the backstory.

At any rate, if we get TWOW in 2014, which seems likely, and ADOS comes out in 2017 or 2018, it'll be fine.

[Atropis the Elf]

I haven't read TPATQ or any of the D&E stories yet. :blushing: I have to be careful about that around here.

Hey there and welcome! Just avoid TPatQ threads and you'll be ok. Seldom will you encounter D&E spoilers (without title warning, that is).

ETA: sorry for off topic

[Azor Ahoy!]

OK this thread has gotten totally derailed, but just to answer LoG:

No. Feast/Dance are not going to take up three seasons. Even two seasons is in doubt. The only way that could happen is if D&D got some foolish notion that now they have to adapt every last piece of worldbuilding and every last feast in the books. They're already pushing some elements of Feast/Dance into Season 4 (Hizdahr zo Loraq, three-eyed crow, and two lords of the Vale have been cast) so I think they'll be done with Feast/Dance by the end of Season 5. Remember that they're not going to wait for George to finish the books, but also remember that TWOW and ADOS are going to be around the length of ASOS with hopefully far less filler than Feast/Dance so either one may take two seasons (I'd bet on Dream) so I do think George has a good shot at finishing before the TV series if he writes the last two books as fast as the first three.