A Time for Wolves was a great title

[Little Miss Sunshine]

I like both titles, and I can see why GRRM decided to go with "A Dream of Spring".

Oh well, as long as we have the book.... :)

[Gaius Martell]

Yeah,there were actual dragons. But,only one Dragon. Daenerys. Do read the post before replying...

"Black or red, a dragon is still a dragon." Aegon is a "dragon" too.

[Darth Rivers]

A Dream of Spring is a great title. It does not say that spring will actually come and the Long Summer will appear. My guess is that somebody will see a melting icicle at the end of the last chapter or the epilogue and that will be the only sign of the spring ever coming in the book.

Icicles need positive temperatures in order to form.

[Lady of Long Lake]

Like "A Dance With Dragons," right?

I love the name "A Time for Wolves" and am disappointed it's not being used. "A Dream of Spring" sounds like a Glade scented plug-in that smells like sweetpea or gardenia or something. I almost hope he has to write another book, so we get the "Wolves" title.

Agree 100%

"A Dream Of Spring" sounds like a Harlequin romance novel to me.

But is the name change a big surprise? After reading the 5 books, I have a terrible worry that Mr. Martin possibly enjoys shitting on the Starks :(

If I could choose a series final title, it would be ," Hour Of The Wolf". Isn't that the term they use for just past midnight?

[Alester Florent]

A time for wolves would be fine if it wasn't the LAST book. I don't know if A time for wolves is spoiler-y, but it certainly sounds like it is and it hints at the Starks being restored to power (which is also an ending I do not want).

A dream of spring is more ambiguous and could mean a dream of spring for Westeros rather than for one house in particular.

Now, you see, I think A Time for Wolves makes a better last title than A Dream of Spring, even with all other considerations aside. There's an echo of the Ragnarok in there - "the wolf age" and the total destruction of the existing order. There's a ring of finality about it.

Although, of course, there was a rebuilding after Ragnarok, A Dream of Spring seems to me to be cutting to the denouement without referencing the cataclysm.

Although A Time for Wolves sounds hopeful on the one hand because of the Starks, who we know and like, there is still a tone of Bad Things Happen about it.

[thetitansbastard]

I think ASOIAF is about the Starks, and I don't think Martin changed the 7th booj title from ATFW because it would have been misleading, I think it would have turned out to be quite an accurate title based on what the content of the book will be. Martin probably did want to make it more vague as it has become clear that much of the fan base has become convinced that the series is NOT supposed to be "Startk-centric." I think ADOS is ok, "A Dream For Spring" seems slightly better, maybe that slight change will be made.

On the other hand, ADWD turned out to be very misleading, I was fully expecting the dragons to start ravaging Westeros. Definitely most puzzling title so far...

[lostinwesteros]

Personally, I like A Time for Wolves, simply because ever since the early part of A Game of Thrones, my 'heros', the Starks, seem to have been thwarted at every turn. I do realize it's naive and unrealistic of me to anticipate a return to their life at the beginning of "Thrones", but one can always hope. And I really do miss those direwolves having each other close by.

I could settle for A Dream of Spring, too, just as long as it means we'll have more books as soon as possible! And, to tell the truth, there're many other characters besides the Starks that are now near and dear to my heart, too. Maybe this alternate (or, I guess, 'replacement' title) is designed to include those, too.

I don't think it has to be "black or white", or "right or wrong" -- I see lots of shades of gray in between.

[Bushido]

"Black or red, a dragon is still a dragon." Aegon is a "dragon" too.

It that Ser Eustace's quote? Is so,very a convenient response :P Yes,but there is no Aegon up to that book,which would still make title less suggestive = less house-centric than A Time for Wolves,which was the point of my post,pointing at the finesse in meanings.

***

And while we were discussing this,I went to SSM,and found GRRM's old response from time t when Dance with Dragons was a penultimate book,and was meant to represent a Second Dance of Dragons in Westeros' history,first being between Rhaenyra and Aegon II (!) which would probably show Daenerys vs Aegon VI. A very house-centric story. But,the plot changed,and the title remained...

[Bushido]

a double post,apologies.

[Buster]

He can call the book An End of Game of Thrones for all I care. I JUST WANT TO READ IT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

[Dolorous Ali]

I like A Time for Wolves more myself, but I would gladly like ADoS only if GRRM write it before I die.

[LordDolorousEdd]

I don't really like the name but then again i will be more focused on the text then the title.

[Ser Tom]

Am I the only one who expected a bit of Targarian Vs Targarian action in A Dance With Dragons. I thought it was the publishers who poo pooed the Time for Wolves title for being to much of a spoiler. Anyway whatever the title of the last book is I'll bet my bollocks it's _ _____ __ ______ Part 2.

[Independent George]

Really, the only two titles I actually liked were 'A Game of Thrones' and 'A Feast For Crows'. COK was too literal, DWD was too Targaryan-specific, and SOS just felt like a generic fantasy title.

GOT and FFC got just the right blend being both evocative and suitable to the storyline.

[dansnow]

For me "A Dream of Spring" is too hopeful, it makes it so obvious that at the end Westeros will make it out of the long winter. For me it sounds like the action after the climax in "The Winds of Winter", which is weird because the series climax should (and probably will be) in the last book. "The Winds of Winter" just makes it sound like that is as bad as it will get.

[Faint]

I have several thoughts on the subject of titles.

First, I am pretty certain that GRRM is going to need another book title anyhow, because I doubt he'll be able to finish the series in two more books (especially with two battle sequences being pushed out of A Dance with Dragons). That being the case, there is a chance we'll get a book called A Time for Wolves one way or another.

Secondly, GRRM made a big mistake in naming A Dance with Dragons what he did. As many have commented before, the book was absent of any confrontation between Targaryens or Targaryens and Blackfyres. He should have named the subsequent book A Dance with Dragons and the current book The Winds of Winter, which would have been perfect given the storylines of Stannis, Jon, Theon, and Asha.

[Ojji]

I love the title "A Dream of Spring"

Also "The grey brother who smelled of summer" was probably my favourite line on ADWD, just how it fits in to the nature of the story.

[tze]

For me "A Dream of Spring" is too hopeful, it makes it so obvious that at the end Westeros will make it out of the long winter.

I see it as the opposite, actually. It's not "The Coming of Spring", it's "A Dream of Spring". Nobody dreams of spring during the actual spring. If anything, it could be a hint that the long winter won't end at all, and the very idea of spring will become nothing more than a dream.

I like "A Time For Wolves" better, but I then again I love the Starks. The new title has wider ramifications for all of the characters than does "A Time For Wolves", and given that this is supposedly the final book, I can see why GRRM would want a title that wasn't centered around a particular family.

[Ser Hippie]

I like both.

Since there seem to be fans who agree, GRRM should just please everyone by changing it to A Time for a Dream of Wolf Spring. Everyone wins!

[Arkash]

For me too, the dream was always the hope, the basic dream that one day the spring will come... Just like tze said, this has always been my vision of it, and I love it: so melancolic !

With the survivors just tired and exhausted hoping for a spring.