George has updated!!

[Valko]

Originally Posted by pan naranus

Had it occurred to you that possibly he is actually sitting and writing, and re writing and re writing everything to perfection?
Ever tried your hand at a one thousand pages masterpiece? Apparently it takes time.
Jordan wrote faster books of similar volume, but they weren't that good. (No offence intended).
I wait eagerly for the dance, but I prefer a complete, subtle, complex and deep writing in the standards of SOI&F, than a book that smells like a deficit in a writer's bank account and pushy editors.

Hmm, ok here goes....

In answer to your very direct if slightly terse questions questions: What occurred to me is what I have written.
I haven't tried my hand at a thousand page masterpiece but there again we're not discussing my literary attributes are we! I agree on the Jordan front - Gave up after book 5- And finally, Your last statement is ironic as I believe it's exactly the size of his bank account that's delaying the book. i.e. self promotional trips to conventions, wild card drivel and all the other merchandising tat he has going on aswell.

[pan naranus]

Going to conventions is his right. He is a free man, and according to his "not a blog" he enjoys it very much. Not producing manuscripts like a machine is O.K by me, Ill be very crossed if he serves a half finished manuscript. I can wait a year, plenty to do and to read, but SOI&F was written is extremely high standards so far, letting these standards plumb will be a crime against the best fantasy work of the last... millennia I think.

[TK-421]

No sense in engaging the senseless, Pan. Save your typing.

[Boaz]

Ada, I must be so incredibly naive. Of course Martin keeps his publisher abreast of his progress... who in turn talks to the retailers... who in turn make predictions. I dunno, mayhaps the retailers might have a decent grasp on the timetable.

[Valko]

Originally Posted by TK-421

No sense in engaging the senseless, Pan. Save your typing.

Am I not allowed to have an opinion that differs from your's without you resorting to that type of post?
I thought the forums are here for dicussion and debate, not insults!

[Culhwch]

Originally Posted by Valko

Am I not allowed to have an opinion that differs from your's without you resorting to that type of post?
I thought the forums are here for dicussion and debate, not insults!

They are, but it gets incredibly tiresome to repeatedly see folks accuse Martin of laziness or greediness or both - not just here, but across the web. It shows no respect, and is usually ill-informed, selfish, and born of a society used to instant gratification. The man is working, and I am sure working very hard. If you (or anyone else) can produce some evidence to show that George is lazy and only interested in his bank balance, I'll pay attention, but until then...

But, yes, as a moderator, I would like to remind everyone to keep a civil tongue.

[Werthead]

Originally Posted by Culhwch

They are, but it gets incredibly tiresome to repeatedly see folks accuse Martin of laziness or greediness or both - not just here, but across the web. It shows no respect, and is usually ill-informed, selfish, and born of a society used to instant gratification. The man is working, and I am sure working very hard. If you (or anyone else) can produce some evidence to show that George is lazy and only interested in his bank balance, I'll pay attention, but until then...

But, yes, as a moderator, I would like to remind everyone to keep a civil tongue.

As a moderator on the main ASoIaF forum, I can speak to the fact that GRRM has been working exceptionally hard on the book and very certainly hasn't been lounging around on the fruits of his past success, and yes it certainly gets frustrating hearing people dish out the same tired arguments about how GRRM is taking the mick.

[TK-421]

Well, enough said about that.

Back to the update itself. I had a sneaking suspicion that we would see a Sansa chapter in ADWD. Her story will have a significant impact on how it all comes together at the end. Question is, will it be a Sansa POV like in ASOS or will it be an Alayne POV like in AFFC??? Now that she has found some of the mettle to deal with the "real" world of Westeros, I think we will see a new Sansa emerge.

[Boaz]

You make Sansa sound like Georgy Girl.

[Adasunshine]

Originally Posted by Boaz

Ada, I must be so incredibly naive. Of course Martin keeps his publisher abreast of his progress... who in turn talks to the retailers... who in turn make predictions. I dunno, mayhaps the retailers might have a decent grasp on the timetable.

You're such a gentleman Boaz and I would never call you naive!

I would love to agree that the retailers might have a decent grasp on the timetable but the publishers are more than guilty themselves of keeping the rumour mills turning, as everyone else keeps saying, GRRM is the only one who will know when he's done... everything else is just guesswork.

Still... there's always hope!!!

xx

[Tansy]

I really find all this name calling and accusations absolutey mad. Just because you enjoy someone's work does not give you the right to tell them how to live their life and spend their time. If he choses to work on different projects, attend a conference, or god forbid take a holiday even.. then let him, it must get pretty intense wrting the same story for years. I think I'd be wanting to work on something else to just to stop me getting bored of it, and with everyone scrutinising his every move I'm suprised the poor guy hasn't just said sod it and stop writing them for awhile.

It must be hard to get motivated when working hard to complete the next book and all he gets are so called fans complaining he isn't working hard enough or spending too much time on other things. He's probably under enough pressure from himself and the publishers without the "fans" adding to it. Writing is hard work and I'd rather he takes as long as he needs to produce the story he wants to tell the way he wants to tell it, in the meantime there are plenty of other good books for me to read and far more important things to get stressed about

[Werthead]

His latest blog entry is about Warriors and Songs of the Dying Earth, which will probably infuriate people who want more ASoIaF and nothing else (although you're going to get it: the new Dunk 'n' Egg story The Mystery Knight will be in Warriors).

However, he's assembled some Grade-A talent for these two books. Robert Silverberg and Neil Gaiman will be contributed to both. Robin Hobb is doing a historical story about the First Punic War for Warriors, and Kage Barker has done a new Cugel story for Songs (Cugel is one of the greatest creations in fantasy history, and it's been 25 years since we last caught up with his misadventures). Very impressive stuff.

[Tansy]

Sounds good - I'm pleased he is working on other projects as it should enable him to keep ASOFAI in perspective and fresh.

I've been looking to read The Hedge Knight but can only find it in Graphic Novel format - I was sure it was actually a text story but could be wrong?

[Culhwch]

No, you're right, it was published in the first Legends collection, edited by Robert Silverburg. A good read - it was actually what got me into Martin in the first place. But the graphic novel does the tale justice, so if you can't turn it up you haven't missed much...

[Tansy]

Thanks Culwch I was wrongly assuming it was a standalone work