"A Song of Ice and Fire" fans have been waiting over five years for the next adaptation of the legendary dark-fantasy series. The book series, which has served as the story for the ever-popular hit TV show "Game of Thrones," is helmed by George R.R. Martin and the first of the series was originally published in 1996. Fans of the series and the show alike have been chomping at the bit to get see what comes next in the fantasy epic, but they may need to wait a little longer, to have it on a hardcover at least.

As reported by Vanity Fair, "Winds of Winter," the next installment in the book series, still does not have a concrete release date. George R.R. Martin has gone record this year stating he thinks it will be out this year but claims he thought the same thing in 2016. Instead, Martin plans to release a series of short stories beforehand that will pertain and tie-in to what has been happening in other parts of Westeros during the Ice and Fire saga.

According to Independent UK, "Book of Swords" will be releasing this coming October and will be a collection of short stories set in the "Game of Thrones" universe. The short stories will be a series of collaborations that are helmed by Martin but will include assistance and creative inputs from authors such as Matthew Hughes, Garth Nix, Elizabeth Bear, and Ken Liu to name a few.

George R.R. Martin continues to be hard at work with "Winds of Winter" but fans have learned not to be too eager with its release date as Martin has repeatedly extended the book's completion deadline. Initially, Martin planned to stay ahead of the TV show with his book series but it has not turned out that way. Without rushing anymore, Martin has gone on record stating he is working on storylines that are not possible to appear on the show, giving his readers something to hold on to.

"Game of Thrones" season 7 is expected to premiere sometime in mid-2017.

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Tags Winds of Winter, Game of Thrones, George R.R. Martin, HBO, A Song Of Ice And Fire