ADWD- October release?

[Mithfânion]

Here's the blurb, which looks to be from the dust jacket:

A DANCE WITH DRAGONS
by George R.R. Martin
First Serial, British, Translation, and Performance: Aurous, Inc., 212-628-9729

October
Fiction

Dubbed "the American Tolkien" by Time magazine, George R. R. Martin's monumental cycle of epic fantasy, "A Song of Ice and Fire," has earned him international acclaim. Now the #1 New York Times bestselling author delivers the fifth book in his spellbinding landmark series-as both familiar faces and surprising new forces vie for a foothold in a fragmented empire. In the aftermath of a colossal battle, the future of the Seven Kingdoms hangs in the balance once again-beset by newly emerging threats from every direction. In the east, Daenerys Targaryen, the last scion of House Targaryen, rules with her three dragons as queen of a city built on dust and death. But Daenerys has three times three thousand enemies, and many have set out to find her. Yet, as they gather, one young man embarks upon his own quest for the queen, with an entirely different goal in mind. To the north lies the mammoth wall of ice and stone-a structure only as strong as those guarding it. There, Jon Snow, 998th Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, will face his greatest challenge yet. For he has powerful foes, not only within the Watch, but also beyond, in the land of the creatures of ice. And from all corners, bitter conflicts soon re-ignite, intimate betrayals are perpetrated, and a grand cast of outlaws and priests, soldiers and skinchangers, nobles and slaves, will face seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Some will fail, others will grow in the strength of darkness. But in a time of rising restlessness, the tides of destiny and politics will lead inevitably to the greatest dance of all...

http://www.randomhouse.com/bantamdel...gfall2008.html

You can now pre-order it from Amazon.com as well.

Obviously we know it is still being written. Having said that, it is remarkable for Bantam to really put up a release for the book, plus it fits with George's update from three weeks ago in which he said he hopes for a Fall release.

Personally, it is rare for an amazon.com listing to be off ( quite different for amazon UK because they have releases that are way further into the future) and Bantam's own website at least confirms they are fairly certain they will get that Fall release.

[Evil Agent]

Wonderful news that made my day!

[saintjon]

I thought he was hoping to be finished writing it by the fall. Don't they have to go back and edit and stuff after all that?

[mjolnir]

As for editing, my impression is that while it normally takes quite a few months for a book to grind its way through the editorial and production process, once authors get really "big" publishers can turn their manuscripts around fairly fast. I recall that a couple of Jordan's more recent Wheel of Time books went to press incredibly quickly, something like six weeks after he typed "The End". Doubtless this had something to do with the general god-awfulness of Crossroads of Twilight. Knife of Dreams, as I recall, received the full editorial treatment at the request of the great RJ himself, and was an immeasurably superior book.

Since publishers can churn so fast when they want to, my uninformed guess would be that for an October date to work Martin would have to be done by around about June, though the final package might be a bit of a rushed job edit wise. I hope they're not rushing Dance -- honestly, chomp at the bit as we may, we'll willingly wait for a better book.

As much as this whets my appetite, we've seen so many ethereal release dates for Feast and Dance before that I just can't get that excited. This news gives me hope, as it implies that Bantam's reasonably sure, but I'm afraid that I'll remain skeptical until Martin tells us "this is so".

The Dance goes on ... and on...

[Werthead]

I don't know if it's the case with ADWD, but certainly with AFFC GRRM sent parts of the book he was 100% happy with off to the publishers for editing some months before he finally completed the rest of the book. How much of the book that was and how fast it sped up the editing process is unclear, especially since AFFC still took 5 months to go from being turned in to being on the shelves.

[Banger]

Personally, it is rare for an amazon.com listing to be off ( quite different for amazon UK because they have releases that are way further into the future) and Bantam's own website at least confirms they are fairly certain they will get that Fall release.

Amazon listed several incorrect release dates for AFFC.

I wouldn't put stock in any anticipated release dates unless they came from GRRM himself - after he has announced that ADWD is finished.

[amberrand]

Do we know how many books will be in the series?

[Gear]

Do we know how many books will be in the series?

After this book there are two more books planned. The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring . So 7, I think.

[Mechaniik]

8+ then .

[xvart]

Personally, it is rare for an amazon.com listing to be off ( quite different for amazon UK because they have releases that are way further into the future) and Bantam's own website at least confirms they are fairly certain they will get that Fall release.

It's not rare at all! Amazon has had Dance with Dragons on prerelease for two years now; always with a different release date!

That is a nice blurb, thanks for sharing that.

xvart.

[Mithfânion]

I've taken a stab at the blog post that GRRM will be writing at the end of June.

I'm sorry guys. I'm just so sorry. I failed to finish it again, I know it's yet another disappointment but you'll all be used to that by now eyh! I didn't have much left to write when I last updated in December, I thought it could certainly be done, but I was wrong, I should have known my progress with these books has pretty much come to a grinding halt and not enjoying working on this series isn't helping either, what with so many other distractions and writing and editing projects I've decided to impose upon myself. Unfortunately, as I mentioned on a recent convention, not meeting this deadline means that not only will the book not be out in 2008, but it also means that I do not have time to work on ADWD in the summer because I have a busy time of conventions ( see my appearances schedule) and other obligations ahead of me. Obviously I'm not going to give anymore dates as to when I'll be done, but I will say that anyone who still expects this book to come out before the very end of 2009 is totally deluded. And obviously, in between that time, dozens of "setbacks" can (and will) occur.

What can I say? In the meantime however you can check out Hard Call, a comic book adaptation of the Wild Cards series produced by the Dabel brother and written by my friend Daniel Abraham is coming out. Isn't it funny btw that since the time I published AFFC, my friend Abraham published three books and has a 4th one coming out before I publish ADWD? Hilarious isn't it?

P.S. Remember when I said last August that I was so shocked that I had not finished ADWD yet that I would cancel my trip to Worldcon in Japan? Well actually, we're another year further now and I'm not as shocked anymore, so I *will* be attending this year's Worldcon in Calgary, for good measure.

[Werthead]

Hilarious, Cal.

Although it's worth pointing out that this year's Worldcon is in Denver and next year's is in Montreal. World Fantasy is in Calgary this year.

[Mithfânion]

Thanks. Though it's funny that when I posted this on Westeros one of the moderators saw fit to remove the post at once and without notice. In the interest of impartiality I suppose...

[mjolnir]

Yunno, a part of me wants to call this unfair, but then I pause and think: "Wow, after a while the announcements do start to look a bit like this, don't they?" Writing posts like this must be a real downer for GRRM, and we all know how good ADWD has to be at this point if it's going to meet expectations, but still...

I think it would be great if GRRM could make this date. It would restore a lot of people's confidence in him, confidence which has unfortunately eroded as estimate after estimate has sailed by.

Having said that, I've read the most recent Wild Cards book and can say that it was most definitely time well spent by GRRM. May he devote many fruitful hours to the franchise in the future.

I'd imagine the side projects are almost vital at this point. I mean, Jon and Daenerys are great, but can you imagine thinking about them every day, without cease, for ten years? The mere thought could drive a man mad!

Still, hilarious, if hopefully not prophetic.

[JamesL]

It's a tough issue really.

On the one hand, I - like most fans I think - want GRRM to take his time and turn out a brilliant novel that gets the series firmly back on track.

On the other hand, I do struggle to understand why it takes him so long. Steven Erikson for example pretty much puts a novel out every year, big novels at that.

I think the fans have got a right to feel a bit tetchy at the delays between each book, as ultimately they hand over their hard-earned cash and without them GRRM wouldn't have the career that he does. It would be great if we could see ADWD this year, but I can't see it myself. Hopefully when it does surface it will be worth the wait.