Yes, you read that right. We hope you’ve polished off A Dance With Dragons, because series author George R. R. Martin has just posted an excerpt from The Winds of Winter, the next book in the Song of Ice and Fire series!
The excerpt is only available on the author’s site. You can read the entire text here. This excerpt contains significant spoilers. A character’s fate from Dance With Dragons is fully revealed, and a much-anticipated showdown occurs. It’s a hell of a chapter. (As for who it involves, well, hopefully the house sigil in this post gives you a clue…)
Happy near-2012!
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That was awesome!
Well, I guess we only have 5 more years to read another chapter from the book. ;)
The link doesn’t seem to be working! Help!
Does he specify from what part of the book this is? I’d rather not read something from the middle of the book. If this is from the prologue though, then that’d be fine.
Tokengirl, I can’t be 100% sure without checking, but I believe you need to be a registered user.
@ThePendragon — According to Mr. Martin’s blog, the chapter “will be found eventually at the beginning of Winds….”
@ThePendragon
It’s not from the middle of the book. Almost definitely not the prologue, but this would be the first chapter that this character would have in TWoW (the character had several POV chapters in ADWD).
@tokengirl & tnh
There isn’t any registration needed for the link, it should just work. Here’s a repeat of it.
http://www.georgerrmartin.com/if-sample.html
Was this one of the chapters removed from ADWD?
So full of awesomesauce!
@ThePendragon
The chapter is not from the middle of the book. It almost definitely is not the prologue given that it is a POV from a character who had POV chapters in ADWD. But this would be the first chapter of that character, so it’s not a particularly spoilery chapter. I think you would be fine in reading it.
@tokengirl & tnh
You don’t need to register to use the link, and it should work. Just in case, here’s a repeat of the link (which didn’t post last time, maybe because they don’t allow hyperlinks in the comments? Just add the typical prefix to the following.)
georgerrmartin.com/if-sample.html
@9 (and thus @@.-@) – From that point, I agree, but I think some of events suggest that is a a few chapters in since it does presupposes knowledge of something that I don’t remember seeing in DwD (below is white, but when I previewed, it turned black again – hopefully it stays black when I post; or I could just log in, but that would be too much work):
I don’t remember the Karstarks treachery vis-a-vis Stannis being discovered by the latter. Yet, here he is dispensing justice.
@Rancho Unicorno
This is hardly the first time that Martin has had stuff between books occur offscreen. While I didn’t remember any of the stuff referenced in the chapter, it made sense, and it felt like the first chapter for this POV character.
At the end, when the ravens are crying out “The tree” and “Theon”, I wonder whether they’re doing that entirely on their own, or whether perhaps someone is looking out through their eyes.
Damn, I wish that Martin would write more Arya into his story. I skim almost every other chapter to get to her bits of the story. I cannot WAIT until she turns back up in the North and starts laying (quiet, sneaky) waste to all the bad guys in this series… her family is going to get quite a shock.
@@@@@ Rancho Unicorno
If I remember correctly, the black brothers from the Wall who came with Tycho the Braavosi banker had been sent by Jon with knowledge of the Karstark treachery. They would have told Stannis when they arrived with Theon and Jeyne. Showing the scene where they tell him between books isn’t strictly necessary.
@tnh, hihosilver28 & Rancho Unicorno
Thank you! Can’t wait for the whole thing. Guess I’m going to be here a while
Thanks for the replies. I read it and it’s great. Doesn’t really tell us for certain Stannis’ fate, so I guess we’ll have to RAFO on that. Although GRRM has promised a second preview to come with the paperback of DwD.
@ThePendragon
That would be the third preview, this chapter being the second.
The first preview was George reading a sample chapter at Comicon (I think). That one focused on (SPOILERS in white)
Arianne and Dorne. It mentioned Aegon/Connington taking Storm’s End, a fortress previously considered unassailable by the Dorne retinue.
While I this feels like the first chapter for the POV, it doesn’t feel like the first chapter for Stannis. Yes, GRRM has had events occur between books, but I would think that a Karstark attempt to undermine his position and betray him to Bolton would merited some greater action. Bolton has too much riding on Karstark playing the hammer to his anvil for failure to end so quietly discovered. I could see either a Stannis chapter that ends with a reveal or a prologue where a Karstark foot soldier knew about the betrayal and let it slip.
Perhaps it happens as a flashback in some later chapter – that would make the reveal that the Karstark army was to be arrested and/or killed all the more effective and negate everything I’ve said.
In the end though, all of this is moot since I’m guessing Natenanimous’s memory is better than mine, which I would agree does make an screen reveal unnecessary.
I enjoy this series, but it is definitely suffering from massive bloating. Will this be yet another writer who dies before finishing it all, and leaves it to someone else to wrap up the loose ends?
@@@@@ 12 Dave. I was thinking the exact same thing!
@@@@@ Rancho Unicorno You missed it in the chapter — Stannis has a letter with a black seal on the table. Obviously it is from Jon, sent there with the Night Watch brothers who accompanied Tycho Nestoris (the Iron Bank rep). Stannis didn’t need to be dramatic about it; he just dispensed justice.
You know nothing Jon Snow!
Did Stannis really died??? When I read what happened to Jon, I’m almost convinced that GRRM is a reincarnated Lannister that can’t stand the Starks, and used the books to get rid of them all over! I really loved the books, but I get heart broken whenever a character I’m rooting for get’s eliminated. Can’t wait for the next book.
if you listened closely he said this events happen 5min after the DwD so its pretty much at the beggining of the book.
Can’t wait! its gonna be awesome!
I feel like I’m missing part of the chapter; people keep talking about her hearing that Connington has taken Storm’s End or something, but the page seems to end with her talking to Daemon Sand. Was there more to the chapter, or is there a second chapter or something?
@26 You’re not missing part of the chapter, you’re missing a previous chapter posted by GRRM, an Arianne chapter where Doran mentions that FAegon has taken Storms End, and discusses sending her to fulfill their old agreement to wed her to Viserys. I don’t think it’s posted on his website anymore but you could probably find it somewhere on the net.