After more than five years of “maybe next year…,” fans of George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series finally have a concrete release date for the next book in the series, A Dance With Dragons: Tuesday, July 12, 2011.
The announcement comes straight from Martin himself. And the real kicker? The book still isn’t done yet! However, Martin’s publisher, Bantam Spectra, is optimistic enough about the progress of the book that they have set a date. This optimism echoes a progress report made by Del Rey editor Betsy Mitchell at the Fantasy Writers panel during last fall’s New York Comic Con in which she stated that the book had only five or so chapters left to complete.
The long-awaited fifth volume will hit shelves within a week of the conclusion of the first season of HBO’s Game of Thrones adaptation, making this a very exciting spring for George R.R. Martin fans.
Completing A Dance With Dragons has been a 10+ year struggle for the author, as the volume was originally slated to be the third, then the fourth, and now, officially, the fifth in the series. We’re very happy to hear the news, and we’re sure Mr. Martin is equally happy, if not more so, to have this book finally completed!
