George R.R. Martin is being urged to consider walking away from The Winds of Winter in a fresh opinion piece published online, as frustration over the long wait for the A Song of Ice and Fire sequel hardens into something closer to resignation. The argument, directed at both the author and his fandom, contends that fifteen years of delay is no longer a cliffhanger but a pattern.
The news came after years of intermittent, closely parsed updates on the sixth A Song of Ice and Fire novel, which has been pending since A Dance with Dragons arrived in 2011, leaving readers suspended between the book canon and HBO's completed adaptation. In the piece, the writer frames Martin's stalled progress as more than a scheduling problem, suggesting the book has become a psychological weight as much as a manuscript.
