George R.R. Martin might maybe, potentially, possibly publish "The Winds of Winter" this year

Author George R.R. Martin
"Not done yet, but I've made progress," George R.R. Martin wrote on this blog about the long-awaited "Winds of Winter" book.
Steve Snowden | Getty Images for AMC Networks

If you can say one thing about George R.R. Martin, he loves dragon this out.

This might be the year of "The Winds of Winter." Or it might not be.

George R.R. Martin could finally finish writing it. Or he won't.

You could, at last, find out what happens. Or you could be left in the dark for another year.

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We're at the whim of a crafty genius who has entered his seventh year at work on the penultimate novel in the "Song of Fire and Ice" series, better known to TV fans as "Game of Thrones."

In response to a plea for an update from a fan on Martin's blog, Martin wrote yesterday of "The Winds of Winter": "I think it will be out this year. (But hey, I thought the same thing last year)."

(Notably, the fan comment was written by one "J Snow." On theme, he apparently knows nothing.)

The most recently published book in the series — the fifth, "A Dance with Dragons" — came out in 2011. Thanks to Martin's writing pace, the HBO show has now surpassed the books and moved into territory readers haven't covered yet.

For those looking for a pattern, there were five years between Book 3 and Book 4, six years between Book 4 and Book 5, and seven years between Book 5 and Book 6, if 2017 really is the year we finally feel "The Winds." That would mean the final book, "A Dream of Spring," should hit sometime in 2025.

Put on your waiting cape.