Via EW.com: Huge ‘Game of Thrones’ news: ‘Dance With Dragons’ publication date revealed! – EXCLUSIVE.
The date: July 12th.
Of course, I will believe it when I actually have the book in my hands (especially since GRRM says at his site, “No. Sorry. Not done yet.” although he does say “The end is in sight, at long long last, and we’re close enough so that my editors and publishers at Bantam Spectra have set an actual publication date.”)
GRRM is a sort of guiding light for my GONE series, but in a way he might not appreciate. I was determined to avoid Fire and Ice bloat — 500 pages then 600 then 800 then wheelbarrow.
The problem comes with servicing plotlines and re-iterating backstory. Any time you do an ongoing book or TV series — especially in sci fi or fantasy — you end up dragging this enormous train of mythology behind you. It can eat the story. (See: LOST.) You either assume the readers recall it all, or you walk back through at least some of it.
Even more problematic is that if you start with 20 characters, each with his own story, and add a few new characters with each book, each with his own story, you soon find yourself writing 1000 page books. So I made the decision not to do either. Not to recap and not to feel that I had to service every plot line.
Of course that has its own problems when fans write, “What about Obscure Character #2?”
I love the bloat. I could never understand why all those “pundits” were whining about the length of the last Harry Potter, especially since there was enough story there to hold it.
I’m thrilled that there’s finally going to be a new Ice and Fire. Only trouble is they come out so infrequently I have to read them all over again to remember who’s who and where they are. I think I know Game of Thrones by heart after all the rereadings, but I may have to start in with #2 or #3 before the new one comes out…
This is fantastic news, assuming nothing happens and he gets it into his editors in time for the release date to be solid. I guess he finally unraveled the Mereenese Knot.
I’m with wr – I love the bloat in Martin’s books. It excites me that I’m probably getting a 1000+ page monster, since it’s that much more space to return to the characters we haven’t seen in 11 years.
wr and Brett:
A couple of problems with bloat: paper costs money, and so does shipping, so publishers get pissy. Then there’s the shelf space. And the turning it into audiobooks.
Of course it’s true some fans are going to bitch about too short or too long.
But bloat also tends to make the writing flaccid. As much as I pray at the feet of Stephen King I didn’t think he helped The Stand by re-issuing it in uncut length.
In YA we look for a sweet spot where the reader can imagine plowing through and is proud of having done so. But where it doesn’t look like my name should be Russian. I tend to run long anyway, but I also have to meet a yearly release date which places some practical limits on how long I can prose away.
But bloat also tends to make the writing flaccid.
Maybe with some writers but I have yet to feel that way about Martin. ASOS didn’t feel bloated at all. In fact, when I got around the 700 page mark of ASOS I started to get panicky because I began to feel like I wanted it to be even longer. I’m overjoyed that ADWD will at least match– and likely even top ASOS in page count.
I see your points, though.
On another note, Amazon has ADWD available for preorder now.
What an exciting day.
Figures–I had been holding on to the rest of the Fire and Ice series for awhile with the intention of re-reading the whole series when ADWD was released, but just recently donated them to a Boys and Girls Club.
Has anyone read any of the Malazan series by Steven Erikson? That series has some serious scope and is different in that some books in the series almost seem stand alone. I’ve only read the first four books (there are ten in the series I think) and even though they are thick, they’re good reads, IMHO.
Absolutely agree about The Stand. King went through a long period where he was selling enough not to be edited, but not mature enough not to need one. But Under the Dome is only 60 pages shorter than the expanded Stand, and I didn’t think there was a flaccid moment in it.
As for the weight and the shipping and all that, well, after being defeated by the physical bulk of Against the Day and The Kindly Ones, I allowed my wife to buy me a Kindle for Christmas. I don’t have those problems anymore.
Or with the audio books, since they go straight from Audible onto the iPod. I’ve got at least an hour a day to listen while I walk the dog, so length isn’t a problem there, either. (Just went through the last three Dark Tower books, and would happily have jumped into another one.)
There is one trouble with the audiobook, though. Roy Dotrice is almost 90, and had to pull out of the Game of Thrones series due to ill health. I don’t know who they can get to replace him — certainly not the guy who read the last one…
wr:
Hah. And now I will render you speechless with geek envy: Stephen King personally sent me the bound galleys for Under The Dome. I got to read it early.
And a geek bank shot: I was in the on-deck circle for the producer of the Fire and Ice HBO show. If HBO hadn’t picked it up, we were going to try for GONE.
I was very conflicted over that, as you can imagine. I really wanted to see HBO make GRRM’s series. And also not.
“Hah. And now I will render you speechless with geek envy: Stephen King personally sent me the bound galleys for Under The Dome. ”
And I you with reflected geek glory — close friends of mine knew Stephen when he was living in a trailer in Bangor. “What you working on, Steve?” “Oh, this book about a girl who gets crapped in high school.” “Oh.”
Ah, hell, that’s not nearly as good as the galleys thing.
