Next Game Of Thrones Novel, The Winds Of Winter, Delayed By George RR Martin Again

George RR Martin has announced a new Game of Thrones book! Don't plan your next A Song of Ice and Fire reading party just yet, though. The new book isn't The Winds of Winter, the long-awaited next installment in his Game of Thrones series of novels. In fact, there's some bad news for fans waiting on that.

Martin has revealed that The Winds of Winter won't be coming in 2018, which is sure to be bad news for those that have been waiting for it since A Dance with Dragons was released in 2011. It's not the first time the book has been delayed though, as Martin has said multiple times that he has missed his own deadlines with the work.

However, he will still have some Game of Thrones content in bookstores this year in the form of Fire and Blood, an "imaginary history" of the Targaryens. The book was previously revealed by the author, who said it was possible both it and The Winds of Winter could arrive in 2018. Clearly, that is no longer the case. In a press release (via Entertainment Weekly), Martin writes, "Fire and Blood is not a novel. This is not a traditional narrative and was never intended to be... let's call this one 'imaginary history' instead. The essential point being the 'history' part. I love reading popular histories myself, and that's what I was aiming for here."

Still, he adds, "there are enough stories here for twenty novels." Hopefully, he isn't planning to write those before The Winds of Winter--which Martin claims he's now turning his attention to--finally arrives for fans.

Fire and Blood is set 300 years before the A Song of Ice and Fire series of novels and will illuminate the history of House Targaryen and its place in Westeros. Perhaps it will serve as one of those spin-offs of Game of Thrones that HBO says are in development. Whatever the case, the final season of Game of Thrones will premiere in 2019. At this rate, it could very well be before The Winds of Winter hits bookstores.