Is George Martin's Winds of Winter Doomed to Be Hated by Fans?

Summary:

• George Martin has been working on his next ASOIAF book, The Winds of Winter, since 2011.
• Due to this delay, the book will inevitably get much hate regardless of its quality, some fans say.
• Others argue that, despite everything, the diehard fans will be happy to finally read The Winds of Winter.

George Martin is famous worldwide for writing A Song of Ice and Fire, the epic dark fantasy novel series that gave birth to HBO’s Game of Thrones. But the author is also notorious for having released no new books in the time it took this grand show to start, last for eight seasons, and finish. This is the kind of reputation GRRM rocks.

Apart from not advancing his magnum opus further and getting snarky comments from fans, there potentially is another huge downside for George Martin: admittedly, after a dozen years of writing and counting, the next A Song of Ice and Fire book might just be hated no matter how spectacular it turns out, objectively.

Is Winds of Winter Doomed No Matter What?

Recently, the debate about the fate of The Winds of Winter and its reception began on A Song of Ice and Fire fan subreddit. It all started when one fan suggested that no matter the quality of the next book, George Martin’s new work was set to receive tons of hate due to many reasons — but primarily, the time it took to be completed.

“The way I see it, Winds comes out, the fans will hate it because they’ll find out all their theories were either right or wrong but will be disappointed with each outcome. But after a few years or so, once the hype dies down, people will start writing about how genius the book actually is. I’m just saying it has been too long,” one user wrote.

This appears to be a rather sound assumption. Already (if this term even applies to a book that’s been in the works for 12 years), George Martin has been receiving a lot of backlash for his writing speed. By the time the book is released, the expectations will likely be unreasonably high, and the general public will be even more frustrated.

What Do Fans Say About Winds’ Grim Fate?

Fortunately, not everyone agreed with the original author. Fans state that while there surely will be quite an angry mob upon The Winds of Winter’s release, the real diehard fans will judge the book by its content and not anything else. Hopefully.

“The loudest idiots will never be happy. Especially those who'll react to spoilers without actually reading. The typical ASOIAF reader is quite capable of nuanced opinions and new perspectives. Most will go in expecting to have a few theories disproven. They've read enough history and lore to know that tragic endings are likely,” TheSparkHasRisen pointed out.

While the point about the average A Song of Ice and Fire fan being a superhuman being is…prone to arguments, the rest still holds true: George Martin has a large and devoted fan base, and The Winds of Winter will definitely be a success in most of its eyes. Actually, the proof of that can be found in many other fans’ comments.

“[The Winds of Winter] could literally be printed on used and unrolled joint paper with solely the word Hodor and I’d eat that sh*t up like a starving Victorian child,” Dim0ndDragon15 quipped.

They are far from alone in their judgment — it’s just that no one else put it in such a bizarre way. Still, the general sentiment is strong, and GRRM’s fans are willing to at least give The Winds of Winter the benefit of the doubt even after all these years.

We’ll see if the mood shifts after another five years of waiting, but for now, the prospects aren’t that grim. George Martin will get some hate, sure, but The Winds of Winter doesn’t appear too doomed in terms of its reception by the audience.

Source: Reddit