“The Winds of Winter” is still not out although “Game of Thrones” has already been confirmed to air its final season next year. At first, George RR Martin, the novel’s author, was hoping that he could release the much-awaited book before the HBO fantasy period drama concludes but this is definitely not happening.

“The Winds of Winter” is the sixth book in George RR Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” book series which inspired “Game of Thrones” but unfortunately, the 70-year-old author already missed many deadlines since 2014. There were many speculations when the book is coming out but the author personally informed fans that they would not see the book this year or even in 2019.

Moreover, in an attempt to give an update about how he is progressing with “The Winds of Winter,” Martin admitted in his interview with The Guardian last month that he is struggling to finish his book.

“I’ve been struggling with it for a few years,” he told the publication. “‘The Winds of Winter’ is not so much a novel as a dozen novels, each with a different protagonist, each having a different cast of supporting players, antagonists, allies and lovers around them, and all of these weaving together against the march of time in an extremely complex fashion. So it’s very, very challenging.”

The author went on to explain that he was able to release “Fire and Blood” last month because, in comparison, this book is far easier to write. He said that although it still took him years to finish, he still finds it less stressful and less difficult to do.

In any case, George RR Martin already revealed in the past that “The Winds of Winter” contains more than 1,500 pages and compiling the books to create lesser chapters is surely taking so much time so this is another factor why the book is still not yet done.

Meanwhile, “The Winds of Winter” has no definite release date yet but fans can wait for “Game of Thrones” finale next year. Its filming already wrapped up months ago and the exact premiere date is expected to be announced before April 2019.