timetable/length of the series?

[DarkWings]

1600 pages ? thats a huge book...
but based on your timeline description the first book was supposed to be 2435 pages.(AGOT: 694, ACOK: 768 , ASOS: 973)
and also looking at history i bet we end up with 8 or 9 books instead of 7.

 

[The Imp]

1600 pages ? thats a huge book...
but based on your timeline description the first book was supposed to be 2435 pages.(AGOT: 694, ACOK: 768 , ASOS: 973)
and also looking at history i bet we end up with 8 or 9 books instead of 7.

ADWD will be slightly longer than ASoS. As for how manyh books, there's no reason to believe that the series will go past 7 unless ADWD is split, which it won't be, or if you believe thatn GRRM is channeling Jordan.

 

[Culhwch]

2007: Somewhere around this time - it's hard as GRRM was keeping quiet about the project around this time - it appears that there was a large structural shift in ADWD, with the book both planned to come in longer and also address more decisively many of the storylines left hanging from AFFC.

Provided he has 'decisively addressed' many of the hanging storylines, I think this bodes well for an increased production and a confinement of the story to the remaining scheduled books. I wouldn't complain if we got another volume or two, however, so long as the quality was consistent...

 

[Werthead]

No, Martin thought he could squeeze all the events of AGoT, ACoK and ASoS into one normal-sized novel. Obviously that was impossible, and didn't work out.

 

[xLORDSNOWx]

I dont think he has made an announcement saying that he expects the two remaining books after ADWD to be as long as ASOS. So i'm thinking any addition from moving chapters around or any future knots of any kind shouldn't require a need for an eighth book. Now if TWOW is as long as ADWD and ASOS in length, he may start exploring adding another book if he can't wrap up ADOS in a reasonable size.

I would hate for him to just wrap it up prematuraly or kill people off unecessary just to make the 7 book quota, so to speak. That wouldnt be bitter/sweet, that would be bitter/bitter.

To be really honest, as far as length, i wouldnt mind him going for 10 books, but in regards to the timetable, it might drag out too long as was the wait for ADWD.

The good news is, it appears that he has already done his traveling, vacationing, and honeymooning???, so i hope he is ready to start putting in work on TWOW to get ahead of the curve. I'm thinking he has at least a few chapters done from moving and continued plotlines from the ADWD.

 

[Mesanna]

The good news is, it appears that he has already done his traveling, vacationing, and honeymooning???, so i hope he is ready to start putting in work on TWOW to get ahead of the curve. I'm thinking he has at least a few chapters done from moving and continued plotlines from the ADWD.

Well, he still has to finish ADwD first! Then there will doubtless be lots of books tours and media interviews and stuff related to the TV show. So that takes care of the rest of this year .....

I agree with what you say about writing extra books. If he could be guaranteed to bang out a new book every two years I think most fans would be quite happy for the series to run on a bit longer.

To be honest, right now I can't think beyond ADwD. I need to be like a recovering alcoholic ... one book at a time!

 

[soulsinging]

We're mostly in agreement then

I've heard GRRM say on at least two occassions that he knows exactly where the story is going, and the basic stops along the way. He's compared writing a series such as ASOIAF to a cross country car trip where you have the route mapped out, but there will be details along the way that you don't know- places to eat, side trips, where you might be staying, etc.

Rowling supposedly had index card with every major plot point in the entire HP series outlined. WHile i don't think GRRM could give that level of detail, I think he knows where the story is going. Maybe i'm wrong, maybe he's deluding himself, maybe, maybe, maybe. Everyone will have a much better idea of all of this after we read ADWD.

I don't doubt he's being truthful about that. But Robert Jordan said he had the last chapter of WoT written from the very beginning and knew exactly how he wanted it to end and where he wanted it to go. He even gave extensive outlines to the guy that took over before he died. It wasn't so much that he didn't know where it was going, but rather that he couldn't figure out how to get it there. Sounds like GRRM is in the same position with all this talk of the Knot. He seems to think he's close to getting it worked out and that's a good sign, but it's one of those I'll believe it when I see it things. I think he's very aware of what happened to WoT (he's been compared to it enough) and really wants to avoid that. I'm pulling for him. But I'm not reading another page of it until he's done because reading Jordan by compulsion killed the joy of the earlier books for me and I'd like to hold onto that with GRRM.

The good news is that the longer it takes him to finish, the more I'm likely to forget everything. So if he does finish, I'll read the whole thing from the beginning again and it'll be like the first time, hehe.

 

[The Imp]

I don't doubt he's being truthful about that. But Robert Jordan said he had the last chapter of WoT written from the very beginning and knew exactly how he wanted it to end and where he wanted it to go. He even gave extensive outlines to the guy that took over before he died. It wasn't so much that he didn't know where it was going, but rather that he couldn't figure out how to get it there. Sounds like GRRM is in the same position with all this talk of the Knot. He seems to think he's close to getting it worked out and that's a good sign, but it's one of those I'll believe it when I see it things. I think he's very aware of what happened to WoT (he's been compared to it enough) and really wants to avoid that. I'm pulling for him. But I'm not reading another page of it until he's done because reading Jordan by compulsion killed the joy of the earlier books for me and I'd like to hold onto that with GRRM.

The good news is that the longer it takes him to finish, the more I'm likely to forget everything. So if he does finish, I'll read the whole thing from the beginning again and it'll be like the first time, hehe.

While GRRM hasn't actually said that "the knot" has been cut or untied, the fact that he was willing to commit to a publication date tells me that it has been. If that's so, and there's every reason to believe that it is, he's over a huge hurdle and it bodes well for him to be able to keep the series under control. In any event, I'll know after reading ADWD.

I admit I don't know the first thing about Jordan or the WoT series. I guess my question for you is, if Jordan never wrote WoT would you be as worried about GRRM? Would you percieve GRRM's potential "problems" in a vacuum if you have no one else to compare him to in this regard? If the answer is no then I think your worries are unfounded.

 

[DarkWings]

While GRRM hasn't actually said that "the knot" has been cut or untied, the fact that he was willing to commit to a publication date tells me that it has been. If that's so, and there's every reason to believe that it is, he's over a huge hurdle and it bodes well for him to be able to keep the series under control. In any event, I'll know after reading ADWD.

I admit I don't know the first thing about Jordan or the WoT series. I guess my question for you is, if Jordan never wrote WoT would you be as worried about GRRM? Would you percieve GRRM's potential "problems" in a vacuum if you have no one else to compare him to in this regard? If the answer is no then I think your worries are unfounded.

I was thinking that the series might expand again based only on the expansion of the first book into 3.
but your right, hes probably got the story down to what he wants it to be and has a much better idea of how long it will end up being by this point.

but if there does end up being another book i wont complain (as long as they keep with the 700+ pages per book quota.)

I might be irritated if one of the books got split into 2, 500 page parts.

 

[The Imp]

I was thinking that the series might expand again based only on the expansion of the first book into 3.
but your right, hes probably got the story down to what he wants it to be and has a much better idea of how long it will end up being by this point.

but if there does end up being another book i wont complain (as long as they keep with the 700+ pages per book quota.)

I might be irritated if one of the books got split into 2, 500 page parts.

I'm pretty sure ASoS was in the 1,000 page range, give or take. I read the audiobooks, so I can't be sure. I don't think you have to worry about books being split if they're around the size of ASoS or ADWD.

As for more than 7 books, GRRm is 62 years old. He may want to retire at some point, he could have health issues, anything can happen. I can tell you for sure that someone his age thinks about that kind of stuff. I'll bet that he'll shoot for 2 more books after ADWD and be delighted to be finished.

 

[xLORDSNOWx]

As for more than 7 books, GRRm is 62 years old. He may want to retire at some point, he could have health issues, anything can happen. I can tell you for sure that someone his age thinks about that kind of stuff. I'll bet that he'll shoot for 2 more books after ADWD and be delighted to be finished.

His age is something that I'm concerned about as well. After thinking about this further, I would be content if he just completed the originally planned 7 books and systematically suprise us with the short novellas picking up where The Mystery Knight left off and bringing us all the way to Roberts rebellion. Wait a minute, what if that's what he's already doing. Could it be that his final novella will give us (ie jons parentage) instead of finding out in the 7 book series? I may be reaching a bit on that though.

Do you see what having too much time on our hands does?

 

[The Imp]

His age is something that I'm concerned about as well. After thinking about this further, I would be content if he just completed the originally planned 7 books and systematically suprise us with the short novellas picking up where The Mystery Knight left off and bringing us all the way to Roberts rebellion. Wait a minute, what if that's what he's already doing. Could it be that his final novella will give us (ie jons parentage) instead of finding out in the 7 book series? I may be reaching a bit on that though.

Do you see what having too much time on our hands does?

That's an interesting thought, but I have a feeling that we're going to find out Jon's true parents before the end of ASoIaF and not in a novella, although anything is possible i guess.

 

[soulsinging]

While GRRM hasn't actually said that "the knot" has been cut or untied, the fact that he was willing to commit to a publication date tells me that it has been. If that's so, and there's every reason to believe that it is, he's over a huge hurdle and it bodes well for him to be able to keep the series under control. In any event, I'll know after reading ADWD.

I admit I don't know the first thing about Jordan or the WoT series. I guess my question for you is, if Jordan never wrote WoT would you be as worried about GRRM? Would you percieve GRRM's potential "problems" in a vacuum if you have no one else to compare him to in this regard? If the answer is no then I think your worries are unfounded.

I think so. Book four was a huge dud for me and screams of plot control problems. I've seen it in other works, fantasy and not, pre- and post-Jordan... To be honest, I suspect that even if/when he works the series out, a lot of book 4 will be tangential at best. I'm a believer in trusting your gut, and flashback concerns or no, I think a 5-year gap becoming a last minute novel is a big warning sign.

 

[Culhwch]

His age is something that I'm concerned about as well. After thinking about this further, I would be content if he just completed the originally planned 7 books and systematically suprise us with the short novellas picking up where The Mystery Knight left off and bringing us all the way to Roberts rebellion. Wait a minute, what if that's what he's already doing. Could it be that his final novella will give us (ie jons parentage) instead of finding out in the 7 book series? I may be reaching a bit on that though.

Do you see what having too much time on our hands does?

The novellas, I'm fairly sure, will only ever be focussed on Dunk and Egg, and they are long gone by the time of Robert's Rebellion. The timing doesn't match up.

 

[xLORDSNOWx]

The novellas, I'm fairly sure, will only ever be focussed on Dunk and Egg, and they are long gone by the time of Robert's Rebellion. The timing doesn't match up.

Understood. However, this doesn't prevent him from disclosing information on other characters such as everyones favorite dinner host Walder Frey as well as Aemon Targ. Now we are only talking 100 years prior, which isn't too far off. He can easily close the gap by the time we get to ADOS, or shortly afterwards. Again, it's just wishful thinking. At the very least I wouldn't mind him leading these Novellas to The Tragedy at Summerhall.

 

[southron sword]

At the very least I wouldn't mind him leading these Novellas to The Tragedy at Summerhall.

Yes. I agree. I'd prefer the series to finish without BIG unanswered questions. Whether they are answered in ASOIAF or in the novellas. Lets have it all I say!