Straight from Martin’s fingers to my blog:
Finished a Jon Snow chapter, and have just passed the 1100 page (manuscript pages, the page count in the final printed book will be different) mark on A DANCE WITH DRAGONS. That’s counting only finished chapters in something close to final form. I have considerably more in partials, fragments, and roughs.
Even with just the finished portions, DANCE is now longer than A FEAST FOR CROWS and A GAME OF THRONES, and I’m closing in on A CLASH OF KINGS. I do hope I can wrap things up before I approach the 1521 page length of A STORM OF SWORDS.
Making a new run at the Meereenese knot, but maybe not tomorrow. I think I’ll hang around at the Wall a bit longer, and maybe visit Winterfell.
I’m sure some naysayers will try to spin this into a negative (‘By golly! It’s still not done?! The sloth!’), but I’m happy to hear that progress is being made and the endline is coming into sight. Its encouraging to know that, even with a (large?) handful of chapters still unfinished, we’ve got a hefty novel ahead of us, when it does release. It’s also nice to know that he’s stepping away from his so-called Meereenese Knot and letting it brew, while working on easier portions of the story. As always, my anticipation heightens.
