George R.R. Martin has delivered a treat for fans of his fantasy epic A Song of Ice and Fire by releasing a new sample chapter from the sixth instalment of the series, The Winds of Winter, which you can read over on his website."For all of you who have been clamoring, I have a somewhat belated Xmas/ New Year's gift, a new sample chapter from THE WINDS OF WINTER. This one features Arianne Martell, Princess of Dorne," states the author on his LiveJournal. "Read, enjoy, discuss, and speculate to your heart's content... but not here, please, there are better places for that, like the forums at Westeros and Tower of the Hand. Me, I have a lot more writing to do. On WINDS, and half a dozen other projects."
If you're a fan of HBO's Game of Thrones and have been contemplating getting into the books, then you'll have plenty of time to get yourself up to speed before The Winds of Winter hits the shelves. The fifth instalment, A Dance with Dragons, took the best part of six years to arrive, so we should probably expect this next one some time around 2017. Maybe...