George R.R. Martin is "struggling" while writing long-awaited Game of Thrones book The Winds of Winter, but says it would "feel like a total failure" to give up on it: "This could be the longest book in the series"

George R.R. Martin is still working on The Winds of Winter, which serves as the final book in the A Song of Ice and Fire series.

"I would hate that," Martin told The Hollywood Reporter. "It would feel like a total failure to me. I want to finish. If I wound up doing everything in my head, this could be the longest book in the series."

The bestselling fantasy author has been working on the sixth and final Game of Thrones book since 2010. In 2022, Martin said the novel was "three-quarters" of the way finished, with a page count of 1,100-1,200 (H/T IGN). The lengthiest Game of Thrones book is A Dance with Dragons, which boasts a word count of 1,056 pages.

Though fans have posited that he should let another writer take over, Martin is less than keen: "If that happens, my work won’t be finished. It’ll be like The Mystery of Edwin Drood." Edwin Drood is the last novel Charles Dickens was working on before his death in 1870. Rather than tap another writer to finish the book, it was published as six installments – though Dickens had always intended for the novel to be put out in 12 installments.

While we wait for Martin to finish The Winds of Winter, we have a brand new Game of Thrones spin-off to watch in the meantime. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, an adaptation of George R.R. Martin's Dunk and Egg novellas, is set to HBO Max on January 18 (or January 19 for UK viewers).

For more, read our A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms review or check out our guide to all the upcoming Game of Thrones movies and TV shows.