Seeing as how poorly the final season of 'Game of Thrones', you've got to imagine that there's probably not the same level of interest in 'The Winds of Winter' as there once was.

Still and all, George RR Martin is plugging away at the thing and, in his latest update on his website, claimed that he believes he'll have the behemoth finished by 2021. So far, the author has said that it's "going to be a huge book, and I still have a long way to go."

Martin, who took an opportunity to throw a dig at "click-bait websites that like to parse every word of my posts as if they were papal encyclicals to divine hidden meanings", also mentioned that he hopes to have 'The Winds of Winter' finished by 2021.

As well as this, Martin pointed out that once upon a time, he was able to crank out 150 pages of manuscript per month - gods, he was strong then - but added that he can't keep up that pace at his age of 71. So far, it's been nine years since the release of 'A Dance With Dragons', which made up the fifth season of the show.

If anyone who's read the books will tell you, there's a marked difference between the show and the books - in both density, characters, and how certain events play out. Seeing as how it's going on nine years for 'The Winds of Winter', odds are people will have forgotten how the final season went before 'A Dream of Spring' arrives on shelves.