Read a New Chapter from ‘Game of Thrones’ Creator’s Next Book

“She woke with a gasp, not knowing who she was, or where,” begins a brand new excerpt from The Winds of Winter, the impending sixth installment of George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series.
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The Game of Thrones creator posted the brand new chapter, dubbed “Mercy,” to his website –though considering Martin’s massive fan base and the intense anticipation for The Winds of Winter, it might take some refreshing to get the link to load.
And of course, if you’re a fan of the show, but not caught up on the books – like Tyrion Lannister himself, Peter Dinklage – you may want to avoid the excerpt in case of spoilers.
It’s been three years since Martin last published an installment of A Song of Ice and Fire, 2011’s A Dance with Dragon. Notorious for his slow writing pace, there’s still no word on when The Winds of Winter will see release.
Martin announced the new excerpt on his blog on Tuesday, saying it was technically an “old chapter” though had only seen by his editors, his wife Parris and Game of Thrones show runners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. “[I]t’s old in that it was written a long time ago, predating any of the samples that you have seen,” Martin wrote. “The first draft was, at any rate. I’ve rewritten it a dozen times since then.”
Despite the lack of any news on the arrival of the new book, Season Four of Game of Thrones is set to premiere on April 6th on HBO. You can check out a handful of teasers and trailers for the upcoming season, including an epic behind-the-scenes look at what’s to come.