As you might’ve noticed, The Winds of Winter has not yet been released – and it doesn’t look like it’s coming anytime soon. The lengthy delay for George R.R. Martin’s sixth A Song of Ice and Fire book is only surpassed in infamy around the series by Game of Thrones‘ ending, the backlash to which rather increased the hope and desire to see the novel come to fruition. Even as we reach 14 years since A Dance with Dragons, I remain (perhaps foolishly) optimistic about the book’s release.