Game of Thrones creator George R.R. Martin is nothing if not a master of suspense, so it's no surprise he's also a master of playing with his fans' emotions.
In a blog entry posted earlier this week, Martin used a title that is so similar to his long-delayed next installment in the A Song of Ice and Fire series fans were certain he was announcing the book's completion.
Instead, they got a cleverly named review of an upcoming AMC television series.
Fans are losing it over the perfectly executed troll.
Fans have been eagerly awaiting Martin's new book The Winds of Winter ever since 2019 when Martin told them if he hasn't finished the book by Summer 2020, they "have here my formal written permission to imprison me in a small cabin on White Island, overlooking that lake of sulfuric acid, until I’m done."
Well, Summer 2020 has come and gone, as has Summer 2021, and there's still no The Winds of Winter.
So imagine the excitement fans felt when Martin's latest blog entry dropped with the title, "The Winds of June" which began with the following opener:
"The Dark Winds will start blowing in June. June 12, to be precise."
Clearly this is a release announcement, right?
Wrong.
As Martin went on to write, it was simply a play on words to discuss the upcoming series Dark Winds on AMC.
"That’s the day that DARK WINDS, a new series based on the classic bestselling Navajo detective novels by Tony Hillerman, will premiere on AMC and AMC+."
We love a good troll as much as the next guy, but this is just downright mean!
But on Twitter, Martin's fans had nothing but respect for his devious move.
The Winds of Winter is only one of two announced final books in the A Song of Ice and Fire series, so if and when it ever comes out, fans can still look forward to being toyed with about the final book, A Dream of Spring, for years to come.
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