George R.R. Martin has suggested that The Winds of Winter could be the longest The Winds of Winter's release has taken over a decade and counting
The Winds of Winter has been through various release date predictions and delays, with Martin pushing it back several times over the years. Now, while the author is committed to finishing the novel - and its planned sequel, A Dream of Spring - he is no longer offering any kinds of promises or teases for when it might release. As such, The Winds of Winter's release date remains a great point of uncertainty as the writer struggles to finish the book, and the sheer scope of it gives some indication as to why.
Martin has said that The Winds of Winter could be the longest book yet, suring A Dance With Dragons, which holds the record with 1,016-1,040 pages (varying by different versions), with A Storm of Swords the next longest at 973 pages. Martin notes that he "usually trims" books when finished, so The Winds of Winter's page count is by no means decided given there's no indication he has completed it, but it running to such an epic length would not only make a lot of sense, but may be inevitable. With only two books remaining, then The Winds of Winter has big questions to answer and a lot of story to get through, needing to resolve elements of A Dance With Dragons, set up A Dream of Spring's endgame, and tell its own cohesive story too.
Even just from a look at what's been left hanging alongside what A Song of Ice and Fire books get to, nor does it truly cover the sheer amount of characters he involves or others who may well be point-of-view characters. There is enough plot and character work here to fill two books, which means The Winds of Winter's length will be necessary.
Martin had previously suggested that The Winds of Winter could be over 1,500 manuscript pages [via Game of Thrones' ending faced problems without Martin's books because of how much there was to get through, and the biggest criticism faced was because of rushing through elements. It's clear Martin won't do that, but it does further explain why The Winds of Winter must be his longest A Song of Ice and Fire book.