For novels and short stories tie into The Dark Tower. He'll probably never be completely done writing stories set in and around the universe, even if the main series has been finished since 2012.
Conversely, George R. R. Martin's readers are still waiting to see how the final two books in A Song of Ice and Fire unfold and the story ends. It's especially vexing considering the infuriatingly sloppy way Game of Thrones season 8 concluded its version of the story. At times, it seems as though he'll never release The Winds of Winter, especially with the recent news that George R. R. Martin is producing A Dozen Tough Jobs, another project that is not finishing his book. But a spot of optimism can be found in the history of other writers who also took a long time to finish their series, including Stephen King.
It Took Stephen King 30 Years To Completely Finish His Dark Tower Series
He Started It In 1982
There's no doubt that George R. R. Martin fans have been waiting a very long time for The Winds of Winter, the next book in A Song of Ice and Fire. Their wait still can't hold a candle to Stephen King's readers and their wait for him to completely finish his Dark Tower series, though. The first book in the Dark Tower series, The Gunslinger, was published in 1982, and the final book in the main series, The Dark Tower, wasn't published until 2004.
Book/Story Title |
Publication Year |
|---|---|
The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger |
1982 |
The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three |
1987 |
The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands |
1991 |
The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass |
1997 |
"The Little Sisters of Eluria" |
1998 |
The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla |
2003 |
The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah |
2004 |
The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower |
2004 |
The Wind Through the Keyhole |
2012 |
The last book to be published, The Wind Through the Keyhole, came out in 2012. That book, which came as a bit of a surprise, is set between book 4 (Wizard and Glass) and book 5 (Wolves of the Calla). As an in-universe, in-series book, King officially considers it to be book 4.5 in the Dark Tower series. Including the canonical The Wind Through the Keyhole, it took him 30 years in total to finish The Dark Tower. Though one could argue it was even longer if factoring in the years King spent putting out the various short stories that were later compiled to become the first novel, The Gunslinger.
9 Books & Other Works That Influenced Stephen King's Dark Tower Series
Stephen King has always been a writer unafraid to acknowledge the influence of other writers & it makes his Dark Tower series so potent and profound.
That is a very long time for an author to work on a single series and a very long time for readers to wait. It was so long, in fact, that King has been quite open over the years about the half-joking messages he got from a few readers threatening him to finish it. In his 2000 memoir, On Writing, King recounted how an old woman with late-stage cancer wrote to him on her deathbed, desperate to know how the story ended. Another letter contained a picture of a teddy bear in chains with the ominous message, "RELEASE THE NEXT DARK TOWER BOOK AT ONCE OR THE BEAR DIES." You know - normal stuff.
George R. R. Martin's Song Of Ice & Fire Series Hasn't Even Come Close To The Length Of Time King Took To Finish The Dark Tower
He Still Has Eleven Years To Go
By comparison, George R. R. Martin has been working on his Song of Ice and Fire series for 29 years, including the 15-year gap (so far) since the release of A Dance with Dragons. That is a very long wait, but it's still a year less than the length of time it took Stephen King to complete The Dark Tower over four decades. Similar to how Stephen King's Constant Readers once wondered if he'd ever finish his own series, Martin fans have started joking that , which Martin has referred to as the "curse of [his] life," will never happen.
We All Know The Winds Of Winter Is Taking A Long Time, So Read These 6 Fantasy Book Series While You Wait
We have no idea when The Winds of Winter will be released, so try out these fantasy book series in the meantime for a similar experience.
However, King's Dark Tower shows that sometimes writers take decades to finish their series, especially if it is their magnum opus. Martin is certainly taking his time, but, clearly, other authors have taken longer - much longer. And there's another positive element to it all: Martin already has the title and rough plans for the next two books. That means once Martin releases The Winds of Winter, the seventh book, A Dream of Spring, shouldn't be too far behind. Unless it takes Martin years and years to even release The Winds of Winter, it's unlikely that it will take him much longer than King did - we can hope.
Unless it takes Martin years and years to even release The Winds of Winter, it's unlikely that it will take him much longer than King did - we can hope.
Either way, Martin taking his time, while frustrating, is arguably for the best. Stephen King has often talked about how difficult it was for him to complete The Dark Tower. Part of that is because, as the series went on, and The Dark Tower universe got more complex, it took King longer to figure out how to integrate so many books and stories connected to The Dark Tower. Part of it was also that he was in no condition to finish it after his near-fatal accident. It was worth the wait, though, and if George R. R. Martin fans are patient, hopefully, A Song of Ice and Fire will come to an end worthy of the time he put into his own series, too.
- Birthdate
- September 21, 1947
- Birthplace
- Portland, Maine, USA
- Notable Projects
- Carrie
- Professions
- Author, Screenwriter, Producer, Director, Actor
- Height
- 6 feet 4 inches
