George R.R. Martin Discussion

[Lannister]

What are you thinking of it in general so far, Michelle? Do you think it's better/worse/the same as previous seasons? Also, have you read the books? I can't recall.

[Michelle]

Yeah I've read the books and love them. This season so far has been a little bit disappointing but I think I set my expectations too high. I've liked the Jaime/Brienne scenes.

[Lannister]

I'm guilty of doing that too. I started to get really sick of all the hype around the show, cos I felt like I couldn't escape it and I don't know if that soured me a little bit. Then all the divergence from the book annoyed me too. But there have been a few really amazing scenes. The Dany/Unsullied scenes were really good, and I do like Jaime. And his butt!! :D

[Zeenat]

Yeah this season is not as good, because there are a lot of changes. But I think a lot of the changes is to keep the stories consistent through the seasons. Since so much we can't see in the show because it's their thoughts. (Like Arya had to say outloud she was upset about Gendry staying--but I wish the dress scene was there first... if they show it at all. Those scenes were pretty awesome) Also the books have way more characters than possible on a tv show. Like Loras being the guy Cerise is supposed to marry, the knight left behind and willas all at once. So I cut them a bit of slack. I do wish some things were not given away from books already though. Like Theon stuff. But again I get it.

I wonder what is being given away with us really knowing. Maybe some of the changes have to do with stuff that GRRM said happens in the two books that aren't out yet. Stuff that needs to be set up that we are missing cause it's going to be shared in the later books and when we read it it'll be more like an "ah ha..... that's why XYZ was shown that way".

I really hate that GRRM is old LOL. I know it's something that can't be helped, but the fact that he could die before the books are done, sucks! and the show having to take considerations without the books being out... sheesh!

[Mello ❣ Illium ✮Harry✮ ☀Myrnin☀ Torin]

Lannister wrote: "So who's watching the show this season?? I was feeling a little jaded with it early on and I didn't feel as engaged as previous years, but I must admit last night's episode was really, really good...."

Lmao @ that last sentence

This season has started picking up. When Robb did what he did to Karstark, I was like, "Noooooooo!" because it just pushes things closer to THAT.

[Zeenat]

So Feast of Crows... got 10ish more chapters to go I think.

~~Victarion's wife... Did Euron rape her or did they sleep together? I can't seem to figure out whether to like or hate victarion lol

~~Finally Jaime figures out Tyrion wasn't lying and that his sister sucks balls, and not just Jaime's...

~~Cersei is stupid AND a horrible person. I think I said that before. It seems like the Iron Throne is the problem. Whoever sits there gets crazier than they already are. Maybe power does it... who knows.

~~Arya is blind?!? didn't see that one coming.

~~Poor Brienne. She's so honorable and everyone treats her like shit. But it looks like Ser Hyle Hunt actually likes her. Although I don't forsee Brienee living long enough to get married. she's too honorable and the honorable die quickly in this series.

Anyways I hope to finish the book tonight :) to give my final thoughts. Just had to get some of that out.

[Zeenat]

So if there is a king, and he has two daughters (no sons) and the younger daughter has a son--who is the heir when the king dies? the oldest daughter? or the grandson?

[Michelle]

I have finally watched this weeks episode and the series is really starting to pick up.

[Lannister]

Zeenat wrote: "Victarion's wife... Did Euron rape her or did they sleep together? I can't seem to figure out whether to like or hate victarion lol"

I don't believe we ever find out if Victarion's wife was raped or seduced, but knowing what we know about Euron, I'd be inclined to think she was raped.

I don't like Victarion. I actually almost like Euron better than him. Now, I don't like Euron, but he makes a good baddie and 'love to hate' character. Victarion annoys the hell out of me. He's in Dance with Dragons quite a bit, so maybe withhold judgement on him until you've read that book.

Finally Jaime figures out Tyrion wasn't lying and that his sister sucks balls, and not just Jaime's...

I lol'd! :D

Poor Jaime. It's a bitch when all your illusions are shattered, but I think he really comes into his own in Feast. Cersei is nuts. Have you read the part about Cersei's prophecy yet? I can't recall exactly where in Feast it happened. Any theories there?

On Brienne, she always gets dealt a shit hand. I feel bad for her, and I'm not convinced by Ser Hyle. The gushing romantic fool that's buried (very) deep inside me totally ships Jaime and Brienne, but I don't logically believe that the story will go in that direction. But there would be something sweet about the arrogant, god-like Jaime coming to value fugly, yet honourable, Brienne.

Also, did you notice the gravedigger guy at the Quiet Isle when Brienne goes there. The big theory is (view spoiler)[that this guy is the Hound and he isn't dead. (hide spoiler)]

[Lannister]

Zeenat wrote: "So if there is a king, and he has two daughters (no sons) and the younger daughter has a son--who is the heir when the king dies? the oldest daughter? or the grandson?"

I would have thought the oldest daughter would inherit because she and her sister would have precedence over the younger generation. And obviously her children would be first in line for the throne, ahead of the younger sister's children.

But this is only an opinion. I'm not certain.

[Zeenat]

I was reading the harry the heir part and thinking how that worked out, that's why I questioned it.

OKAY so I'm done. Feast of Crows was not as rough as I thought it would be, since so many people don't like it as much. it felt short LOL.

I hate Cersei. She's psycho. I say that a lot, but she really is. When she was being chased down at the end, I WAS SO HAPPY! She was getting everything coming to her. I was confused about something: Did Pycelle lie about the Moon Tea, or was that part the only truth in everything? If it was truth then uhhh... why? Poor Margery. And the way Loras died?!?! That seemed so anticlimactic... I guess he wasn't a central character.

Cersei's prophecy, I think the whole "valonquar" or whatever thing she is interpreting wrong. Main because the maegi said "the valonqhar" will kill Cersei. "The little brother" not "your little brother". It's such a little thing but it stuck out to me. I don't think Tyrion will kill her. Bran? I mean he totally get's those rights after what Jaime did to him. Who was born first, Jaime or Cersei? Cause it could be Jaime if Cersei was born first, which would be AWESOME! Who else is a "little brother"? Jon, if the R+L stuff is true... but ehhh that seems like a stretch. Littlefinger? Since he was KIND of Cat's younger brother even though he didn't see it that way. Tommen? he is Joff's little brother. But based on the propechy of seeing her kids get crowned and then die, I think Tommen and Myrcella will die (which is sad cause they are good kids). Anyways, I have doubts it will be Tyrion as she believes.

I did not catch the gravedigger. I don't think Jaime is the kind of person to get over lack of beauty. I can see Sansa getting over that, but not him. Maybe it's my ingrained gender ideas lol. I think Hyle is dead anyways at this point. But I do think he genuinely cared for her because of his attitude. He sacrificed quite a bit because of her...

Speaking of the hound, I'm very confused by something. Sansa talks about the Hound kissing her--I went back in the books and checked every single scene with the hound and Sansa and don't see anywhere where he kissed her. Was it something that happened off screen?

So I don't know if I liked this split book set up. I miss Tyrion, Jon and Dany. AND Jon seemed like kind of an ass at this book so I want to see him redeemed when we are in his head.

AND what is up with the adding all these characters and the children get limited screen time!?!?! I mean Sansa and Arya had 3 chapters in this book, Sansa doesn't even have time in the next book! No Bran or Jon. I guess Samwell kind of falls in that group, since he was Jon's peer, and he was in the book quite a bit. And I'm glad that man got laid ;)

EWWWW littlefinger needs to STOP kissing Sansa! It's sooo wrong on so many levels! Sansa is finally getting a conniving side. I still hope her and tyrion get together. But I have heard from people that he may piss me off next book...

I want to know... Does Gendry tell lady stoneheart that he knew her daughter? If the hound "died"--does Gendry think Arya is dead? I think he does, and blames himself. That's why he's such a grumpypants.

I can see why the Martell's and Greyjoy's are important to the overall storyline, but did they really need POV's? I like Arianne's pov though. She's spoiled, but a good person I think. Her father is awesome. I like this quiet intelligent guy who doesn't go quick to the sword or gossip to get his revenge.

I had to go look up the theories for the word Brienne said out loud. GRRM apparently confirmed it was (view spoiler)[ sword. Which makes no sense to me. (hide spoiler)] I didn't think Brienne was gonna die in this book! Man that made me sad.

I'm trying to remember more thoughts... but I think that's it... !! I'm going to post this as my review too lol

[Lannister]

Zeenat, I'll try to go through your comments ...

On Cersei, yes! I felt the same, that I wanted her to get what's coming to her. She has some, uh, nice scenes in Dance with Dragons. :)

On Margaery and the Moon Tea, I haven't quite figured this out. I think it is a fact that Margaery was receiving the moon tea, but I'm wondering if maybe it's not for her but one of her attendants or something like that. There's more going on here but I'm not quite certain what.

On Loras, many people are of the opinion that he isn't dead and this is a plot by the Tyrells to keep him away from Kings Landing.

The Valonqar, it's been mentioned a couple of times in the books that Cersei was born first and Jaime came out clutching her foot, so Jaime is a little brother!! I think Jaime will kill her in the end. It's such a fitting, Martin-esque thing to do. I think he'll kill her then die himself soon after. I don't see my beloved Jaime surviving the series. :( There's tons of theories about this though, covering everyone from Tommen to someone of the Nights Watch. If it's not Jaime, my other pet theory is Lancel Lannister, since he's found religion and become monkish. The only person I'm fairly sure it isn't is Tyrion. Cersei thinks it Tyrion and she's always wrong, so it can't possibly be him!

On Brienne/Lady Stoneheart, I think the theory is that what she said is setting up a scene where Brienne will be forced to go after Jaime and kill him, in order to keep her oaths to Catelyn/Stoneheart. This would be a really nice conflict for Brienne. She wants to honour her oaths to Catelyn, yet she also knows Jaime isn't a monster. There's a lot more to come of this plotline. I'm not certain about the Gendry thing. I can't remember exactly.

Sansa, I found Sansa incredibly annoying early on with her stupid daydreams, but she's really coming in to her own. I think Sansa's a future queen or powerful figure at any rate. Littlefinger is a master manipulator, so she's learning from the best. Despite her early behaviour, I can see Sansa surviving and coming out on top by the end of the series. She'll be able to manipulate when she has to, but she won't lose her humanity and empathy for others the way Cersei has.

Martells/Greyjoys, well, this is the big complaint readers have had about GRRM losing focus and allowing the story to run away from him. This may or may not be true. I don't think it's fair to judge until the series is over. There are little things that have happened in earlier books that became significant later, so I'm not judging just yet. Though I still hate the iron islanders!

Are you going to start Dance any time soon? I found the first half/two-thirds of Dance to be along the same lines as Feast, and a lot of the timeline is concurrent with Feast. But it really picks up at the end and finishes on an amazing high, so it's worth sticking with it.

[Lannister]

Also, I came across this today and lol'd.

Joffrey Baratheon is CALIGULA!

http://imgur.com/Sxl5Iov

Coincidence? I think not.

[Zeenat]

LOL!!! not a coincidence.

Margery--I have a theory based on the show. Maybe she got pregnant by Joff? In the books we don't see a relationship develop, but maybe something did happen that we didn't see... Maybe she had Joff's baby because she slept with him to keep him under HER thumb. But who would want a kid with him!!?!? It's kinda how Cersei killed Robert's kid when she got pregnant with him.

Who kills Cersei--I think Jaime is the best option, too. Now that I think about it, I do remember Cersei is older. I think Jaime would do it to protect someone. And they have to die together, the whole being born together and dying together thing. I think it'll be a Stark kid. Possibly Bran, probably Sansa. Maybe Brienne. He'll already be dying, or Cersei will stab him while he is killing her.

Brienne/Lady Stoneheart--Didn't we just go through with that though? She refused to kill Jaime. Are you saying at the last minute she agrees to kill him? I was thinking she said (view spoiler)[ sword (hide spoiler)] because she saw (view spoiler)[ someone coming at them with a sword. to help out the group or something, She will get cut down. (hide spoiler)]

I agree with you about Sansa. I have high hopes for her. I picture her as the only one surviving, for sure. Jon maybe. Bran maybe, but that's a stretch. I want Arya to survive, but I don't think so. Rickon will die in a freak accident of sorts I think.

As far as starting Dance... I think I will start it when I go on my 21 day trip around the U.S. lol (okay it's just flying to east coast, california, Austin, and then back here). I doubt I'll finish then, but that's a good book to read on it's own.

So no idea about the kiss? I think i'm gonna go see if someone obsessed can answer it for me... lol

[Zeenat]

I just realized something... CAT married into a family of wolves, related to dogs. That's not an accident right?

I was just thinking about all the animals/sigils in general.

Baratheon's are not going to survive. Most at least. Stag is weak.

Wolves are pack animals... which means they are at their worst right now. If they are going to survive, they will need each other somehow. I wonder if there will be a reunion before they all die.

Lions... Not sure. Dragon's, well that's self explanatory.

Flowers... I think this whole gardening theme with that family has something to do with fertility and spring...

What else we got?

[Lannister]

Sorry, I forgot to answer about the Sansa/Hound kiss! I've read discussions about it elsewhere, but I think this article sums it up well ...

http://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/...

So, take what you like from that! I think Sansa's romantic longings were getting in the way of rational thought. Even though part of her is repelled by the Hound, another part knows he tried to protect her. I think she was terrified and moved at the same time and she's misremembered events, or reshaped them into something that she can live with more easily.

On Brienne, I took it that she wanted to save Podrick so she agreed to go after Jaime. There's a small scene in Dance related to this that doesn't entirely make sense. Well, by that I mean that it's not clear what's going on and what the characters' motivations are, but you could draw some interesting conclusions from it. Brienne definitely wanted to save Pod, but I'm not certain just how far she'll go to do it.

[Lannister]

Also, check this out ... a new book coming out from GRRM called "The Wit and Wisdom of Tyrion Lannister".

http://www.thebookseller.com/news/new...

Not certain if I would buy this, but I laughed at the description of "clever and naughty quips"!

[Zeenat]

I KNEW I wasn't crazy! Sometimes these books make me feel crazy. SO that kiss didn't happen! Or it did, she wanted to forget it when it was happening.

That sounds so cool! But that add's to fan's frustrations about how he takes too long to write books. It's one thing to publish short stories... oh well. I'm sure it'll be awesome.

[Lannister]

I tend to think the kiss didn't happen, but Sansa imagined it because a knight protector would try to kiss a lady. Or something like that!

[Zeenat]

Yeah I agree with that.

[Zeenat]

ADWD spoilers (I'm about a quarter of the way through)-- (view spoiler)[ Aegon is alive!?!?!? Where the heck did that come from? Poor Dany... I hope she won't have to marry her nephew... (hide spoiler)]

[Lannister]

LOL, yeah, who knew!! (view spoiler)[There had been theories kicking about long before Dance was released that Aegon was still alive. I'd come across one every once in a while, but to be honest, I'd given them about as much credence as I give my Mircea and Marlowe theory. So I was pretty gobsmacked when he popped up in Dance!! Of course, whether he's the real Aegon is a whole other theory ...! :D (hide spoiler)]

[Zeenat]

(view spoiler)[ If he's not real I'd be annoyed. What would be the point of bringing him up then? It could still happen, since GRRM is great at adding crap that doesn't necessarily add to the story lol (hide spoiler)]

[Eyehavenofilter]

Lannister wrote: "Also, check this out ... a new book coming out from GRRM called "The Wit and Wisdom of Tyrion Lannister".

http://www.thebookseller.com/news/new......"

I would buy it only if it had photos of Peter Dinkledge in it!

[Arushi]

Hahaha... I would totally read it. The Westeros Machiavelli :D

[Anna]

Cercei's prophecy thatthe little brother would 'kill her' doesn't need to be literal. If Jamie refuses to come to her aid, and she is subsequently killed in ADWD then I would take that to fulfil the prophecy.

Can't decide when to start DwD ...

[Zeenat]

start it now! I just finished! :)

[Zeenat]

my thoughts on ADWD (view spoiler)[ My thoughts:

**I think this is my 2nd favorite book, mainly because OF Theon. The way GRRM wrote Reek/Theon and everything was just perfect. Super perfect. I think it's perfect that in order for him to be man, he had to lose his manhood. I hate Ramsey... I can't wait to see how he dies. Hopefully at the hands of Reek.

** I found Jon annoying in this book. I like how the events with Stannis are coming together. I think Jon fits the Azor Ahai more than Stannis, Melisandre seeing him in the flames. I really hated her till this book. Now I feel like she knows what she is doing.

** Dany was annoying too. I hate that she forgot all about conquering Westeros. I wish she never married anyone. That marriage to Hizadar was awaste of time. Actually I felt everything that happened in Meereen was pointless.

** What was the point Quentyn Martell? I don't get it.

** Tyrion has become kind of an ass, but I still love him all the same. lol

** Awesome that Cersei had to walk naked and was embarrassed. Kevan died, I just hope Varys' interests were noble enough.

Now I have to wait with everyone else for book 6 :P (hide spoiler)]

[Lannister]

Dance spoilers(view spoiler)[
I was slightly annoyed at the way the TV show showed Theon's treatment. I kept thinking "Nooo, it's too early!!" GRRM did it again with his 'Character 180' thing. I disliked Theon in all the earlier books, but I felt so awful for him in Dance. I didn't want to feel sympathy for Theon, but I couldn't help myself!!

On Mel, I dunno. I think she's a bit dumb sometimes. I think she has genuine power (and what's with not sleeping/eating - I think she's like a more evolved version of UnCat & Beric). Mel has decided that Stannis is Azor Ahai and she won't be swayed from that POV. There was that line where she thinks to herself that she asked R'hllor to show her AA and he showed her Jon Snow. Jeez Lousie, how many clues to you need!! I dunno if Jon actually is AA either, cos Dany would fit too. But there's a whole bunch of characters that would fit if you wanted to stretch the prophecy a little. What did you think of Jon's ending? There's no way he's dead (though I'd kinda love it if he was!!) I think he's warged into Ghost and Mel will reanimate his body.

Cersei's 'walk of shame' was hilarious and I even found myself feeling slightly sorry for her (I need to stop being so soft-hearted!!). But you could see towards the end of the book that she was toughening up again and that it wasn't going to have any permanent affect on her. I wish she'd been killed at the end. Kevan's death was a bit shocking because he seemed like a decent, honourable guy (you know, for a Lannister LOL). Varys is a sneaky bugger and I don't trust him!

I agree about Quentyn. When he turned into Burnt Crispy Man, I found myself thinking WTF?? I'll have to give GRRM the benefit of the doubt here. He said he wrote himself into a corner with his plotting (it was known as the Meerenese Knot) so I'll have to assume that Quentyn's story somehow related to that and hopefully its significance will become apparent in the next book.

A lot of folks complained about Tyrion in this book. I didn't mind him actually, but lots of people were questioning how GRRM could make everyone's favourite character an annoying pain!

I know a lot of the story felt like it didn't move forward (and I suppose it really didn't) but I actually found myself less annoyed with Dany's storyline in this book because so much of the story was set in the East. I used to not enjoy Dany's chapters as much because I felt like I was being wrenched out the main story to this side plot and I wanted to get back to Westeros, but because so much of the story was set in the East this time, jumping between the different areas didn't feel so jarring. I think that's why I wasn't as put off by all the pointless wedding and Tyrion on a pig chapters!

What do you think about that whole Greyscale thing? That's going to become big in the future. I'm sure of it. And I find it interesting that Val(?) said the Wildlings feared people with Greyscale. Between famine and disease, Westeros is not in good shape for the coming winter.
(hide spoiler)]

Now that you've finished you can go read the teaser chapter on GRRM's web site from the Winds of Winter. He's got (view spoiler)[an Arianne chapter up just now. There was a Theon chapter up before that was much more interesting but he took it down. It might be floating about the web somewhere if you do a search for it. (hide spoiler)]

If we're lucky, Winds will be out in 2014, but 2015 is probably more likely. :(

[Zeenat]

Mel/Jon (view spoiler)[ why would you want Jon dead!?!? I love Jon, even though he was annoying this book. I love Jon otherwise. and I agree about Mel being dumb.

Everyone keeps saying Jon died, and will be revived, but there is no evidence that he died, just that he went blank. he could have passed out and lived, or something else. (hide spoiler)]

overall plot of Dance (view spoiler)[ I feel like the book had a lot of plot and movement. Maybe I was focused on Theon lol. But I thought The Stannis/Jon/Theon stuff were important to overall plot, as was Tyrion/Aegon stuff in regards to getting Dany over.

What I don't understand is why the Jaime and Cersei chapters couldn't be in the last book... or the Arya chapters. (hide spoiler)]

Greyscale (view spoiler)[ I haven't really thought much of it. I mean I think Jon Connington dying from it is a big enough deal. (hide spoiler)]

I read the teaser chapters :::shrugs::: not a big deal lol. I just want the book!

[Lannister]

Jon (view spoiler)[LOL, I kinda think I want him dead just to hear the fan outrage! It'll be the Red Wedding all over again! I think the way it's written in the book it does strongly imply that he's 'supposed' to be dead, and four stab wounds with medieval health care isn't a trivial injury. But I think someone asked GRRM outright and he said (paraphrasing) "Oh you think Jon's dead?" I think the most interesting thing is how he recovers. I'm fairly sure he's going to have 'died' a little (for want of better words!) I don't think Winds will start with Jon covered in bandages facing a long recuperation. I think the Prologue chapter with all the skinchanger stuff was A Big Clue! (hide spoiler)]

Feast (view spoiler)[I don't know why that Jaime chapter where he meets Brienne in particular couldn't have been put into Feast. I suppose GRRM might not have written it at that point, but it does feel like it was part of the Feast stuff that got cut because there wasn't space in that book. (hide spoiler)]

Greyscale (view spoiler)[ I hadn't thought about it much either until it got a lot of focus during Dance and the fact that it's extremely contagious. I don't know whether the Wildlings beliefs are just superstition but I wouldn't be surprised if it turns out to be a bigger deal than anyone thought. (hide spoiler)]

Just the long sorry queue waiting for Winds! :D

[Zeenat]

Jon (view spoiler)[ LOL I suppose that's fair ;) although I didn't care much for Robb dying, does that make me bad? lol I guess cause he didn't have a POV, I didn't feel it as much as I did if Jon died.

I think i would be annoyed if it was another uncat type thing, I would rather it be a recovery based on magic, if that makes sense. Or maybe he warg's into Ghost, and stays that way forever lol. That's worse! (hide spoiler)]

[Ela]

Anna wrote: "Cercei's prophecy thatthe little brother would 'kill her' doesn't need to be literal. If Jamie refuses to come to her aid, and she is subsequently killed in ADWD then I would take that to fulfil t..."

Just finished a feast for crows and I agree, I'm convinced that the prophecy refers to Jaime.

[Anna]

Ahh thank you for all the spoiler notes!
When are you going to start DWD Ela?

[Lannister]

Jon (Dance spoilers) (view spoiler)[I guess the fact that two characters have already been brought back from the dead might count against that happening to Jon, as it would start to feel overdone. Mel could just heal him before he died I suppose, like that other red priest healed Victarion's hand. They seem to have some skill here.

There's another theory that Jon might warg into Ghost as his body dies, then he'll possess a wight. Some people theorise that this is what happened with Cold Hands - Benjen Stark (or possibly someone else) warged into a wight and took control of their body. It would be pretty damn amazing if that happened!! I just can't see Jon getting better on his own. It would be a huge letdown after the cliffhanger ending. It's either got to be Mel doing something, or something related to warging/skinchanging, I reckon. (hide spoiler)]

[Zeenat]

Yeah, I don't see Jon (view spoiler)[ getting better on his own. It will have to be something extra (hide spoiler)]

[Eyehavenofilter]

Hmmm..interesting ponderings folks.
it ain't over till the fat lady sings and I don't think that fat Lady Lannister is dead yet!
lol!

[Lannister]

LMAO! I hope you're not talking about me! :D

[Lannister]

I laughed at this ...

https://twitter.com/windermeremike/st...

[Zeenat]

lol. yup.

[Zeenat]

According to this article on Slate, they predict that the last ASOIAF book will be out before the last season of GOT.

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_an...

[Lannister]

GRRM has been making cautiously optimistic noises about Winds (though he's done that before too) but there have been some predictions that the book will be out before the end of 2014. Let's hope so. I do NOT want to find out the end on TV!

[Lannister]

Good interview with GRRM here:

http://observationdeck.io9.com/george...

Spoilers for all books.

[Lannister]

No idea whether this is fact, rumour or an author just messing with us, but Robin Hobb seems to think The Winds of Winter will be released in July 2014.

http://www.reddit.com/r/books/comment...

[Zeenat]

What!?!?! I don't think this author really knows... It's already January, we would have heard about it coming out in July by now from the publishers or GRRM... I think. Unless it was a slip she wasn't supposed to slip up as. I'm thinking late fall...

[Scarlet]

I think he said that as a joke: fans will spend all their money on Winds and then not buy his book(that comes out a month after that).
Still, I checked it out and went on the forum to see if it was legit, but there wasn't an exclamation in big letters, and also, I found a discussion in which it was mentioned that GRRM's publisher had said on twitter earlier today that Winds is years away, which she later changed to just "not this year". However, I couldn't link to anything as the tweet had apparently been removed.
There was a comment there that the publisher might be covering for Robin Hobb's "slip", but I don't buy any of it.

I don't think I will actally believe in the release date till the book is in my hands for real. But it would make my day if the date is legit :D

I also just checked GRRM's website and livejournal, and there's nothing new there about Winds either.

[Lannister]

The announcement about the release of ADWD was made in March 2011 and the book was released in July, so it's not impossible it could be released this summer. But until I hear it from the man himself I'm not getting my hopes too high. It was a juicy tidbit, though. :)

[Zeenat]

OMG I would be so happy if it was July! But that means it would take me as long as most people to finish it cause I would be dealing with a newborn

[Lannister]

Some cynics will say that your child will be starting school before we see Winds ....

[Zeenat]

Lannister wrote: "Some cynics will say that your child will be starting school before we see Winds ...."

probably, especially if my child goes to child care :P