George RR Martin 'astonished' by support after announcing The Winds of Winter would not be released before Game of Thrones season 6

'I cannot tell you how much I appreciate all the kind words and good wishes'

Enthroned: GoT has made a household name of the author of the books, George RR Martin (Rex Features)

When George RR Martin admitted he would not be able to finish The Winds of Winter before season six of Game of Thrones, fans were obviously very disappointed.

While the author said he had written “hundreds of pages, dozens of chapters”, he admitted that he was still “months away” from completing the novel.

In a blog post, he wrote: “The book’s not done. Nor is it likely to be finished tomorrow, or next week.”

Martin clarified that the show may go into spoiler territory, but it was already so different to the books that things will likely be very different between the two: “Some of the ‘spoilers’ you may encounter in season six may not be spoilers at all… because the show and the books have diverged, and will continue to do so.”

With the series having such a dedicated fan following, it comes as no surprise that Martin was hesitant to write the message, writing in the post of his reluctance to type the words.

However, the 67-year-old needn’t have been so worried, as fans have taken the news remarkably well, with many being happy just to have an actual update on the book rather than ‘leaked’ piece of information.

Martin has since said he is “astonished” by the support, thanking all those who commented on his posts with positive messages.

“The outpouring of support in response to my post on The Winds of Winter has been astonishing,” he wrote. “Thank you all, so very much… I cannot tell you how much I appreciate all the kind words and good wishes.”

The fifth book in the A Song of Ice and Fire series was released in 2011, just after the first season of Game of Thrones aired on HBO.

On multiple occasions, the author has given excuses as to why The Winds of Winter has yet to be released, all of which you can read about here.