I'm a huge Wheel of Time fan. If you're not, or for those that aren't, Robert Jordan, the author, died before he could finish the series. He had some rough notes, a few important scenes written out, but the man was diagnosed with a terminal disease. Despite best efforts, he didn't make it to the finish line.

The last three books were written, with the blessing and cooperation of Jordan's widow and estate, by Brandon Sanderson.

Jordan's death was a huge blow to the story. We didn't know, really, what was going to happen. The story and world were epic, and we knew Jordan had a plan, and that there were "notes", but no one save a handful of people, knew more.

When Sanderson stepped in to finish the series, there was an obvious shift in how the story was written. He is, after all, a different author. But he did an absolute amazing job. If there's one thing Sanderson is good at it's the "Sanderlanche", where the last chunk of the book is full of insane, crazy, over-the-top exciting things happening one after another. It's no secret that the entire series is building up to "The Last Battle", and there is a (cough, 200-page-long) chapter in the last book titled "The Last Battle" and it is, I shit you not, non-stop action, revelation, emotion, and more happening in rapid fire.

Sanderson took the build-up from 14 books and slammed it all down at once in a "...holy shit" moment. He couldn't have done what he did (well, after reading Stormlight Archive so far.. maybe he could've) without Jordan laying the groundwork.

What I'm trying to say: If GRR Martin has built a world that works, even if he dies, they'll find someone to finish it and leave us with a complete story. And if we're lucky, it'll be someone like Sanderson.

I've been a believer in the posthumous publication conspiracy since the backlash from the show ending. I wouldn't want to hear from the gaggle of fans that think they could have written a better ending either. Leaving "unfinished" works for the estate to hand over to the publisher to "finish" editing seems like a nice way to never have to answer antagonistic questions in a comic con panel ever again.

That would actually be a baller move to troll everyone and leave the fished books to be his final message to the world. I doubt that's his plan though.

If this is true I would laugh like crazy after he died that would be god level trolling at its best

At this point, because I've seen the show, I'd have to go back and re-read all the books, to even start Winds of Winter. It's all so mashed together in my head, I don't remember the real story very well.

I've also accepted that he isn't even going to finish the books.

Dude has written himself into three different corners and likely doesn't see a (satisfying) way to wrap it up in two books, so he's decided to give up. If the rumors are true and he gave B&B the elevator pitch version of his ending, he may be hemming hawing about how much to course correct from their version. His Bran running Westeros could certainly come into being more elegantly than the show's, but jeez it would be very weird in its own way.

Winds of Winter has literally nothing to do with the strike because it's a book. He's perfectly okay to write for Elden Ring 2, for that matter.

If anything, the strike should be good news for the people who still care about asoiaf because now George can't spend all his time writing five different pilots for the various projects that are all going to get cancelled or promote his tv shows on conventions.

It's been ten years since I gave up on ever reading the last books in that series.