Game of Thrones author George R. R. Martin has given a little holiday gift to his fans: a chapter from his upcoming book in the "A Song of Ice and Fire" series.
The fifth book in the series, "A Dance with Dragons" was released earlier this year. Martin provided a bit of an explanation on his Livejournal account about this new release: "The chronology, as usual, is tricky. This chapter will be found eventually at the beginning of WINDS, but as you will be able to tell from context, it actually takes place before some of the chapters at the end of DANCE. FYI, there will be a different sample chapter from WINDS OF WINTER included at the end of the paperback edition of A DANCE WITH DRAGONS when that is published next July."
The chapter Martin has released is told from the viewpoint of Theon Greyjoy, while is chatting with Stannis Baratheon on their way to Winterfell. Want to read the chapter? You can do so on Martin's website (click the "Ice and Fire Sample" banner up at the top).
Season 2 of Game of Thrones will premiere this spring. You can watch a trailer for the episode here and two behind the scenes featurettes here.
Headed that way now to read it! What a treat indeed!