George R.R. Martin took to his blog Friday to address an erroneous early shipment of "A Dance With Dragons," the latest entry in the series of fantasy novels that gave birth to HBO's "Game of Thrones."
"Amazon Germany screwed up big time and started shipping A DANCE WITH DRAGONS before they were supposed to," writes Martin, in an entry titled Amazon Screws the Pooch. "I am told that about 180 copies got out before they were made aware of their mistake and shut down shipping."
"I am not happy about this," he continued. "My publishers are furious."
Also read: George R.R. Martin Publisher: Please Don't Spoil 'A Dance With Dragons'
Then, speaking like the same man who killed off Eddard Stark in surprise fashion in "A Game of Thrones," the first installment in the "A Song of Ice and Fire" series, he issued a jokey threat to someone at Amazon.de.
"If we find out who is responsible, we will mount his head on a spike," he wrote.
Later in the post, Martin comments on the spoilers that have been cropping up online as a result of Amazon Germany's shipping gaffe — an unfortunate outcome that his UK publisher, Voyager, addressed last week in an open letter.
"Most of those 'lucky' 180 are keeping mum, to be sure," he wrote, "but there are always a few jerkwads in any group, and those are the ones who cannot keep their mouths shut."
"All I can say is 'pfui,'" he concludes.
His blog entry only further confirms the obvious: George R.R. Martin is a national treasure.
The official worldwide publication date for "A Dance With Dragons" is July 12. Bantam Books, a division of Random House, is Martin's U.S. publisher.
