 However, planned release dates were repeatedly pushed back.Meanwhile, HBO acquired the rights to turn "A Song of Ice and Fire" into a fantasy drama series in 2007 and aired the first of ten episodes covering "A Game of Thrones" in April 2011.With around 1600 pages in manuscript length, "A Dance with Dragons" was eventually published in July 2011 after six years of writing, longer in page count and writing time than any of the preceding four novels.