LONDON, Feb 3 — George RR Martin has just announced that he is writing a new story set in his Song of Ice and Fire universe.

Perhaps it’s a peace offering to fans who have been waiting nearly seven years for the next chronological instalment to the series, Winds of Winter.

In a LiveJournal post, the author said the prequel called "The Sons of the Dragons” will be included in a fantasy anthology series titled The Book of Swords.

He added: "If you’re fascinated by the politics of Westeros, as many of my readers seem to be, you should enjoy it.

"As the title suggests, ‘The Sons of the Dragon’ chronicles the reigns of the second and third Targaryen kings, Aenys I and Maegor the Cruel, along with their mothers, wives, sisters, children, friends, enemies and rivals.”

Martin then went on to say that "The Sons of the Dragons” will be "history rather than a traditional narrative” with "a lot of telling, only a little showing.”

It is understood that the story will take the form of a chapter in a textbook.

The Book of Swords anthology will be published on October 10.

It will be helmed by Gardner Dozois and will also include the works of 15 other authors including Garth Nix and Ken Liu.