The Winds of Winter, the highly anticipated sixth installment in George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series, has fans on the edge of their seats. Since the release of the fifth book, A Dance with Dragons, in 2011, readers have eagerly awaited the next chapter in this epic fantasy saga that inspired HBO's Game of Thrones. In the intervening years, HBO has released Seasons 2-8 of Game of Thrones and the first two seasons of its spinoff, House of the Dragon.
As George R.R. Martin continues to craft The Winds of Winter, let's explore what we know about this forthcoming novel, including insights into its length, projected release timeline, story elements, and how it will diverge from the TV series.
Jump to:
- When will it come out?
- How long will it be?
- Story details
- Book vs. TV series
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Winds of Winter Release Date
There is no confirmed release date for The Winds of Winter. Initially, Martin and his publishers hoped to complete the manuscript by October 2015, aiming for a March 2016 release ahead of Game of Thrones: Season 6. However, this deadline passed without a finished manuscript. Subsequent targets, including the end of 2015 and before the end of 2017, also slipped by. By 2020, Martin aimed to finish the initial draft by 2021, but that timeline was not met. In October 2022, Martin reported being about 75% done with the manuscript. By November 2023, he had completed 1,100 pages, a figure unchanged from his December 2022 statement on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. In a December 2024 interview, Martin acknowledged the possibility that he may never complete The Winds of Winter in his lifetime.
Winds of Winter Length
The Winds of Winter is expected to span approximately 1,500 pages. As of November 2023, Martin had written around 1,100 pages, with "hundreds more pages to go." The final two books in the series, including The Winds of Winter and the concluding A Dream of Spring, are projected to exceed 3,000 pages combined. If The Winds of Winter reaches 1,500 pages, it will surpass A Dance with Dragons, currently the longest book in the series at just over 1,000 pages in its original hardcover edition.
Winds of Winter Story
This section contains no spoilers, only character names expected to appear in The Winds of Winter.
The Winds of Winter will pick up where A Feast for Crows and A Dance with Dragons left off, resolving the cliffhangers from the fifth book early on. Martin has teased that the book will open with two major battles: one in the ice between Stannis Baratheon and Roose Bolton at Winterfell, and another at Meereen, known as the battle of Slaver’s Bay, involving Daenerys Targaryen and the slavers of Yunkai.
Daenerys Targaryen and Tyrion Lannister will finally cross paths "in a way," though they will spend much of the book apart. Tyrion, now more determined to survive, will navigate the chaos around him, while Daenerys embraces her Targaryen heritage. The Dothraki will return prominently, and significant developments are expected at The Wall. Martin has also hinted at an "interesting take on unicorns." He has warned that the book will take a dark turn, reflecting the harshness of winter, and that things will "get worse before they get better."
Winds of Winter Characters
As of 2016, Martin had no plans to introduce new point-of-view characters in The Winds of Winter. Confirmed POV characters include:
- Tyrion Lannister
- Cersei Lannister
- Jaime Lannister and/or Brienne of Tarth
- Arya Stark
- Sansa Stark
- Bran Stark
- Theon Greyjoy
- Asha Greyjoy
- Victarion Greyjoy
- Aeron Greyjoy/Damphair
- Barristan Selmy
- Arianne Martell
- Areo Hotah
- Jon Connington
While not officially confirmed, Daenerys Targaryen is expected to continue as a POV character. Other potential POV characters include Davos Seaworth, Samwell Tarly, and Melisandre. Jeyne Westerling, Robb Stark's wife, will appear in the prologue, though it's unclear if her perspective will be used.
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Winds of Winter: Book vs. TV Show
The Winds of Winter will diverge significantly from Game of Thrones due to its broader scope and larger cast. Martin has confirmed that some characters who died in the series will live in the books, and vice versa. New characters, absent from the show, will play crucial roles, and existing characters will have different fates and arcs. In a 2022 blog post, Martin emphasized that his "gardening" approach to writing has led the books further away from the TV series, with many unique elements and characters like Victarion Greyjoy, Arianne Martell, and Jon Connington impacting the narrative. He also teased a major twist involving characters, one of whom was dead by the end of Season 5 in the show but not in the books.
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A Dream of Spring and Other Future Works
A Dream of Spring, the seventh and final book in the series, is also expected to be around 1,500 pages. Martin has hinted at a bittersweet ending, though no release date has been set. Alongside The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring, Martin is working on a second volume of his Targaryen history, potentially titled Blood & Fire, and additional stories in his Tales of Dunk and Egg series, which will serve as the basis for HBO's upcoming Game of Thrones spinoff, Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. Martin also continues to edit the Wild Cards series and produce for House of the Dragon and AMC's Dark Winds.
For more on A Song of Ice and Fire, check out our guide on how to read the Game of Thrones books in order.
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