The Winds of Winter: Everything We Know About the Next Game of Thrones Book

George R.R. Martin's The Winds of Winter, the sixth book in the highly anticipated A Song of Ice and Fire series, remains one of the most eagerly awaited works of fiction. Following the 2011 release of A Dance with Dragons (Book 5), the wait has spanned over a decade, encompassing the entire run of HBO's Game of Thrones and the first two seasons of its prequel, House of the Dragon. While Martin continues to work on the novel, we've compiled a comprehensive overview of everything currently known about The Winds of Winter, covering his comments on its length, publishing timeline, characters, and key differences from the television adaptation.

Jump to:

• Release Date
• Length
• Story Details
• Book vs. TV Series

Winds of Winter Release Date

There is currently no official release date or timeframe for The Winds of Winter. Initial hopes for completion by October 2015 and a March 2016 release (to coincide with Game of Thrones Season 6) were ultimately unmet. Subsequent optimistic predictions in January 2017 (before the end of that year), and a 2021 target in 2020, also proved inaccurate. Martin's last public estimate regarding publication appears to have been in 2021.

In October 2022, Martin stated he was approximately 75% complete with the manuscript. However, progress since then has been less than expected. As of November 2023, he reported having written 1,100 pages – the same figure mentioned in December 2022 on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and again in a December 2024 interview, where he acknowledged that completion within his lifetime may not be possible.

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Winds of Winter Length

The Winds of Winter is projected to be approximately 1,500 pages long. As of November 2023, Martin reported having written roughly 1,100 pages, with "hundreds more pages to go." He's previously indicated that the final two A Song of Ice and Fire books will collectively exceed 3,000 pages. A 1,500-page Winds of Winter would make it the longest book in the series to date, surpassing A Dance with Dragons (just over 1,000 pages in its original hardcover edition).

Winds of Winter Story

This section avoids spoilers beyond mentioning characters who will appear.

The Winds of Winter will continue the storylines from A Feast for Crows and A Dance with Dragons (Books 4 and 5), which followed different character perspectives but ran parallel narratively. Martin has stated that the book will open with the resolution of significant cliffhangers from A Dance with Dragons, focusing on two major battles: the conflict between Stannis Baratheon and Roose Bolton near Winterfell, and the battle in Meereen between Daenerys Targaryen and the slavers of Yunkai.

Daenerys Targaryen and Tyrion Lannister's paths will intersect, though they will remain largely separated for a significant portion of the book. The Dothraki will have a substantial role, and considerable action will unfold at The Wall. Martin has also teased an "interesting take on unicorns." Overall, he's described the book as containing "dark chapters," reflecting the harsh realities of winter and foreshadowing a challenging narrative.

Winds of Winter Characters

As of 2016, Martin didn't plan on introducing new point-of-view characters. Confirmed POV characters, based on released preview chapters, blog posts, and public readings, 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

Daenerys Targaryen is also highly likely to return 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.

Winds of Winter: Book vs. TV Show

Due to the expanded scope and larger cast of the book series, The Winds of Winter will diverge significantly from the Game of Thrones television adaptation. Martin has confirmed that characters who died in the show may live in the books, and vice versa. New characters will be introduced, and those absent from the show will play crucial roles. He elaborated on these differences in a 2022 blog post, highlighting the inclusion of POV characters unique to the books (Victarion Greyjoy, Arianne Martell, Areo Hotah, Jon Connington, Aeron Damphair) and the significant differences between certain book and television characters (e.g., Yarra and Asha Greyjoy, Euron Greyjoy, Quaithe). He also mentioned the continued presence of characters like Rickon Stark, Jeyne Poole, and others. The ending, he confirmed, will also differ in significant ways from the show's conclusion.

Martin's comments suggest a more nuanced and complex narrative than that presented in the final seasons of Game of Thrones. He also teased a major plot twist involving characters, one of whom is deceased in the show but alive in the books.

A Dream of Spring and Other Future Works

A Dream of Spring, the planned seventh and final book in A Song of Ice and Fire, is anticipated to be similarly lengthy (1,500 pages or more). Martin has hinted at a bittersweet conclusion. No release date is available. In addition to completing Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring, Martin is working on a second volume of his Targaryen history (potentially titled Blood & Fire), additional stories in the Dunk and Egg series (which is the basis for the Knight of the Seven Kingdoms spinoff), and continues his involvement with the Wild Cards shared-universe series, as well as his producer roles for House of the Dragon and Dark Winds.