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

The long-awaited sixth installment in George R.R. Martin's epic fantasy series, A Song of Ice and Fire, titled The Winds of Winter, remains one of the most eagerly anticipated works of fiction. Since the release of the fifth book, A Dance with Dragons, in 2011, fans have been eagerly awaiting the continuation of the saga that inspired HBO's Game of Thrones. In the intervening 13 years, HBO has aired Seasons 2-8 of Game of Thrones and Seasons 1 and 2 of its first spinoff series, House of the Dragon. As Martin continues to work on this next novel, here's a comprehensive look at everything known about The Winds of Winter, including insights into its length, expected publication timeline, story details, and how it will differ from the TV series.

Jump to:

• When will it come out?
• How long will it be?
• Story details
• Book vs. TV series

A Song of Ice and Fire Box Set

Contains the set of 5 books.
$85.00 save 46%
$46.00 at Amazon

Winds of Winter Release Date

There is currently no set release date or window for The Winds of Winter. Initially, Martin and his publishers aimed to have the manuscript ready by the end of October 2015, hoping to release the book in March 2016, ahead of Game of Thrones Season 6. However, this deadline, like subsequent ones at the end of 2015 and by the end of 2017, passed without completion. In 2020, Martin set a goal to finish the initial draft by 2021, which did not materialize. The last public estimation from Martin came in October 2022, when he stated he was about 75% done with the manuscript. By November 2023, he had completed 1,100 pages, a figure unchanged from his December 2022 mention on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. In a December 2024 interview, Martin expressed uncertainty about completing The Winds of Winter within 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 about 1,100 pages and noted that he had "hundreds more pages to go." The final two books of the series, The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring, are projected to exceed 3,000 pages combined. If The Winds of Winter reaches 1,500 pages, it will be the longest book in the A Song of Ice and Fire series, surpassing A Dance with Dragons, which was just over 1,000 pages in its original hardcover edition.

Winds of Winter Story

There are no spoilers in this section, save for the names of characters who will 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 promised that the novel will open with two significant battles: the battle in the ice between the forces of Stannis Baratheon and Roose Bolton near Winterfell, and the battle at Meereen, known as the battle of Slaver's Bay, involving Daenerys Targaryen and the slavers of Yunkai.

Martin has teased that Daenerys Targaryen and Tyrion Lannister's paths will finally intersect, albeit in a limited way, as both characters will have substantial roles. Tyrion, having decided to cling to life, will navigate the chaos of battle, while Daenerys embraces her Targaryen heritage. The Dothraki are set to make a significant return, and "a lot of stuff is happening at The Wall." Martin has also hinted at an "interesting take on unicorns." He has warned readers to brace for darker chapters, emphasizing that "winter is the time when things die, and cold and ice and darkness fill the world."

The 25 Best Game of Thrones Episodes

27 Images

Winds of Winter Characters

As of 2016, Martin confirmed he would not introduce new point-of-view (POV) 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 remain a POV character. Other potential POVs include Davos Seaworth, Samwell Tarly, and Melisandre. The prologue will feature Robb Stark's wife, Jeyne Westerling, though it's unclear if she will be a POV character.

House of the Dragon Season 2 First Look Images

7 Images

Winds of Winter: Book vs. TV Show

The Winds of Winter will diverge significantly from the Game of Thrones TV series due to the broader scope and larger cast of the books. Martin has stated that some characters who died in the show will survive in the books, and vice versa. New characters not seen on-screen will play crucial roles, and existing characters will have different fates and interactions. In a 2022 blog post, Martin elaborated on these differences, noting that his "gardening" approach to writing has led the books further from the series' plot.

Martin confirmed that characters like Victarion Greyjoy, Arianne Martell, Areo Hotah, Jon Connington, and Aeron Damphair, who did not appear in the show, will have POV chapters that impact the story. Additionally, secondary characters such as Lady Stoneheart, Young Griff, the Tattered Prince, Penny, Brown Ben Plumm, the Shavepate, Marwyn the Mage, Darkstar, Jeyne Westerling, and others will play significant roles. Some characters, like Yara and Euron Greyjoy, will be portrayed differently in the books compared to the show. Martin also teased a major twist in The Winds of Winter involving a character dead in the show but alive in the books.

A Dream of Spring and Other Future Works

The seventh and final book in the series, A Dream of Spring, is also anticipated to be around 1,500 pages or more. Martin has hinted that the ending will be "as much bittersweet as it is happy." There is no set timeline for its release.

In addition to The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring, Martin is working on a second volume of his Targaryen history, tentatively titled Blood & Fire, and more stories in his Tales of Dunk and Egg series, which will serve as the basis for HBO's upcoming spinoff, Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. Martin also continues to edit the Wild Cards series and is a producer 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.