The Winds of Winter, the eagerly anticipated sixth installment in George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series, remains one of the most awaited works in modern fantasy literature. Since the release of the fifth book, A Dance with Dragons, in 2011, fans have been eagerly awaiting the next chapter of this epic saga, which inspired HBO's hit series Game of Thrones and its spinoff, House of the Dragon. In the 13 years since A Dance with Dragons, HBO has aired Seasons 2-8 of Game of Thrones and the first two seasons of House of the Dragon.
As George R.R. Martin continues to craft the next novel in the A Song of Ice and Fire series, here's a comprehensive look at everything we know about The Winds of Winter. From the book's expected length and publishing timeline to its characters and divergences from the TV series, we've got you covered.
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
Currently, there is no confirmed release date or window for The Winds of Winter. Initially, Martin and his publishers aimed to have the manuscript ready by October 2015 for a March 2016 release, ahead of Game of Thrones Season 6. However, this deadline was missed, as were subsequent targets set for the end of 2015 and the end of 2017. In 2020, Martin expressed hope to finish the initial draft by 2021, but that timeline also did not materialize. The last public estimation came in October 2022, when Martin stated he was about 75% done with the manuscript. By November 2023, the page count stood at 1,100 pages, a figure unchanged from a December 2022 mention on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. In a December 2024 interview, Martin candidly admitted that he may never finish The Winds of Winter in his lifetime.
Winds of Winter Length
The Winds of Winter is expected to be around 1,500 pages long. As of November 2023, Martin had completed roughly 1,100 pages and indicated he had "hundreds more pages to go." The final two books in the A Song of Ice and Fire series are projected to exceed 3,000 pages combined. If The Winds of Winter reaches 1,500 pages, it will surpass A Dance with Dragons, the current longest book in the series, which was just over 1,000 pages in its original hardcover release.
Winds of Winter Story
This section contains no spoilers, only the names of characters 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, continuing the parallel narratives of these books. Martin has promised an explosive start, resolving the cliffhangers from A Dance with Dragons early on. He plans to open with two significant battles: one in the ice between Stannis Baratheon and Roose Bolton near Winterfell, and another at Meereen, known as the battle of Slaver's Bay, involving Daenerys Targaryen and the slavers of Yunkai.
Martin has hinted that Daenerys Targaryen and Tyrion Lannister's paths will intersect "in a way," but they will remain apart for much of the book. Both characters will play significant roles, with Tyrion striving to survive and Daenerys embracing her Targaryen heritage. The Dothraki are set to return prominently, and significant events will unfold at The Wall. Additionally, Martin has teased an "interesting take on unicorns" in the narrative. He has warned that the book will take a dark turn, befitting its title, The Winds of Winter, and that things will "get worse before they get better."
Winds of Winter Characters
As of 2016, Martin confirmed he was not planning to introduce new point-of-view characters in The Winds of Winter. Here are the characters confirmed to have chapters from their perspective, based on Martin's released preview chapters, blog posts, and public readings:
- 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, it's highly likely that Daenerys Targaryen will also be a point-of-view character. Other potential POV characters include Davos Seaworth, Samwell Tarly, and Melisandre. Additionally, Robb Stark's wife, Jeyne Westerling, will appear in the prologue, though it's unclear if the section will be from her perspective.
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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 book series. Martin has indicated that characters who died in the show may survive in the books, and vice versa. New characters will also be introduced, and those absent from the screen will play crucial roles in the upcoming narrative.
In a 2022 blog post, Martin elaborated on these differences:
What I have noticed more and more of late, however, is my gardening is taking me further and further away from the television series. Yes, some of the things you saw on HBO in Game of Thrones you will also see in The Winds of Winter (though maybe not in quite the same ways)… but much of the rest will be quite different.
And really, when you think about it, this was inevitable. The novels are much bigger and much much more complex than the series. Certain things that happened on HBO will not happen in the books. And vice versa. I have viewpoint characters in the books never seen on the show: Victarion Greyjoy, Arianne Martell, Areo Hotah, Jon Connington, Aeron Damphair. They will all have chapters, and the things they do and say will impact the story and the major characters who were on the show. I have legions of secondary characters, not POVs but nonetheless important to the plot, who also figure in the story: Lady Stoneheart, Young Griff, the Tattered Prince, Penny, Brown Ben Plumm, the Shavepate, Marwyn the Mage, Darkstar, Jeyne Westerling. Some characters you saw in the show are quite different than the versions in the novels. Yarra Greyjoy is not Asha Greyjoy, and HBO's Euron Greyjoy is way, way, way, way different from mine. Quaithe still has a part to play. So does Rickon Stark. And poor Jeyne Poole. And… well, the list is long. (And all this is part of why Winds is taking so long. This is hard, guys).
Oh, and there will be new characters as well. No new viewpoints, I promise you that, but with all these journeys and battles and scheming to come, inevitably our major players will be encountering new people in lands far and near.
One thing I can say, in general enough terms that I will not be spoiling anything: not all of the characters who survived until the end of Game of Thrones will survive until the end of A Song of Ice & Fire, and not all of the characters who died on Game of Thrones will die in A Song of Ice & Fire. (Some will, sure. Of course. Maybe most. But definitely not all.) ((Of course, I could change my mind again next week, with the next chapter I write. That’s gardening)).
And the ending? You will need to wait until I get there. Some things will be the same. A lot will not.
These comments should reassure fans who felt the accelerated pace of Game of Thrones' final season compromised the character development and overarching narratives.
Martin has also teased a significant twist in The Winds of Winter that couldn't be adapted for the show, involving a couple of characters, one of whom was dead by the end of Season 5 in the series but remains alive in the books.
A Dream of Spring and Other Future Works
A Dream of Spring, the seventh and final book in the A Song of Ice and Fire series, is anticipated to be at least 1,500 pages long. Martin has described the ending as likely to be "as much bittersweet as it is happy," though no release timeline has been set.
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 further stories in his Tales of Dunk and Egg series, which will form the basis for HBO's upcoming Game of Thrones spinoff, Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. Martin also continues to edit the Wild Cards series, a shared-universe sci-fi anthology he created in 1987, and serves as a producer for two active TV series: House of the Dragon and AMC's Dark Winds.
For more on A Song of Ice and Fire, explore our guide on how to read the Game of Thrones books in order.
