George R.R. Martin's The Winds of Winter, the highly anticipated sixth installment in the A Song of Ice and Fire series, remains one of the most eagerly awaited books in fantasy literature. Its creation has spanned over a decade, beginning after the release of A Dance with Dragons in 2011. In the intervening years, HBO aired eight seasons of Game of Thrones and 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 known about The Winds of Winter, encompassing Martin's comments on its length and publishing timeline, its characters, and its divergence from the television adaptation.
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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 or window for The Winds of Winter.
Martin and his publishers initially aimed for completion by October 2015, anticipating a March 2016 release ahead of Game of Thrones Season 6. This deadline, later extended to the end of 2015, passed without the manuscript's completion. Optimism for a 2017 release was expressed in January of that year, followed by a 2021 target in 2020, neither of which materialized. This appears to be the last time Martin publicly estimated a release date.
In October 2022, Martin reported being approximately 75% complete. Progress appeared minimal over the following year, with 1,100 pages reported completed in November 2023—a figure consistent with his December 2022 appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. A December 2024 interview revealed a less optimistic outlook regarding lifetime completion. AnswerSee ResultsWinds of Winter Length
The Winds of Winter is anticipated to be approximately 1,500 pages. As of November 2023, Martin stated he had written roughly 1,100 pages, with "hundreds more pages to go." He has indicated that the final two books in the series will collectively exceed 3,000 pages.
A 1,500-page Winds of Winter would surpass the length of its predecessor, A Dance with Dragons, which was just over 1,000 pages in its original hardcover edition.
Winds of Winter Story
This section avoids spoilers beyond mentioning characters appearing in The Winds of Winter.
The Winds of Winter will continue the narrative threads from A Feast for Crows and A Dance with Dragons (books 4 and 5, which followed different characters concurrently). Martin has indicated a dynamic opening:
“There were a lot of cliffhangers at the end of A Dance with Dragons. Those will be resolved very early. I’m going to open with the two big battles that I was building up to, the battle in the ice [between Stannis Baratheon's and Roose Bolton's forces near Winterfell] and the battle at Meereen — the battle of Slaver’s Bay [between Daenerys Targaryen and the slavers of Yunkai].”
Daenerys Targaryen and Tyrion Lannister's paths will converge, though largely separately for much of the book. Tyrion's focus shifts towards survival, while Daenerys embraces her Targaryen heritage. The Dothraki will return prominently, and significant events will unfold at The Wall. Martin also mentioned an "interesting take on unicorns." Overall, expect a darker tone, with Martin describing "dark chapters" and anticipating a challenging read.
Winds of Winter Characters
As of 2016, Martin planned no new point-of-view characters. 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
Daenerys Targaryen's return as a POV character is highly probable. Other potential POV characters include Davos Seaworth, Samwell Tarly, and Melisandre. Jeyne Westerling's appearance in the prologue is confirmed.
Winds of Winter: Book vs. TV Show
The Winds of Winter will significantly diverge from Game of Thrones. Martin has stated that characters' fates will differ, with some surviving in the books who died in the show, and vice versa. New characters and expanded roles for those absent from the show are anticipated.
A 2022 blog post by Martin elaborates on these differences: He notes the book's greater complexity, introducing characters like Victarion Greyjoy, Arianne Martell, Areo Hotah, Jon Connington, and Aeron Damphair, along with numerous secondary characters. He highlights discrepancies between book and show versions of characters such as Yarra and Euron Greyjoy, emphasizing that the book's scope and depth necessitate these deviations. He confirms the continued presence of characters like Quaithe, Rickon Stark, and Jeyne Poole, and the introduction of new characters. Importantly, he states that not all characters surviving the show will survive the books, and vice versa. A major twist is teased, involving a character dead 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, is also expected to be 1,500 pages or more. Martin anticipates a bittersweet conclusion. No release date is available.
Beyond A Song of Ice and Fire, Martin is working on a second volume of Targaryen history, additional stories in the Dunk and Egg series (related to the upcoming Knight of the Seven Kingdoms series), and continues his involvement with Wild Cards, House of the Dragon, and AMC's Dark Winds.
For further information on A Song of Ice and Fire, consult our guide on reading the books in order.
