'The Winds of Winter': Release date, plot, characters and all about the new 'Game of Thrones' book from George RR Martin

George RR Martin released the fifth installment in the book series named 'A Dance with Dragons' in 2011 and fans have now been waiting for nearly a decade for the sixth novel
(Getty Images)
(Getty Images)

Will the new 'Game of Thrones' book be out soon? That is one question every 'GOT' fan is asking as the epic fantasy television series is based on the book series ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ that has over 7 volumes. The book series now has its sixth installment making some progress in terms of writing.

Author George RR Martin released the first book in the series named 'A Game of Thrones' in 1996 and the fifth installment named 'A Dance with Dragons' in 2011. Fans have been waiting for the sixth book in the series named 'The Winds of Winter'. Since they have been waiting for over a decade for the new book, they were over the moon when Martin revealed that he has progressed on the book's writing. 

The cast of 'Game of Thrones' at the Season 8 screening at the Waterfront Hall on April 12, 2019, in Belfast, Northern Ireland (Getty Images)

The author has revealed that he is more focussed now on writing the sixth book. As per Finance Rewind, Martin said that due to Covid-19 pandemic he decided to stay in a cabin in the woods far away from distractions. Further, the happy news is that he has finally finished a few chapters of the book in just a week's time. As per the site, Martin has been working in solitude which helped him prioritize things. So can we expect the book to be out soon? Here is all you need to know about the literary marvel.

Release date

George RR Martin has not mentioned any release date for ‘The Winds of Winter'. Watch this space for more updates.

Plot

As per media reports, 'The Winds of Winter’ will take readers farther north than any of the previous books. While the previous book in the series ‘A Dance with Dragons’ covered less story than Martin intended, excluding at least one planned large battle sequence and leaving several character threads in suspense, the ‘The Winds of Winter’ is surely going to open with many revelations. While an official plot has not been announced, Martin said in a 2012 interview with Smarter Travel, “Obviously, I’m going to continue the story. 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 and the battle at Meereen — the battle of Slaver’s Bay. And then take it from there."

He revealed that the characters will be in dark spaces in the upcoming book. In a 2016 interview with EW he said, "There are a lot of dark chapters right now in the book that I’m writing." Martin added, "It is called The Winds of Winter, and I’ve been telling you for 20 years that winter was coming. Winter is the time when things die, and cold and ice and darkness fill the world, so this is not going to be the happy feel-good that people may be hoping for. Some of the characters (are) in very dark places."

Cast

We are familiar with the characters of 'Game of Thrones'. As per media reports, Martin has confirmed the characters who will have point-of-view chapters in ‘The Winds of Winter’ will include Sansa Stark, Arya Stark, Arianne Martell, Aeron Greyjoy, Theon Greyjoy, Victarion Greyjoy, Tyrion Lannister and Barristan Selmy. 

Author

George Raymond Richard Martin is an esteemed and renowned American author and screenwriter. Famous for his book series ‘The Song of Ice and Fire’, the author has earned a lot of praise and honors for his writing. This includes the prestigious Hugo awards given for best science fiction and fantasy works and the Quill award. Born in 1948 in New Jersey, Martin began writing at a very young age. He used to sell monster stories to other neighborhood children for pennies, marking his interest in storytelling as mentioned on his blog. Later he became a comic book fan and collector in high school and began to write fiction for comic fanzines. His first professional sale was made in 1970 at age 21. 

George R. R. Martin attends the 'Game Of Thrones' Season 8 Premiere on April 3, 2019, in New York City (Getty Images)

The author has received a Bachelor's degree in Journalism from Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, and went on to complete a Masters in Journalism in 1971. He has written numerous short stories and novels. Some of his writing credits in short stories and novellas include ‘A Song for Lya’, ‘Sandkings’, ‘The Way of Cross & Dragon’ and ‘Portraits of His Children’.

He is celebrated for books including ‘A Game of Thrones', ‘A Storm of Swords', ‘A Feast for Crows’ and ‘A Dance with Dragons’. With such a massive oeuvre of work, the author has won Daedelus Award, Locus Award, Nebula Award, Hugo Award, and World Fantasy Award, to name a few. Amassing great success in the world of fantasy novel writing, the author believes, "The best fantasy is written in the language of dreams. It is alive as dreams are alive, more real than real… for a moment at least… that long magic moment before we wake."

If you like this, you'll love these:

‘A Game of Thrones’

‘A Clash of Kings’

‘A Storm of Swords’

‘A Feast for Crows’

‘A Dance with Dragons’

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