A Song of Ice and Fire Box Set
Contains the complete set of 5 books.
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Winds of Winter Release Date
No official release date exists for The Winds of Winter.
Martin originally targeted completion by October 2015 for a March 2016 release coinciding with Game of Thrones Season 6, as reported. This shifted to late 2015 without success. In January 2017, the author expressed hope for publication that same year. By 2020, he aimed to finish initial work during 2021, another unmet goal. This remains his last public timeline estimate.
Winds of Winter Length
The Winds of Winter will span approximately 1,500 pages. As of November 2023, Martin had written 1,100 pages with "hundreds remaining." Both concluding books should exceed 3,000 pages combined.
At 1,500 pages, Winds would surpass A Dance with Dragons as the series' longest entry (initially 1,000 pages in hardcover).
Winds of Winter Story
*No spoilers except confirming returning characters*
Winter will pick up events from A Feast for Crows and A Dance with Dragons (which occurred simultaneously). Martin told Smarter Travel in 2012:
"I'll resolve A Dance with Dragons' cliffhangers immediately, opening with twin battles: Ice (Stannis vs. Roose Bolton near Winterfell) and Fire (Daenerys versus Yunkai slavers in Meereen)."
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Daenerys and Tyrion will intersect "indirectly," Martin told EW in 2014. "Tyrion rediscovers his will to live while surviving Meereen's battle; Daenerys embraces her Targaryen heritage. Both journey homeward."
The Dothraki return prominently, while Wall events intensify. Martin promises "unique unicorns" (Winter Is Coming) and warns: "Expect darkness before light. Winds lives up to its name - winter brings death and cold." (Guadalajara Book Fair via EW).
Winds of Winter Characters
Martin confirmed no new POV characters as of 2016. Expected perspectives include:
Tyrion Lannister
Cersei Lannister
Jaime Lannister/Brienne
Stark siblings
Greyjoy family
Barristan Selmy
Arianne Martell
Jon Connington
Daenerys almost certainly returns as POV. Robb's widow Jeyne Westerling (TV's Talisa) appears in the prologue (Hypable).
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Winds of Winter: Book vs. TV Show
Key divergences await:
- Different character fates (some survivors will die; some deceased will live)
- Excised characters playing major roles
- Fundamentally altered personalities (Euron Greyjoy)
- New supporting characters
Martin elaborated in a 2022 blog post:
"The gardens grow apart. Some HBO events will occur differently; others won't happen at all. With POV characters like Victarion and Arianne absent from TV, their actions impact core storylines differently."
Regarding endings: Some overlap will occur, but Martin stresses: "Not all show survivors will live; not all casualties will perish."
Finally, Martin teased a major twist impossible on TV involving "a character dead in Season 5 but alive in books."
A Dream of Spring and Other Future Works
The concluding volume will likely exceed 1,500 pages. Martin described the ending as "bittersweet" (Guadalajara Book Fair) without committing to timelines.
Current projects include:
- Blood & Fire (Targaryen history Vol. 2)
- Dunk & Egg novellas (basis for HBO's Knight of the Seven Kingdoms)
- Editing Wild Cards anthology
- Producing House of the Dragon and Dark Winds
For reading order guidance, see our Game of Thrones book series guide.
