The Winds of Winter

George R.R. Martin is still writing it. He's said it's a priority, but he's also been open about how huge the story is and how long it's taking.

So for now, there's no confirmed timeline. The book still isn't out, and there's no window for when it might be.

Since The Winds of Winter isn't out yet, everything we know comes from the author and the sample chapters he's shared. It's the sixth book in the series, and it picks up right after A Dance with Dragons.

The story opens with two massive battles. The book kicks off with the Battle of the Ice in the North (Stannis vs. the Boltons) and the Battle of Slaver's Bay in Essos (Daenerys's forces vs. the slavers).

Major cliffhangers get resolved early. The book will quickly address the fallout from A Dance with Dragons, including Jon Snow's stabbing, which may not play out like it did on TV.

The Others and the North take center stage. Winter has arrived. The story will go further north than ever before, showing much more of the mysterious ice threat and the looming danger of the Others.

Storylines will diverge sharply from the TV show. Many characters who died on Game of Thrones are still alive in the books, and their paths will be very different. Characters like Stannis Baratheon, Barristan Selmy, and book-only figures like Young Griff and Arianne Martell still have big roles to play.

Tyrion's path inches closer to Daenerys. While they won't fully unite right away, Tyrion's storyline will move him nearer to Daenerys, with more political scheming in Meereen expected along the way.

It's a darker, more magical chapter. The political game continues, but the story is shifting into a colder, more violent, and more magical phase as the threats from the North and beyond become impossible to ignore.

Ultimately, The Winds of Winter is the penultimate chapter of the saga, setting the stage for the final book, A Dream of Spring.

George R.R. Martin is still writing it. He’s said he’s made real progress, but he’s also been open about how huge the story is and how long it’s taking.

He’s also made one thing very clear. If he can’t finish it, he doesn’t want another writer stepping in to do it for him.