What storyline will The Winds of Winter pick up from? George R. R. Martin's sixth novel in the Game of Thrones TV and book series explained 

George R.R. Martin is reportedly working on The Winds of Winter, his sixth book, where the storyline will continue from the unsolved events of A Feast for Crows (the fourth book) and A Dance with Dragons (the fifth book). The Winds of Winter, however, will not mark the end of the A Song of Ice and Fire book series, as the author plans to conclude with a seventh book, reportedly titled A Dream of Spring.

A Song of Ice and Fire is what inspired the infamous HBO show, Game of Thrones. Fans have been eagerly anticipating the next book in the series since the show premiered in 2011.

Martin has also commented on the book's impending release on multiple occasions, but after he allegedly missed the deadline for his sixth book, the producers of Game of Thrones decided to finish the show without adhering to the source material. As a result, the sixth season of the show completely bypassed the book's plot.

Due to the popularity of Game of Thrones, the realm of Westeros has grown with the release of House of the Dragon and other planned spinoffs. Still awaiting publication, The Winds of Winter completes the original series, leaving fans eager for its release. The exact date of the release, however, is still unknown.

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Where will The Winds of Winter novel pick up from?

The Winds of Winter will be the sixth book in George R.R. Martin's epic fantasy series, A Song of Ice and Fire.

The preceding volumes, A Feast For Crows and A Dance with Dragons, give us some hints about the storyline of the sixth book because of their sudden endings, such as Daenry's disappearance, Jon's resurrection after his death, and at least one major battle in which Eurons attack Oldtown. It is expected that all of these will be addressed in The Winds of Winter.

Martin told Smarter Travel in 2012 that his new book will "open with the two big battles":

"There were a 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 the forces of Stannis Baratheon and Roose Bolton in and around Winterfell] and the battle at Meereen — the battle of Slaver’s Bay [between the forces of Daenerys Targaryen and the slavers of Yunkai across the Narrow Sea].”

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Why is The Winds of Winter taking so long to release?

The first book in The Song of Ice and Fire series, A Game of Thrones, was published in 1996. Seven books are planned for the series, with A Dance with Dragons being the latest, published in 2011. The sixth book, The Winds of Winter, will be followed by A Dream of Spring, the last volume.

George R. R. Martin has also explained previously why his current novels have been taking him so long, resulting in him not meeting the deadlines for the Game of Thrones show. Martin, in 2022, made an update on his upcoming novel in Not A Blog, stating:

“I have been at work in my winter garden. Things are growing… and changing, as does happen with us gardeners. Things twist, things change, new ideas come to me (thank you, muse), old ideas prove unworkable, I write, I rewrite, I restructure, I rip everything apart and rewrite again, I go through doors that lead nowhere, and doors that open on marvels. Sounds mad, I know. But it’s how I write. Always has been. Always will be. For good or ill.”

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How much of The Winds of Winter is written?

According to George R.R. Martin, more than half of the storyline of The Winds of Winter is completed, but the book still requires work on hundreds of pages. On its completion, the book will reportedly be the longest in the A Song Of Ice and Fire book series so far.

Martin aims to make its additional sequence, A Dream of Spring, with around 3000 pages.