'The Winds of Winter' Release Date Update, Plot, Spoilers: Expect Major Character Will Die in Game of Thrones Season 6

Mar 18, 2016 12:02 PM EDT

A Song of Ice and Fire readers are waiting for the launching of the sixth book of the series the Winds of Winter. With the upcoming premiere of Game of Thrones Season 6, rumors about the next installment of the fantasy novel are now spreading online.

We've gathered all of the latest news on the web so that you'll know when will the Winds of Winter by George R.R. Martin be released.

George R.R. Martin has not yet announced the official release date of the Winds of Winter, but sources privy to the author's timeline say the book will definitely come out before the airing of Game of Thrones Season 7 next year. For some people, they believe the book will be available sometime in December this year -- a good strategy for the publisher, economically speaking.

International Business Times reported that Game of Thrones Season 6 will show the death of a major character, which is still a mystery for viewers. The death of this rumored character will apparently change the events in the TV show.  The rumors started when HBO released a teaser titled Hall of Faces.

In relation to the forthcoming The Winds of Winter, Martin says fans should not feel bad that the book has not been released yet because there are some plotlines in the show that have deviated from the book.

One of the major plot deviations involves Stannis Baratheon and his daughter Shireen. In the TV series, fans saw how Stannis offered his daughter to the God of Light. Shireen was burned alive in the Season 5 as a sacrifice for his father's battle against the Boltons. However, the tiered and worn army of Stannis did not win against the Boltons. Eventually, Stannis died. He was killed by Brienne of Tarth.

Both Shireen and Stannis are still alive in the books. However, Martin confirmed that Shireen will die the in the the Winds of Winter, and it is still not yet clear if Stannis will also lose his life in the novel.

The producers of the TV series have said in their previous interviews that the show and the books are diverging. Some of the dead characters in the TV series may continue to live in the books and vice versa. 

Will George R.R Martin release the Winds of Winter this year? Let's wait and see.