‘The Winds of Winter’ Plot Spoilers: GRRM States New Book Give Him ‘Flexibility For Killing People’

Despite the overwhelming long wait for the next book in George R.R. Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” fans are still eager anticipating its arrival. Although the famed author hasn’t given any specific indication as to when fans will be able to get their hands on the forthcoming installment, “The Winds of Winter,” he is, at least, providing some information on the plot and what readers can expect for the favorite characters. At a recent event in London, GRRM stated that the final two books in the series are still unfinished, which is a genuine crushing blow for ASOIAF loyalists who were hoping to read the sixth book before the Season 5 premiere of “Game of Thrones” on HBO this spring. However he did reveal that the plotlines are coming to a close, causing GRRM’s favorite characters to intersect on their individual character arcs.

Due to the large ensemble cast in both the TV series and book series, GRRM writes his chapters told from certain characters first person perspective. The character perspectives vary from book to book, however there is at least one character in each region in Westeros, including the North, the Iron Island, the Vale, the Westernlands, The Reach, the Stromlands and Dorne. "I have a large number of important characters who I switch between to tell the entirety of the story, and that limits who I can kill," GRRM explained. "Sometimes there’s only one character who’s my eye in a particular location, and if I kill that character everything going on in that particular subplot is going to be lost."

This writing style and character dynamic gives some characters a certain level of safety in the dangerous world of “Game of Thrones,” however this safety is going to change because the characters are going to be meeting up eliminating the necessity for two narrators in one location. "Now it’s getting to the point where the story is beginning to delta back in, and the viewpoint characters are occasionally meeting up with each other now and being in the same point at the same time, which gives me a lot more flexibility for killing people," George stated.