‘Game of Thrones’: George R.R. Martin Says Some Characters Will Still Be Alive in Next Book

It’s been six years since George R.R. Martin released “A Dance with Dragons,” the fifth book out of seven in his lauded “Game of Thrones” series. But while fans have anxiously awaited the release of “The Winds of Winter,” HBO wasted no time in moving ahead with their adaptation of Martin’s books.

While Martin has always given the series his blessing, even writing past episodes, he’s quick to make the distinction between the show and the story being told in his own work. In an interview with Metro, he said that he no longer has time to watch the series because he is too busy writing and “touring.” Martin also explained how this will impact the upcoming novel, “The Winds of Winter.”

“The book series and TV adaptation go their separate ways,”  Martin told Metro. “On the screen characters are killed right and left. About twenty of them have died already, which are quite alive to me and will appear in a new book.”

Martin also hit back at critics who have complained about the long wait between books. “I did not start to write slower over the years,” he told Metro. “I was working on the first book for six years and four years on the second one.”