The Winds of Winter plot spoilers, release date: George RR Martin confirms there will be deaths

The release date of The Winds of Winter, the next instalment in the A Song of Ice and Fire series, is yet to be announced, but author George R. R. Martin has revealed that it won't be a feel-good book.
While answering questions onstage at Guadalajara International Book Fair, the author said the tone of his next instalment is dark.

"There are a lot of dark chapters right now in the book that I'm writing," he said. "You know, it is called The Winds of Winter, and I've been telling you for 20 years that winter was coming. And winter's the time when things die, and you know... cold, and ice, and darkness fills the world.
"So this is not going to be the happy, feel-good book that people may be hoping for."

With this, Martin has confirmed that The Winds of Winter will feature deaths that are sure to upset fans. One person whose death has been confirmed is Shireen. Shortly after HBO's Game of Thrones killed off the character, Martin confirmed that the character meets a similar face in The Winds of Winter as well. Martin said that it was always his intention to have Melisandre and Stannis sacrifice Shireen to the God of Light.

While The Winds of Winter will have a lot of dark chapters, Martin did say that things will get better eventually, and the end is going to be bittersweet. "In any story, the classic structure is things get worse before they get better," he said. "So things are getting worse for a lot of people."

"I'm not going to tell you how I'm going to end my book," said Martin. "But I suspect the overall flavour is going to be as much bittersweet as it is happy."

A Song of Ice and Fire is the source material for Game of Thrones, which is currently on Season 7.