For the first time since the very popular TV series “Game of Thrones” hit the small screen on HBO nearly six years ago, fans are being deprived of the usual loads of spoilers for the upcoming sixth season of the show.
When “Game of Thrones” Season 1 was released in April 2011, critically-acclaimed author George R.R. Martin has already released four books in his seven-book fantasy novel series “A Song of Ice and Fire” where the TV series is based.
The first four books of the series were already released including “Game of Thrones” in 1996, “A Clash of Kings” in 1998, “A Storm of Swords” in 2000, and “A Feast of Crows” in 2005.
The fifth book titled “A Dance with Dragons” was officially unveiled in 2011 but made it to bookshelves on March 15, 2012, just before the premiere of Season 2 of “Game of Thrones” on HBO.
Given the presence of the books, fans of the TV series sure had plenty of spoilers about what to expect for every start of the “Game of Thrones” TV season.
No sixth book, no major spoilers
Thus, when the sixth book of the novel, “The Winds of Winter” has yet to come out until this time, nearly five years after its predecessor came out, fans no longer had a source for major spoilers for the upcoming Season 6 of “Game of Thrones.”
Most of them had to rely on speculations, hints, or teases in order to whet their appetites for spoilers. Some others make the extra mile of going to the location shoots and take snapshots of the production while it is in progress.
As it is, “Game of Thrones” Season 6 would most likely premiere on HBO on April 24 although the network has yet to make a confirmation about it.
As far as “The Winds of Winter” release date is concerned, previous reports indicate that the book could be released anytime from October 2015 to March 2016 or just before the Season 6 premiere of “Game of Thrones” on HBO in April.
Now, it seems that the book would be released after the premiere of Season 6, officially denying avid fans of the TV series of major spoilers which they have been accustomed to getting prior to the start of every season of the show.
Confirming the delayed release
Martin practically confirmed that the book will come out after the Season 6 premiere of “Game of Thrones” when he announced recently that “The Winds of Winter” is not yet complete at this time but he did share a photo of the cover of the new book, reports the Inquisitr.
In a subsequent Q&A with fans and book readers, he also confirmed that “The Winds of Winter” will indeed provide plenty of spoilers for the TV series. However, he also acknowledged that the show has not always followed the book completely so there will likely be things in Season 6 of “Game of Thrones” that are not in the book.
In terms of some of the things that fans should expect on Season 6 of “Game of Thrones,” they should be welcoming Brandon Stark back as the character was not shown at all during Season 5. Bran Starks’ storyline is where the TV show lags behind the novels and showrunner David Benioff confirmed that Bran Stark will come to terms with his powers similar to Luke Skywalker realizing his dark side between “The Empire Strikes Back” and “Return of the Jedi.”
Another major spoiler that made it to the internet last year was the so-called ‘reunion’ image between four major characters of the TV series including Jon Snow, Sansa Stark, Ramsay Bolton, and Peter ‘Littlefinger’ Baelish.
The photo pretty much confirmed that Jon Snow will survive the multiple stabbing he got from his brothers in the Night Watch during the Season 5 finale.