Winds of Winter release date, sample chapters: Jon Snow turns into a Warg, Tyrion Lannister might bid fans goodbye in George R.R. Martin’s newest novel

By Kara Michelle Sep 08, 2014 08:49 AM EDT

Winds of Winter release date, sample chapters: Jon Snow turns into a Warg, Tyrion Lannister might bid fans goodbye in George R.R. Martin's newest novel

Is Jon Snow dead?

A Song of Ice and Fire fans would have to find out by April 2015 - the speculated Winds of Winter release date.

Winds of Winter is the second to the last book of the hugely popular series; these are the books which have been the basis for HBO's Game of Thrones.

Winds of Winter spoilers revealed that author George R.R. Martin might be killing off more beloved characters in his upcoming work. The author is constant in saying that death is and always will be in his works and that even the most popular characters will not be spared.

Fans speculate that Jon Snow of the Night's Watch might be next. Based on The Dance of Dragons' cliffhanger ending, Jon Snow was stabbed multiple times and could possibly die - but may come back as a warg, or a skin changer.

Wargs are people with the ability to enter the minds of animals and perceive the world through their senses and even control their actions.

Of Tyrion Lannister, he says, "I love all my characters of course but Tyrion has always been my favorite. The only thing that is hard is that it takes me days and sometimes weeks to come up with the one-liners that Tyrion comes up with in, like, a minute. I wish in real life I was nearly as acerbic and funny as Tyrion."

Martin hints, "They say that you write what you want to read and you create what you want to watch. I love shows that are unpredictable. I like shows to be more real. Predictable shows and books bore me. I want to be in the edge of my seat. So the deaths are important and at all times necessary."

Read a Winds of Winter sample chapter here: Excerpt from the Winds of Winter | George R.R. Martin