George RR Martin reveals sixth Game of Thrones book will include twist not in the TV series

As we approach the air date of the sixth season of pop culture phenomenon Game of Thrones, George RR Martin has just laid down an interesting nugget of info: his next book, The Winds of Winter, will include a twist that we won’t see in the show.

As the upcoming next season has already chugged past the book in terms of story – meaning the show’s writers can pretty much do what they want – this doesn’t come as too much of a surprise. In fact, Martin’s ‘twist’ will be because the show killed off a character that didn’t actually die in the books. Here’s the quote he gave to IGN:

‘I have decided to do it. Will you know it? I don’t know. It is fairly obvious because it is something that involves a couple of characters, one of which is dead on the show, and not dead in the books. So the show can’t do it, unfortunately, because they have killed someone I have not killed.’

If you thought it wouldn’t take too long to figure out what characters Martin is talking about, he explains, ‘at this point, there are like 15 characters who are dead on the show who are still alive on the books’ – so good luck with that one. ‘Some of the “spoilers” you may encounter in season six may not be spoilers at all,’ he goes on, ‘… because the show and the books have diverged, and will continue to do so.’

The new season of Game of Thrones starts April 24.