George R.R. Martin
"The Winds of Winter," the latest installment of George R.R. Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire," will start out with "two enormous battles." Reuters

George R.R. Martin isn’t finished with “The Winds of Winter” just yet, but he mercifully provided impatient “Game of Thrones” fans with a few details on what will happen in his latest novel.

“The Winds of Winter” is the upcoming sixth book in Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” book series, the novels upon which the HBO series “Game Of Thrones” is based. In a recent interview, the 65-year-old author gave Entertainment Weekly an idea of how the story will progress.

(WARNING: major “Game of Thrones” and “A Song of Ice and Fire” spoilers are written below.)

“I think we’re gonna start out with a big smash with the two enormous battles,” Martin told EW. For the uninitiated, “A Dance with Dragons,” the fifth book in the series, ends with Stannis Baratheon and his forces on the brink of open war with an army led by Ramsay Bolton. Ramsay holds Winterfell for his father, Roose Bolton, a Lannister ally and Warden of the North. Meanwhile, Stannis is intent on driving the Boltons out of the area.

The second battle takes place in Meereen across the Narrow Sea, where forces loyal to Daenerys Targaryen are besieged by Yunkai, a powerful neighboring city hell-bent on ending her rule.

Martin stayed away from specifics, but noted that “The Winds of Winter” will contain just as much intrigue as previous “ASOIAF” novels. “We have more deaths, and we have more betrayals. We have more marriages,” he said.

He also teased that Daenerys will cross paths with Tyrion Lannister, a favorite among “Game of Thrones” fans. At the end of the show’s fourth season, Tyrion fled across the Narrow Sea after murdering his father, Tywin, with a crossbow.

“Well, Tyrion and Dany will intersect, in a way, but for much of the book they’re still apart,” he said. “They both have quite large roles to play here. Tyrion has decided that he actually would like to live, for one thing, which he wasn’t entirely sure of during the last book, and he’s now working toward that end -- if he can survive the battle that’s breaking out all around him. And Dany has embraced her heritage as a Targaryen and embraced the Targaryen words. So they’re both coming home.”

Martin didn’t say what would happen to other main characters, but he did say that the Dothraki will return to the story “in a big way” and that “a lot of stuff is happening at The Wall.”

Unfortunately for “Game of Thrones” fans, Martin didn't say when he’ll be finished with “The Winds Of Winter.” His editor, Anne Groell, recently said that “ASOIAF” may consist of eight novels, as opposed to seven as originally planned.

Want to find out more about “The Winds of Winter?” Check out a preview chapter here.