Game of Thrones creator confirms which characters have definitely been killed off

Everyone in the Seven Kingdoms is still reeling from the news that the sixth book in the Song of Fire and Ice series - The Winds of Winter - will not be published before the new season of Game of Thrones.

But a few pieces of important information from George R.R Martin's latest blog post went largely unnoticed. Please note, this is your SPOILER ALERT klaxon... We all know the TV series isn't always 100% faithful to the books, but Season 5 did leave us with quite a few cliffhangers, the most obvious being the fate of a certain bastard in Castle Black. Here's what George R.R Martin had to say regarding the characters that have definitely been killed off in the show. It's up to you though to decide if the author is as untrustworthy as Littlefinger or as honourable as Ned Stark. Here's exactly what he said: "Just consider. Mago, Irri, Rakharo, Xaro Xhoan Daxos, Pyat Pree, Pyp, Grenn, Ser Barristan Selmy, Queen Selyse, Princess Shireen, Princess Myrcella, Mance Rayder, and King Stannis are all dead in the show, alive in the books. "Some of them will die in the books as well, yes... but not all of them, and some may die at different times in different ways. Balon Greyjoy, on the flip side, is dead in the books, alive on the show. His brothers Euron Crow's Eye and Victarion have not yet been introduced (will they appear? I ain't saying)". "Meanwhile Jhiqui, Aggo, Jhogo, Jeyne Poole, Dalla (and her child) and her sister Val, Princess Arianne Martell, Prince Quentyn Martell, Willas Tyrell, Ser Garlan the Gallant, Lord Wyman Manderly, the Shavepate, the Green Grace, Brown Ben Plumm, the Tattered Prince, Pretty Meris, Bloodbeard, Griff and Young Griff, and many more have never been part of the show, yet remain characters in the books. "Several are viewpoint characters, and even those who are not may have significant roles in the story to come in THE WINDS OF WINTER and A DREAM OF SPRING". There you go, it seems that Stannis did indeed meet the pointy end of Brienne's sword and, on another note, not once is the name of Jon Snow mentioned in this morbid list of the TV dead. If anyone knows something, surely it must be George R.R. Martin. Bring on Season 6.