'The Winds of Winter' release date, latest news: George R.R. Martin announces 'long-awaited' graphic novel; sixth book to end with major cliffhangers?

Famous author George R.R. Martin recently announced the launch of one of his books, but it's not exactly the novel that most people are hoping for.

Teasing it as "long-awaited" and "much requested," Martin announced on his Livejournal blog the launch date of his upcoming graphic novel "The Mystery Night," which is the third installment in his "Dunk & Egg" novellas.

The book is published by Random House, with Ben Avery on the script and Mike S. Miller for the artwork. They are the same team that worked on the two previous graphic novels "The Hedge Knight and "The Sworn Sword."

Although fans are also looking forward to any announcement about "The Winds of Winter," Martin has refrained from saying more than a few hints and teases over the years. As reported by International Business Times, the sixth novel in the "A Song of Ice and Fire" saga was supposed to be released before the premiere of the sixth season of HBO's "Game of Thrones." However, the author failed to meet the self-imposed deadline.

There are also no assurances that the novel will come out before the airing of season 7. Hence, some fans of the book series are worried that the internationally-acclaimed HBO series might spoil the book saga's ending. For example, there are those who wonder if Jon Snow's storyline will be told differently in the books compared to what has been told in the TV series.

According to a report from Master Herald, Martin's new entry in his book series will end with several major cliffhangers, and fans are warned to prepare for an important twist at some point in the novel.

"The Winds of Winter" still has no official release date. For now, fans of the author can only expect the release of the graphic novel "The Mystery Knight" on July 4, 2017.