It's now been three years since the release of A Dance With Dragons, the fifth entry in George R.R. Martin's A Song Of Ice And Fire literary series. It's also been three years since the premiere of Game of Thrones, the television adaptation of the novels, which is catching up with its source material as its fourth season progresses, to the extent where storylines from A Dance With Dragons are beginning to be introduced and incorporated into the narrative. It would therefore seem imperative for Martin to finish his next volume, The Winds Of Winter, before the series catches up to him and its creators are forced to develop their own storylines going forward. In the novels, proceedings are described firsthand by 'Point-Of-View' (or POV) characters, who act as the reader's eyes and ears. Events not involving them are typically only touched upon (such as the actions of Robb Stark in A Clash Of Kings) rather than explained in detail. Because of the vast number of divergent storylines that have developed across the five books so far, the number of POV characters has expanded significantly over time. The next page will detail the situation that each of these characters finds themselves in at present, but the rest of this piece will seek to justify who should join their ranks going forward, so that readers are given a detailed insight into more of the plots and locations that have a contribution to make to the ongoing narrative. Spoilers for all five books follow, naturally.
