Wait, George R. R. Martin Just Said This Character Is Still Alive in the Game of Thrones Books

Well, this does cast some more confusion on whether another Game of Thrones character is really dead. Remember how, at the end of season five, Brienne is about to kill Stannis, but the camera pulls away, and his death becomes somewhat ambiguous? You may also recall that at Comic-Con, the showrunners sought to remove that ambiguity by confirming that Stannis is actually dead. Well, author George R. R. Martin has opened up that case by responding to a question on his LiveJournal page about whether Stannis is dead or alive. "In my books? Alive, beyond a doubt," he wrote.

Keep in mind that at present, the sixth book in Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series has still not been published for book readers to have this info, and in the most recent book, Stannis's fate is just as it is in the show: appearing to be dead. So, what do we believe now? We have three options:

1. Stannis is alive in both the books and the show, but the showrunners are lying about him really being dead.
2. The books are diverting from the show — which has happened before — and Stannis is alive in the books and dead on the show.
3. Everyone is a liar.

Now if only he would answer our question about Jon Snow.

Find out what we do know about the next season of Game of Thrones!