In Game of Thrones, there are dozens, if not hundreds, of differences from 'A Song of Ice and Fire','the source material for the hit series — but it was not always the show that smoothed out the sharp edges of George Martin's narrative. For example, the creators of Game of Thrones brutally dealt with one important character in the fifth season, while in Martin's story, he is alive and well — and now has every chance of making an appearance in 'The Winds of Winter' (if the book ever sees the light of day).
Game of Thrones "killed" Stannis Baratheon — George Martin (for now) has not dared to do the same
In the history of Westeros, Stannis is known as the brother of King Robert Baratheon and Renly Baratheon, who later also proclaimed himself king of the Seven Kingdoms. Among the three brothers, Stannis was the least popular, in part due to his unsociability, but he was valued as a warrior and commander capable of devising the right military strategy. In the series, Stannis starts a war against Renly in an attempt to seize power after Robert's death and kills his brother — he later suffers serious injuries in battle and survives, but almost immediately dies at the hands of Brienne of Tarth, who served Renly.
In 'A Song of Ice and Fire' , Stannis is still alive — like some other characters. George Martin himself confirmed this — responding to one of the comments on his blog titled Not a Blog, the writer revealed that he does not currently plan to "kill" Stannis Baratheon, hinting to fans that the character still has a significant role to play in the unfolding events of 'The Winds of Winter.'
Nevertheless, Stannis does not seem to be the only character who was killed off in the series but not in the book — the creators of Game of Thrones eliminated several characters that George Martin did not want to part with so quickly. We will learn about the lucky ones who managed to survive in 'A Song of Ice and Fire' when Martin finally releases the long-awaited 'The Winds of Winter.'
