The good news: George R. R. Martin just revealed that a major character is still alive in the Game of Thrones books.

The bad news: it is most definitely not the character we all want it to be.

The author decided to shake up the Game of Thrones faithful late last night by answering a fan question on his Live Journal blog. Sadly, it was not one of the many, many Jon Snow (Kit Harington) questions. (Our long national nightmare continues on that front.)

When asked if Stannis Baratheon (Stephen Dillane) is alive or dead, Martin gave a definitive answer...and it was absolutely not the one everyone was expecting.