Could it be that George R.R. Martin will time the release of "The Winds of Winter" with his 70th birthday, meaning the sixth installment to the "A Song of Ice and Fire" saga will not come out until the second half of 2018. As one report noted, GRRM is not officially a septuagenarian until next year.
In a report, Christian Post suggested that with all the delays seen in the anticipated TWoW release the possibility becomes stronger that the volume will not materialize this 2017. And if 2018 will be the year that the book will finally get published, might as well do it to also celebrate the author's birthday, the report added.
Martin will turn 70 September next year.
And if indeed he would want his next book to sit on shelves as he would mark his 70th birth anniversary it would mean that the work will be preceded by the last two Game of Thrones season broadcast. It is believed that GoT Season 7 will first June or July this 2017 and will consist only of seven episodes, wrapping up telecast in only the same number of weeks.
For Season 8, which is said to deliver only six episodes, the entire 2018 airing will only run for six weeks and if the start is also set in June or July then the broadcast will be over prior to the supposed Winds of Winter initial publication.
But of course, the "Game of Thrones" creator has yet to commit anything solid as far as the actual TWoW release is concerns. Martin has declared in recent updates that he's no longer setting any deadline on the book, saying he's not adhering to it anyway.
And deadlines indeed were not exactly Martin's cup of tea. At the start of 2016, GRRM said TWoW was up for completion and fans hopes that the book will be out before GoT Season 6. But the HBO show overtook the book that is supposed to be its source material. The series started in April and ended its 10-episode run but TWoW was nowhere to be found, right to the end of 2016.
Martin again posted an update on his personal blog last January 2017. He teased the possibility of The Winds of Winter ready to be read by fans this year. But the author quickly noted it was the same case last year so the chance is there that the wait will continue for the book.
So a 2018 release for The Winds of Winter makes sense and all the more if truly GRRM will make it more memorable by issuing the book to mark his 70th birthday. However, as always the case, Martin has the last say on the matter.