George RR Martin hints at 2018 release for new GoT book

From Digital Spy

George RR Martin has once again hinted that the next Game of Thrones novel will be published in 2018.

The author has kept fans waiting for The Winds of Winter for years now. For so long, in fact, that the television series overtook the books last season and fans are seriously starting to worry they will never see the release of the next novel in the best-selling fantasy series.

But things may actually be looking up on this front.

Indeed, it seems that the wait for those pesky winter winds may finally be coming to an end, as fans think Martin has dropped his biggest hint yet that Winds of Winter will finally arrive this year.

Last week, Martin posted an image on his Twitter feed that caught the attention of Thrones fans.

Accompanied by a caption hoping for a better year than the two previous ones, the image showed Santa's sleigh being pulled by a dragon – which some fans believe means Santa will bring the gift of The Winds of Winter's release in 2018.

"I thought 2016 was a bad year, but 2017 was even worse," he said." If not so much for me personally, then certainly for a lot of my friends and loved ones, and for the nation and the world as a whole.

"I hope better times are ahead for all of us."

So will The Winds of Winter be blowing in this year? Well, there's a bit more evidence to suggest the novel is indeed coming.

In August last year, Martin hinted we could expect to see The Winds of Winter in 2018.

Taking to his LiveJournal blog, he even teased that we could get both The Winds of Winter and Targaryen family history saga Fire and Blood this year.

"Whether Winds of Winter or the first volume of Fire and Blood will be the first to hit the bookstores is hard to say at this juncture," he said.

"But I do think you will have a Westeros book from me in 2018... and who knows, maybe two."

Say it IS so.

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