A Song of Ice and Fire Books in Order

A Song of Ice and Fire is the defining epic fantasy series of its generation, written by American author George R.R. Martin and the basis for the globally acclaimed HBO television series Game of Thrones. Set in the fictional continents of Westeros and Essos, the series follows the power struggles among noble families for control of the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms, while an ancient supernatural threat stirs beyond the great Wall in the frozen North, and across the sea a young queen with three dragons seeks to reclaim her family's lost dominion. The world Martin has constructed — its history, its religions, its geography, and its political structures — is one of the most fully realised in all of fantasy literature.

Martin's radical departure from genre convention was his refusal to provide the moral clarity most fantasy readers expected: there is no pure Dark Lord, no reliably heroic protagonist, and no guarantee that virtue will be rewarded or vice punished. Characters who appear to be central heroes are killed without ceremony; the most sympathetic positions in political conflicts are not necessarily the winning ones; and the consequences of violence are rendered with a realism that forces the reader to take the genre's content seriously rather than consuming it as consequence-free adventure. The prose is rich, the world-building is inexhaustible, and the character work across dozens of POV characters is extraordinary.

Comprising 5 novels published from A Game of Thrones (1996) through A Dance with Dragons (2011) — with two further volumes long anticipated — the series is unfinished. Must be read strictly in order from Book 1. The story as it stands is complete enough to be deeply rewarding; the absence of the final volumes is a genuine frustration that readers should know about before committing.