Today, we’ve prepared a guide for A Song of Ice series and Game of Thrones movies. If you’re a fan of George R.R. Martin’s universe or just entering the world of dragons, want to know how many Game of Thrones books there are, and learn all about the Mother of Dragons from the source material, this post is for you.
Game of Thrones has undoubtedly become one of HBO’s biggest fantasy shows. And there’s a good reason for that. We can see violent dynastic struggles, complex characters, political and sexual intrigue, betrayals, and—dragons—all depicted quite elaborately. However, as is often the case, there’s so much more to the books that can’t be presented in a movie. So, it makes perfect sense to read them.
Is Game of Thrones Based on a Book? Basic Facts about the Series
First and foremost (and in case you didn’t know), these George R.R. Martin’s books refer to A Song of Ice and Fire series. However, the popular HBO show took its name from the first book, A Game of Thrones, with the only difference of having omitted the article.
All in all, most people would probably agree regardless of their reading preferences that the series is really a true masterpiece of modern fantasy. Just like J. R. R. Tolkien‘s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings shaped fantasy literature and created a separate universe, George R. R. Martin‘s books brought together the best of the genre and also created a world unlike any other.
The books were first published in 1996 and have never lost popularity, gaining even more with HBO’s adaptations. The story in the books is told from multiple perspectives (and the TV series follows the same structure), making it a bit difficult to keep up with what’s going on. Also, old fans have no problems with the Game of Thrones order of the books; however, for new readers, it can be a little confusing.
How Many Game of Thrones Books Are There?
So, where to start?
At the moment, the story of A Song of Ice and Fire includes five published Game of Thrones books. Two more sequels are very much expected by the fans: The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring. The author has been working on (at least one of) them for about a decade, but there’s a chance they won’t ever be finished. Besides, there are prequels, and House of Dragon is based on Fire & Blood specifically. Now, let’s take a closer look at the A Song of Ice and Fire series:
A Game of Thrones
“Winter is coming.” In the first A Game of Thrones book, you enter the world of Westeros, the place of the Seven Kingdoms, unpredictable seasons that can last a lifetime, dragons, unspeakable creatures behind the Wall, court politics, and intrigues.
A while ago, three powerful houses allied themselves in order to overpower the ruling House of Targaryens and take over the Iron Throne. Years later, Eddard “Ned” Stark of Winterfell is requested to take the place of the King’s Hand after the previous Head dies, only to soon realize that the struggle for power among the nobility will include literally all means.
One look at the cunning Lannister family is pretty much enough. And there’s also House Targaryen, where stupid but brutal Viserys Targaryen sells his sister Daenerys off to a marriage with a barbarian warlord. In return, he expects to get assistance in reclaiming the throne that is rightfully Targaryen’s and rule all of Westeros again.
A Clash of Kings
In A Clash of Kings, summer is drawing to a close, Ned Stark and Robert Baratheon are dead, and a new king sits on The Iron Throne, but there are others to challenge him. Meanwhile, in the East, Daenerys continues to gather an army and is looking for new allies. She also has three new baby dragons; she’s the Mother of Dragons, after all. This is, in brief, how multiple factions of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros go head-on into full-scale war.
In the second book, George R.R. Martin gives us everything: betrayal, incest, fratricide, revenge, alchemy, murder, battles, and a lot more. At one point, you may start wondering who exactly you’d prefer to win. With the author’s talent for creating such complex characters and politics so artfully, it might be hard to decide…
A Storm of Swords
A Storm of Swords 1: Steel and Snow
A Storm of Swords 2: Blood and Gold
or
A Storm of Swords
Ok, the third book is even larger than the previous two (1,000+ pages), so you can expect plenty of action. And there is quite enough. In A Storm of Swords, the struggle for the Iron Throne goes on.
The story is told from the points of view of twelve characters, so you can follow each of their perspectives: Joffrey sits on the throne (so Lannisters are in power), Robb is in the North, the exiled Mother of Dragons gets herself a new army and heads to Slaver’s Bay (with her dragons), the White Walkers and the army of the dead are getting ready for the battle Beyond the Wall…
You will see how rounds are won not only in battles but also by backstabbing and strategic marriages. It’s also possible that you may even feel sympathy for Jaime and get to understand Tyrion Lannister better.
A Feast for Crows
A Feast for Crows takes place after the War of the Five Kings. The Lannisters won, and the young king sits on the Iron Throne. Yet, George R.R. Martin never tells a simple story, and this one won’t be different. (And it won’t be short either.) Again, you can expect a complex narrative and different points of view. Cersei Lannister seizes power as Queen Regent but fails to rule effectively, Jon becomes Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch, Tyrion kills his father Tywin and Joffrey and flees, and Sansa Stark escapes.
You can also expect to see a few of the important characters killed off by the author; however, don’t worry; there will be plenty of others left.
A Dance With Dragons
A Dance With Dragons 1: Dreams and Dust
A Dance With Dragons 2: After the Feast
or
A Dance with Dragons
The story in A Dance with Dragons takes place pretty much at the same time as A Feast for Crows does. The same themes—conflicts and power struggles—prevail. As we’ve already mentioned, Jon Snow was elected as Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch, and now, he has to deal with the wildlings and White Walkers. The Mother of Dragons conquered the city of Meereen and decided to stay there for a while, with varying degrees of success (and the dragons are a separate cause of overall chaos). All in all, the supernatural threat beyond the Wall increases while conflicts grow and multiply. This is the last Game of Thrones book published up to date.
Game of Thrones Book Sets
Just to remind you, at BooksRun, we have plenty to offer for the series fans. Apart from separate books, we also have paperback and hardcover book sets so that you can get all the Game of Thrones books at once. Check our website for the offers.
How to Read the Game of Thrones Books in Chronological Order?
Here’s how you should read A Song of Ice and Fire series in order:
- A Game of Thrones
- A Clash of Kings
- A Storm of Swords 1: Steel and Snow
- A Storm of Swords 2: Blood and Gold
- A Feast for Crows
- A Dance With Dragons 1: Dreams and Dust
- A Dance With Dragons 2: After the Feast
How to Read the Game of Thrones Books in Order of Release Date?
Here’s how you should read the series in order of their release date (spoiler: pretty much in the same way):
- A Game of Thrones (1996)
- A Clash of Kings (1999)
- A Storm of Swords (2000)
- A Feast for Crows (2005)
- A Dance with Dragons (2011)
- The World of Ice & Fire (2014)
- A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (2015)
- Fire & Blood (2018)
Game of Thrones Book Series: Prequels and Sequels
A Song of Ice and Fire series has both prequels and sequels. George R.R. Martin has been busy so that you could learn more about Westeros and Essos.
Prequels
Fire & Blood
HBO’s equally successful adaptation House of the Dragon is based on Fire & Blood, the story of the House Targaryen. It takes place some three hundred years before the events of A Song of Ice and Fire, when Targayens were in power, and there were way more dragons. Fire & Blood is told as a story from a book written by an Archmaester of Westeros.
It was recently adapted into a TV series, with long-expected and soon-to-be-released season 2 approaching. You can read all about What Book House of the Dragon Is Based On? in one of our recent articles.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms includes three stories: The Hedge Knight (1998), The Sworn Sword (2003), and The Mystery Knight (2010). Their events take place about a century before what happens in A Song of Ice and Fire. It features a hedge knight Ser Duncan (Dunk) and his squire Egg (who’s actually a young Aegon Targaryen, soon to be the king). These novellas speak way more about hedge knights, tournaments, and chivalry than the dark and violet main story; they are also more optimistic. However, there’s an element of violence and even torture in them, too. According to Kirkus Reviews, it’s George R.R. Martin’s “trilogy of foundational tales.”
Sequels
- Winds of Winter (book 6, check the preview collection of the released chapters on BooksRun)
- A Dream of Spring (forthcoming)
When Is the Next Game of Thrones Book Coming Out?
As we’ve already mentioned, seven books altogether are expected in the series. However, the last two are still in the process. The fans have been waiting for the Winds of Winter (Game of Thrones book 6) release date for fourteen years now, and A Dream of Spring is not even in the plans (or so it seems). However, the author has been busy with all the prequels and novellas, so there’s no way to know when the books will be released. We just have to wait and see.
Game of Thrones and Movie Adaptations
Ah, there’s always a difference between a source material and the movie adaptation. After all, with some books, it’s just inevitable for some characters to be omitted, combined into one, or follow a completely different storyline.
The A Song of Ice and Fire series has many characters (and the author’s character list at the end of each book doesn’t help in sorting them out). Therefore, it’s only natural that the show cut and/or merged characters. Again, rewriting some of the character stories and adding or subtracting something is also a norm for movie adaptations. This way, we can see the world of Westeros from the fullest perspective and also get to meet some of the characters right away. Here are a few core facts about the differences between the books and the show:
- For legal reasons, younger characters were made older in the show (e.g., Daenerys, Sansa).
- Some of the violent or sexual scenes were either toned down (or up) if compared to the books.
- It’s quite hard to transfer the internal monologues of some characters, so they have either been omitted or depicted in a different way.
- Some storylines and timelines were combined and shortened for efficiency, too.
- The show’s ending differed a lot from where the books seem to be heading. It’s probably a good thing, as once the books are finished (if we’re lucky enough to live to know where exactly they are heading), they and the show can be regarded as separate works of art.
- David J. Peterson, the language creator, created the High Valyrian language specifically for the TV series. It’s the language of the Westerosi nobles (pretty much like Latin for us). All in all, Valyrian and Dothraki, fictional languages of Westeros and Essos, are sometimes compared to Elvish created by J. R. R. Tolkien.
- There was an alternate pilot of Game of Thrones from the director Tom McCarthy, but we never watched it because the opening episode by Tim Van Patten proved to be more successful.
Finally, we’ll leave it up to you to decide how many Game of Thrones books are there. After all, you can choose to explore only the five that constitute the A Song of Ice and Fire series, or you may delve into the details of Fire & Blood and the Targaryen history (as well as check The Rise of the Dragon: An Illustrated History of the Targaryen Dynasty). There are also novellas The Princess and the Queen, The Rogue Prince (from the Rogues, twenty-one original stories), and The Sons of the Dragon, which we haven’t discussed but nonetheless. Finally, you may also want to explore other works by George R. R. Martin, e.g., Dangerous Women and Dangerous Women Part 2, a collection of stories featuring “the best and the bravest females across genre fiction.”
By the time the author finally finishes his legendary series, you’ll be all the way into the world of dragons and political intrigue. In the meantime, don’t forget to check out House of the Dragon season 2, which airs on HBO on June 16, 2024.
