George R.R. Martin created a living, breathing world through A Song of Ice and Fire or, what it’s better known as: Game of Thrones. If you have any interest in fantasy or fiction in general, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t give any of his novels a read. They’ve been adapted into two successful TV series with more on the way. After the season finale of House of the Dragon, maybe it’s time to check out the books. Here are the Game of Thrones books in order to read.
How to Read George R.R. Martin’s Game Of Thrones Novels in Chronological Order
Instead of starting with various novellas and fictional history books that take place in the same continent as Westeros, it’s better to start where it all began: A Song of Ice and Fire. It’s a series of novels written by George R.R. Martin that currently features five novels, with an additional two that have yet to be released.
- A Game of Thrones
- A Clash of Kings
- A Storm of Swords
- A Feast for Crows
- A Dance with Dragons
- The Winds of Winter (unreleased)
- A Dream of Spring (unreleased)
If one of those books sounds familiar—Game of Thrones—it’s because the HBO series is based on said novels, all the way up to the events of A Dance with Dragons and beyond.
How to Read Every Game of Thrones Book in Order
Though A Song of Ice and Fire is a great place to start, you can always branch out afterwards and visit different parts of the world of Westeros. If prefer starting even further back, before the Seven Kingdoms were united, then this is the order you want to read them in:
- Fire & Blood (Volume 1)
- Fire & Blood (Volume 2, unreleased)
- A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (also known as Dunk & Egg)
- Another Dunk & Egg Series (unreleased)
- A Game of Thrones
- A Clash of Kings
- A Storm of Swords
- A Feast for Crows
- A Dance with Dragons
- The Winds of Winter (unreleased)
- A Dream of Spring (unreleased)
While a few of the books listed above are unfinished—Fire & Blood, Dunk & Egg—they’re still worth reading. Fire & Blood, for example, is a fictional history book that House of the Dragon draws its source material from, though keep in mind it will contain spoilers for later seasons.
And that’s that: every Game of Thrones book in order to read. They’re among the best fantasy series you can read with so much rich history and lore that will leave you satisfied for years, especially if you expand into the TV shows.
Featured Image Source: HBO