Game of Thrones books in order
By WiC Staff
Want to read the Song of Ice and Fire books by George R.R. Martin, otherwise known as the Game of Thrones books? Here is the order in which to read them:
A Game of Thrones
The first Song of Ice and Fire book came out in 1996. It tells the sad tale of Ned Stark, the well-intentioned patriarch of House Stark who lost his head in King’s Landing.
A Clash of Kings
The second book in the series released in 1999. With Ned dead, the story gets more dispersed. Tyrion Lannister manages things in King’s Landing, which Stannis Baratheon intends to attack. Jon Snow goes beyond the Wall, Daenerys Targaryen chills in Qarth, and Arya Stark wanders the Riverlands.
A Storm of Swords
Released in 2000, A Storm of Swords may be the high-water mark for the series so far. So many iconic moments happen in this book, from Daenerys’ sack of Astapor to the Red Wedding to the deaths of Joffrey Baratheon and Tywin Lannister. There was a lot of momentum going into this book and it followed through.
A Feast for Crows
Things slow down for 2005’s A Feast for Crows, which only covers the journeys of some of the characters we’d been following up until now.
A Dance with Dragons
The last Song of Ice and Fire book came out in 2011. This one is still pretty slow (my theory is that the books were so successful by this point that Martin’s editors stopped doing their jobs), but we get great moments like Daenerys riding Drogon for the first time and Jon Snow getting stabbed to death at Castle Black.
But of course, that’s not the end…
The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring
The sixth and seventh books in the series are not out yet, much to the chagrin of fans who have now been waiting over a decade. Martin has assured fans that he is hard at work on The Winds of Winter, and hope remains that this book will actually see the light of day.
But after Martin spent the entirety of the run of Game of Thrones writing Winds, it’s hard to say whether A Dream of Spring will ever actually come out. There’s also the possibility that Martin will finish Winds and then decide that he needs two or more books to actually complete the saga, which will compound the waiting.
But those first five books are pretty good…
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