A Song Of Ice And Fire Books

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This story contains spoilers for the final season of Game of Thrones.

For many years, George R. R. Martin has been repeatedly asked the morbid question of what would happen if he were to die before finishing his A Song of Ice and Fire series. Since 1996, when the first entry, A Game of Thrones, was published, Martin has written five novels as well as several spin-off stories. But his progress has slowed to the point where HBO’s TV adaptation aired eight seasons and wrapped up its narrative before Martin has finished his penultimate work, the long-awaited The Winds of Winter. The huge success of HBO’s Game of Thrones brought more fans to Martin’s writing, which in turn has only added to the chorus of frustration about his creative pace.

“Fuck you.” That was Martin at his bluntest, back in 2014, when he was interviewed by a Swiss newspaper and asked about his hypothetical death. “I find that question pretty offensive, frankly, when people start speculating about my death and my health,” Martin, then 65 years old, said. “So fuck you to those people.” At other times, he’s been clear that he wouldn’t want some other writer to take over in his stead were he to die, which is how Robert Jordan’s famed The Wheel of Time series was eventually completed. “I don’t think my wife, if she survives me, will allow that either,” Martin has said. But in allowing HBO’s Game of Thrones to outstrip his novels, Martin has effectively let someone else finish his story for him. The question for book fans now is whether Martin will eventually unveil his own version.

Martin remains as resolute as ever: His ending is coming. In a post published on his blog Monday, he assured readers that work continues on The Winds of Winter, though he knows better than to set a deadline. And he noted how different his conclusion would be from that of the show, which only “had six hours for this final season. I expect these last two books of mine will fill 3,000 manuscript pages between them before I’m done.” He mentioned characters from his books who never even got introduced on-screen, and the resulting “butterfly effect” that would set his ending apart.

May 21, 2019 A Song of Ice and Fire has always been lauded for its emphasis on detail and plausibility, for the tremendous craft Martin puts into setting up and foreshadowing every big development, and for the. A Song of Ice and Fire, 7 Volumes I must say I pondered over this purchase for a while. Having already purchased 4 out of the 7 A Song of Ice and Fire HBO-Inspired Editions books many moons ago, this 1-7 box-set was around the same price as purchasing the remaining 3 so I went ahead and purchased this set having fell in love with the story so far.

Still, the TV writers David Benioff and D. B. Weiss got to conclude Martin’s epic saga first by working off what Martin had told them about his presumed endgame. “We just sat down with him and literally went through every character,” Benioff said back in 2014. “I can give them the broad strokes of what I intend to write, but the details aren’t there yet,” Martin added. Whatever broad strokes he gave them translated into a final season in which one crucial character, Daenerys Targaryen, wreaked fiery chaos on the continent of Westeros; her lover and ally, Jon Snow, killed her in the aftermath; and, in a twist, the psychic seer Bran Stark became the new king.

Books

To give an idea of just how removed the books are from the TV story lines, at the end of A Dance With Dragons (the latest entry, published in 2011), Jon has barely heard of Daenerys, Bran has only begun to amass the magical powers he demonstrated on the show, and Daenerys’s dragons haven’t yet come close to Westeros. Roose and Ramsay Bolton, villains who were dispatched in Game of Thrones’ sixth season, are still very much alive, as are major characters such as Stannis Baratheon and Margaery Tyrell, who also long ago died on the show. Tyrion Lannister, who spent the last three TV seasons wrestling with his allegiance to Daenerys, has yet to meet her in the novels.

New edition heartbreak zip. In one way, this divergence speaks to a golden opportunity for Martin: Even if he trusted Benioff and Weiss with the broad strokes of his narrative arc, he can now gauge the public reaction to his biggest developments and adjust accordingly, producing a finale that still manages to surprise. Of course, it’s more likely that Martin’s struggle to wrap things up runs deeper than fan reactions to the show. A Song of Ice and Fire has always been lauded for its emphasis on detail and plausibility, for the tremendous craft Martin puts into setting up and foreshadowing every big development, and for the author’s continued skill at defying expectations. Indeed, some of the key points of HBO’s Game of Thrones finale—Daenerys dying, Bran becoming king—are the sort of against-the-grain ideas one can imagine Martin working toward.

For that to happen, his books will have to pick up the pace considerably; unfortunately, they’ve trended in the opposite direction for more than a decade. Martin initially planned his series as three books, before expanding his scope to six. Then his proposed fourth entry became so long that he split it into two, the first part published in 2005 and the second in 2011. He claims that only two novels are left on the docket—The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring—while also allowing that he’s “repeatedly been guilty of an excess of optimism.”

As a devoted fan of the books, I’ve found it painful to watch Benioff and Weiss try to interpret whatever Martin laid out for them as a coherent TV narrative. A Song of Ice and Fire is told from the perspective of dozens of characters, switching between their points of view for each chapter—an approach that might have helped sell a major moment such as Daenerys deciding to annihilate the city of King’s Landing. The show struggled to get viewers inside her head, just as it struggled to engage with frostier, conflicted characters such as Jon and Tyrion, relying on long, sometimes painfully direct monologues to explain shocking turns of events.

Martin’s recent comments on the end of the show suggest that the pressure is continuing to build for him. “I’ve had dark nights of the soul where I’ve pounded my head against the keyboard and said, ‘God, will I ever finish this? The show is going further and further forward and I’m falling further and further behind,’” he said in an interview in November. “I’m still deeply in it. I better live a long time, because I have a lot of work left to do,” he added in March. My desire as a reader is to see how Martin wraps everything up, a feeling that has been only amplified by my mixed reactions to the HBO show. The author still has the chance to end things on his own terms. But as time passes, that prospect feels more remote than ever.

When it premiered on HBO in 2011, I was torn on whether or not I should read the books that inspired Game of Thrones — George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series. I decided the show was so good on its own that I didn't want to spoil it for myself by knowing what was going to happen. Up until now, I had been confident in my decision of avoiding the books, but Season 6 of Game of Thrones has made me accept the fact that it's finally time to read A Song of Ice and Fire.

Like many book junkies out there, I fully support the notion that the book a TV show or movie is based on is typically the superior art form (I'm looking at you, Harry Potter). But Game of Thrones was so tremendous from the get-go that I decided to stick with HBO's telling of Martin's story. The surprise endings from Season 1 episodes, like Bran being pushed from the window after seeing the incestuous Cersei and Jaime or main character Ned being executed, had me at the edge of my seat each Sunday night. So I wanted to watch — not read — how showrunners David Benioff and D. B. Weiss presented Martin's story without each crazy twist being spoiled for me.

Yet, Benioff and Weiss have proven in Season 6 that Game of Thrones is not the A Song of Ice and Fire books. The TV series is moving forward regardless of where Martin is with his books, fully cementing that these two different mediums are providing two different stories. In light of this, here's why I'm going to pick up the books now that Season 6 of Game of Thrones is over — and why you should too if you haven't read them already.

1. The History

While recently discussing embarking on the books at a party, a reader of the series explained how Martin goes into great detail about the histories of the families of Westeros and beyond. Like Bran gaining insights through his visions as the Three-Eyed Raven, you too will start comprehending the intricacies of the relationships on Game of Thrones when you read Martin's rich history.

2. And The Prophecies

Game of Thrones showed a young Cersei having her future told and Melisandre is always going off about 'the prince that was promised,' so prophecies are important on the show, but they are even more robust in the books — like that Cersei was told that, along with all of her children dying, she will be killed by her younger brother.

3. The Fan Theories

With knowing Martin's versions of the family histories and prophesies comes the ability to speculate even more wildly about what might happen on Game of Thrones. For instance, the fan theory R+L=J was revealed to be true in the Season 6 finale of the HBO series and while the show had been giving hints about Jon Snow's parentage, book readers always have a leg up on show watchers when it comes to theories.

4. Martin's Writing

As frustrating as it has to be waiting for Martin to release a new book, he is the creator of the Game of Thrones world. He invented the story and characters and set the tone for Benioff and Weiss, so he deserves your respect. Plus, David Orr from The New York Times credited Martin in 2011 with having a 'nearly supernatural gift for storytelling,' so you know the books are damn good.

5. Unseen Characters

It sure would have made the return of Uncle Benjen as Coldhands much more interesting if I had known who Coldhands was in the first place. While Coldhands finally got his (extremely limited) time on the show, there are a plethora of book characters still not on the show, as Den of Geek highlighted. So it's time to understand what all the fuss is about when a character in the books is not featured on the show.

6. Unseen Plots

As I mentioned, the main reason I didn't read the A Song of Ice and Fire novels when I first started watching Game of Thrones Endnote for mac. was because I loved being shocked by the TV series. Now that Benioff and Weiss seem to have their storytelling track set, I expect less major spoilers from the books to appear on Game of Thrones (yes, I realize I am foolish to think this) and I am excited to read the other stories Martin has told that haven't made it to the series yet and may never will — like that Lady Stoneheart story line.

7. Compare & Contrast

If you love Game of Thrones, then you'll totally love nerding out about it on a completely different level by comparing the show to the books. Reading the books will help up your party banter as well — because obviously a rager isn't complete nowadays without a discussion about Game of Thrones.

8. The Characters' Appearances

Speaking of comparing and contrasting, I know that Tyrion looks notably more attractive on the TV show and that many characters should be younger than they appear, but I want to see (and read) for myself Martin's character descriptions to see how I think the show did. For example, Daario is supposed to have blue hair, but Game of Thrones clearly had enough trouble with casting Daenerys' lover since he has been portrayed by two different actors.

9. Dorne

I was completely naive to the fact that many book readers hated the way the TV series portrayed Dorne until after Season 5. Albeit it was a little lame, I didn't have any big issues with the Sand Snakes, but reading the books will give me the badass Dorne that readers had expected and I can see if the outrage was legitimate.

10. The Points Of View

A Song Of Ice And Fire Books List

Something unique to the books is that each chapter is presented from one particular character's point of view. This will give you a more intimate look at what is going through a character's head that the show just can't provide — and it shouldn't be shocking to know that Tyrion and Jon lead the pack when it comes to the number of chapters from their points of view.

11. Prolong The Experience

There are only two more seasons left of Game of Thrones, so you know you're grieving. You can keep up with the Game of Thrones fandom and world for a long time even after the show ends if you read the books — it's not like Martin will be finishing them anytime soon.

12. Enter A Deeper Level Of This Fascinating World

While watching new episodes of Game of Thrones for an hour or more on Sunday nights in April through June is utterly mesmerizing, reading a book can transport you completely.

A Song Of Ice And Fire Books Hardback

13. Reading Is Tyrion Approved

Tyrion's a big reader and as Tyrion has some of the best judgment on the show, I want to emulate whatever he would do.

So join me in reading Martin's A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords, A Feast for Crows, and A Dance with Dragons and truly prove your devotion to the glorious TV series that is Game of Thrones.

A Song Of Ice And Fire Books Reading Order

Images: Helen Sloan/HBO; Giphy (13)