Game of Thrones Books In Order

Publication Order of A Song Of Ice and Fire Books

Publication Order of Game Of Thrones Graphic Novels

Publication Order of Game Of Thrones Collection Books

Publication Order of Game Of Thrones Non-Fiction Books

Game of Thrones is the TV adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s book series A Song of Ice and Fire. The title of the TV show was taken from the title of the first book in the series.

Martin intended the series to be a trilogy, but he now plans on writing seven books. Five books have already been published and he is working on the 6th right now. The 6th book is set to be called The Winds of Winter.

Where are the books set?

The books are set in the fictional world of Westeros and Essos. The books start with a war between families, also called houses, for the control of the Iron Throne. Westeros is protected by a wall, which keeps the evils from beyond the wall from joining the war for the iron throne. The other side of the wall is home to supernatural evils that are collectively named the others. The wall is protected by the men of the Nights Watch.

The Houses

In the books, there are nine houses that are in the main fight for the iron throne and the control of Westeros. Each of the nine houses have control of areas in Westeros but they want the full control of the whole of the land.

These houses are:

* Stark

* Lannister

* Martell

* Greyjoy

* Baratheon

* Targaryen

* Tully

* Tyrell

* Arryn

Over the course of the books, they all form allegiances with each other through marriages of the young and promises of land, should they win the war. There are also the wildlings and other supernatural beings who live beyond the wall and want to fight for their stake in Westeros.

The Regions of Westeros

Westeros is a massive place and it is split into nine regions – The North, The Vale, The Riverlands, The Iron Islands, The Westerlands, The Reach, The Stormlands, The Crownlands and Dorne. It is no coincidence that there are nine regions and nine main houses that are all fighting for full control.

Back Story

To fully understand the brilliance of the books, the readers must know the back-story. Before the first book, and thousands of years before the story picks up, the Kingdoms of Westeros were united under the Targaryen Dynasty. They ruled because they had the power of Dragons, until they were extinct. Fourteen years before the first book, the Targaryan dynesty was defeated by a rebellion led by Robert Baratheon, who then became king. The first novel, Game of Thrones picks up as King Robert is about to die, and thus starts the fight for the throne.

Perspectives in the books

The books are told through the eyes of several characters. Each time the chapter changes, the perspective changes as well. The titles of the chapters are the names of the characters, so it is easy to know what is going on. There are several plotlines going on in each novel and some of them end up intertwining,

Game of Thrones

In this book, there are three stories that will carry on throughout the whole series.

Main Story

The first novel introduces the readers to the characters and the land of Westeros. It is told that King Robert is about to die and his young son Joffrey is going to take his place on the throne.

Throughout the book it is found that Joffrey is not his son afterall, He is the son of Cersei and Jamie Lannister who are having an incestuous relationship. In fact, non of Robert’s children are his own. Upon finding this out, Ned Stark, of House Stark and the Hand of the King (Robert) is executed for treason and Robert’s brothers Stannis and Renley indicate that they should have a claim to the throne.

Following Joffrey becoming King, some Kingdoms want independence from the Iron Throne and they proclaim self-rule. Ned’s eldest son becomes King of the North and Balon Greyjoy becomes King of the Iron Islands. Thus starting the War of the Five Kings.

Second Story

This story is to do with the wall and the Nights Watch. The Nights Watch is a brotherhood of men who forsake all others for the sake of their oath to protect the wall from the others. Jon Snow, the bastard Son of Ned Stark joins the Nights Watch in this story and they are mostly protecting Westeros from the human wildlings. In later novels, they will have to fight more supernatural elements.

Third Story

The third story surrounds Daenerys Targaryen, she is the last known living descendent of the Targaryens who used to rule Westeros and is set in Essos. She does have a brother, but he doesn’t last long and she is then tasked with building an army so that she can fight for what she believes is her right to the Iron Throne.

Reception

The books were released quietly and didn’t make many headlines, but now they have sold millions of copies worldwide. The fourth and fifth novels have reached number one on The New York Times best sellers list and all the books have been been adapted for TV and there is a comic book series.

TV Show

The TV show is called Game of Thrones, as mentioned above. It was bought by HBO and it first aired in 2009 despite the options being sold in 2007. The show has been a critical hit all over the world and it is now in it’s third season. Each season is supposed to correspond with one of the books but the books are massive, so season 3 had to be split in half and season 4 is supposed to cover the end of book 4 and the beginning of book 4.

The TV show does stick to what happens in the books, it is not like The Walking Dead TV show, which has now diverged from the comics. With the books being so long, not everything that happens in the books, happen in the TV Show, but everything in the show, is in the book.

Martin says that writing each book takes a very long time, partly because he does not want to upset the fans and because he wants it to be perfect. The TV show is soon to catch up with the books but he indicates that he plans to have book six complete before the TV show catches up. He also says that he has told the writers of the TV shows, David Benioff and D.B Weiss, his plans for the following books and the end of the story altogether, just incase he dies before he finishes the books, since he is in his mid 60s and he took 6 years to write one book.