Game of Thrones was a popular TV show aired during 2011-2019 by the HBO channel. It was inspired by the famous, still unfinished, book`s saga called A Song of Ice and Fire, which has 5 published books, it being Game of Thrones (1996), A Clash of Kings (1998), A Storm of Swords (2000), A Feast for Crows (2005), and A Dance with Dragons (2011). The remaining books are The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring.
Many people want to read the spectacular books that inspired this epic and unforgettable show, but they don`t know how, since there are many other books placed in the same universe. Which order is correct? Is there even a right order to follow? To understand more about how to read Game of Thrones books in order, just keep reading this article.
One thing must be said before you start: A Song of Ice and Fire has big, big books. The smallest, which is Game of Thrones itself, has 694 pages in the US hardback version, and the biggest, which is A Dance with Dragons, has 1040 pages in the same version. These are the type of books that you can spend the whole year reading if you don’t have many hours available during the day. However, you will feel things that you never felt. These books will take you out to unreachable places and will surprise you at every page turn.
Main Books
There is not a right order, but I recommend that you read the “main books” first, and then you read the spin-offs. You will enjoy the story way more if you do it. So, start with Game of Thrones, then read A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords, A Feast for Crows, and A Dance with Dragons. After you read it, you are ready to read the spin-offs books, which are A Knight of Seven Kingdoms (2015) and Fire & Blood (2018). There are also some short novellas that you can read if you want to dive deeper into the universe, which are Blood of the Dragon (1996), Path of the Dragon (2000), Arms of the Kraken (2002), The Princess and the Queen (2013), The Rogue Prince, or, the King’s Brother (2014), and The Sons of the Dragon (2017).
If you are feeling nostalgic and want to see more of this incredible world on screen, you should definitely check out the to be released TV show by HBO called House of the Dragon or read the Shatter me series. It will be released next year (2022), and it is inspired by the events that occur in the book Fire & Blood, so we will see how the Targaryen House reigned over Westeros and how the last dragons died. The cast is fantastic, and the show will certainly be great. Also, you can read some chapters that George R.R. Martin, the author, and creator of all these books, released from The Winds of Winter. They will make you hope that he releases the book soon. We are waiting for this book for too long! But it will be worth it, we hope. Whatever it be, just make sure to enjoy your experience while diving into the world of Game of Thrones.
