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- A Dance With Dragons
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- A Song Of Ice And Fire Books Series
- A Song Of Ice And Fire Books Amazon
A song of Ice and Fire is an epic fantasy series of novels written by George R.R. The books are sometimes simply referred to as Game of Thrones because of the television adaptation which made them so popular. The A Song Of Ice and Fire series of books have proved a massive hit with fans of fantasy fiction, as well as the general public.
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.
A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 2) Martin, George R.R. on Amazon.com.FREE. shipping on qualifying offers. A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 2). A Song of Ice and Fire is a series of epic fantasy novels written by American novelist and screenwriter George R.R. He began writing the series in 1991 and the first volume was published in 1996. Originally envisaged as a trilogy, there are now five published novels in the series with two more planned.
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 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
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
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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.
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.
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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.
Images: Helen Sloan/HBO; Giphy (13)
Fans have grown restless waiting for The Winds of Winter release date! We are already halfway through 2021, and are still awaiting the book's release! Will Winds of Winter be releasing soon, and what can we expect from George R.R. Martin?
In a recent update on his not-blog on July 16 2021, Martin informed his fans about a trip he took Midwest. By June he was back home but delayed the post as there was a lot of admin to work on. Paraphrasing a well known poem by Robert Frost, the author concluded:
'The woods were lovely, dark and deep, but I have promises to keep and books to write before I sleep.'
A Dance With Dragons
Could this be an allusion to his promise to deliver The Winds of Winter to his fans? It's too much to hope, after all this year, but maybe one day.
In April of 2021, George R.R. Martin gave an update on Winds of Winter. The sixth novel of A Song of Ice and Fire book series has been delayed quite a bit, and George gave us more bad news. In his latest post on George R.R. Martin's blog Not A Blog website, Martin confirmed he won't be finished with the book anytime soon.
'I am hugely behind right now, and the prospect of trying to catch up is increasingly opressive', Martin wrote.
Yikes! It sounds like the expectation of a satisfying conclusion to the series in addition to the toll of Covid-19 has created an environment not well suited to completing the book.
As of June 2021, the 71-year-old author has admitted that he wishes the books had stayed ahead of the Game of Thrones series.
Martin went on to update fans that he is excited about a five-year Game of Thrones contract with HBOand HBO Max for new original content.
In a 2019 post, A Song of Ice and Fire Author George R. R. Martin gave his fans explicit permission to lock him up in a cabin in White Island if he had not finished The Winds of Winter by July 2020, when WordCon was supposed to take place. With the in-person event in New Zealand canceled due to the ongoing pandemic, Martin, who had given little indication of being closer to completing the sixth A Song of Ice and Fire book, seemingly escaped that fate.
Little did we know that the imprisonment he jokingly suggested would become more than a joke. In another blog post, published on June 23, 2020, Martin admitted he is no stranger to the cabin fever that has plagued many of us since March. However, in his case, the first part of the phrase is quite literal.
Could a cabin be what it takes for The Winds of Winter to come to our shelves?
Over the years, many fans have yearned for Wind of Winter updates, wondering why Martin is taking so long to finish writing it. In a turn of events, fans would never have been able to foretell a few months earlier, George R. R. Martin informed them that he was spending quarantine in an actual cabin… and it looks like something good might have come out of it. While reasonably tired of living in isolation, the 71-year-old author mentioned that he is keeping a regular, if a bit dull routine and tries to stay healthy. It looks like this might finally be paying off.
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With most distractions removed, and journeys abroad replaced by Zoom calls, Martin had plenty of time to spend with his characters. The ones he was focusing on, as of June 2020, were enemy siblings Cersei and Tyrion Lannister, Ser Barristan Selmy, Asha Greyjoy (known as Yara in the HBO TV series), and Areo Hotah, the captain of the Martell guard. Arya Stark was also mentioned, and, as always, she intends to kill someone.
Over the years, Martin has released several Winds of Winter chapters from multiple points of view.
Martin teases the release of Winds of Winter in 2021
A Song Of Ice And Fire Books 6 Release Dates
While Martin has yet to find the impressive writing pace he had maintained in the late 1990s, when he worked on the series’ third installment A Storm of Swords, producing about 150 pages a month, there is still reason for fans to rejoice. The author revealed he is sad about his canceled trip to Wellington. Still, expressed his intention to visit it in 2021, when he hopes “that both Covid-19 and The Winds of Winter will be done.”
For fans of the books, many of whom were greatly disappointed with the TV series conclusion, this might be the best news they have had for some time.
Since this announcement, Martin has written two additional posts with updates about his writing, both titled “Back to Westeros.” In the first one, published in August 2020, the author described a steady routine, which, thankfully, involves a lot of writing. As of November 2020, Martin mentioned that he was still spending a lot of time writing about the Lannister siblings and Dorne, the Martells’ seat of power.
While Martin, who rarely encourages his fans to keep their hopes up about his eagerly anticipated book, has been known to work on many side projects such as the Game of Thrones prequel series, House of the Dragon, his return to a steady, undisturbed writing routine can only be a good sign.
While waiting for The Winds of Winter, Game of Thrones fans can enjoy the other 5 A Song of Ice and Fire books if they haven't already, or try other must-read books by George R. R. Martin.
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Related: That Shocking Game of Thrones Twist Was Part of George R.R. Martin's Plan All Along
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