The Ultimate Fantasy Series Ranking

Research dossier

A Song of Ice and Fire

#114.41 of 664 ranked universes · full ranking

Books 5 books Status Ongoing 1996–present Reading commitment High George R.R. Martin Last reviewed 2026-08-05

Overview

A Song of Ice and Fire is George R.R. Martin's epic fantasy sequence (1996–present), planned as seven novels of which five are published, following the dynastic wars of Westeros and the returning threat beyond the Wall. With more than 100 million copies sold in 47 languages and the HBO adaptation, it became a global phenomenon. The series is in progress and fully eligible: The Winds of Winter remains unreleased with no announced date as of August 2026.

Epic fantasy, Grimdark · For Adult

Core Canon: Reading Order (5 works) counts toward ranking

A Song of Ice and Fire George R.R. Martin

WorkYearCanonRating
Cover of A Game of ThronesA Game of Thrones1996core4.45 (2,774,222 ratings)
Cover of A Clash of KingsA Clash of Kings1998core4.42 (1,046,015 ratings)
Cover of A Storm of SwordsA Storm of Swords2000core4.55 (867,118 ratings)
Cover of A Feast for CrowsA Feast for Crows2005core4.17 (808,870 ratings)
Cover of A Dance with DragonsA Dance with Dragons2011core4.34 (752,947 ratings)

5 of 7 planned novels published; The Winds of Winter unreleased (no date as of Aug 2026).

Library: Expanded Canon & reference (7 works) context only

Not registered: extracted novellas (Blood of the Dragon), excerpts of the novels; The Princess and the Queen / The Rogue Prince / The Sons of the Dragon, absorbed into Fire & Blood.

Quick answers

Why is it ranked #11?

Ranked #11 of 664 ranked universes.

How the ranking works →

Why explore this universe?

Top-tier rated · 5 books · Ongoing · 6.2M ratings · Ranks #11 overall

Good choice if you want a long-running epic fantasy universe that's still ongoing, with new books still coming.

Reading order

Publication order (5 Core Canon books)

  1. A Game of Thrones (1996)
  2. A Clash of Kings (1998)
  3. A Storm of Swords (2000)
  4. A Feast for Crows (2005)
  5. A Dance with Dragons (2011)

Awards (verified)

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Suggestions computed from what A Song of Ice and Fire and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.

Official resources

Research details

Ranking metrics: weighted average 4.41 across 6,249,172 ratings on 5 Core Canon books. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.

How do we know this?

Admission: A Song of Ice and Fire Core Canon accepted 2026-08-05

Sources: (see source tier definitions)

Last reviewed: 2026-08-06

Rule: Books 6–7 (The Winds of Winter, A Dream of Spring) join the core upon publication.

Key figures & places Knowledge-graph pilot

The 7th bounded, sourced pilot of this project's knowledge-graph layer -- 32 characters, 28 places and 21 organizations registered for A Song of Ice and Fire, with 89 cross-linking relationship edges (not rendered here). Coverage follows a fixed selection rule since 2026-09-04 (viewpoint characters across two or more core books, each series' protagonists and antagonists, and recurring named roles), so it scales with the size of the universe.

  • Eddard Stark
  • Catelyn Stark
  • Robb Stark
  • Sansa Stark
  • Arya Stark
  • Brandon Stark
  • Westeros
  • Essos
  • King's Landing
  • The North
  • Winterfell
  • House Stark
  • House Targaryen
  • House Lannister

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