A Song of Ice and Fire
#104.41 in the official ranking · 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. Told through rotating close-third-person viewpoints across a large ensemble cast, the series is known for its morally ambiguous characters, political intrigue, and willingness to kill major figures without warning, departing sharply from earlier heroic-fantasy conventions. With more than 100 million copies sold in 47 languages and the HBO adaptation Game of Thrones (2011-2019), it became a global phenomenon and one of the most influential fantasy works of its era, credited with popularizing grimdark and politically driven epic fantasy across film, television, and later fiction alike. 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
| Work | Year | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | A Game of Thrones | 1996 | core | 4.45 (2,815,419 ratings) |
 | A Clash of Kings | 1998 | core | 4.42 (1,051,077 ratings) |
 | A Storm of Swords | 2000 | core | 4.55 (870,897 ratings) |
 | A Feast for Crows | 2005 | core | 4.18 (812,743 ratings) |
 | A Dance with Dragons | 2011 | core | 4.35 (755,792 ratings) |
5 of 7 planned novels published; The Winds of Winter unreleased (no date as of Aug 2026).
Library: Expanded Canon & reference (7 works)
The Hedge Knight (1998) ; Tales of Dunk & Egg #1; anthology Legends. Set ~90 years before the novels.
The Sworn Sword (2003) ; Tales of Dunk & Egg #2; anthology Legends II.
The Mystery Knight (2010) ; Tales of Dunk & Egg #3; anthology Warriors.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (2015) ; Collects the three Dunk & Egg novellas (ill. Gary Gianni).
Fire & Blood (2018) ; Targaryen history framed as Archmaester Gyldayn's in-universe chronicle. Absorbs The Princess and the Queen (2013), The Rogue Prince (2014) and The Sons of the Dragon (2017); those are not registered separately.
The World of Ice & Fire (2014) lore reference; With Elio M. García Jr. and Linda Antonsson; in-world compendium (Maester Yandel).
The Rise of the Dragon (2022) lore reference; Illustrated Targaryen history, with García & Antonsson.
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
- How many books are in A Song of Ice and Fire? A Song of Ice and Fire's Core Canon is 5 books, plus 7 more in the wider Library/Expanded material.
- What is the reading order for A Song of Ice and Fire? Publication order, starting with A Game of Thrones. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is A Song of Ice and Fire finished? Ongoing (1996–present).
- How much reading does A Song of Ice and Fire take? High reading commitment (estimated from 5 Core Canon books · ~5,206 pages).
- How is A Song of Ice and Fire ranked? #10 in this site's official ranking, based on 6,305,928 reader ratings across 5 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #10?
Ranked #10 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 4.41 across 5 core books.
- Backed by 6.3M reader ratings.
- 0.01 behind #9, The Sword of Kaigen.
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Top-tier rated · 5 books · Ongoing · 6.3M ratings · Ranks #10 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)
- A Game of Thrones (1996)
- A Clash of Kings (1998)
- A Storm of Swords (2000)
- A Feast for Crows (2005)
- A Dance with Dragons (2011)
Awards (verified)
- Locus Fantasy: won 1997 (AGoT), 2001 (ASoS), 2012 (ADwD); nominated 2006 (AFfC)
- Hugo: won Best Novella 1997 (Blood of the Dragon); novels nominated 2001, 2006, 2012
- Nebula: nominated 1997, 2001 · World Fantasy: nominated 1997, 2012 · British Fantasy: nominated 2006
- Locus Award (Best Fantasy Novel), 1997: won: A Game of Thrones
- Hugo Award (Best Novella), 1997: won: A Game of Thrones; For 'Blood of the Dragon', the extracted Daenerys chapters of A Game of Thrones, published in Asimov's; recorded against the parent novel.
- World Fantasy Award (Best Novel), 1997: nominated: A Game of Thrones
- Nebula Award (Best Novel), 1997: nominated: A Game of Thrones
- Locus Award (Best Fantasy Novel), 2001: won: A Storm of Swords
- Hugo Award (Best Novel), 2001: nominated: A Storm of Swords; Lost to Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
- Nebula Award (Best Novel), 2001: nominated: A Storm of Swords
- Hugo Award (Best Novel), 2006: nominated: A Feast for Crows
- Locus Award (Best Fantasy Novel), 2006: nominated: A Feast for Crows
- British Fantasy Award (Best Novel), 2006: nominated: A Feast for Crows
- Hugo Award (Best Novel), 2012: nominated: A Dance with Dragons
- Locus Award (Best Fantasy Novel), 2012: won: A Dance with Dragons
- World Fantasy Award (Best Novel), 2012: nominated: A Dance with Dragons
You might also like
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.
- Kencyrath Epic fantasy / Sword & sorcery · Ongoing · High commitment · 4.28
- The Drenai Saga Epic fantasy / Sword & sorcery · Complete · High commitment · 4.27
- The Kingkiller Chronicle Epic fantasy · Ongoing · Medium commitment · 4.53
- The Hierarchy Epic fantasy · Ongoing · Low commitment · 4.49
Official resources
- georgerrmartin.com: books
- Not a Blog
- A Wiki of Ice and Fire: specialised wiki
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 4.41 across 6,305,928 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)
- George R.R. Martin, official website Tier 1
- Wikipedia (English) Tier 2
- A Wiki of Ice and Fire Tier 2
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Song_of_Ice_and_Fire
Last reviewed: 2026-08-06
Rule: Books 6–7 (The Winds of Winter, A Dream of Spring) join the core upon publication.