George R.R. Martin

A Song of Ice and Fire is a series of epic fantasy novels written by American novelist and screenwriter George R. R. Martin. Martin began the series in 1991 and published the first volume, A Game of Thrones, in 1996. Martin gradually extended the originally planned trilogy into four, six and eventually seven volumes. The fifth installment, A Dance with Dragons, took over five years of writing until being published in 2011. The sixth book, The Winds of Winter, is being written.

The story of A Song of Ice and Fire takes place on the fictional continents Westeros and Essos, with a history of thousands of years. The series is told in the third person by point of view characters, whose number reaches 31 by the fifth novel. Three stories become interwoven: the chronicling of a dynastic war for control of Westeros by several families; the rising threat of the dormant cold supernatural Others dwelling beyond an immense wall of ice on Westeros' northern border; and the ambition of Daenerys Targaryen, the exiled daughter of a king murdered in a civil war shortly before her birth, to return to Westeros with her fire-breathing dragons and claim her rightful throne.

Drawing inspiration from historical events such as the English period of the Wars of the Roses, Martin defied the conventions of the high fantasy genre. The series received praise for its realism; it subdues magic in favor of battles and political intrigue. Violence, sexuality and moral ambiguity are frequently displayed among a set of over a thousand named characters. Major characters are repeatedly killed off so that readers cannot rely on the supposed heroes to remain safe and sound. The multiple viewpoint structure allows characters to be explored from many sides so that the supposed villains can provide their viewpoint. A Song of Ice and Fire also received critical commentary for its diverse portrayal of women and religion.

Originally published without much publicity, the books in the series have now sold more than 22 million copies worldwide and have been translated into more than 20 languages. The fourth and fifth volumes reached the top of The New York Times Best Seller lists upon their releases.  Among the many derived works are three prequel novellas, the HBO TV series Game of Thrones, a comic book adaptation, and several card, board and video games.


The story of A Song of Ice and Fire takes place in a fictional world where seasons may last for years. Centuries before the events of the first novel (see backstory), the Seven Kingdoms on the continent Westeros were united under several generations of the Targaryen dynasty, who wielded the power of fire-breathing dragons until their apparent extinction. The last Targaryen king was killed in a rebellion of feudal lords led by a young Robert Baratheon some fourteen years before the events of the first novel. The books' present follows various viewpoint characters spread across divergent lands as winter is approaching.
The main story chronicles a many-sided power struggle for the Iron Throne of Westeros after King Robert's death in the first book, A Game of Thrones. Robert's son Joffrey immediately claims the Iron Throne with the support of his mother's powerful family, the immensely wealthy House Lannister. When Lord Eddard Stark, King Robert's "Hand" (chief advisor), is executed after finding out Joffrey and his siblings were in fact not sired by Robert, Robert's brothers Stannis and Renly individually lay claim on the throne. Meanwhile, several regions of Westeros seek to return to self-rule: Eddard Stark's eldest son Robb is proclaimed King in the North, while Balon Greyjoy re-establishes an independent Kingdom in his region, the Iron Islands. This so-called War of the Five Kings is in full progress by the middle of the second book, A Clash of Kings, with more people gradually joining the struggle for power.

The second story takes place on the northern border of Westeros, where an enormous, eight-thousand years old wall of ice defends Westeros from the Others, creatures believed to be mythical at the start of the series. The Wall's sentinels, the Sworn Brotherhood of the Night's Watch, are spending most of their time dealing with the human wildlings living beyond the Wall when the first Others appear in A Game of Thrones. The Night's Watch story is told primarily through the eyes of Jon Snow, alleged bastard son of Eddard Stark, as he rises through the ranks of the Watch and learns the true nature of the threat from the north. With the third volume, A Storm of Swords, this story becomes entangled with the civil war to the south when Stannis moves to the Wall to protect the realm from the threat of invasion and simultaneously win the favor of the northern strongholds. In the fifth book, A Dance with Dragons, Joffrey's younger brother Tommen holds the Iron Throne, with his mother and later his uncle serving as his regents as the first snowflakes reach their regal domicile at King's Landing.

The third story is set on a huge eastern continent named Essos and follows the adventures of Daenerys Targaryen, the last known scion of House Targaryen. Her story is isolated from the others until more POV characters join her in A Dance with Dragons. Living in exile on Essos, Daenerys's adventures show her growing ability as she rises from a pauper sold into a dynastic marriage to a barbarian warlord, to a powerful and canny ruler. Her rise is aided by the birth of three dragons from fossilized dragon eggs given to her as wedding gifts. With a three-headed dragon as her family's coat of arms, these creatures are of symbolic value to her before they grow big enough to be of tactical use for her goal of reclaiming the Iron Throne.

Martin believes the two last volumes of the series will be big books of 1500 manuscript pages each.  The sixth book is going to be called The Winds of Winter, taking the title of the last book of the originally planned trilogy.

Martin believes the most profound influences to be the ones experienced in childhood. Having read H. P. Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, J. R. R. Tolkien, Robert A. Heinlein, Eric Frank Russell, Andre Norton, Isaac Asimov, Fritz Leiber, and Mervyn Peake in his youth, Martin never categorized these authors' literature into science fiction, fantasy or horror and will write from any genre as a result Martin classified A Song of Ice and Fire as "epic fantasy" and specifically named Tolkien and Tad Williams as very influential for the writing of the series. His favorite contemporary author is Jack Vance, although Martin considered the series not particularly Vancean.

The medieval setting has been the traditional background for epic fantasy even before Tolkien,  whose writing still dominates the genre.  However, before starting with the Ice and Fire series, Martin felt that many Tolkien imitators were writing "Disneyland Middle Ages" fantasy without grasping the true brutality of those times. Historical fiction appeared much grittier and realistic to him, fascinating him with the dramatic possibilities of the medieval contrasts such as chivalry co-existing with the brutality of war and ostentatious castles surrounded by hovels. However, where historic fiction leaves versed readers knowing the historic outcome,  original characters may increase suspense and empathy for the readers.  Thus, Martin wanted to combine the realism of historical fiction with the magic appeal of the best fantasies, subduing magic in favor of battles and political intrigue.

Martin is widely credited with broadening the fantasy fiction genre for adult content. For The Washington Post's Bill Sheehan, the series felt "grounded in the brutal reality of medieval times" despite overtly fantastic elements like dragons and sorcerers. Jeff VanderMeer of the Los Angeles Times found strong horror elements and a gritty, often bawdy physicality of the Ice and Fire world with an implied criticism of the moral simplicity in Tolkien's works. Writing for The Atlantic, Amber Taylor assessed the novels as hard fantasy with vulnerable characters to which readers become emotionally attached. CNN found in 2000 that Martin's mature descriptions were "far more frank than those found in the works of other fantasy authors", although Martin assessed the fantasy genre to have become rougher-edged a decade later and that some writers' work was going beyond the mature themes of his novels.