Read-Alike Monday: Game of Thrones

If you are one of the over 18 million people who watched Game of Thrones last year, you may have also read and loved the books. If you are looking to try something similar to the the Song of Fire and Ice series by George R.R. Martin, check out these suggestions.

Song of Fire and Ice Series:

A Song of Ice and Fire is a series of epic fantasy novels written by American novelist and screenwriter George R. R. Martin.

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 31 point of view characters. 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 and only remaining heir of a king murdered 15 years earlier in a civil war, to return to Westeros with her fire-breathing dragons and claim her rightful throne.

READ-ALIKES:

Acacia Trilogy by David Anthony Durham:

The line between good and evil is vague and ambiguous in this series. Leodan Akaran hides the dark realities of their prosperity from his four children, until an assassin from the Mein, a race exiled to an ice-locked stronghold in the north, strikes him down and frees his children. 3 book series, start with Acacia. 

Tad Williams:

In addition to High Fantasy, Tad Williams writes Historical Fantasy, Animal Fantasy, and Science Fiction. Williams frequently takes a familiar story and gives it unexpected new life, using sophisticated narration and impressive world-building to create richly detailed, satisfying settings. Despite the wealth of details, Williams's uncomplicated, straightforward narrative style ensures that the books move at a fair pace. Complicated and multi-faceted characters, furthermore, keep readers turning the page. Williams likes to give his readers a happily-ever-after ending, but the tone along the way can be grim. 

Barbara Hambly:

Hambly’s fantasy novels have similar settings and sexual content as the Song of Fire and Ice series, as well as complex plots and characters. Her fast paced books contain a lot of drama. Hambly also writes historical fiction and mystery.  

Joe Abercrombie:

Fantasy author Joe Abercrombie writes grim, almost hard-boiled tales of adventure and battle. His stories, including the novels in the First Law series, take place in a world fraught with political tension, bloody battles (described in vivid detail), and cynical opportunism. Abercrombie fills these tales with a huge cast of well-developed characters, and he adopts a variety of perspectives to flesh out the stories and to add a reflective tone to the carnage. The fast-paced and intricate plots will keep readers turning pages, especially since Abercrombie does not shy from suddenly killing off familiar characters. Start with: The Blade Itself.

J.R.R. Tolkien:

Tolkien's Fantasy epic, the Lord of the Rings series and related works, has attained unparalleled popular and literary acclaim for a work in this genre. Tolkien drew from sagas, languages, and cultures of old to create the untamed world and richly-realized peoples of Middle Earth. Motifs from ancient stories (the unlikely hero, the hero's quest) immerse readers into the minds and hearts of characters who-although not human-mirror our own foibles, desires, fears, and joys. Characters 'quest' toward their truest selves as they journey toward their people's mythic destinies in a battle between good and evil. Start with: The Hobbit.