George R. R. Martin Books in Order (Updated August 5, 2026)

George R. R. Martin is an American author of fantasy, science fiction, horror, and shared-world fiction. He is best known for A Song of Ice and Fire, the unfinished epic fantasy series that begins with A Game of Thrones.

His books do not form one continuous universe. The Westeros novels, the Wild Cards books, the Thousand Worlds stories, Tuf Voyaging, and his standalone novels belong to separate reading tracks.

Order matters most within A Song of Ice and Fire and Wild Cards. Martin’s standalone novels can be read in any order.

Quick Answer: Where Should You Start?

New readers should begin with A Game of Thrones (1996). Continue through the five published A Song of Ice and Fire novels before moving to the Westeros prequels and historical companion books.

The best overall Westeros order is:

1. A Game of Thrones (1996): The death of a royal adviser draws House Stark into a political struggle involving rival families, hidden parentage, and a growing supernatural threat.
2. A Clash of Kings (1998): Multiple claimants fight for the throne while the realm fractures, alliances shift, and dangers beyond the Wall become harder to dismiss.
3. A Storm of Swords (2000): The war reaches its most consequential stage, delivering major reversals that permanently change the balance of power.
4. A Feast for Crows (2005): The surviving factions deal with the political, religious, and personal consequences of the war while new powers rise in its aftermath.
5. A Dance with Dragons (2011): The narrative returns to several absent viewpoint characters as events in the North, Meereen, and the Free Cities move toward new conflicts.
6. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (2015): Three connected prequel novellas follow a wandering knight and his young squire nearly a century before the main series.
7. Fire & Blood (2018): An in-world history recounts the first half of Targaryen rule, including Aegon’s Conquest and the civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons.
8. The World of Ice & Fire (2014): This illustrated reference book expands the history, geography, cultures, and ruling families of Martin’s fantasy world.
9. The Rise of the Dragon (2022): A heavily illustrated account retells Targaryen history in a shorter and more visual form than Fire & Blood.

This order protects the principal reveals of the novels before introducing detailed historical material.

A Song of Ice and Fire Books in Publication Order

Included: Main series

A Song of Ice and Fire is one continuous story told through numerous viewpoint characters. The novels should be read in publication order because political developments, identities, betrayals, and character movements build directly from earlier volumes.

1. A Game of Thrones (1996): Eddard Stark accepts a powerful royal position and uncovers a secret that threatens the ruling dynasty, while an exiled princess begins building power across the sea.
2. A Clash of Kings (1998): The death of a king produces competing claims, open warfare, and divided loyalties as supernatural forces begin pressing into the political story.
3. A Storm of Swords (2000): Battles, weddings, trials, and betrayals resolve several major conflicts while creating consequences that shape every later installment.
4. A Feast for Crows (2005): The story follows characters in King’s Landing, the Riverlands, Dorne, the Iron Islands, and Braavos as the realm struggles with the cost of war.
5. A Dance with Dragons (2011): Jon Snow, Daenerys Targaryen, Tyrion Lannister, and other returning characters face unstable leadership, rebellion, and approaching military confrontations.
6. The Winds of Winter (Forthcoming): The planned sixth novel is expected to continue unresolved battles and viewpoint arcs from both A Feast for Crows and A Dance with Dragons.
7. A Dream of Spring (Planned): The intended seventh novel is expected to conclude the main series, but it does not have a confirmed publication date.

Publication order is also the recommended order. Each book assumes that the reader understands the deaths, alliances, identities, and political changes revealed in the previous volumes.

Is A Song of Ice and Fire Complete?

No. Five of the planned seven main novels have been published.

The Winds of Winter remains unfinished and does not have a confirmed release date as of August 5, 2026. Martin has continued to identify it as the next main-series novel, but readers should not rely on speculative dates from retailers or unofficial listings.

A Dream of Spring is planned to follow The Winds of Winter. It should be considered an intended future book rather than a scheduled release.

Should A Feast for Crows and A Dance with Dragons Be Combined?

A Feast for Crows and A Dance with Dragons overlap during part of their timelines, but they follow different groups of characters.

First-time readers should read the two books in normal publication order:

1. A Feast for Crows (2005): This volume concentrates on the political aftermath in the south and west, giving several less prominent regions and characters greater importance.
2. A Dance with Dragons (2011): This volume covers many events occurring at roughly the same time, then advances beyond the ending point of A Feast for Crows.

Fan-created combined orders alternate chapters between the two books. These arrangements can be useful on a reread, but they disrupt the pacing and thematic structure of the published novels.

Tales of Dunk and Egg Books in Order

Included: Westeros prequel series

The Tales of Dunk and Egg take place roughly ninety years before A Game of Thrones. They follow Ser Duncan the Tall, an inexperienced hedge knight, and Egg, a boy whose identity connects him to the future of the Seven Kingdoms.

1. The Hedge Knight (1998): Dunk enters a tournament at Ashford Meadow and becomes involved in a dispute that exposes the dangers of honor, class, and royal privilege.
2. The Sworn Sword (2003): Dunk serves a minor landed knight during a drought and investigates a local conflict rooted in the unfinished grievances of a failed rebellion.
3. The Mystery Knight (2010): Dunk and Egg attend a wedding tournament that conceals a conspiracy involving rival claimants and unresolved political loyalties.

All three novellas are collected in:

4. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (2015): This single-volume collection presents the three published Dunk and Egg adventures in their correct internal order.

The collection is the easiest and most complete way to read the published sequence.

When Should You Read A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms?

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms can technically be read before A Game of Thrones because it takes place much earlier.

The better position for a first-time reader is after A Dance with Dragons. By that point, the reader understands the major houses, royal history, institutions, and family legacies that give the prequels additional meaning.

The stories reveal less about the main plot than Fire & Blood, but several names and historical events carry more weight after the five published novels.

Unpublished Dunk and Egg Stories

Martin has discussed additional stories featuring Dunk and Egg, but only three novellas have been published.

Possible future titles have included:

1. The She-Wolves of Winterfell (Unpublished): This proposed story is expected to bring Dunk and Egg to Winterfell during a complicated Stark succession dispute.
2. The Village Hero (Unpublished): This proposed installment has been mentioned as another stage in Dunk and Egg’s travels, but it has not been released.

These titles should not be counted as available books. Their final names, contents, and publication plans may change.

Targaryen History Books in Publication Order

Included: Westeros companion books

These books expand the history of Westeros, especially the Targaryen dynasty. They are not direct sequels to the main novels.

1. The World of Ice & Fire (2014): Presented as a scholarly history prepared within the fictional world, this book surveys ancient civilizations, regions, rulers, wars, and noble houses.
2. Fire & Blood (2018): This detailed fictional chronicle follows House Targaryen from Aegon’s Conquest through the regency that follows the Dance of the Dragons.
3. The Rise of the Dragon (2022): This illustrated volume condenses much of the Targaryen material into a more accessible visual history with extensive artwork.

The World of Ice & Fire provides the broadest geographical coverage. Fire & Blood supplies the fullest continuous account of early Targaryen rule.

Fire & Blood Books in Order

Included: Targaryen historical series

Fire & Blood is intended as the first part of a two-volume history.

1. Fire & Blood (2018): The first volume covers the conquest of Westeros, the reigns of the early Targaryen monarchs, the Dance of the Dragons, and the troubled regency of Aegon III.
2. Fire & Blood Volume Two (Planned): The proposed continuation is expected to cover later Targaryen kings and eventually connect the dynasty’s history more closely to the period preceding A Game of Thrones.

The second volume did not have a confirmed title or publication date as of August 5, 2026.

Fire & Blood or The Rise of the Dragon: Which Should You Read?

The books overlap, but they are designed for different readers.

Fire & Blood (2018): Choose this version for the most detailed narrative, conflicting historical testimony, political context, and extended accounts of Targaryen rule.

The Rise of the Dragon (2022): Choose this version for a shorter overview supported by family trees, portraits, maps, and extensive illustrations.

Reading both is optional. The Rise of the Dragon is not a sequel to Fire & Blood and does not continue the history beyond it.

Earlier Targaryen Novellas in Order

Optional: Material incorporated into Fire & Blood

Several portions of Targaryen history appeared in anthologies before being revised or incorporated into Fire & Blood.

1. The Princess and the Queen (2013): This historical novella recounts the Targaryen civil war from the perspective of a fictional historian and focuses on the rival claims of Rhaenyra and Aegon II.
2. The Rogue Prince (2014): This prequel examines Prince Daemon Targaryen and the events that prepare the ground for the Dance of the Dragons.
3. The Sons of the Dragon (2017): This account follows the reigns of Aegon the Conqueror’s sons, Aenys I and Maegor I, as the new dynasty struggles to hold the realm.

Readers who own Fire & Blood do not need these earlier versions for continuity. They are mainly valuable to collectors and readers interested in how Martin revised the historical narrative.

Westeros Books in Chronological Order

Chronological order begins with the earliest period covered at length and proceeds toward the main saga.

1. Fire & Blood (2018): The historical account begins with Aegon’s Conquest and establishes the first century and a half of Targaryen rule.
2. The Rise of the Dragon (2022): This visual companion revisits much of the same period and is optional rather than a required second step.
3. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (2015): Dunk and Egg travel through a realm still shaped by recent Targaryen rebellions, about ninety years before A Game of Thrones.
4. A Game of Thrones (1996): The main saga begins as the long summer ends and a royal death destabilizes the Seven Kingdoms.
5. A Clash of Kings (1998): The struggle for the Iron Throne becomes an open war involving several kings and divided regions.
6. A Storm of Swords (2000): The war reaches a decisive and destructive phase while threats outside the political conflict grow.
7. A Feast for Crows (2005): The surviving powers attempt to control a damaged realm and suppress new sources of resistance.
8. A Dance with Dragons (2011): Events in the North and across the Narrow Sea push several central characters toward major confrontations.
9. The Winds of Winter (Forthcoming): The sixth volume is intended to resume the battles and cliffhangers left unresolved in the two previous books.
10. A Dream of Spring (Planned): The planned conclusion is expected to resolve the central political and supernatural conflicts.

The World of Ice & Fire covers thousands of years and cannot be placed at one precise point in the chronology.

Chronological order is best reserved for rereaders. Starting with historical reference books can reduce mystery and introduce a large number of names before the reader has a reason to remember them.

Recommended Westeros Reading Order

The best order for a new reader balances narrative momentum with historical context.

1. A Game of Thrones (1996): Start here because it introduces the families, institutions, geography, and central conflicts through active character stories.
2. A Clash of Kings (1998): Continue directly because every major claimant and military campaign develops from the first book’s ending.
3. A Storm of Swords (2000): Read next to complete the first large phase of the war and experience the series’ major revelations in their intended sequence.
4. A Feast for Crows (2005): Stay with publication order even though some popular viewpoint characters are temporarily absent.
5. A Dance with Dragons (2011): Read immediately after A Feast for Crows to see the parallel viewpoints and then move beyond their shared timeline.
6. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (2015): Shift to this earlier period for a smaller-scale story that deepens the history of knighthood and the Targaryen succession.
7. Fire & Blood (2018): Read the detailed dynasty history after gaining familiarity with the houses and political traditions of Westeros.
8. The World of Ice & Fire (2014): Use this as a broader reference for regions, cultures, families, and periods not covered fully in the novels.
9. The Rise of the Dragon (2022): Finish with this optional visual retelling if you want an illustrated overview of Targaryen history.

When The Winds of Winter is eventually published, it should be placed directly after A Dance with Dragons. Readers will not need to complete the prequels or companion books first.

A Song of Ice and Fire Extracts and Promotional Novellas

Optional: Not separate installments

Sections of the main novels have been published under separate titles in magazines or limited editions.

1. Blood of the Dragon (1996): This material adapts Daenerys Targaryen’s chapters from A Game of Thrones and does not add a separate story after the novel.
2. Path of the Dragon (2000): This selection draws from Daenerys’s chapters in A Storm of Swords and should not be placed between main-series volumes.
3. Arms of the Kraken (2003): This novella-length extract contains Iron Islands chapters later published as part of A Feast for Crows.

These publications are not required reading. Their material appears in the main novels.

George R. R. Martin Standalone Novels in Publication Order

Separate continuity

Martin’s standalone novels do not connect to Westeros. They can be read in any order, although publication order shows the progression of his early career.

1. Dying of the Light (1977): A man travels to a dying wandering planet after receiving a message from a former lover, only to become trapped in a conflict shaped by a violent alien culture.
2. Windhaven (1981), with Lisa Tuttle: On a world of scattered islands, generations of winged messengers challenge inherited privilege and reshape the traditions that control flight.
3. Fevre Dream (1982): A struggling riverboat captain enters a partnership with a mysterious passenger and becomes involved in a conflict between rival groups of vampires.
4. The Armageddon Rag (1983): A former counterculture journalist investigates a murder connected to a legendary rock band and uncovers a supernatural plan rooted in the politics of the 1960s.
5. Hunter’s Run (2007), with Gardner Dozois and Daniel Abraham: A fugitive laborer on an alien world is forced to help track another man and gradually questions his identity, loyalties, and place in the hunt.

Hunter’s Run developed from an earlier collaborative novella, but the novel is the complete version recommended for general readers.

Dying of the Light

Dying of the Light (1977): Martin’s first novel combines a decaying planetary setting with a personal triangle involving love, cultural obligation, jealousy, and survival.

The book is often associated with Martin’s loosely connected Thousand Worlds setting. It stands alone and does not require any short stories first.

Windhaven

Windhaven (1981): Written with Lisa Tuttle, this novel follows Maris, a flyer who challenges the hereditary system controlling the wings used to carry messages between islands.

The book developed from linked stories and is structured across different stages of Maris’s life. It has no connection to Westeros despite its fantasy-like culture and flying tradition.

Fevre Dream

Fevre Dream (1982): Set along the Mississippi River before the American Civil War, the novel follows riverboat captain Abner Marsh and the secretive Joshua York.

It is a standalone historical horror novel. No sequels or companion books are required.

The Armageddon Rag

The Armageddon Rag (1983): Former journalist Sandy Blair investigates the ritualistic murder of a music promoter and reconnects with people from his radical past.

The novel blends mystery, supernatural horror, rock music, and political disillusionment. It is completely separate from Martin’s fantasy and science fiction settings.

Hunter’s Run

Hunter’s Run (2007): Ramón Espejo flees into the wilderness after committing a violent crime and encounters alien forces that turn him into an unwilling tracker.

The novel was written with Gardner Dozois and Daniel Abraham. It expands ideas previously published in shorter collaborative forms, including Shadow Twin.

Tuf Voyaging Books and Stories in Order

Included: Linked science fiction sequence

Tuf Voyaging collects interconnected stories about Haviland Tuf, an eccentric trader who gains control of an enormous ecological engineering vessel.

The standard collection presents the sequence in this order:

1. The Plague Star: Tuf joins a dangerous expedition to investigate a legendary abandoned ship and emerges with control of powerful technology.
2. Loaves and Fishes: Tuf uses ecological engineering to address a world’s food crisis, but his solution reveals the political dangers of unchecked population growth.
3. Guardians: A planet asks Tuf to eliminate sea monsters, leading him to examine whether the creatures or the humans are causing the true ecological imbalance.
4. Second Helpings: Tuf returns to a world whose leaders ignored his earlier warnings and imposes a harsher response to the consequences.
5. A Beast for Norn: Tuf becomes involved in a conflict built around genetically engineered animals and the competitive pride of their owners.
6. Call Him Moses: A religious leader uses engineered plagues and apparent miracles to control a population, forcing Tuf to confront manipulation disguised as faith.
7. Manna from Heaven: Tuf returns once more to a population crisis and faces the long-term moral consequences of his earlier interventions.

The recommended edition is:

8. Tuf Voyaging (1986): This collection arranges the stories into a complete episodic narrative and is the easiest way to follow Tuf’s development.

The sequence is sometimes associated with Martin’s broader Thousand Worlds future history, but it works independently.

The Thousand Worlds Books and Stories

Optional: Loosely shared setting

The Thousand Worlds is an informal name for the future setting used in several of Martin’s early science fiction works.

It is not a tightly numbered series. Most stories feature different planets, cultures, and protagonists, with shared history functioning mainly as background.

Notable book-length or collection entries include:

1. Dying of the Light (1977): A doomed planet and a rigid warrior culture provide one of the most detailed novel-length views of the Thousand Worlds setting.
2. A Song for Lya and Other Stories (1976): The collection includes stories about telepathy, alien cultures, isolation, and the psychological consequences of interstellar contact.
3. Songs of Stars and Shadows (1977): These stories develop recurring concerns about fading civilizations, lonely space travel, and unstable human relationships.
4. Sandkings (1981): The collection includes Martin’s famous title story about a cruel collector whose alien pets develop societies shaped by his behavior.
5. Songs the Dead Men Sing (1983): This collection brings together horror and science fiction stories, including several works concerned with death, memory, and cultural decline.
6. Nightflyers (1985): The title novella follows a scientific expedition whose secretive captain and dangerous ship turn the voyage into a confined space-horror story.
7. Portraits of His Children (1987): This collection spans fantasy, horror, and science fiction, with an emphasis on damaged relationships and the cost of obsession.

There is no required order. Dying of the Light is the best starting point for a full novel, while Dreamsongs offers the broadest retrospective selection.

George R. R. Martin Short Story Collections in Order

Optional: Significant content overlap

Martin’s collections often reuse stories from earlier books. Readers do not need to purchase every collection to follow a continuity.

1. A Song for Lya and Other Stories (1976): Martin’s first collection gathers early science fiction centered on alien societies, psychic connection, loneliness, and cultural misunderstanding.
2. Songs of Stars and Shadows (1977): This collection continues his early science fiction work and includes stories about deep-space isolation, war, duty, and personal loss.
3. Sandkings (1981): Led by the award-winning title story, this collection mixes science fiction and horror with recurring themes of cruelty and unintended consequences.
4. Songs the Dead Men Sing (1983): The stories move between horror, fantasy, and science fiction while focusing on memory, mortality, and destructive desire.
5. Nightflyers (1985): This volume collects the title space-horror novella with other stories drawn from Martin’s speculative fiction career.
6. Tuf Voyaging (1986): The collection organizes the Haviland Tuf stories into a connected sequence about ecological engineering and moral authority.
7. Portraits of His Children (1987): The title story and surrounding pieces explore strained families, artistic obsession, grief, and supernatural intrusion.
8. Quartet (2001): Four novellas present a compact selection of Martin’s longer short fiction across science fiction, fantasy, and horror.
9. GRRM: A RRetrospective (2003): This large career-spanning volume combines stories, scripts, commentary, and autobiographical material from several phases of Martin’s work.
10. Dreamsongs: Volume I (2006): The first half of Martin’s major retrospective follows his development from childhood writing through early professional science fiction and horror.
11. Dreamsongs: Volume II (2006): The second half continues through later stories, television work, Wild Cards material, and selections connected to Westeros.
12. Starlady and Fast-Friend (2008): This limited collection pairs two science fiction stories from Martin’s earlier career.
13. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (2015): This collection brings together the three published Dunk and Egg novellas in their correct sequence.

Dreamsongs: Volume I and Volume II are the best choices for readers seeking a broad overview. Buying all earlier collections will create substantial duplication.

Dreamsongs Books in Order

1. Dreamsongs: Volume I (2006): This volume combines early stories with Martin’s commentary on his childhood, fandom, first sales, and growth as a professional writer.
2. Dreamsongs: Volume II (2006): This volume moves into his mature fiction, screenwriting years, shared-world work, and the period leading into A Song of Ice and Fire.

Some editions were published in 2007 rather than 2006, depending on country and format. The contents remain arranged as a two-volume retrospective.

The Ice Dragon

Separate continuity

1. The Ice Dragon (1980): A young girl forms a bond with a legendary ice dragon while war and fire-breathing dragons threaten her family and frozen homeland.

The story has been issued in several illustrated editions and is often marketed toward younger readers.

It should not be treated as a Westeros prequel. No confirmed continuity places it within A Song of Ice and Fire.

Wild Cards Books in Order

Separate continuity, shared by multiple authors

Wild Cards is an alternate-history superhero universe edited and developed by Martin with many contributing writers.

An alien virus released over New York in 1946 kills most people it infects. Some survivors become physically altered jokers, while a small number gain extraordinary abilities and become aces.

Martin did not write every story or every volume. Publication order remains the most stable route because characters, organizations, and political events recur across books.

Original Wild Cards Trilogy

1. Wild Cards (1987): The opening mosaic novel introduces the virus, the emergence of aces and jokers, and the altered history that follows the outbreak.
2. Aces High (1987): The surviving superpowered community faces a secretive threat tied to alien forces, cult activity, and a plan reaching beyond Earth.
3. Jokers Wild (1987): A single day in New York brings multiple characters together as a body-switching criminal creates chaos across the city.

These three books establish the setting and provide the strongest starting point for the entire shared universe.

Puppetman Sequence

4. Aces Abroad (1988): A government-sponsored world tour reveals how the Wild Card virus has transformed societies, religions, and political conflicts outside the United States.
5. Down and Dirty (1988): Returning characters face gang warfare, disease, political manipulation, and personal crises in a fractured New York.
6. Ace in the Hole (1990): A presidential convention becomes the center of a struggle involving superhuman influence, secret agendas, and national politics.
7. Dead Man’s Hand (1990): A murder investigation runs alongside the convention crisis and brings several long-running character conflicts to a head.

Dead Man’s Hand overlaps with Ace in the Hole. Publication order is still the simplest approach.

Rox Sequence and Related Novels

8. One-Eyed Jacks (1991): The body-switching Jumpers expand their power while New York’s joker community faces increasing instability.
9. Jokertown Shuffle (1991): Bloat attempts to create an independent joker refuge on Ellis Island, drawing the Jumpers and established authorities into conflict.
10. Dealer’s Choice (1992): The struggle over the Rox reaches its climax as government forces and Wild Card factions prepare for a decisive confrontation.
11. Double Solitaire (1992): Dr. Tachyon returns to his home world and confronts political turmoil, family conflict, and threats connected to his past.
12. Turn of the Cards (1993): Mark Meadows continues a dangerous personal journey involving his multiple superpowered identities and the consequences of earlier Wild Cards conflicts.

These books continue established character arcs, so they should not be used as entry points.

Card Sharks Sequence

13. Card Sharks (1993): A hidden organization attempts to influence history and eliminate Wild Carders through conspiracy, propaganda, and organized violence.
14. Marked Cards (1994): The conspiracy widens as surviving aces and jokers uncover connections between political power and attacks on their community.
15. Black Trump (1995): The Card Sharks plot reaches its climax with a biological weapon designed to target people affected by the Wild Card virus.

This trilogy should be read together because each volume develops the same central conspiracy.

Later Original-Run Books

16. Deuces Down (2002): This anthology shifts attention toward deuces, people whose Wild Card abilities are too limited or impractical to make them powerful aces.
17. Death Draws Five (2006): John Fortune becomes the focus of a struggle involving religious forces, criminal factions, and questions about the true nature of his abilities.

These volumes conclude the original era before the series introduces a newer generation and a more modern setting.

Committee Trilogy

18. Inside Straight (2008): A reality television competition introduces a new group of aces, some of whom are drawn into an international crisis that demands more than celebrity.
19. Busted Flush (2008): The new generation faces escalating disasters, political pressure, and the consequences of turning superhuman intervention into public spectacle.
20. Suicide Kings (2009): Several young aces enter a brutal African conflict where idealism collides with exploitation, war crimes, and international power.

Inside Straight is the best alternative starting point for readers who want a later, more contemporary era.

Fort Freak and Modern Wild Cards

21. Fort Freak (2011): Police officers and residents in Jokertown confront crimes, corruption, and community tensions in a mosaic novel centered on a local precinct.
22. Lowball (2014): Investigators search for missing jokers and uncover a threat targeting vulnerable members of the Wild Card community.
23. High Stakes (2016): The investigation expands into a larger supernatural and cosmic confrontation with consequences beyond ordinary police work.
24. Mississippi Roll (2017): A journey aboard a Mississippi riverboat connects travelers, criminals, performers, and Wild Carders through overlapping stories.
25. Low Chicago (2018): A time-manipulation accident sends characters into different periods of Chicago history, where changes to the past threaten the present.
26. Texas Hold ’Em (2018): Students and musicians travel to a competition in Texas and encounter prejudice, local conflict, and dangers tied to Wild Card identity.
27. Knaves Over Queens (2018): This volume explores the history of the Wild Card virus in Britain, moving from the postwar period through later cultural and political changes.
28. Three Kings (2020): A royal succession crisis in Britain brings aces, jokers, political factions, and hidden family claims into direct conflict.
29. Joker Moon (2021): Stories set on and around the Moon examine how Wild Carders have carried their ambitions, divisions, and survival struggles beyond Earth.
30. Full House (2022): This collection brings together connected Wild Cards stories that expand the modern era and revisit characters from different parts of the shared universe.
31. Pairing Up (2023): The stories focus on romantic, professional, and adversarial partnerships shaped by the unpredictable effects of the Wild Card virus.
32. Sleeper Straddle (2024): Croyd Crenson’s unstable abilities and recurring transformations become central to a story involving crime, danger, and the long history of the Wild Cards world.
33. Aces Full (2025): This collection gathers Wild Cards stories previously published online, bringing several shorter modern-era adventures into one print volume.

Wild Cards numbering can vary across publisher catalogs and editions. Revised editions may also contain additional stories not included in the original releases.

Best Wild Cards Reading Order

For the full experience, begin with Wild Cards and follow publication order.

Readers who want a shorter route can use one of these entry points:

1. Wild Cards (1987): Begin here for the origin of the virus, the alternate history, and the earliest recurring characters.
2. Inside Straight (2008): Begin here for a newer generation, modern media culture, and a relatively accessible relaunch.
3. Fort Freak (2011): Begin here only when primarily interested in police stories and Jokertown, since the book still assumes some familiarity with the world.

Wild Cards is entirely separate from A Song of Ice and Fire. No characters or historical events cross between the two settings.

George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois Anthologies in Order

Separate anthologies

These books were edited by Martin and Gardner Dozois. They contain work by numerous authors and do not form a continuous story.

1. Songs of the Dying Earth (2009): Writers contribute stories inspired by Jack Vance’s Dying Earth setting and literary style.
2. Warriors (2010): This cross-genre anthology collects stories about warriors from fantasy, history, science fiction, and other traditions.
3. Songs of Love and Death (2010): The collection combines romantic and speculative fiction through stories involving supernatural, fantastic, or futuristic relationships.
4. Down These Strange Streets (2011): Urban fantasy and paranormal mystery stories place detectives, investigators, and criminals in supernatural settings.
5. Dangerous Women (2013): Stories across multiple genres focus on formidable women, including Martin’s Targaryen history The Princess and the Queen.
6. Old Mars (2013): The anthology revisits the romantic planetary adventures of early Mars fiction rather than modern scientific depictions of the planet.
7. Rogues (2014): Stories about thieves, tricksters, criminals, and morally flexible protagonists include Martin’s The Rogue Prince.
8. Old Venus (2015): The collection imagines Venus as the lush and dangerous world portrayed in older planetary romances.

These anthologies can be read in any order. Readers interested only in Martin’s Westeros material can find expanded versions of the relevant Targaryen stories in Fire & Blood.

Graphic Novels and Comic Adaptations

Optional: Alternate formats

These books adapt existing prose or screen material. They do not extend the primary continuity beyond the original works.

1. A Game of Thrones: The Graphic Novel, Volume One (2011): The adaptation begins the first novel with a visual retelling of the Stark family’s entry into royal politics.
2. A Game of Thrones: The Graphic Novel, Volume Two (2013): The second volume continues the political investigation in King’s Landing and the developing crises elsewhere.
3. A Game of Thrones: The Graphic Novel, Volume Three (2014): The adaptation moves deeper into the breakdown of royal authority and the danger surrounding House Stark.
4. A Game of Thrones: The Graphic Novel, Volume Four (2015): The final volume completes the graphic adaptation of the first prose novel.
5. A Clash of Kings: The Graphic Novel, Volume One (2018): The second novel’s adaptation begins as rival kings gather armies and the realm moves into civil war.
6. A Clash of Kings: The Graphic Novel, Volume Two (2019): Military campaigns, court schemes, and supernatural developments continue across the divided kingdoms.
7. A Clash of Kings: The Graphic Novel, Volume Three (2022): The adaptation advances several converging campaigns as the struggle for power intensifies.
8. A Clash of Kings: The Graphic Novel, Volume Four (2024): The concluding volume completes the visual adaptation of the second main-series novel.
9. The Hedge Knight (2005): This graphic adaptation retells Dunk’s first tournament and his confrontation with members of the royal family.
10. The Sworn Sword (2008): Dunk’s service during a local dispute over water and loyalty is adapted into comic form.
11. The Mystery Knight (2017): The third adaptation follows Dunk and Egg into a tournament concealing a political conspiracy.
12. Fevre Dream (2011): The graphic novel adapts Martin’s Mississippi riverboat vampire story.
13. Windhaven (2018): The adaptation presents Maris’s fight to open the tradition of flying beyond hereditary families.
14. Starport (2019): Based on an unproduced television pilot, this graphic novel follows law enforcement officers working in a port used by alien visitors.
15. Voyaging: The Plague Star (2023): The graphic novel adapts the opening Haviland Tuf adventure involving the discovery of a powerful ecological engineering ship.

Readers should choose either the prose or graphic versions according to preference. The graphic novels are not additional sequels.

Boxed Sets and Split Editions

Optional: No new books

Some editions divide individual novels into two physical volumes.

1. A Storm of Swords: Steel and Snow: This is the first half of A Storm of Swords in certain regional editions.
2. A Storm of Swords: Blood and Gold: This is the second half and should be read immediately after Steel and Snow.
3. A Dance with Dragons: Dreams and Dust: This is the first half of A Dance with Dragons in certain editions.
4. A Dance with Dragons: After the Feast: This is the second half and completes the same novel.

These are not extra installments. A reader who owns the complete single-volume editions does not need the split versions.

Five-book boxed sets contain the currently published A Song of Ice and Fire novels but do not represent a completed series.

Latest George R. R. Martin Book Releases

Aces Full (2025): This Wild Cards collection gathers previously published online stories into a single volume and is the most recent confirmed Wild Cards book included in this guide.

A Clash of Kings: The Graphic Novel, Volume Four (2024): This volume completes the graphic adaptation of the second A Song of Ice and Fire novel.

Sleeper Straddle (2024): This Wild Cards installment centers on Croyd Crenson and continues the shared universe’s modern publication line.

The Rise of the Dragon (2022): This remains the most recent major original Westeros companion book, although much of its history overlaps with Fire & Blood.

The Winds of Winter remains the next expected main-series novel, but it has no confirmed publication date as of August 5, 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

What George R. R. Martin book should I read first?

Start with A Game of Thrones (1996). It introduces Westeros through character-driven events and is the intended opening of A Song of Ice and Fire.

Readers seeking science fiction can begin with Dying of the Light (1977) or Tuf Voyaging (1986). Horror readers can begin with Fevre Dream (1982).

Should I read Fire & Blood before A Game of Thrones?

No, not on a first reading.

Fire & Blood (2018) takes place centuries earlier, but its historical format introduces many rulers, marriages, deaths, and succession disputes without the gradual orientation provided by the novels.

Read A Game of Thrones first to preserve mystery and establish the world naturally.

Can I read A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms first?

Yes, but reading it after A Dance with Dragons is more rewarding.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (2015) tells a self-contained prequel story, but its royal identities, family names, and political background have greater significance once the reader knows the main series.

Are Fire & Blood and The Rise of the Dragon the same?

No.

Fire & Blood (2018) is the longer and more detailed fictional history. The Rise of the Dragon (2022) covers similar material in a shorter illustrated format.

Is The World of Ice & Fire a novel?

No.

The World of Ice & Fire (2014) is an illustrated history and reference guide. It is written partly as an in-world document rather than as a conventional character-centered novel.

Is The Ice Dragon connected to Game of Thrones?

No confirmed connection exists.

The Ice Dragon (1980) should be treated as a separate fantasy story despite its use of dragons, winter, and medieval imagery.

Did George R. R. Martin write every Wild Cards book?

No.

Wild Cards is a shared universe involving many authors. Martin serves as a creator, editor, contributor, and continuity guide, but numerous stories and full novels were written by other contributors.

What comes after A Dance with Dragons?

The Winds of Winter is intended to follow A Dance with Dragons as the sixth main novel.

It remains forthcoming without a confirmed release date. A Dream of Spring is planned as the seventh book.

Is the Game of Thrones television ending the book ending?

The television series and novels are separate versions of the story.

They share many characters and early events, but their plots, surviving characters, chronology, and later conflicts differ substantially. The television finale does not complete the published novel sequence.

Are more Dunk and Egg books planned?

Yes, Martin has discussed additional stories.

However, only The Hedge Knight (1998), The Sworn Sword (2003), and The Mystery Knight (2010) have been published. All three appear in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.

Conclusion

The safest place to begin is A Game of Thrones (1996). Continue through A Dance with Dragons in publication order before exploring the prequels and historical companion books.

Read A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (2015) next for a more focused story set earlier in Westeros. Follow it with Fire & Blood (2018) and The World of Ice & Fire (2014) when you are ready for denser historical material.

Martin’s standalone novels, Tuf Voyaging stories, Thousand Worlds fiction, and Wild Cards books belong to separate continuities. Keeping those groups apart provides a clearer reading order and prevents companion books, adaptations, and shared-world titles from being mistaken for main-series installments.