Summary A Song of Ice & Fire, the series HBO's Game of Thrones is based on, but the author has been publishing works of fiction since the 1970s. A Song of Ice & Fire is widely perceived as Martin's Magnum Opus, as it's expanded from a series of novels to a vast multimedia franchise with beloved television shows, games, and millions of fans around the world. It's commonly regarded to be one of the greatest fantasy book series ever written, even rivaling J.R.R.
While The Armageddon Rag may seem like a rather grounded story for the author of A Game of Thrones, the book isn't without its fantastical elements. Some of the most alluring aspects of the novel are the often surreal, mystical qualities surrounding the central mystery that play out through wild dream sequences and a riveting climax. The book only has a 3.
Some of Martin's most iconic short works are contained in Dreamsongs, including Sandkings, Nightflyers, The Ice Dragon, and A Song for Lya. It's hard to compare a set of shorts to completed novels, but some of the writing in Dreamsongs is so quintessentially Martin that it'd be impossible to ignore it. It's a terrific anthology set with something for any audience to enjoy.
A Feast for Crows is without Jon Snow, Daenerys, and Tyrion, which is particularly harrowing after Tyrion's cliffhanger ending in A Storm of Swords. Still, there are notable virtues to the novel that earn it a 4.16 on GoodReads, despite possible reader frustrations.
A Dance with Dragons is the largest book in the series, and while quantity doesn't mean quality, there's a ton there for readers to sink their teeth into. It doesn't push the overarching narrative forward as crucially as the first three novels, but its expansions have given readers a plethora of material to analyze, earning it a still impressive 4.34 rating on GoodReads.
The 1996 fantasy masterwork may not be the best in its series, but it deserves all the credit possible for laying the foundation for the groundbreaking saga. A Game of Thrones almost immediately changed fantasy with its subversion, contrasting Tolkien's standards and creating a world where no one is truly good or evil and where no one is safe. The book's 4.44 GoodReads rating summarizes the near-unanimous acclaim for this fantasy triumph.