The best books to read next
Matched to what made A Song of Ice and Fire so good — ranked by how closely they'll fill the specific void it left.
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Three lives on a storm-ravaged world, converging toward a destiny that could save or destroy everything.
The gold standard of modern epic fantasy — Sanderson's Stormlight Archive has the scope of Westeros and none of Martin's glacial pace. Deeply imagined, politically sophisticated, and consistently magnificent.
A barbarian, a torturer, and a crippled nobleman are drawn together in an empire that may not deserve to be saved.
The most direct Martin successor in tone — grimdark characters with no clean moral lines, political scheming without heroic resolution, and prose that earns its brutality.
The most famous wizard in the world sits in a village tavern and begins to tell the truth about his life.
For ASOIAF readers who want the literary ambition without the trauma — Rothfuss's prose is extraordinary and the world is as fully realised as Westeros, just built differently.
The Dark Lord won. A thousand years ago. Now a crew of thieves plans to steal an empire.
For readers who loved ASOIAF's heist-level political plotting — Mistborn's magic system and conspiracy mechanics reward the same kind of close attention Martin demands.
The building of a cathedral in twelfth-century England — and the lives of everyone whose fate depends on it.
For ASOIAF readers who want the same political complexity applied to real history. Follett's medieval scheming and long timescale feels like Westeros without the magic.
Three friends — a warrior, a physician, a poet — caught between three faiths and two wars in a world modelled on medieval Spain.
Kay writes high historical fantasy with the moral complexity ASOIAF fans crave and Martin rarely delivers anymore — and he finishes his books.
A small village is visited by a stranger. Five young people are told one of them may be the Dragon Reborn.
The other great doorstop epic — fourteen books, a fully realised world-system, and narrative momentum that builds across a decade of reading.