✦ Epic Fantasy📚 ASOIAF + Fire & Blood🐉 Westeros Universe⭐ Hugo & Nebula Award Winner
About George R.R. Martin
George Raymond Richard Martin was born in 1948 in Bayonne, New Jersey. He published acclaimed short fiction throughout the 1970s and 1980s, winning multiple Hugo and Nebula awards for works including A Song for Lya and Sandkings. In the mid-1980s he moved to Hollywood to write for television, working on shows including the revived The Twilight Zone and Beauty and the Beast. He began A Song of Ice and Fire in 1991, publishing A Game of Thrones in 1996. The series became a global phenomenon following HBO's Game of Thrones adaptation (2011–2019) and the spinoff House of the Dragon (2022–). Martin lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He is renowned for killing fan-favourite characters and systematically subverting genre expectations. As of 2025, The Winds of Winter — Book 6 in the main series — remains unfinished and unpublished.
A Song of Ice and Fire — Main Series
Five of a planned seven novels have been published. Books 6 and 7 remain unfinished as of 2025.
Reader Tip
Each novel is substantial — expect 700 to 1,100 pages. The series is best read in publication order. The HBO series Game of Thrones covers roughly Books 1–5, then diverges significantly in Seasons 6–8.
Books 4 & 5 Reading TipA Feast for Crows and A Dance with Dragons cover the same time period from different characters' perspectives. Many readers use a fan-created chapter interleave list to read them together — search "AFFC ADWD combined reading order" for details.
Is The Winds of Winter Finished?
No. As of 2025, The Winds of Winter has not been published. George R.R. Martin has not confirmed a release date. He has periodically posted updates on his blog indicating work is ongoing, but there is no credible indication of an imminent publication. This page will be updated when that changes. Anyone claiming to know a release date is speculating.
The World of Ice and Fire Universe
Companion volumes and novellas expanding the history of Westeros and Essos. House of the Dragon (HBO) is based on Fire & Blood.
Set roughly 90 years before A Game of Thrones. Follows hedge knight Ser Duncan the Tall and his squire Egg (later King Aegon V). Lighter in tone than ASOIAF.
Tales of Dunk and Egg
Reading Order
All three published novellas are collected in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (2015). The She-Wolves of Winterfell has been announced but not yet published as of 2025.
Novella 1
The Hedge Knight
1998 — Collected in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
No. As of 2025, only five of the planned seven novels have been published. A Dance with Dragons (2011) is the most recent. The Winds of Winter (Book 6) and A Dream of Spring (Book 7) remain unwritten and unpublished. There is no confirmed release date for either book.
Is George R.R. Martin still writing The Winds of Winter?
Martin has stated on his blog that he continues to work on The Winds of Winter. However, as of 2025 there is no confirmed publication date, and the book has been in-progress for over a decade since A Dance with Dragons was published in 2011. Martin is also involved in multiple television projects set in the Westeros universe, which has contributed to the extended wait.
Should I read ASOIAF or watch Game of Thrones first?
Either works as a starting point, but the books and show diverge significantly from Season 5 onward. Many fans recommend reading through A Storm of Swords before watching, to experience the major plot developments without foreknowledge. Others find the show a useful introduction to the dense cast and geography. If you plan to do both, the books will give you considerably more depth — Martin's prose and political complexity go far beyond what the show adapts.
How is House of the Dragon related to the books?
HBO's House of the Dragon is an adaptation of Fire & Blood (2018), which chronicles the history of House Targaryen roughly 170 years before the events of Game of Thrones. Reading Fire & Blood before watching the show provides extensive backstory, though the series substantially dramatizes and expands on the source material.
What are the Dunk and Egg novellas?
The Tales of Dunk and Egg are a series of novellas set in Westeros roughly 90 years before A Game of Thrones. They follow hedge knight Ser Duncan the Tall (Dunk) and his squire Egg, later revealed to be the future King Aegon V. Three novellas have been collected in the volume A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (2015). They are considerably lighter in tone than the main ASOIAF novels and make an excellent companion read.