What separates A Song of Ice and Fire from almost every other fantasy series is the political complexity that treats every faction as having legitimate motivations. The Lannisters aren't evil because GRRM says so — they're operating from intelligible positions of power, fear, and self-preservation. The willingness to kill major characters with no warning, at any moment, wasn't just shock value; it was Martin teaching readers that his world operates on the same merciless logic as real historical conflicts. The world-building scale is extraordinary — centuries of Westerosi history, a dozen noble houses with intersecting agendas, magic that recedes and returns on its own timetable. And the moral ambiguity means no faction is purely good: the reader is constantly asked to hold multiple sympathies simultaneously. Beneath the war of succession is a reflection of real historical conflicts — the Wars of the Roses most obviously. These seven books share at least one of those qualities; several share most of them.
More Epic / Political Fantasy
Pick #1
The Way of Kings
Brandon Sanderson • 2010
The opening volume of the Stormlight Archive is one of the most ambitious fantasy projects of the current century — a planned ten-book series with multiple POVs, a fully realized world with unique ecology and magic, and political intrigue driven by characters with genuine competing philosophies rather than simple good-versus-evil alignments. Sanderson is more systematic and less grimdark than Martin, but the scope, the world-building depth, and the sense of a history much older than the story are all directly comparable.
The Wheel of Time sequence is the other great contender for "most ambitious fantasy epic" — fourteen volumes, a world mapped with the same obsessive completeness as Westeros, and a cast of dozens of fully realized characters. Jordan's magic system and gender politics feel different from Martin's, but the scale and the sense that history is alive and consequential are matched. This is essential reading for anyone who wants big-canvas fantasy with genuine complexity and the patience to sit with a long story.
Hobb's Farseer trilogy follows a royal bastard trained as an assassin in a court full of political treachery. The moral ambiguity is total — good intentions produce terrible consequences, loyalty is weaponized, and the protagonist makes choices that haunt the entire series. If GRRM's political ruthlessness is what gripped you, Hobb is its equal in a more intimate register. She's also one of the few fantasy writers whose prose is genuinely literary, which makes the hardest moments hit harder.
Historical fiction, not fantasy — but GRRM has cited this as an influence, and it shows. Follett's account of building a cathedral in 12th-century England is driven by the same political maneuvering, the same sense that no one is entirely good or bad, and the same willingness to let beloved characters suffer or die when the story requires it. The scale of the canvas — decades, multiple generations, a kingdom's religious and political upheaval — matches ASOIAF in ambition if not in magic.
Rothfuss's prose is the most purely beautiful in current epic fantasy — Kvothe's story is structured as a legend told by the man himself, which gives everything an elegant doubling of present tense dread and remembered glory. The university sequences are more intimate than ASOIAF, but the world-building has the same sense of deep history and the magic system is among the most ingenious in the genre. Note: the third book has not yet been published, so know what you're signing up for.
Abercrombie is the author who pushed grimdark to its logical conclusion — the First Law trilogy is fantasy with all the heroic conventions stripped away, populated by characters who are comprehensively morally compromised and written with black humor that never undercuts the genuine darkness. Logen Ninefingers, Jezal, and Glokta are three of the most vivid POV characters in modern fantasy. If GRRM's moral complexity is what you're chasing, Abercrombie is the most extreme version of that impulse done brilliantly.
Set in a fantasy Venice populated by thieves, con artists, and a criminal underworld with its own ruthless code, this book shares ASOIAF's detailed world-building and its willingness to subvert reader expectations violently. Lynch braids timelines — Locke's past and present — to deliver information in the most devastating possible order. It's faster-paced and more fun than GRRM while carrying the same punch when consequences arrive. The Gentlemen Bastards sequence is among the most purely entertaining fantasy series available.
The right next book depends on which element of ASOIAF gripped you most. If it was the sheer scale — the world-building, the deep history, the sense of a story that spans generations — go to The Way of Kings or The Eye of the World. Sanderson is more tightly plotted and faster-resolved; Jordan is longer and more leisurely but equally ambitious. If it was the moral ambiguity and the sense that no one is truly good, The Blade Itself is the most extreme version of that quality, while Assassin's Apprentice delivers it with more emotional depth and beautiful prose. If it was the political intrigue specifically — the sense that you're watching a chess game where the pieces are human beings — The Pillars of the Earth is the historical fiction equivalent, and arguably the more direct influence. And if you want pure entertainment with GRRM's willingness to break the rules of genre, The Lies of Locke Lamora is the most fun book on this list.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will GRRM finish The Winds of Winter?
As of 2025, The Winds of Winter (Book 6) remains unpublished — it has been in progress for over a decade. George R.R. Martin has continued to work on it while also producing other Westerosi content including Fire & Blood and serving as executive producer on House of the Dragon. There is no confirmed release date. A Dream of Spring (Book 7) has not been formally announced.
Is the Game of Thrones TV show a faithful adaptation?
Seasons 1–4 are extremely faithful, often using dialogue directly from the books. Seasons 5–6 begin diverging as the show overtook the published books. Seasons 7–8 are almost entirely original material not drawn from Martin's manuscripts, which is why the ending was controversial. Many readers consider the books and show to be two separate, equally incomplete stories at this point.
Where should I start with A Song of Ice and Fire?
Start with A Game of Thrones (1996), the first book. The published series in order is: A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords, A Feast for Crows, A Dance with Dragons. Many readers consider A Storm of Swords the peak of the series. The companion books The World of Ice and Fire and Fire & Blood can be read alongside or after the main series.