A Game of Thrones is the first fantasy book I've ever read and I have fallen in love with the series, I'm currently reading A Storm of Swords.
I am hoping you guys can recommend some fantasy books/book series to me that are similar to A Song of Ice And Fire?
Thank you in advance.
If you like Martin's style, you'll almost certainly like Joe Abercrombie. Start with his First Law Trilogy, which consists of The Blade Itself, Before They Are Hanged, and Last Argument of Kings.
He has a couple stand-alones out, which you can read after you complete the trilogy. They're called Best Served Cold and The Heroes.
The thread is a couple of years old, but you'll likely find some good suggestions:
Similar series to A Song of Ice and Fire?
...and the vast majority of recommendation threads begin with something along the lines of I like/love/enjoy A Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin, what should I read next?
Thank you
Yeah, gonna have to agree with Rob. Normally general recommendations start that way. And end with...Originally Posted by Rob B
Joe Abercrombie - First Law, Best Served Cold, Heroes
Steven Erikson - Malazan
Patrick Rothfuss - Kingkiller
Brandon Sanderson - Mistborn, Stormlight
Mathew Stover - Acts of Cain(Overworld)
Scott Baker - Prince of Nothing
Scott Lynch - Gentlemen Bastard
Glen Cook - Black Company
If Game of Thrones was your first fantasy book, the problem is that you've already read one of the best in the entire genre.
I read about 20 different fantasy authors before GRRM, and I enjoyed them... but if I had read GRRM first, I probably would not have enjoyed them very much.
I'd recommend Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, Robin Hobb's Farseer trilogy, and Joe Abercrombie's First Law trilogy. Not much else will really match the high expectations set by George R. R. Martin.
I agree with Evil Agent.
The list of recommendations is just a list of good books that people here generally like. It is NOT really a list of books that is similar to Martin. Rather, some of the books on the list have a single point of view (Farseer, if I recall right), some are "dark" and dont necessarily have likeable characters too root for (First law), some make you work much harder than Martin to understand what is going on (Malazan), some are a lot lighter in plot but have more action (Mistborn).
I'm sure some will disagree with some of what I just wrote, but my basic point is that I dont know that I have read *anything* that really felt similar to Martin. The real question is what types of differences you can deal with and still enjoy the book. If you cant answer that question yet, reading the books recommended above is perfectly logical since they are good books (well, I disliked Malazan, but many do love it).
I see this mentioned fairly often, and I don't know that I agree with it. After all, GRRM was my introduction into the genre (excluding some YA offerings in my teens), yet I have found dozens of books in the less than 2 years since then I like just as much if not more than ASoIaF.
GRRM weaves an intricate tale of political intrigue, fraught with war, violence, and sex, and he certainly does a good job telling his story amidst all these elements. That however, doesn't hinder me at all as I enjoy say the epic scale of Erikson's work on the Malazan Book of the Fallen, or the philosophical pickings of Bakker's Prince of Nothing, or the novelty of whatever magic system is currently being expounded in a Sanderson novel. Though all fantasy books will share individual traits, its how they are combined and focused upon that give the different authors a very much unique feel, and at least personally I have a hard time picking a favorite style amongst them.
With that said, I think the best route to allowing better reading suggestions is to identify why you liked ASoIaF. Was it the deep characters? The abounding political machinations? The real, gritty world full of rape and death? The loosely defined magic system? Figuring out what you valued most will help in recommending which authors also define those characteristics as their strengths.
I agree. I read GRRM as probably my 6th series ever. I read WoT before GRRM, and still rank it higher. And I read Feist's Riftwar well before, and is ranked about the same. After GRRM I read Abercrombie's First Law, and is ranked above them all. Malazan also not much lower than ASOIAF. And if the series ends well, and books 7-10 don't suck...it will probably, imo, by ranked above as well. So to say GRRM is the best you're gonna get and don't expect better is false.
I think the advice is simple. Read what you think you will like the most. You will find out quickly that what you choose isn't always what you liked the most. But at least this way there's a good chance you don't waste your time with a random book someone recommended that sucked.
Obviously I'm bias cause I do it, but build a system like mine. To-Read List Link. It's awesome for choosing what to read next. Lots of research and asking on this forum went into choosing.
goodreads is a good place for that kind of thing too.
I like the deep characters alot. I also like the gritty world and minimal magic. It makes it seem real. Though I think I can handle a little more magic, I know I wouldn't have been able to before GRRM.
I really like how he writes his characters. I feel like I could read books about their everyday "normal" lives, whatever they may be, after ASoIaF is finally over.
This, this, this!
Not to go off on a rant, but many members here think of me as the guy who just comes in and closes down recommendation threads. Well yeah, I do in fact close them, but mainly when people don't provide the above kind of support for why they like a certain author and want to read something similar.
/Rant
Thank you. That's pretty much my plan. It's what I did with sci fi, I got a bunch of recommendations, wrote them all down and researched each book. I got the books I thought I would like most and out of around 40 there has only been 3 I didn't like.
Joe Abercrombie is probably your next port of call then. I'd say his characters are as well written as Martin's if not better (although not always as likeable!). There's more magic but it's not the "wizard casts fireball" type at all, and gritty... oh yes.
There is a thread here titled "Best Fantasy Series, 2011 Edition" or something like that which has informed 75% of my reading this year. With respect to the threads that Rob usually links when shutting down recommendations threads, that is the single best thread I have found here because like 100 or more people voted, and the list near, but not at the end of the thread, represents the distilled wisdom of the forum.
That thread is to my reading what the S&P 500 index is too my investing; it saves me the trouble of thinking about whether a series is worth trying. While I might hit a series I dont like now and then, by and large I've found it easy to appreciate all of them to varying degrees.
There are series that have many fans that have not made the list, but generally speaking they seem to be more controversial here. The only series that made the Best Fantasy Series thread that seems truly controversial is Malazan (which I more or less hated, but there are 20 series on the list, so if that is the only one I dont like, that is a great batting average).
First Law is at the top of the list, so Pete may be right that you should go there next. Pete is also right that the characters are not necessarily likable though. The plot aint that great either -- unlike Martin, I had questions about whether I was supposed to care what was going on. Its the style of writing and the grit which seems to hold the appeal.
Last edited by ArtNJ; January 4th, 2012 at 03:25 AM.
Someone has to do it! =)
Maybe not all likable, but so damn well written. They are all anti-heroes to a certain degree. I could go on and on about Ninefingers and the whole books. I just wish we Joe would write more books about him!
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks