The Song of Ice and Fire: The correct order of the book series

The order of The Song of Ice and Fire provides an overview of the events in Westeros and the civil war for the Iron Throne

The Song of Ice and Fire: Order of the fantasy epic in detail

The Song of Ice and Fire by US author George R. R. Martin has thrilled audiences around the world with the series adaptation of Game of Thrones. However, not everyone is familiar with the order of the literary original:

• The story began in 1996 with the book A Game of Thrones. In it, you get to know the majority of the most important characters in the entire work. This also applies to elements such as political intrigue, which are an essential part of the epic.

• The German translation was published in two parts: The Lords of Winterfell in 1997 and The Legacy of Winterfell in 1998. The rest of the series is also divided into two volumes, doubling the number of books.

• In English, the second part, A Clash of Kings, followed in 1999, one year after the release of the German translations of the first volume. In it, the civil war in Westeros deepens

• This part is divided into the books The Throne of the Seven Kingdoms and The Seed of the Golden Lion. Both were published in 2000.

• The third part, A Storm of Swords, was also published in English in 2000. It contains more information about the icy Northlanders and DaenerysTargaryen seeks more and more allies in the Slave Bay.

• The German translations of the third volume appeared somewhat later due to the large volume. The Storm of Swords was published in 2001 and The Queen of Dragons in 2002.

• Fans of the series had to wait much longer for the fourth volume, A Feast for Crows. This was not published until 2005 and extended the conflict for the throne to other locations such as Essos.

• This part was also translated into German in two volumes in 2006: Time of the Crows and The Dark Queen.

• The latest installment in the series is A Dance with Dragons, which was released in 2011, and it was already clear that Martin was taking much longer to complete the story. No wonder, as the story already included 16 POV characters at this point.

• The first half of The Griffin’s Son was published in German in the same year as A Dance with Dragons. The second part, entitled A Dance with Dragons, was published in 2012.

• The volumes The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring are also planned. According to Martin, these will be the concluding volumes of the saga.

• At the current time (as of January 2024), there is still no publication date for the final volumes. According to Martin, he has written “around 1,100 pages so far, but there are still several hundred to go” to complete the work. So fans will have to be patient until the end of The Song of Ice and Fire.