A Song of Ice and Fire , the series of fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin, has formed the basis of several works in different media.
Martin wrote three separate novellas set ninety years before the events of the novels. These novellas are known as the Tales of Dunk and Egg after the main protagonists, Ser Duncan the Tall and his squire "Egg", the later King Aegon V Targaryen. The stories have no direct connection to the plot of A Song of Ice and Fire, although both characters are mentioned in A Storm of Swords and A Feast For Crows, respectively.
The novellas were published in short story anthologies:
The unfinished series of novellas is to continue to be published in a series of collections entitled A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. The first of these, comprising the first three novellas, was published – with illustrations by Gary Gianni – in October 2015, and in unillustrated translations earlier. [1]
Film or TV adaptations of the novellas are being discussed, according to Martin in 2014. He wrote that because HBO owns the TV rights to the setting of Westeros (if not to the characters of the novellas), it would be preferable to have HBO adopt the novellas also. [1]
The first and second novellas were, in addition, adapted as graphic novels:
Martin has written three additional novellas that are written as historical accounts of events that took place long before the events of the A Song of Ice and Fire novels or the Dunk and Egg novellas.
The Princess and the Queen , published in Dangerous Women (2013), [2] details the civil war called the "Dance of the Dragons" between Aegon and Rhaenyra Targaryen about the succession to the Iron Throne.
A fifth novella, The Rogue Prince, or, a King's Brother, was published in the 2014 anthology Rogues . It is a prequel to The Princess and the Queen and concerns the life of Prince Daemon Targaryen, Rhaenyra's second husband.
Most recently, The Sons of the Dragon was published in the 2017 anthology The Book of Swords, and chronicles the lives of Aenys I and Maegor I Targaryen (later known as "Maegor the Cruel"), who were the second and third kings to sit the Iron Throne, respectively. [3]
Series | Season | Episodes | Originally aired | Showrunner(s) | Status | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
First aired | Last aired | Network | ||||||
Game of Thrones | 1 | 10 | April 17, 2011 | June 19, 2011 | HBO | D. B. Weiss & David Benioff [4] | Concluded | |
2 | 10 | April 1, 2012 | June 3, 2012 | |||||
3 | 10 | March 31, 2013 | June 9, 2013 | |||||
4 | 10 | April 6, 2014 | June 15, 2014 | |||||
5 | 10 | April 12, 2015 | June 14, 2015 | |||||
6 | 10 | April 24, 2016 | June 26, 2016 | |||||
7 | 7 | July 16, 2017 | August 27, 2017 | |||||
8 | 6 | April 14, 2019 | May 19, 2019 | |||||
House of the Dragon | 1 | 10 | August 21, 2022 | October 23, 2022 | Ryan Condal & Miguel Sapochnik [5] | Released | ||
2 | 8 [6] | June 16, 2024 | TBA | Ryan Condal [7] | Post-Production |
In March 2010, HBO greenlit a television series based on A Song of Ice and Fire, written and executive produced by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss. Called Game of Thrones , it stars an ensemble cast including Sean Bean and Peter Dinklage. The series premiered on 17 April 2011. A critical and commercial success, it ran for eight seasons, concluding in 2019.
The series has itself given rise to several derived works, including soundtrack albums and a wide range of merchandise.
House of the Dragon is an American fantasy drama television series created by George R. R. Martin and Ryan J. Condal for HBO. It is a prequel to the television series Game of Thrones (2011–2019) and is based on Martin's 2018 novel Fire & Blood . The series is set two hundred years before the events of Game of Thrones [8] and chronicles the beginning of the end of House Targaryen, the events leading up to the Targaryen civil war, known as the "Dance of the Dragons", and the war itself. House of the Dragon received a straight-to-series order in October 2019 with casting beginning in July 2020 and principal photography beginning in April 2021 in the United Kingdom. The first season of the series premiered in 2022 and consists of ten episodes.
In May 2017, after years of speculation about possible successor series, HBO commissioned Max Borenstein, Jane Goldman, Brian Helgeland, Carly Wray and Bryan Cogman [9] to develop individual Game of Thrones successor series; all of the writers were to be working individually with George R. R. Martin, who also co-wrote two of the scripts. [10] On June 8, 2018, HBO commissioned a pilot to a Game of Thrones prequel series from Goldman as showrunner and Martin as co-creator. [11] S. J. Clarkson will direct and executive produce the pilot, which is scheduled to begin filming in mid-2019 in Northern Ireland and other locations. [12]
The first issue of the comic book adaptation of the first novel, A Game of Thrones , by fantasy author Daniel Abraham and artist Tommy Patterson, was published by Dynamite Entertainment in September 2011. The series is set to run for 24 issues and is intended to follow the story of the novel closely.
The first six issues were published as a trade paperback in March 2012:
Thomas Dunne Books announced in August 2011 that it had acquired the rights to Game of Groans, a parody of Game of Thrones in the vein of Bored of the Rings , by the pseudonymous "George R.R. Costanza". [13] The book was eventually published on March 27, 2012 by St. Martin's Griffin and credited to "George R.R. Washington" and Alan Goldsher:
In 2012, The Bad Dog Theatre Company adapted the novels as a four-hour improv comedy show in Toronto, titled Throne of Games. [14]
The fall 2012 ready-to-wear collection by the fashion brand Helmut Lang was inspired by Game of Thrones. [15] [16] In March 2012, Wiley-Blackwell published Game of Thrones and Philosophy: Logic Cuts Deeper than the Sword ( ISBN 978-1-118-16199-9). This entry in Blackwell's Pop Culture and Philosophy series, edited by Henry Jacoby and William Irwin, aims to highlight and discuss philosophical issues raised by the show and its source material. [17]
In 2013, Game of Thrones was notably parodied on the cover of Mad on April 30, [18] as well as by a web series, School of Thrones, which set the story in a high school whose students vie for the title of prom king and queen. [19] The "One World Symphony" company announced, in 2014, a musical production based on television series including Game of Thrones. [20] In 2015, the Under the Gun Theater of Chicago premiered Swarm of Spoilers, a parody show recapitulating the first four seasons of the TV series. [21]
In 2013, the animated comedy series South Park aired a three-part episode ("Black Friday", "A Song of Ass and Fire" and "Titties and Dragons") satirizing the U.S. custom of Black Friday in the form of a parody of Game of Thrones. [22]
Two pornographic parodies of the series were also announced in 2013. [23] One of these, This Ain't Game of Thrones XXX, was released in 2014, produced by Hustler Video and directed by Axel Braun. The movie incorporates many of the main characters such as Jaime Lannister (Richie Calhoun), Jon Snow (Ryan Driller), Cersei Lannister (Brandi Love), Sansa Stark (Marie McCray), Daenerys Targaryen (Spencer Scott), Tyrion Lannister (Evan Stone), and Brienne of Tarth (Amanda Tate). [24]
In 2016 the parody recap series of Game of Thrones, called Gay of Thrones was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Short-Form Variety Series. [25]
In 2015, the inaugural American edition of Red Nose Day featured the comedy sketch Coldplay's Game of Thrones: The Musical, a mockumentary regarding a failed musical theatre adaptation of the television show by the British band Coldplay, featuring many castmembers of Game of Thrones such as Peter Dinklage, Kit Harington, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Emilia Clarke, Alfie Allen and Iwan Rheon. [26]
A parody titled Game of Thrones: The Musical, written by Basil Considine and developed by Really Spicy Opera, appeared at the Minnesota Fringe Festival in August 2016 and the 2017 Oahu and Maui Fringe Festivals [27] and was rated a must-see by the St. Paul Pioneer Press . [28]
The World of Ice & Fire, an illustrated companion book for A Song of Ice and Fire written by Martin, Elio M. García Jr. and Linda Antonsson, was published by Bantam on October 28, 2014 ( ISBN 978-0-553-80544-4). [29] [30]
A set of twelve maps of the world of A Song of Ice and Fire, drawn by Martin and Jonathan Roberts, was published in October 2012 as The Lands of Ice and Fire ( ISBN 978-0-345-53854-3).
In November 2012, Random House published George R. R. Martin's A World of Ice and Fire – A Game of Thrones Guide, an iOS application that provides the biographies of 540 characters, descriptions of 380 places, and interactive maps. The app's "anti-spoiler functionality" hides information not yet revealed at the point up to which the user has read the novels. [31]
Several other reader's companion apps for mobile electronic devices have been published, generally without the endorsement of Martin or his publisher. They include Game of Thrones Companion, similar in approach to the above-mentioned Guide, and Westeros Map for Game of Thrones, which contains maps of Essos and its cities. Other A Song of Ice and Fire- or Game of Thrones-themed apps include a trivia game, a study guide, and a weather app from HBO. [32]
The popularity of the Tyrion Lannister character led Martin and Bantam Books to publish The Wit & Wisdom of Tyrion Lannister ( ISBN 978-0345539120), an illustrated collection of Tyrion quotes from the novels, in October 2013. [33] [34] [35] [36]
Several publications discuss the themes addressed in the A Song of Ice and Fire series:
The two volumes of The Art of Ice and Fire contain artworks inspired by the series from a variety of different artists and illustrators.
Two blogs, Inn at the Crossroads and Cooking Ice and Fire, are dedicated to recreating the dishes described in the novels. [39] Cooking Ice and Fire went defunct in early 2012.
There are also two cookbooks with recipes based on the novels:
There are multiple board games set in the world of A Song of Ice and Fire.
In 2003, Fantasy Flight Games released the strategy board game A Game of Thrones , created by Christian T. Petersen. The Origins Award-winning game allows the players to take on the roles of several of the Great Houses vying for control of the Seven Kingdoms, including House Stark, House Lannister, House Baratheon, House Greyjoy, House Tyrell, and as of the expansion A Clash of Kings, House Martell. Players maneuver armies to secure support in the various regions that comprise the Seven Kingdoms, with the goal of capturing enough support to claim the Iron Throne. Two expansions for the game, A Clash of Kings and A Storm of Swords have been released. In 2011, a second edition has been released appropriately titled "A Game of Thrones: The Board Game (Second Edition)". This version has since released three expansions, A Feast for Crows, A Dance with Dragons, and Mother of Dragons".
Battles of Westeros , was released by Fantasy Flight Games in 2010. It is based on the system created by Richard Borg and used in such games as Memoir 44 or Commands & Colors: Ancients. The two player-game's base set includes two factions: House Stark and House Lannister. Later expansions cover additional factions and scenarios. [41]
In 2015, USAopoly released Game of Thrones Risk. It is a variant of the board game Risk with changes to incorporate the theme such as Maestar cards, Character cards and new maps of Westeros and Essos. [42]
In 2018, CMON Limited, Dark Swords Miniatures, Inc., and Edge Entertainment released "A Song of Ice & Fire: Tabletop Miniatures Game". The starter set for the game featured two factions: House Stark and House Lannister. Later expansions cover additional factions and scenarios. [43]
A living card game (LCG) has been produced by Fantasy Flight Games. It was a continuation of an earlier collectible card game (CCG). A number of base sets have been released for the game, each with a number of expansions. The game's primary designer is Eric Lang and the lead developer is Nate French. The A Game of Thrones: Westeros Edition won the Origins Award for Best Trading Card Game of 2002. The Game of Thrones: Ice and Fire Edition won the Origins Award for Best Card Game Expansion or Supplement of 2003.
A role-playing game titled A Game of Thrones was produced by Guardians of Order. The game is designed to be usable with two RPG systems: the d20 System and the Tri-Stat dX system. Two editions were made: a serial-numbered edition limited to 2500 copies, ISBN 1-58846-941-7; and a standard edition, ISBN 1-58846-942-5. The limited edition is faux-leather bound with silver gilt pages and includes rules for both systems, and includes an interview with Martin. The standard edition contains only the d20 system rules. The book was created by Guardians of Order and released by Sword & Sorcery, a subsidiary of White Wolf Games.
A later role-playing game titled A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying was published by Green Ronin Publishing in 2009.
The success of the HBO TV series motivated the development of several video games. While the 2007 fan-made MUSH and the 2011 strategy game were based on the novels only, the later games also incorporate elements such as designs or music from the TV series, based on a license from HBO.
Testor Corporation announced that in late 2006 it would begin releasing model figures based on the series, to be followed by a tactical wargame. Only one product shipped, a Ruby Ford diorama. In April 2007, Martin announced that the licensing agreement with Testor had expired, and Testor's A Song of Ice and Fire product lines had been canceled. [55] In December 2006, Haute Productions signed a deal to release a range of resin mini-busts featuring characters from A Song of Ice and Fire under the name Valyrian Resin. The company plans to expand the line to include resin statues and pewter chess sets. [56] In 2007, Dark Sword Miniatures announced a line of pewter miniatures based on the world of George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire and sculpted by Tom Meier. [57] In 2018, Dark Sword Miniatures in collaboration with CMON Limited released a line of pewter miniatures for use in the A Song of Ice & Fire: Tabletop Miniatures Game. [58]
On 20 March 2007, George R. R. Martin announced on his blog [59] that he had "signed a deal with Jalic, Inc. of East Lansing, Michigan, granting them a license to manufacture and sell full-sized high-quality replicas of the arms and armor from A Song of Ice and Fire", under the name Valyrian Steel, [60] starting with the bastard sword Longclaw wielded by Jon Snow (two versions). Since then Valyrian has produced replicas of the Stark family greatsword Ice (in two versions), Arya Stark 's Needle, and Robert Baratheon 's mighty warhammer. Dragonglass arrowheads and a single dagger have also been produced in a collectible First Men wooden box. Valyrian also announced that it will be producing HBO's show versions of Game of Thrones weapons, which differ in appearance from those described in the Ice and Fire novel series.
Greek black metal band Nocternity's guitarist's pseudonym is Khal Drogo and they recorded a song on 2003's Onyx CD called "Valyrian Steel (Blood Of The Dragon)" with lyrics directly referencing Daenerys' storyline and events.
Swedish power metal band HammerFall released an album in 2005 titled Chapter V: Unbent, Unbowed, Unbroken , the family motto of House Martell. Tracks on the album such as "Take the Black", "Fury of the Wild", and "Hammer of Justice" directly reference events and characters. The following album Threshold also features a song inspired by A Song of Ice and Fire, titled "Dark Wings, Dark Words". Their 2014 album (r)Evolution also features two songs inspired by the series, titled "Winter Is Coming", [61] the family motto of House Stark, and "Wildfire", a highly flammable liquid in the ASoIaF world, which burns with a green fire.
The German symphonic metal band Blind Guardian have written two songs dedicated to the world of George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire. The songs are called "War of the Thrones" and "A Voice in the Dark" and are part of their 2010 At the Edge of Time album. [62] [63]
British alternative rock band Dark Stares based their name on Ser Gerold Dayne, known as Darkstar. [64] Their song "Blackfyre" from EP Octopon is a homage to House Blackfyre and the Blackfyre Rebellion.
In 2012, the Canadian band Irish Moutarde adapted the song The Bear and the Maiden Fair, sung at various times in the novels, as a celtic punk rock song. [65]
The metal band, The Sword, has a song on the album Gods of the Earth called "To Take the Black" referencing the Night's Watch.
American power metal band Last Alliance recorded an album called the Westeros Trilogy in 2013.
George Raymond Richard Martin, also known as GRRM, is an American novelist, screenwriter, television producer, and short story writer. He is the author of the series of epic fantasy novels A Song of Ice and Fire, which were adapted into the Emmy Award-winning HBO series Game of Thrones (2011–2019) and its prequel series House of the Dragon (2022–present). He also helped create the Wild Cards anthology series, and contributed worldbuilding for Elden Ring.
A Song of Ice and Fire is a book series of high fantasy novels by the American novelist and screenwriter George R. R. Martin. He began writing the first volume, A Game of Thrones, in 1991, publishing it in 1996. Martin originally envisioned the series as a trilogy but has released five out of a planned seven volumes. The fifth and most recent entry in the series, A Dance with Dragons, was published in 2011. Martin continues to write the sixth novel, titled The Winds of Winter. A seventh novel, A Dream of Spring, is planned to follow.
The fictional world in which the A Song of Ice and Fire novels by George R. R. Martin take place is divided into several continents, known collectively as The Known World.
A Game of Thrones is the first novel in A Song of Ice and Fire, a series of fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin. It was first published on August 1, 1996. The novel won the 1997 Locus Award and was nominated for both the 1997 Nebula Award and the 1997 World Fantasy Award. The novella Blood of the Dragon, comprising the Daenerys Targaryen chapters from the novel, won the 1997 Hugo Award for Best Novella. In January 2011, the novel became a New York Times Bestseller and reached No. 1 on the list in July 2011.
A Storm of Swords is the third of seven planned novels in A Song of Ice and Fire, a fantasy series by American author George R. R. Martin. It was first published on August 8, 2000, in the United Kingdom, with a United States edition following in November 2000. Its publication was preceded by a novella called Path of the Dragon, which collects some of the Daenerys Targaryen chapters from the novel into a single book.
Brandon Stark, also known as Bran, is a fictional character in the A Song of Ice and Fire series of epic fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin, and its television adaptation Game of Thrones, where he is portrayed by English actor Isaac Hempstead Wright. Introduced in 1996's A Game of Thrones, Bran subsequently appears in A Clash of Kings (1998) and A Storm of Swords (2000). He is one of a few prominent characters that are not included in the fourth novel A Feast for Crows (2005), but returned in the fifth novel A Dance with Dragons (2011).
A Dance with Dragons is the fifth novel of seven planned in the epic fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire by American author George R. R. Martin. In some areas, the paperback edition was published in two parts, titled Dreams and Dust and After the Feast. It was the only novel in the series to be published during the eight-season run of the HBO adaptation of the series, Game of Thrones, and runs to 1,040 pages with a word count of almost 415,000.
White Walkers are humanoid creatures from the HBO television series Game of Thrones, and the George R. R. Martin novel series A Song of Ice and Fire on which it is based. Primarily referred to as the Others in the novels, White Walkers are a supernatural threat to mankind who dwell north of The Wall in Westeros. The Verge named them among "the most visually iconic creatures on the show". White Walkers are also featured in the show's merchandising.
Brienne of Tarth is a fictional character in George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series of fantasy novels and its television adaptation, Game of Thrones. She is a prominent point of view character in the novels.
Arianne Nymeros Martell is a fictional character in the A Song of Ice and Fire series of epic fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin. She is a member of House Martell and the heir to the desert kingdom of Dorne. Arianne is first mentioned in A Game of Thrones (1996) and first appears in A Feast for Crows (2005). The character also appears in A Dance with Dragons (2011) and will appear in the forthcoming volume The Winds of Winter.
The Winds of Winter is the forthcoming sixth novel in the epic fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire by American writer George R. R. Martin. The novel is expected to be over 1,500 pages in length. It has been delayed several times, such that Martin has refrained from making hard estimates for the novel's final release date. Martin stated in October 2022 that he had completed approximately three quarters of the novel, estimating that he had written approximately 1,100 to 1,200 pages, and had roughly 400 to 500 pages left. He gave a similar estimate in November 2023, saying that he was "struggling" with the manuscript.
A Song of Ice and Fire is an ongoing series of epic fantasy novels by American novelist and screenwriter George R. R. Martin. The first installment of the series, A Game of Thrones, which was originally planned as a trilogy, was published in 1996. The series now consists of five published volumes, and two more volumes are planned. The series is told in the third-person through the eyes of a number of point of view characters. A television series adaptation, Game of Thrones, premiered on HBO in 2011.
Game of Thrones Ascent was a 2013 strategy game developed and published by Disruptor Beam for iOS, Facebook, Kongregate, and Android. The game is an adaptation of the series of fantasy novels A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin and the HBO television series Game of Thrones. According to Martin, the game features "alliance building, treachery, marriages, murders, and most of all the constant struggle to be the greatest house in Westeros." The game includes the ability to engage in the dynamic political and social intrigue featured in the books and television show. The game had over 9 million registered players though daily activity suggested 3 thousand active players.
The Princess and the Queen, or, the Blacks and the Greens is an epic fantasy novella by American novelist George R. R. Martin, published in the 2013 Tor Books anthology Dangerous Women. The novella is presented in the form of writings by the fictional historian Archmaester Gyldayn, who is also the "author" of Martin's 2014 novella The Rogue Prince, a direct prequel to The Princess and the Queen. The plot of both The Princess and the Queen and The Rogue Prince is later expanded further in the 2018 novel Fire & Blood, which also spawned a television series in 2022.
The Iron Throne, in the fantasy novel series A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin, is the throne of the monarch of the fictional Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, and serves as a metonym for the monarchy of Westeros as an institution. The success of the HBO television adaptation Game of Thrones has made the show's version of the royal seat an icon of the entire media franchise. Martin said in 2013, "Say 'Game of Thrones', and people think of the HBO Iron Throne."
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire media franchise:
Elio Miguel García Jr. and Linda Maria Antonsson are authors who have contributed to the A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin, co-writing the companion books The World of Ice & Fire (2014) and The Rise of the Dragon (2022). They are also the founders of the fansite Westeros.org, one of the earliest fan websites for A Song of Ice and Fire.
The Sons of the Dragon is a novella by George R. R. Martin, set in the fictional land of Westeros, the setting of Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series. The story commences about 270 years before the start of A Game of Thrones (1996). It portrays the death of Aegon I, known as "Aegon the Conqueror", and his two sons Aenys I, his successor to the throne, and Maegor I "the Cruel", in their respective successions to the throne thereafter, and the conflicts faced between them. The story concludes with the death of Maegor, and introduces the groundwork for its sequel, being about the life of his successor and nephew Jaehaerys I "the Conciliator", who reigned 55 years as the ruler of the Seven Kingdoms.
Fire & Blood is a fantasy book by American writer George R. R. Martin and illustrated by Doug Wheatley. It tells the history of House Targaryen, the dynasty that ruled the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros in the backstory of his series A Song of Ice and Fire. Although originally planned for publication after the completion of the series, Martin has revealed his intent to publish the history in two volumes as the material had grown too large. The first volume was released on November 20, 2018.