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Questions tagged [a-song-of-ice-and-fire]

For questions about the series of epic fantasy novels titled "A Song of Ice and Fire" written by George R. R. Martin. For questions about the TV series based on this series, use the [game-of-thrones] tag instead. If your question is overlapping in scope, you may use both tags. Append any relevant character tags. Only use [george-r-r-martin] for questions about the author himself.

A Song of Ice and Fire is a series of epic fantasy novels written by George R. R. Martin. There are currently 5 books in the series:

  • A Game of Thrones (1996)
  • A Clash of Kings (1998)
  • A Storm of Swords (2000)
  • A Feast for Crows (2005)
  • A Dance with Dragons (2011)

The third and fifth books were each published in two volumes, e.g. A Storm of Swords: Steel and Snow and A Storm of Swords: Blood and Gold. The sixth book, The Winds of Winter, is still in writing.

George has indicated that he wishes to end the series with the seventh book A Dream of Spring however he also maintained that might change.

George R.R. Martin has also written several prequels for the series which are:

  • Tales of Dunk and Egg (Total 6-12 planned installments with 9 named and 3 released):

    1. Dunk & Egg: The Hedge Knight (1998)
    2. Dunk & Egg: The Sworn Sword (2003)
    3. Dunk & Egg: The Mystery Knight (2010)
    4. Dunk & Egg: The She-Wolves of Winterfell (Under progress)
    5. Dunk & Egg: The Village Hero (Under progress)
    6. Dunk & Egg: The Sellsword (Planned)
    7. Dunk & Egg: The Champion (Planned)
    8. Dunk & Egg: The Kingsguard (Planned)
    9. Dunk & Egg: The Lord Commander (Planned)

  • The Princess and The Queen (2013): Published in The Dangerous Women anthology. Also included in Fire and Blood: Volume 1.

  • The Rogue Prince (2014): Published in The Rogues anthology. Also included in Fire and Blood: Volume 1.
  • The Sons of the Dragon (2017): Published in The Book of Swords anthology. Also included in Fire and Blood: Volume 1.

George has also written a companion book titled The World of Ice and Fire (2014) in partnership with Elio M. García Jr. and Linda Antonsson.

George has written another companion book titled The Lands of Ice and Fire (2012) where the maps are drawn by Jonathan Roberts.

A planned complete history of House Targaryen officially titled Fire and Blood is in the works and planned to be released in two volumes. It was unofficially called the GRRMarillion. The first volume has been released in 2018.

For the television series Game of Thrones, please use .

For questions about George R. R. Martin, please use .

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Explanation of seasons in "A Song of Ice and Fire"

Is there any sort of in-universe scientific explanation of the irregular seasons in "A Song of Ice and Fire". What does the orbit/tilt of their planet look like? How can a year be measured?
BigPete
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So what was the answer to Varys' riddle?

From the answer to another question I learned the following bit from A Song of Ice and Fire: It was from the first book of A Song Of Ice And Fire and it was Varys asking Tyrion a riddle: A King, a priest, a rich man and a sellsword are in a room.…
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Is Daenerys Targaryen immune to fire?

Twice in the books Daenerys has been in situations where it is reasonable to expect that she would have been burned to death, or at least seriously injured, yet has come out unharmed. The first time was when she stepped into the funeral pyre of Khal…
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Where does the idea of replacing "Sir" with "Ser" in "A Song of Ice and Fire" come from?

Is this something invented by Martin or did it originate elsewhere? More specifically, was there another fantasy author that used "Ser" as a noble title? I'm mainly asking because I cannot shake a feeling that I've read a book that used the word and…
Bobby
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What makes the Free Cities "free"?

Slavery is rampant in Volantis and Lys. Pentos isn't much better, with indentured servants who are slaves in all but name--and the only reason they aren't slaves in name is because Braavos forbids it. The cities seem to be largely under the boot of…
ApproachingDarknessFish
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Why were the Night's Watch required to be celibate?

If the Night's Watch was supposed to last thousands of years, and was given land, why not have them raise families in the Gift and send all adult males to guard the wall on a rotation?
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Was Daenerys actually trying to hatch the eggs?

I was reading @Aegon' s response here and I realized that I've never been clear on whether Dani was intentional in her pyre building to do blood magic and wake the dragons, or if she was just grieving Drogo and killing Mirri and her statement about…
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When will the A Song of Ice and Fire series be completed?

I enjoy the Game of Thrones TV Series, and am ready to try the books. However, having waited over 15 years for Stephen King to finish The Dark Tower; I would like to know when the entire series will be available. This question has two parts: 1. How…
user16493
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Why do people in the North take the Wall so seriously?

An issue has been occurring to me as I am reading the first book. That is: why do people in the North, especially the Starks, take the Wall so seriously? Moreover, why do the people on the Wall take their role so seriously? The reason I ask is that…
user5179531
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Why does the Golden Company raise the banners for a Targaryen?

The Golden Company, as we discover in the tales of Dunk & Egg, was created by exiled knight Aegor "Bittersteel" Rivers, the legitimized bastard of King Aegon IV Targaryen, after they tried to place Daemon I Blackfyre on the throne instead of the…
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Who put Joffrey up to what he did at Ned's trial?

It seemed to me that someone must have put Joffrey up to beheading Ned Stark. After the trial all someone would have had to do is ask Joffrey who advised him to that and they would have known who was pulling strings behind them in a way that is…
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What's the real world equivalent for the greyscale disease?

Greyscale gets mentioned a lot of times, but at the back of my mind it seems like its some sort of leprosy. What's the nearest real world disease that comes close to GRRM's greyscale.
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In A Clash of Kings, why does Cersei initially oppose marrying Joffrey to Margaery?

In A Clash of Kings, when the Small Council hears of the assassination of Renly Baratheon, Tyrion realizes that the Lannisters can no longer depend on the Baratheon brothers decimating each other in battle before either of them reaches King's…
SplitInfinity
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How do people in A Song of Ice and Fire universe survive multi-year winters?

How exactly do the people survive the multi-year winters as far as feeding themselves? You can't grow crops in winter. Nor can you feed your livestock off what grows. But ordinarily you can't save food for people or animals for multi-year periods,…
DVK-on-Ahch-To
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What is the difference between a wight and an Other?

What is the difference between a wight and an Other in A Song of Ice and Fire? At first I didn't think there was a difference, but there must be because Others can be "melted" by dragon glass and wights cannot. Thoughts? ETA: So, I've started…
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