11 Must-Read Book Series If You Love Game of Thrones

The long Winter of watching the Starks, Lannisters, and Daenerys is over with the final season of Game of Thrones. Thankfully, that doesn't mean there's no way for you to get your fix of political intrigue, dragons, and flawed characters struggling to survive in war-torn worlds.

There are plenty of fantasy book series out there just waiting to fill the Game of Thrones void in your life. Of course, one of those series is A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin, the books on which Game of Thrones is based. But you've already read those, right? Right? We're going to assume you have and offer up recommendations for a new batch of fantasy epics that will make your exile from Westeros so much easier to bear.

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01
A Court of Thorns and Roses
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A Court of Thorns and Roses

Feyre is just 19 when she kills a wolf in the woods and finds herself transported to world of magic she grew up believing was nothing more than a legend. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas is the first book in a series that effortlessly blends romance with fantasy as Feyre finds herself caught up in a battle to rescue a world that isn't her own, all in the name of love.

If you have ever wished there was a tad more romance in Game of Thrones to go along with all of the politics, this is the book series for you.

02
The Name of the Wind
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The Name of the Wind

To know Kvothe is to love him. The hero of The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss is a man who has done it all, and now he just wants to be left alone to run his inn in peace. When you are the most legendary man in the world, privacy is hard to come by, and it's not long before a chronicler tracks down Kvothe begging him to tell his story.

What follows is a tale of high fantasy at its best — one of daring deeds, great loves, fantastical creatures, and the world-weary man who is so much more than a legend. Thankfully, this is just the beginning of Kvothe's tale, and the series known as The Kingkiller Chronicles, because once you start, you won't want the story to end.

03
His Dark Materials
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His Dark Materials

The His Dark Materials trilogy will break your heart, but you will love every minute of it. Philip Pullman sends his young heroine, Lyra, on a journey that sees her traveling between worlds, facing immense darkness, and suffering losses that are unimaginable to even the strongest adults. Along the way, she encounters angels, armored bears, and a young boy who will change her life forever.

Religion, reason, and original sin are just a few of the heady subjects propelling this magical story along, but it's the aching humanity of the characters that gives the story its soul.

04
The White Queen
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The White Queen

There's no magic in The White Queen, but this retelling of the Wars of the Roses more than makes up for its lack of dragons with its shocking political machinations. The action on King's Landing seems almost tame compared to the cutthroat battle for the throne of England.

Philippa Gregory brings the story of Elizabeth Woodville to life with a mix of sweeping court intrigue and complex women waging war on the homefront as the men take their grievances to the battlefield. Best of all, if you love Elizabeth's story, this is just the beginning of the Cousin's War series.

05
The Dark Tower
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The Dark Tower

Stephen King's magnum opus brings together the disparate genres of the western and fantasy to create a world where the last gunslinger tirelessly pursues the Man in Black in pursuit of the nexus of all worlds, The Dark Tower. This is a story of good and evil, with a sprawling cast characters fighting against time to save not just their world — ravaged though it is — but all worlds.

06
Falling Kingdoms
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Falling Kingdoms

The story begins with a murder that triggers a war, a revolution, and a violent race for the throne. Sound familiar?

Morgan Rhodes's Falling Kingdoms has everything a Game of Thrones fan could want out of a book series, with an extra helping of magic. The story is grounded in the point of views of four disparate young heroes each with their own agenda and role to play in the destiny of their kingdom, which gives the story a vastness that instantly draws you in.

07
The Iron King
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The Iron King

Martin has called Maurice Druon's The Iron King the "original Game of Thrones." This is the story about the bloody fall of a dynasty. The Iron King's grasp on his kingdom is slipping right before his eyes as his sons prove to be too weak to rule and his daughter unwilling to be betrothed to a man who has no interest in her. Ultimately, it is an execution that triggers the beginning of the end of his reign and inspired Martin to invent the characters of Westeros.

08
The Mists of Avalon
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The Mists of Avalon

Everyone knows the story of King Arthur, but the women in his tale are often painted as villains and lovers, and nothing more. Marion Zimmer Bradley's Mists of Avalon flips the script and retells Arthurian legend through the eyes of Morgaine and Gwenhwyfar, as they battle in the names of the old gods and the new, respectively.

In this version of the story, Arthur is little more than a pawn in the hands of two powerful women, making it an entrancing read.

09
Rat Queens
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Rat Queens

This bawdy graphic novel may seem too light to satisfy Game of Thrones fans, but never underestimate the Rat Queens. Writer Kurtis J. Wiebe offers up madcap adventures, dragons, fierce women, and daring quests through a medieval-style landscape. This series will make you long for more sellsword action in Westeros, as the story reminds you that in between all the battles there are likely quite a few people making the best of the never-ending war of the Seven Kingdoms.

10
Three Dark Crowns
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Three Dark Crowns

Three sisters, one throne, and a fight to the death to see who gets to sit upon it. Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake is captivating from start to finish. You will love all three potential queens — Mirabella (an elemental), Katharine (a poisoner), and Arsinoe (a naturalist) — equally, which makes the difficult task before them all the more intense and heartbreaking for the reader.

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The Way of Kings
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The Way of Kings

You can pick up any Brandon Sanderson book and be sure that you are in for a true high-fantasy epic, but there's something special about The Way of Kings. The world of Roshar is full of wealthy people who use commoners to wage their wars, but Kaladin is sick of being a cog in the machine. Meanwhile, commander Brightlord Dalinar Kholin stands on the brink of madness, and far away his niece, Shallan, is close to making a discovery that could change Roshar forever. One chapter is all it will take for you to become utterly addicted to this masterful fantasy series.

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