--- description: Here are five books by authors that the fantasy author says have influenced him in one way or another. title: 5 Books That Influenced How George R. R. Martin Wrote Game of Thrones image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt811aabd0767764b5/6988cddfcf40a86d42c47be4/game-of-thrones-books.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Books](/tag/books/) ## Books Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # 5 Books That Influenced How George R. R. Martin Wrote _Game of Thrones_ by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 30, 2017 4:06 PM CUT  by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 30, 2017 4:06 PM CUT [George R.R. Martin](http://time.com/4618915/george-r-r-martin-celebrity-deaths-2016/ "undefined") still hasn’t officially said when [_The Winds of Winter_](http://time.com/4631350/george-r-r-martin-the-winds-of-winter-release/ "undefined"), the sixth book in his [_A Song of Ice and Fire_](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0345535529/?tag=timecom-20 "undefined") series that serves as the basis for [HBO’s _Game of Thrones_ series](http://time.com/4429346/game-of-thrones-season-7-cast-news/ "undefined"), will come out. (And don’t hold your breath for any news about the planned seventh and final book in the series, [_A Dream of Spring_](http://www.tor.com/2016/12/06/george-r-r-martin-shared-thoughts-on-winds-of-winters-progress-and-est-fighters-in-a-song-of-ice-and-fire/ "undefined")_._) But for fans who are eager to peek inside the mind of the series’ creator — or just find entertainment in the same things that entertained him — here are five books by authors that Martin says have influenced him in one way or another.  ## [_The Lord of the Rings_](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0618640150/?tag=timecom-20 "undefined") Martin has called [J.R.R. Tolkien](http://ew.com/article/2011/07/12/george-martin-talks-a-dance-with-dragons/ "undefined") his “great model” in shaping the overarching plot of his series. “If you look at [_Lord of the Rings_](http://time.com/4620477/tolkien-125-birthday-bilbo/ "undefined"), it begins with a tight focus and all the characters are together. Then by end of the first book the Fellowship splits up and they have different adventures. I did the same thing. Everybody is at Winterfell in the beginning except for Dany, then they split up into groups, and ultimately those split up too. The intent was to fan out, then curve and come back together.”  ## [_The Dragonbone Chair_](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0886773849/?tag=timecom-20 "undefined") Tad Williams’ fantasy series _Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn_ served as a [catalyst](http://www.westeros.org/Citadel/SSM/Entry/5527/ "undefined") for Martin to write his own. “I read _The Dragonbone Chair_ \[the first book in the series\] and said, “My god, they can do something with this form,” and it’s Tad doing it. It’s one of my favorite fantasy series.”  Marvel ## [_The Avengers #9_](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0785135014/?tag=timecom-20 "undefined") As a young comic book fan, Martin has [said](http://www.maximumfun.org/sound-young-america/george-r-r-martin-author-song-ice-and-fire-series-interview-sound-young-america "undefined") he appreciated that Stan Lee’s [Marvel](http://time.com/4733000/hela-marvel-cate-blanchett-thor-ragnarok/ "undefined") characters changed over the course of time (unlike the [DC](http://time.com/3724691/dc-catwoman-bisexual/ "undefined") characters, whose story arcs were more circular). He explained that he especially liked _Avengers #9_ because “Wonder Man dies in that story. He’s a brand new character, he’s introduced, and he dies. It was very heart wrenching.” If this sounds like the first season of _Game of Thrones_, maybe the future of Wonder Man holds a clue for the conclusion of _Game of Thrones_: “Of course, being comic books, Wonder Man didn’t stay dead for long. He came back a year or two later and had a long run for many many decades.”  ## [_The Iron King_](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0007491263/?tag=timecom-20 "undefined") French author Maurice Druon’s _The Accursed Kings_ historical fiction series chronicles the period leading up to the Hundred Years War. “_The Accursed Kings_ has it all,” Martin [has written](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/26/george-rr-martins-inspiration%5Fn%5F2945193.html "undefined"). “Iron kings and strangled queens, battles and betrayals, lies and lust, deception, family rivalries, the curse of the Templars, babies switched at birth, she-wolves, sin, and swords, the doom of a great dynasty … and all of it (well, most of it) straight from the pages of history. And believe me, the Starks and the Lannisters have nothing on the Capets and Plantagenets.”  ## [_The Other Boleyn Girl_](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0743227441/?tag=timecom-20 "undefined") While Martin cut his teeth on sci-fi and fantasy, he also [read](https://www.smartertravel.com/2012/04/01/game-of-thrones-exclusive-george-r-r-martin-talks-season-two-the-winds-of-winter-and-real-world-influences-for-a-song-of-ice-and-fire/ "undefined") “a lot of historical fiction, both the classic writers of historical fiction that I read many decades ago — people like Thomas B. Costain and Frank Yerby and so forth — and some of the more contemporary writers of historical fiction, like Bernard Cornwell, Sharon Kay Penman, and Philippa Gregory,” best known for her novel _The Other Boleyn Girl_. The sexual politics of King’s Landing definitely bear a certain resemblance to the escapades of Henry VIII’s court. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4769331/game-of-thrones-books-george-rr-martin/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4769331/game-of-thrones-books-george-rr-martin/"},"headline":"5 Books That Influenced How George R. R. Martin Wrote Game of Thrones","datePublished":"2017-05-30T16:06:43.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:58:52.735Z","description":"The author was shaped by everyone from J.R.R. 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