There is no denying in this fact that Game of Thrones is the most popular book series ever.
If you really liked this genre of suspense, politics, drama and blood shed then I can suggest you more books like Game of Thrones which will boost up the level of excitement and adrenaline rush in you.
You can call George R.R. Martin a wizard of words as he has put all his efforts beautifully in this book series called A Song of Ice and Fire.
Top 10 Books like Game of Thrones
There are more authors like him who have written excellent books in the same genre which must be read by you.
So, here is a list of alternative books Game of Thrones which will be surely liked by you.
Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson
The list of books like Game of Thrones starts from the popular Mistborn trilogy.
The three books in this book series are The Final Empire, The Well of Ascension and The Hero of Ages and they were published between 2006 and 2008.
As you know really well that Game of Thrones is a book which is entirely based on tight story and great fantasy world. The same theme applies to Mistborn Trilogy too.
The tale of this trilogy starts from the first book which is about a final empire set in the world called Scadrial.
The plot of this book is set thousand years before the actual story of this trilogy. This is all about how the ruler gained powers and defeated darkness and then set up the world which is going to be continue in the next book.
This is important to go through all the three books of this series to understand the story perfectly. However, you will automatically get addicted to it when you will read the Book 1. In fact, the story continue with another trilogy of era 2 relatable to first trilogy.
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
You don’t get to come across stories like The Thirteenth Tale every single day. This is a suspense novel just like any other books like Game of Thrones.
It is based on gothic theme and published in the year 2006 which just does not fails in giving you chills time to time.
The book brought get recognition to Diane Setterfield and hence a movie was made on the same name. It was also declared as The New York Times Best Seller in 2006.
The plot of this 416 pages book is set on a famous novelist of England namely, Vida Winter. Despite being extremely popular her life always remained a mystery for the journalist.
Even trying for fifty years, nobody could not dig about her past at all.
As she grows old, she picks an amateur biographer to write her story and this is what the book is all about.
The unleashing secrets and her past creates all the suspense in this novel and hence The Thirteenth Tale is one of the best Game of Thrones alternative books in this list.
Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor
The next mention in the list of books like Game of Thrones is a little or I would say quite different from the rest of the books.
It is mainly based on the theme of science and of course, you are going to find the fantasy here too. The Nigerian based written Nnedi Okorafor has put the best creation forward with this piece.
Who Fears Death was chosen for the World Fantasy Award for Best Novel in 2011 and went on to become the basis of an HBO show called “Early Development”.
Now, talking about the theme of this novel then it is based in Sudan and shows the post-apocalyptic future version of it.
There are two tribes light skinned Nuru and dark-skinned Okeke. The story’s protagonist is a girl named Onyesonwu who is the child of an Okeke woman raped by Nuru man.
As she grows mature, she decides to defeat her evil father by the magical powers she possesses. You are going to see the complete evolution of fantasy coming together with science in this book.
Red Rising (Red Rising Series, Book 1) by Pierce Brown
Red Rising is the first book of science fiction novel series of the same name. You can relate the theme of this book to the earlier one that I mentioned in this list namely “Who Fears Death”. However, there is still a lot of change in the plot on which the story is set.
You can easily call it to be one of the books like Game of Thrones and the prime reason behind it is the use of beautiful fantasy involved in it.
Red Rising is set on the life on future planet Mars. It is about the time where humans have colonized other planets and converted them according to color based social hierarchy.
Red Rising is the story of a 16 years old boy Darrow who belong to class Red which are of workers.
After her wife being killed by the upper-class people, he sets on a mission of revenge. The story is then continued by how the class of Reds rises. You can go for Amazon to buy the book or there are other sources through which you can go for free book download too.
A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic Series, Book 1) by V.E. Schwab
A Darker Shade of Magic is the first book of book series Shades of Magic. It was published in the year 2015.
The book as it is clear from its name is based on the theme of magic and supernatural powers which keeps the quotient of fantasy high in it.
The book contains 400 marvelous pages of excitement and a story is so engaging that you would probably end up going through the entire series then.
So, A Darker Shade of Magic is the story of a guy named Kell. Kell is the last one of his race Antari who possess magical powers and a rare ability to travel through parallel London; Red, White, Grey, and Black too. He is raised in Red London and serves for Maresh Empire.
This is a story which makes it perfect for the category of books like Game of Thrones. The great encounters that Kell through forms a story which engages readers perfectly into it. In fact, after it you would love to read the rest of the three books of this series too.
The Name of the Wind (The Kingkiller Chronicles, Book 1) by Patrick Rothfuss
The Name of the Wind is also known as The Kingkiller Chronicles: Day One and it is also the first one of this book series.
This was published in 2007 and along with wide imagination and fantasy you are going to find a hint of heroic acts in the book too.
Being one excellent pick in the list of books like Game of Thrones, The Name of the Wind was received well and with open arms by the readers.
When you will go through the book, you are going to realize that its plot is divided into two parts. Where one is narrated in third person about the present, another one is narrated by the protagonist Kvothe and it is about his past.
You will witness the magic in full swings in the story of this book. The writer has used great imaginations and hence makes it quite amusing for a read. You can find more such books like Game of Thrones on Amazon easily.
Prince of Thornes (The Broken Empire, Book 1) by Mark Lawrence
Prince of Thornes is another one in the list of books like Game of Thrones. This is the first novel from The Broken Empire trilogy by Mark Lawrence.
The book is set on the theme of adventure and fantasy and perfectly compiles of every single essence which you have witnessed in Game of Thrones.
The book Prince of Thornes was published in 2012 and then followed by King of Thornes and Emperor of Thornes, telling a story in succession.
The protagonist of this story is Jorg Endures who narrates his own journey throughout the trilogy.
He has run away from his father and home after her mother and younger brother was brutally killed.
Now, he does not feel suffering of others and is willing to kill anyone who comes in between his quest of winning over the Broken Empire.
The story has everything from emotions, pain to fantasy and drama which has put together in form of an adventurous journey.
An Ember in the Ashes (An Ember in the Ashes Series, Book 1) by Sabaa Tahir
Sabaa Tahir is a Pakistani-American writer and An Ember in the Ashes is her epic fantasy novel which is the first book from An Amber in the Ashes book series.
It was published in 2015 and set in the fantasy world which is inspired by the time of ancient Rome.
The reason of listing it out amongst the books like Game of Thrones is because of its beautifully woven fantasy tale which keeps the readers hooked to it.
The story follows a girl named Laia and a boy named Elias. Laia serves as a spy who keeps an eye on rebels against the reigning empire as they rescue her captive brother.
Whereas, Elias is trying to free himself from being an enforcer.
The book is set in a way that it timely alternates between the point of views of both Laia and Elias and shows a contradicting thought process.
The Queen of the Tearling (Queen of the Tearling Series, Book 1) by Erika Johansen
If you think authors cannot do wonders with their debut work then you must give a read to The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen.
This is the first book from the Queen of the Tearling trilogy and then followed by the novels The Invasion of the Tearling and The Fate of the Tearing.
It was published in the year 2014 and one of the finest books in this list of books like Game of Thrones. This is a fantasy based novel which is based on the story of a princess.
The plot of this book is set on a fictional landmass which exists centuries later in the future.
The story is about a princess Kelsea Raleigh Glynn who needs to defeat the powers of evil Red Queen. This is about the journey to claiming a throne just like Game of Thrones and hence makes a striking similarity to it.
The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison
Another fantasy novel and the last on of this list of books like Game of Thrones is The Goblin Emperor which was published in 2014.
The book is actually written by American author Sarah Monetter under the pseudonym Katherine Addison.
The book not only nominated for various book awards but also ended up receiving a lot of them too. It was also praised by the critics too.
The book is focused on the story of a young man named Maia who has both characteristics of Elves as well as Goblins and finds himself becoming the emperor of Elflands.
Now, he has to rule in such a manner that can release social and racial tension in his territory.
The book of course contains magical creatures, fantasy, great imagination and a wonderful journey which is woven together in this story.
Handpicked best books series blog posts for you:
Conclusion
Talking about the current trend and taste of people, audience seems to be loving shows like GoT. The book series of the same TV show is way more descriptive and provocative and triggers your imagination like never before.
You must definitely read books like Game of Thrones if you are an adult and falling in love with the literature. These books have the power to transport you to a world which is competitive, ancient and most importantly interesting.
