All 5 Game of Thrones books ranked from worst to best
By Bryce Olin
3. A Game of Thrones
Year Published: 1996
A Game of Thrones is the first book of A Song of Ice and Fire. It does a lot of heavy lifting in building Westeros and the rest of the world. There’s so much to digest, but Martin does an incredible job of giving just enough information while keeping the story exciting and moving forward.
The book begins North of the Wall when a group of the Night’s Watch is attacked by White Walkers. We don’t fully understand what this means at the time, but it’s where this story is headed. We also meet the Starks, the Baratheons, and the Lannisters at Winterfell, where King Robert Baratheon asks Lord Eddard Stark to be his Hand down in King’s Landing after Jon Arryn, the King’s Hand, died. By the end of the book, Westeros is ready for war.
A Game of Thrones isn’t quite as exciting, in my opinion, as the second and third books, which occupy the top two rankings on this list. It’s an incredible story; don’t get me wrong. It’s just hard to compare the beginning of this epic when the pieces are being moved around the board to the literal battles fought during the second and third books. I like action, and that’s what’s being valued in this ranking.
Overall, it’s a great start to one of the best fantasy stories of all time. That’s why it’s no. 3 on the list. Let’s get into the second-best of the Game of Thrones books so far, A Clash of Kings.