ASOIAF Books Ranked

[Bendric Dayne]

How would you rank the books from the main series? It’s obviously no easy task since they are all so great and it will just come down to preference. I will say that my ranking may be a bit skewed by the fact that I watched the show first. 
 

5. A Clash of Kings 

It sucks to put this one last since it’s so good, but then again, they are all so good and one of them has to be last. It’s a great book, but most of the main characters are going through setup for the next book. Except Tyrion who is fantastic in this one. I also didn’t enjoy the new POV’s as much. Since I had already watched the show being introduced to Pyke and Dragonstone and Stannis with Theon and Davos respectively, just wasn’t that interesting to me since I already knew a lot of it. Although, the new things I did get to learn and being inside these characters heads was nice and made it more enjoyable, but yeah at times it felt like a chore to read some of those chapters. Particularly Theon, and particularly early on. 
 

4. A Dance With Dragons

It’s so hard to decide whether or not to place this one higher than AFFC, but ultimately I think this one is held back a little by half of Tyrion’s chapters. I loved seeing him with YG and co and seeing him figure all that out, but other than that his chapters weren’t as great as they were in the previous books. At times Dany’s chapters were frustrating because I just want her to leave Mereen and it’s a little bit harder for me to care about the politics there. Other than that the book was great! I loved Theon on this one and being able to have him as POV for the stuff in the north was fascinating. And Davos was also so awesome to read and to see the Manderly plot and his amazing speech. 
 

3. A Feast for Crows 

These last 3 were definitely the hardest to place. I think ADWD and AFFC just have a lot more new stuff for people who had seen the show before reading the books compared to ACOK. So that’s probably why I placed these 2 higher. I think where AFFC edges out ADWD is with Jaime and Cersei being so fascinating to read. In the show Jaime is cool since he has that redemption arc and what not, but he was always kind of an ok character for me. But in the books it took me by surprise how much I loved reading his chapters. Also, I know a lot of people dislike Brienne’s chapters, but I thought they were really entertaining. And I loved to see the stuff in Dorne develop too. I think ADWD probably has higher highs with Jon and Dany especially, but lower lows with Tyrion and Dany. Whereas AFFC has decent highs, but for me, there aren’t really any lows (except maybe some of the ironborn stuff, but that’s also in ADWD so it cancels out). 
 

2. A Game of Thrones

It’s crazy how much I loved this book despite having seeing the show first. In a lot of ways this book is basically season 1 of the show but being inside these characters’ heads was such a great way to relive those events. I loved Ned in the show and he’s even better in the books. I’m just a huge fan of that type of character and the way he remembers Lyanna so solemnly without revealing anything about Jon is greatly done. Also, every single character is just so amazing and I’d never get disappointed by seeing any character’s name on the title for the next chapter. There is just so much to love about the setup for this world and its characters that even knowing where a lot of it will lead, it was still so fascinating to read. 
 

1. A Storm of Swords

Yeah I know it’s so basic to have this one at number one, but it’s just way too good. I guess I was kind of taken by surprise because the events of this book cover 2 seasons of the show instead of one (and the 2 seasons it covers are probably the best ones of the show). So I thought the RW was a little early when I read it and was kind of confused. Was definitely not expecting for Joffrey’s wedding and Tyrion’s trial to also be in this book. Plus Jon becoming LC and Arya leaving for Bravos. So it was a lot of stuff that I already knew happened, but that is just so awesome that it’s great to read. But then the new stuff is so great too. Like I guess I didn’t know that all the Starks had warging abilities with their wolves but that was just so awesome to read. I think the first Arya chapter she has a wolf dream that hyped me up so much for the rest of the book. Lady Stoneheart was great too. And this is the first book with Jaime and it’s so great. Basically, all the characters be peaking and it’s just too good! 
 

So yeah, that’s how I would rank these books. To be fair the last three are probably pretty interchangeable depending on how I’m feeling. Like remembering Catelyn’s conversation with Jaime and the HOTU which are both so great makes me want to place ACOK higher, or remembering some of Theon’s chapters in ADWD and Manderly’s speech makes me want to place that book higher, but yeah I’d say this ranking reflects how I feel most of the time. How does everyone else feel? I know it’s a silly thing to rank them since they are all so good, but it’s still fun to see what people think! 

[Lord of Raventree Hall]

Even though, I feel it wasn't that long ago I did this, why not, I am almost finished with my reread. I will do a surprise thing and include "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" (as in all the Dunk and Egg books) as a 6th entry, why not? 

6. A Game of Thrones - Despite being the iconic first entry in the series, I find it is all foreplay the more times I reread it. It is a bit slower than the other novels, and there is a lot of character set up (fair enough, that is normal, lol), but it is less interesting because of it. However, this doesn't mean I don't think it is a spectacular book, it's just GRRM set the bar very very high. My highlights in book 1 would be all of Catelyn's PoV, when Tyrion get Bronn to champion him in the Eyrie, When Jon Snow decides (on Tyrion's advice) to help his fellow brothers rather than separate himself, when those same brothers bring Jon back to the Wall, and I also actually like Eddard's slow realization that Joffrey and co. aren't Robert's children. Oh god, and the scene where Daenerys emerges from the fire! (also Daenerys's chapters were usually quite good in this book) Also, this is the only book with Eddard actually alive, and I quite like Eddard, so that is a big point in its favor. Favorite PoVs in the is book : Catelyn, Eddard, Daenerys

5. A Feast for Crows - The book most often in others' last place, this book is a mix of chapters I really like and those I dislike. In fact, I think if you just took Brienne, Cersei, Jaime, Samwell, Arya, Sansa, and ...perhaps Arianne's chapters, I would quite like this book. However, I find the Ironborn chapters disjointed, GRRM has to set up each new character he added (a lot of them), and his choices of PoVs (okay, specifically Aeron Greyjoy. I never wanted Aeron Greyjoy as a PoV. I promise you that) are hmmm. I think the Ironborn storyline would have been better served as a single PoV (I would personally choose either Asha or Victorian, just not Aeron) and perhaps a single PoV for the Dornish storyline as well (Arianne this time), and it would have helped these plotlines a lot I think. Anyways, highlights for me were all of Brienne's chapters, all of Cersei's chapters (for hate reasons), all of Sansa's chapters (surprised me on a reread)...and perhaps Samwell's arrival in Oldtown. Favorite PoVs in this book : Brienne, Sansa, Cersei (hate reasons)

4. A Clash of Kings - Honestly, AFfC and ACoK are actually very close for me...and the separation comes maybe from Aeron Greyjoy on his own. He helps ACoK win, lol. The part of this book that brings it down is honestly two parts, Theon's first two chapters (which are very long and Theon is just being a perv or a jerk through most of it) and any Tyrion chapter that focuses on Shae for most of its runtime. So much Shae in this book (a character I have no affinity for, and also Tyrion is a jerk to her most of the time while pretending he is not being a jerk to her). Highlights for me would be Catelyn once again (like AGoT) particularly her time in Renly's camp, Jon Snow's chapters were also quite good particularly his time with Qhorin Halfhand, and Daenerys's chapter in the House of the Undying. Favorite PoVs in this book : Catelyn, Jon Snow, Daenerys

3. A Storm of Swords - The last 3 are all..like so good. The reason ASoS is last is the Red Wedding. It is depressing, and I dread it through most of Catelyn's chapters. It's infamy is all that keeps this book from being in the number 1 spot honestly. Highlights for me would be Tyrion's trial particularly Oberyn vs. the Mountain, Tyrion killing my most hated character (Tywin), Arya's chapters with the Brotherhood without Banners, Davos saving Edric Storm, Jon's chapters defending the Wall against the Wildling attack, Jaime going back for Brienne of Tarth, and ..all of Daenerys's chapters. Favorite PoVs in this book : Daenerys, Jon Snow, Tyrion, Arya, Davos, Jaime (I included so many as I loved them all)

2. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms - Length and lack of being in the main storyline is all that stops this from being number 1. Honestly, I love every second of these books. I love Dunk. I love Egg. I love the stories of each of the three novellas in their own ways. Highlights would be when Dunk punches Aerion, all of the scenes with the other hedge knights in the final book, and when Dunk first takes on Egg as his squire (I know Egg is actually a prince, but give me any action where someone is just...protecting another person/taking on another person out of the goodness of their heart, and I'll always be happy). Favorite PoVs - ....Ser Duncan the Tall, lol 

1. A Dance With Dragons - Number 1. It has stood in my number 1 spot for awhile, and it probably won't move until TWoW comes out. As I mentioned, it is the lack of a Red Wedding that seperates it from ASoS, however, it is also a really good book from start to finish. What probably separates me from others is I love the Meereenese plots, which probably keeps me liking this book much more than a lot of other fans. Highlights would be the aformentioned Meereenese chapters (Daenerys and Barristan's...all of them), Jon Snow's radical changes made as Lord Commander (particularly letting Tormand and company through the Wall), Tyrion's time on the Royne River (I liked this section), and Theon Greyjoy's perfectly written character arc (that is a masterpiece in breaking down a character and then building them back up). Favorite PoVs in this book - Theon, Daenerys/Barristan (their plot is really overreaching between the two of them), Jon Snow,....Davos (his chapters are so few, but I do love them)

[Aebram]

Dance is my favorite. I don't have any strong opinions about ranking the others.

In any trilogy, I find that the middle book is the least interesting. The fist one has the excitement of entering a new world. The last one has the climactic ending. But the middle one is mostly just setting the stage for the ending.

For a story of more than three volumes, the picture is more complex. To me, Dance feels like the beginning of the end, not another volume of middle. It still does a lot of stage-setting, but at a faster pace, with a feeling thar the curtain will be going up soon.

One way to make the middle more interesting is to put in some new beginnings: introduce important new characters or plot elements. Dance certainly does that.

Also, I enjoyed seeing places that had previously been just names on a map.  I hope there will be more of that in the coming books; but I don't know if we will.  It would require the POV characters to travel to more places, and add complexity to the story.  I expect that the rest of the story will involve consolidation, not more expansion.

[Gilbert Green]

They are all parts of a larger whole.  Which we cannot see.

[The Bard of Banefort]

In terms of personal preference, I would rank them as Feast, Storm, Clash, Game, and Dance.
 

Writing-wise is trickier. AFFC has some of the best prose, but the storytelling just isn’t as strong. ASOS would probably be my top pick in this case, although ADWD remains at the bottom of the pack. Even if I didn’t find large swaths of it boring, it still failed to progress the story enough.

[Jaenara Belarys]

1. ASOS: I love the writing and story, the plotlines from Clash have been tied up and we have Jaime as a POV character. The Red Wedding was great, the second I started reading the feast passages I knew something was seriously fucked.

2. ACOK: I really like Tyrion's POV and seeing Sansa snap out of that annoying little bird phase was fantastic. Her maneuvering around Joffrey was funny to read and the period chapter was suitably unique.

3. AGOT: I really liked AGOT, but it was the one that had to flesh out the characters and lore. Besides, reading Sansa's chapters for the first time made me want to scream. 

4. ADWD: I enjoy worldbuilding, but not at the expense of the plot. I really liked seeing the Wall and Meereen POVs, though I wish it was more interesting. 

5. AFFC: I just don't find a lot of the POVS too interesting. I don't wholly care about Sam, he's a device to develop Jon's character and such. Cersei's POV was hilariously incompetent. Dorne was boring as hell, and please GRRM, never write a sex scene again. 

[Bendric Dayne]

11 hours ago, The Bard of Banefort said:

In terms of personal preference, I would rank them as Feast, Storm, Clash, Game, and Dance.
 

Writing-wise is trickier. AFFC has some of the best prose, but the storytelling just isn’t as strong. ASOS would probably be my top pick in this case, although ADWD remains at the bottom of the pack. Even if I didn’t find large swaths of it boring, it still failed to progress the story enough.

Yeah I think that is the main problem with Dance. It just doesn't progress the story enough. This is made clearer by the fact that GRRM moved the battles of ice and fire to the beginning of Winds when they were supposed to be the climax for a lot of characters in Dance. So Dance basically doesn't have a climax. I remember being disappointed when I found out that Feast wasn't going to have Jon, Dany, or Tyrion, so I was surprised when I finished reading it and ended up really liking it. I thought Dance was going to blow me out of the water, but it fell a little short. It's still a great book, but I think GRRM indulges just a little bit too much on expanding his world. 

Like, I love all of Jon's chapters in this book, but at the same time GRRM could have been a bit more concise IMO, considering he only has 2 books left to wrap up the story. Although, I do understand that Jon's death kinda had to be at the end of the book, so it would have been difficult to progress his story too much. Dany, however, was way too much time on Mereen. It's only like her last chapter that gives us any sign of her storyline slightly progressing. I feel like the book should have at least ended with her already having the Dothraki army on her side (if that's what she's going to do. if it isn't then it should have ended with the conclusion of whatever it is she's going to do with the dothraki. basically, she should have been on her way back to Mereen at the very least.) I know a lot of people have a big appreciation for the Mereen plot and everything, but it should have been moved along faster. 

Tyrion moves along fast enough or me, but the problem with him is that a good number of his chapters drop in terms of quality and are not that interesting imo. I mean, in the end it's still a great book, and it's hard to judge it when there are still 2 books missing, but it is a bit frustrating to think that there are only 2 books missing and some characters are nowhere near where they should be for their climaxes. So I don't really mind that GRRM took his time with his characters (I actually like a lot of the expansions we get in this book), I'm just not sure he can finish in only 2 books, or, if he does, the ending might feel rushed. If that's the case, then I'll begrudge him taking so much time on things that in the end will feel unnecessary. But I do give him the benefit of the doubt. I remember thinking that Robb's campaign was going to last for the rest of the books at the time of the RW, yet it concluded then and there in a satisfying and sensible manner, without feeling rushed at all. So he could pull it off for the rest of his characters. I suppose we'll see. 

[Lord of Raventree Hall]

I notice a lot of people saying that ADwD doesn't move the plot forward, and I think that's because ADwD is really the start of a second trilogy (with AFfC just being awkwardly in the middle of the two trilogies). Listen, everyone of course can have their own opinions, but I just want to defend ADwD a bit.

I think it...moves a lot of plots along, but a lot of those plots are admittedly not really related much to the original trilogy. The Ironborn plot and Dornish plot both chug right along in this book. Tyrion, Jon, and Daenerys essentially enter new character arcs (still related to their overall arc, but still...they each kind of start in a new place and start a new arc specific to these books, and those that will follow). Theon Greyjoy's plot is....spectacular, but also it (also with some help from the Davos chapters and Asha chapters) move the Stannis/Bolton plotline right along.

I guess what I'm saying is...I think the plotlines move along a lot, you just don't care for said plotlines, lol. I think this is also in large part to the fact that probably AFfC stole some of the plotlines (or split some of them) from ADwD. I'm guessing people like the Jon Wall plotline, the Daenerys goes to Westeros plotline, and generally whatever is happening in King's Landing plotline...but honestly...I found these plotlines equally as interesting. ADwD really focuses on character development (I think even more than other books in the series) and GRRM explores Essos, and I just like it. This doesn't mean I'm not excited for the Cersei/Tyrell plot line to continue or the whatever is gonna happen with the High Sparrow...but I liked the plot lines focused on in ADwD fine and I do think it moved the story along a lot.

Tyrion goes through more in this book arguably then in any other book. Daenerys runs a city, gets married, has an explosive dragon attack, and then disappears. Jon Snow makes more changes on the Wall then....has happened probably in the last 300 years on the Wall. Theon literally is broken down to nothing and built up again. That is a lot of plot moving forward. Qynten literally appears, has an entire arc, and then dies (all while playing into the Dornish plotline). 

PS. I will say that the split characters do make for certain characters having weird...shortened plots. Cersei, Jaime, and Arya's plot in ADwD are a bit strange and stagnant...because really the bulk of their plot was in AFfC. The Greyjoy plot is could also fit here. Honestly though, i want GRRM to just split up TWoW, too...because he might actually freaking come out with a book. AFfC and ADwD might be weird in that way, but at least the books were released, lol, and I just read those plots across both books and feel satisfied, lol. If TWoW came out in two weird volumes, I'd be fine with it, as long as it freaking came out. 

[sifth]

I sort of hate ADWD. There's some good stuff in it, but sadly the characters who seem the most importantly in the series have the least interesting chapters, despite being given the most. I honestly find most of the Jon, Dany and Tyrion chapters to be completely boring. Also the lack of the two major battles really hurts the book as well.

[The hairy bear]

I would also rank them ASOS > AGOT > ACOK > AFFC > ADWD.

 

12 hours ago, Lord of Raventree Hall said:

I notice a lot of people saying that ADwD doesn't move the plot forward, and I think that's because ADwD is really the start of a second trilogy.

This is fair, and I agree that after the shitstorm that ASOS was, a deceleration was in order.

But AGOT was also an introductory book, and it is well-loved. I'd say that the main problems many fans (me included) have with the ADWD are:

• We don't really believe the content in ADWD is really introducing the second trilogy. In AGOT, we knew that the politics at King's Landing were going to be central in the future books. Meanwhile, we all know Dany is leaving Mereen, so whatever happens there just feels like a passtime. It seems a safe bet that the Green Grace or Skahaz won't be rellevant in the final book, while Littlefinger and Varys will.
• They are very long books. AGOT is the shortest book in the series, and manages to introduce aa whole set of characters in a very economical way. Things move forward quickly. The royal comitive travels from WInterfell to KL much quicker than Tyrion goes from Pentos to Mereen. Jon's training take less chapters than Arya's. At the end of AGOT, three big battles take place in quick succession while in Dance George had to cut the two climaxes (further damaging the structure of the books). It feels to me that most if not all of the plots of Feast and Dance should have been dealt with with much less space. There's too much meandering, too much insisting on the same ideas, too much focus on sideshows.

Edited November 15, 2023 by The hairy bear

[Lord of Raventree Hall]

3 hours ago, The hairy bear said:

I would also rank them ASOS > AGOT > ACOK > AFFC > ADWD.

 

This is fair, and I agree that after the shitstorm that ASOS was, a deceleration was in order.

But AGOT was also an introductory book, and it is well-loved. I'd say that the main problems many fans (me included) have with the ADWD are:

• We don't really believe the content in ADWD is really introducing the second trilogy. In AGOT, we knew that the politics at King's Landing were going to be central in the future books. Meanwhile, we all know Dany is leaving Mereen, so whatever happens there just feels like a passtime. It seems a safe bet that the Green Grace or Skahaz won't be rellevant in the final book, while Littlefinger and Varys will.
• They are very long books. AGOT is the shortest book in the series, and manages to introduce aa whole set of characters in a very economical way. Things move forward quickly. The royal comitive travels from WInterfell to KL much quicker than Tyrion goes from Pentos to Mereen. Jon's training take less chapters than Arya's. At the end of AGOT, three big battles take place in quick succession while in Dance George had to cut the two climaxes (further damaging the structure of the books). It feels to me that most if not all of the plots of Feast and Dance should have been dealt with with much less space. There's too much meandering, too much insisting on the same ideas, too much focus on sideshows.

I like your critiques more than the others and even agree with some of them. I just like the Meetenese and Essos plots…and I like GRRM exploring the characters personal conflicts heavily in ADwD (which I think is what made it slower). Anyways, good points. 

[Willam Stark]

In my opinion: ADWD > ASOS > AFFC > ACOK > AGOT

[Bendric Dayne]

6 hours ago, Lord of Raventree Hall said:

I like your critiques more than the others and even agree with some of them. I just like the Meetenese and Essos plots…and I like GRRM exploring the characters personal conflicts heavily in ADwD (which I think is what made it slower). Anyways, good points. 

Yeah I think the hairy bear explained it a lot better than I could. I feel like if there were more books then I wouldn't have any issues with this book. I love getting to know more and more of this world and to have characters I like explore things that impact their plots and character arcs is great. It just feels like ADWD should have concluded a few plot points (particularly, I felt like everyone who is in Essos should have been wrapping up whatever they have going there), instead it feels like it adds more plot points and more characters that just add to the huge list of things that need wrapping up in the last 2 books. With Dany in particular, I feel like there is so much she has to do in Westeros (like meet Jon, help in the fight against the others, do some conquests, etc.) I wonder what she is still doing in Essos with no intention of going to Westeros. Not only that, why are there more and more plots added to her story that do not get her any closer to leaving? It seems like she has more stuff to do in Essos by the end of this book than she did at the beginning of this book. Like, almost nothing was wrapped up in terms of her plot in Meeren. 

Don't get me wrong, I still really like this book. Everything in the north was particularly amazing, I can read the Theon, Davos, and Jon chapters all day long (and that one Melissandre chapter is great). So it's more that this book worries me in terms of wether or not everything it sets up can be wrapped up in the last two books. 

[Ingelheim]

ASOS > ADWD > AGOT > ACOK > AFFC