Tired of waiting for The Winds of Winter? Are you looking for another series to scratch that A Song of Ice and Fire itch? Don’t worry! I have you covered. In this video, I will share 7 book series I think you should read while we wait for Winds.
7 Book Series To Read While We Wait For The Winds of Winter | ASOIAF
🎥 Chapters
Intro – 0:00
Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn – 0:39
The Prince in Waiting – 4:19
The Pillars of the Earth – 7:22
Dune – 11:49
A Wizard of Earthsea – 17:37
Dragonflight: Book One of the Dragonriders of Pern – 21:19
The Accursed Kings – 25:00
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He sends get off to be trained by a school of wizards I know that sounds very Harry Potter very King killer Chronicles but don’t worry unlike those novels a wizard of Earth sea is actually good to Le yes I have compiled a list of seven books I highly recommend you read
While you wait for the Winds of Winter have no fear no book on this list is part of an uncompleted series we’re not trading one problem for another so you’ll find no stormy archives or King Killers here this list will be spoiler-free anyway let’s get into it
We’re going to start this list off strong with entry number one memory sorrow and Thorn if you read no other books on this list these are the ones you want to read memory sorrow and Thorn is an Epic Fantasy Trilogy written by Tad Williams in 1988 it is sometimes
Known as the four book Trilogy because the manuscript for book three two green Angel Tower was so long it had to be published in two volumes for the paperback version MST is about the medieval Kingdom of Austin Ard High King John the presider is dying and his two
Sons and heirs Joshua and Elias do not get along Elias as the elder brother is expected to follow his father and sit the dragon bone chair which is this world’s equivalent of the Iron Throne however Elias’s popularity has fallen as of late his dark moods and paranoia has
The realm wondering if he is mentally fit to rule it does not help that Elias’s newest adviser is a man called pyes a Red Priest with an ill reputation many Nobles pushed Joshua to dispose of his brother and to claim the dragon bone chair as his own but Joshua also called
Lack hand because his short hand was cut off long ago does not want it he never has this does not stop Elias from suspecting his brother is planning some treason the f between the brothers erupts into full-blown Civil War many other kings princes and lesser Nobles
Enter the fry some for Joshua some for Elias and others for themselves and as the realm tears itself apart dark Whispers from the north began to trickle down into the south in the cold mountains of Naka an ancient enemy is stirring an enemy the people of Austin
Art had believed to be long dead winter is coming and with it comes the norns an ancient race of Elven likee beings that once dwelt in Austin art until humans came to drive them out now they’re returning to retake the lands that were once theirs these immensely powerful
Magical beings have nothing but a deep hatred for Humanity they can travel through dreams destroy castle walls with a single word and even raise the dead Humanity must set aside their differences to fight these Frozen foes or else be destroyed I really hope I don’t have to explain further why this
Is a mustre for any a song of I and fire fan I’m not the first person to notice the similarities between the two series others have made list comparing what Martin borrowed from Tad Williams series for his own seven book series well five right now because the man can’t even be bothered
To Martin himself has not been shy about acknowledging Williams as an inspiration if you’re curious about reading these books do not spoil yourself before you read them all the things you like about a s of is fire can be found here the same Mysteries foreshadowing treacherous prophecies secret identities descriptions of arms and
Armor did I get it all of that can be found in this series and the best thing it’s done so if you get invested all the books are there and not to mention Williams has blessed us with short stories novelas and also a sequel series he’s about to finish in just one more
Book the sequel series was going to be a trilogy but the last book got so big he ended up turning it into two separate novels the tale grew in the telling why yall fantasy writers can’t be economical and if you don’t want to read the sequel series because it’s not done you don’t
Have to the original trilogy is right there complete and ready to read have fun the second entry on this list is the trilogy called The Sword of spirits written in 1970 by John Christopher the sword of spirits is set in a post-apocalyptic IC Great Britain an unspecified ecological disaster has
Knocked human civilization back to Ye Old Medieval Times which means we’re back to riding horses swinging swords and having really short life expectancies using technology from the before time is strictly forbidden and is punishable by death the main character of the story is 13-year-old Luke he
Lives in the city of Winchester which is a real place in Hampshire England we learned that Winchester is just one of several wall cities that are almost constantly at war with one another these other cities like Petersfield and romsey are like Petty kingdoms and the wars between them are fought for Supremacy
And limited resources Winchester is ruled by a prince Luke’s father is one of the city’s captains a captain in this case is something like a knight because of his father’s rank Luke lives a privileged though very middle class lifestyle among the Lesser nobility due to a series of strange and surprising
Events Luke’s father Rises to the role of Prince of Winchester this is a huge shock because Luke’s father was not in the line of succession it was never in his cards for him to rule another twist is that Luke not his older brother Peter is named as Heir and the prince in
Waiting now swept up in politics and prophecy Luke must learn how to play The Most Dangerous Game Winchester’s very own Game of Thrones War betrayal trial by combat and beheadings soon follow which leads me to why you should read it the sword of spirits shares several things with the
Asong of Ice and Fire books Luke’s father is very much like Ned Stark a noble man who’s been thrust into a position of power that he was not prepared for the petty fighting between the cities reminds me very much of the Seven Kingdoms and their various feuds
There’s even a sect that reminds me of the maesters now don’t go into these books expecting something large or as intricate as Martin’s work these are not doorstopper books the novels are quite short a verocious reader could read through the entire Trilogy in one day that’s by no means a downside I’m not
Throwing shade here not every fantasy novel needs to reach maximum manuscript length to be satisfactory World building doesn’t have to be dense editors you have to stop letting these writers get away with it you can’t keep getting away with it he can’t keep getting away with it
The sword of spirits is a strong story told simply it won’t take up too much of your time but you will have enjoyed spending time with it and it will stick with you long after you’re done up next on the list is the pillars of the earth
I feel like the title is supposed to be said dramatically but but I don’t know how to use voice filters on this The Pillars of the Earth is a historical fiction novel written by kin foled and published in 1989 it is set in the 12th century in the completely fictional town
Of Kingsbridge England which is wild to me because how is a place called Kingsbridge in medieval England not real during this time England is in a terrible Civil War one that would come to be known as the Anarchy things got so bad during this war the crime
Chroniclers of the time wrote that it was like Christ and all his Saints had fallen asleep some people seem to believe that the concept of war crimes is a new thing when no they’re not anyway the plot of the book doesn’t follow the war specifically it focuses mainly on the construction of a
Cathedral all right now it ain’t that funny come on stop wait no come back Listen Hold on let me cook that might not sound like the most exciting basis for a story but the building of this new grand church becomes the focal point of a lot of controversies and clashes in
The land and then the nearby priori whose monks ordered the construction of the cathedral becomes filled with its own political drama we follow several POV characters in this book we see the world through their perspective just like in A Song of Ice and Fire yes even
The villains one of whom surely had to be the inspiration Iration for ramsy snow there is Tom Builder and his family who are very much house Stark like they’re not nobly born but they are earnest and hardworking and arguably the family you end up rooting for the most
Tom Builder as you may have guessed is hired to work on the new epic Cathedral there’s Ellen and her son jack Jackson Ellen may or may not have magical powers that is up to you to decide Jack Jackson is her bastard born of mysterious parentage so you kind of know where
That’s going there’s elenia Bartholomew and her brother two young Nobles whose family is betrayed their lands confiscated by bitter Rivals now disposed of their family’s castle elenia and her brother spend the spin the story trying to take back what was once theirs there are battles betrayals plots and
Schemes which leads me to why you should read it the Anarchy this book draws inspiration from was also the inspiration for for the dance of the Dragons so and a song of I and fire fan might have some interest but this book isn’t so much about the succession
Crisis itself but how the war it created affects those who are not actively participating in it it’s about how the Innocents suffer when the Highborn play their Game of Thrones so it’s like getting a POV from the ground level of the war of five Kings or the dance of
The Dragons if you’ve ever wanted to know how the small folk might have felt this this kind of gives you a glimpse of that yeah there are a few scenes where we meet a king or a prince or an empress but this isn’t about a crown or Castle
It’s about a church I promise you it’s way more interesting than it sounds also this book does what Martin intended to do when he first set out to write a song of ice and fire there are many time jumps we follow these characters for decades some grow from children into
Adults with children of their own we see adults grow old and lose some Vigor others don’t grow at all because you know dead you’ll have to read to find out who I could see a fantasy writer taking this one book and turning it into a Trilogy of novels or more thankfully
That didn’t happen here this is the first book in a series called the Kingsbridge series the sequel is called A World Without End next is a column of fire then evening and the morning I have the second book but I haven’t read it just yet so I can’t recommend it but
Here’s the thing Pillars of the Earth is a standalone novel the sequel takes place years after and all the characters from book one are now dead as hell so you don’t have to read the sequel if you don’t want to and hey once you’re done go on and watch the adaptation it’s good
So next on the list the spice must flow it was interesting finding out that no one actually says that in the book all right so boom Dune I’m not going to spend too much time on this one you are probably already familiar with it there’s a new big budget adaptation of
The first book starring that demon twink Timothy shamal and zandia the sequel just came out chances are you’ve already seen it chances are you’ve already [ __ ] your Dune cup all right so Dune is about a kid named Paul and his dad Duke Leto atraes and his mother Jessica it’s me
Jessica that was the first thing I thought of when I started this book because it’s sci-fi fantasy and she’s just called Jessica what oh I’m serious and the main character he’s just Paul I’m sorry I’ll behave let me stop making fun of this book before Quinn’s ideas kicks down my front
Door Paul’s dad gets a new job as overseer of a planet called oracus also known as dune desert Planet the previous overseer of AR rockus was Baron Vladimir head of house hekinan the atraes will move into The Baron’s old house and take over all the Baron’s old stuff the baron
Kind of messes up his old stuff and takes any good equipment with him before he leaves which is pretty rude he also leaves an assassin living in the walls of the estate so that the Assassin can kill Paul honor man they tried to take
The life of my son they have my son my wife and son are dead sci-fi fantasy dads am I right the atraes used to rule a different planet called kaladin and they are Rivals with their Harkin so it’s kind of weird that the Emperor who has decided all of this offered to place
Them on a strange New World occupying a role that once belonged to their Rivals that’s because it’s a TR oracus itself is a strange Place water is extremely scarce the deserts are vast even endless yet scientists tell us that somewhere even now the deserts are infested with gigantic worms tunneling creatures that
Are attracted to movement the fman the native people are scarce in number or so it is believed and they practice many unusual Customs the planet’s main resource is something called spice it’s a highly addictive substance prolonged use turns a user’s eyes blue there have been a lot of comparisons between spice
As a resource and oil in our own real world just like oil it’s incredibly important who controls the flow of the spice we learn very early on so this is no spoiler that the baron hekinan is secretly working to bring about the downfall of house atraes the atraes are
Kind of aware they are being played but because they were summoned by the emperor they can’t really argue or make a huge deal about it also they’re not cowards they plan to meet this challenge head on this this brings me to why you should read it Dune and A Song of Ice
And Fire have many things in common I quite sure Martin borrowed several character and story elements from Frank Herbert’s influential novel Daenerys Targaryen shares many many aspects with Paul atraes both being prophetic figures who ride worms and are cursed with terrible purpose also there’s incest okay so the mixing of noble blood and
Dune isn’t really incest I suppose but it is very close you know how these Nobles are hapsburg jaw hapsburg jaw lady catlyn Stark has much in common with Lady Jessica Duke Leto and Ned Stark are both doomed men who find themselves trying to rule from a nest of
Vipers and they share similar Fates spice is a drug in Dune that can cause visions and turn your eyes blue shade of the evening is a drug and a song of IC and fire that can cause visions and it turns your lips blue fear is the mind
Killer fear Cuts deeper and swords both series feature important daggers the similarities are definitely there but don’t get me wrong it’s not a song of ice and fire in space Dune is much more philosophical Than A Song of Ice and Fire it’s much more heady no Lena in
That way and no tea no shade to Martin but I don’t think A Song of Ice and Fire is anywhere as deep or imaginative the debate over whether or not Paul atres is a white savior doesn’t make sense to me because it was clear clear from the jump
Paul is an [ __ ] he’s a huge [ __ ] his whole attitude changes the moment he knows his father is dead and personally I couldn’t stand him as a protagonist that’s not a spoiler by the way the book tells you very early on that Leto is dead meat and nothing can be done about
It so it’s never a question of whether or not he can be saved no he’s doomed from page one book one the story is mostly about Paul and whether or not he’s the quat hatarat if you want to know more about whatever that is there is another black guy on YouTube that
Talks about A Song of Ice and Fire and dune and he knows much more about this series than I do way more informative go check out Quinn’s ideas because Dune has a lot of sequels but the great thing is each novel feels like its own story at
Least the first three and that’s where I stopped honestly after reading Dune I didn’t feel the need to read Dune Messiah but my curious osity got the best to me so I went ahead and bought the second and third books they’re totally fine books but I think you can
Get away with just reading Dune next up a wizard of Earth sea this might be my favorite fantasy novel of all time well I feel like I’m too old to have favorite things but if I could only get away with reading one fantasy novel for the rest
Of my life this would be the one a wizard of Earth sea is the first book in the earth Seas Cycle written by Ursula K laguin in 1968 the the book follows the story of a young boy who will come to be known as G when he is but a boy his
Village is attacked by Raiders and G uses his latent magical powers to defend it his aunt is like well you’re a wizard G and attempts to train him but he proves to be too powerful for her at her magic level she’s just a little Old Village witch and get’s power level is
Over 9,000 that’s what you come to this channel for outdated memes so anyway she allows to be taken by a man named oon who is also a magic user but much stronger than her G proves to be too powerful and too curious even for oon is it oan or aan anyway whatever this
Character’s name is he sends get off to be trained by a school of wizards I know that sounds very Harry Potter very King killer Chronicles but don’t worry unlike those novels a wizard of Earth sea is actually good you need to leave yes the Cut Flower
Sound of a man waiting to die what the hell does that even mean get out of my face now I won’t spoil anything but things take a dark turn when G gets to the Magic School get doesn’t spend countless Pages wondering how he’s going to pay for tuition or playing the air
Guitar or whatever he actually trains and interacts with three-dimensional Side characters and they all occupy a believable interesting World get begins as a good student with amazing abilities because he is Young And so naturally powerful he is also overconfident and impatient this leads get to make some questionable choices that have
Disastrous consequences to impress his classmates get performs a spell he can’t control that backfires and the only one that can undo the damage he caused is himself again no spoilers but the ending is the kind of ending that you might not see coming but after you get there you
Can’t see the book coming to a close in any other way it’s so satisfying just perfect I know that’s being very vague but I’m trying not to spoil it how get deals with his dilemma is a perfectly simple solution to a simple yet satisfying story I can’t recommend it
Enough it might not remind you of A Song of Ice and Fire but it is a refreshing story that shows you not every fantasy has to be a thousand page monstrosity not every fantasy novel has to be set in some fictional medieval world that looks like Ye Old Europe Earth sea isn’t
Weighed down by pointless filler nor does it suffer from an aimless protagonist who spends more time worried about side quest than getting to the actual story The chandrian the chandrian what’s their plan I don’t know because the main character isn’t even trying to fing find out what happened in book two
When that ship kavo was on got attacked no don’t tell us don’t dare do anything interesting the slow regard of my ass Earth sea brilliant World building amazing characterization and zero transphobia Ursula kwin was a great Storyteller read all the books in the series read all her books next up
Dragonflight book one of the Dragon riters of per series written by an maccaffrey way back in July 1968 wait yeah let me get a two quick piics in the D that’s you boy boy look at you boy looking like 1968 go ahead on boy he with you today
With you dragonflight takes place in the far off future on the planet of per the story follows a young woman named Lessa who is more than meets the eye oh brother who is the last survivor of a noble family her family seed of power was called ruatha hold and it was taken
Over by a man named Lord fax F ax not fcts fax Lord fax waged a conquest to take over the many different domains in the land that are called holds h o l DS holds think of a hold like a petty Kingdom Lord fax now claims the title of
Lord of seven hes so Lord fax machine becomes the lord of the Seven Kingdoms Lessa considers him to be a usurper and hides out as a servant in ruatha hold dreaming to one day take back what was once hers Lessa is also Blood Of The Dragon with the ability to become a
Dragon rider you see what’s happening you you see what’s going on let’s continue a dragon rider comes to ruatha hold looking for people with Noble Bloodlines Noble blood is needed for one to become a Dragon Rider and the number of dragon riders in per has dropped considerably this is bad because the
Celestial object known as the red star is set to return to their skies and from the red star an ancient enemy is coming an enemy the people of per seem to have forgotten it will be up to the Dragon Riders of per to defend the world Lessa
Is discovered she becomes a dragon rider her dragon is a queen of the Dragons it is the largest and most prettiest of all all the dragons things get a little Merry sush sometimes this Series has a lot of sequels there’s here’s the list titles titles however the plot about the
Dragon Riders fighting against the ancient enemy gets resolved within the first three or four books so it’s up to you if you want to read on if you like or not the dolphins of per book doesn’t seem to be necessary unless you’re a completionist fair warning these books contain some dated Concepts especially
If you’re a member of the lgbtq community it’s definitely a product of its time I’ve only read the first couple of books in the series book one isn’t entirely problematic so I still recommend that one especially if you’re a Daenerys fan Lessa is very much her
Prototype I would have liked to put the Tamer series on this list I do have the first three books in the series his Majesty’s Dragon Throne of Jade and black powder War but I haven’t gotten around to reading them yet my two- read pile the two read pile I have is very
Large and I’m one of those people that just buys books and I I know I shouldn’t it’s it’s a problem I know it’s wrong I know it’s wrong it’s like my steam Library I keep telling myself I’m going to read this I’m going to read that I’m
Finally going to read Gorman gist and you know what I never do I just buy three more books I buy another game on Steam that’s on sale and I lie to myself but you know what it that’s that’s my problem mind your business who are you to judge
Me the last series on this list is the accursed King series a seven book series Martin himself once called the original Game of Thrones which covers why I think you should read it the accursed Kings is a historical fiction series written by Maurice drwan in 1955 and finished in
1977 22 years from start to finish damn if I was a cynical bastard I’d say Martin was trying to copy Maurice but at least Maurice finished anywh who the novels follow the extremely short Reigns of several French Kings that’s not a spoiler because it’s right there in the
Title these Kings they’re a csed okay so while I was editing I realized I did not describe the plot to these books at all so here’s a quick summary okay so Boom the reason why these kings are our csed is because one of the Kings Phillip also
Known as the fair he’s also the titular Iron King of the first book early in his Reign he did some dirt if you’re a fan of history or a fan of the Assassin’s Creed games you might have heard of the Knights Templar they were a military order they did some crusading whatever
Right and one thing about him is that they had a lot of money whereas Philip the fair the Iron King he did not and so Phillip was like how can I get their money what can I do oh I know lie so Phillip and some Co conspirators make up
These lies about the Knights Templar how their rituals were Blasphemous how they worshiped idols and demons and the worst thing of all that they were homosexuals you’re a liar a cheater a sinner and a homosexual you’re you’re uh you’re not the nicest person on this app I sure
Ain’t but I’m the most Christian and you know what ain’t nothing so swallowers through and through the Vatican got involved the pope issued orders the King was like seize them some of the Templars were arrested and then tortured but we tortured some folks we did some things
That were contrary to our values under duress they admitted to all the stuff they were accused of and that’s when they were disbanded and some of them were even burned at the Stak after that King Phillip was like well since their order is disbanded what’s going to
Happen happen with all their money I guess I’ll take it but one of the leaders of the knight’s Templar wasn’t going out so easy during his execution he cursed the king the pope and some other conspirators he said for 13 Generations King Phillip your line will
Be cursed and then he died now of course this is historical fiction so who knows if any of this actually happened and then again magic isn’t really a thing but if you read the books or read the Wikipedia for each of these Kings it’s like something strange was going on in
The neighborhood because a lot of them died early and then there were all these scandals and controversies and War it seems like these Kings maybe they were a csed and that’s my summary um back to the pre-recorded stuff that’s about it see you in this series you will find
Where Martin Drew inspiration for several oong of is and Fire characters including Cersei Robert Tywin the queen of thorns the hound and melisandra does that mean there’s real magic in this series I don’t know it’s up to you and your interpretation obviously there are no dragons because dragons aren’t real
Or are they there have been several photographs and videos that suggest the presence of an unknown species of flying creature corpses of such reptilian Beast have been documented as well in this photograph taken in 2002 in Tibet you will see an aerial shot of a mountain range just there in the left corner
Trailing in the Clouds of what appear to be the tals of two dragons or is it just more mountain snap out of it what just happened um anyway if you’re someone who likes the council scenes and verbal sparring between characters in A Song of Ice and Fire I highly recommend reading
This series it’s full of brilliant political Intrigue there are even a few shocking deaths there’s nothing on the scale of the Red Wedding but a baby totally get God like this baby gets wrecked I was not prepared just look at some of the titles in this series The
Strangled Queen the Lily and the lion the poison Crown Martin said you made this no I think I made this Martin went to the Tarantino Academy of writing stories for me it was fascinating to experience a story that influenced Martin in writing a song of ice and fire
As a writer myself I like knowing where writers get their ideas from what helped to shape their craft I would say this is a must read for any aong of isce and fire fan oh one final warning the last book in the series is written completely
Different from the rest of them it reads nothing like the previous novels it’s kind of it’s kind of bad but just power through it it’s fine it’s fine you’ll live it’s okay and that’s it seven series to help you get through the long night I promised this video over a year
Ago and I’m fin fin getting to it it’s my bad who are you to judge me this is why I say don’t talk about doing something if it’s not done or near done because you doom yourself but all right let me know what you think in the comments section have you read these
Books do you plan on reading any of these books let me know and make some recommendations of your own I would love for my two read pile to get even bigger you might see your recommendations in a follow-up video like the video if you liked it subscribe and turn on
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18 Comments
I might be biased, but I also highly recommend the Bleeding Chrysanthemums series being written by yours truly, me 😅😁
Marketing is hard as a "nobody" so gotta take the plunge 🤷🏾♂️🙏🏾
Im currently at the last 100 pages of a clash of kings and i think i've become too attached to a song of ice and fire to the point where i dont think i can read anything else
I could probably read every series in existence. Before winds of winter comes out at this point.
13 years!
You can read 707 books. Winds of Winter won't be ready…
>le transphobia
This Buck downright peculiar I say I do say
I also recommend The Expanse. It's a 9 book series about mankind in the 2300s. It has political intrigue, corporate conspiracy, freedom fighters, and shows some of the best and worst of humanity. It's a Sci Fi series, so it doesn't really fit into this list; but it's really good.
The Pillars of the Earth making this list 😮😍 👏
Is Lord Kevin Pendragon a member of the LGBTQ 🏳️🌈 community? Or just an ally?
As a straight Black dude (cis or whatever idk I’m a millennial) I just appreciate how this dude is the kind of creator so many pretend to be without the vapid virtue signaling. Ha the bigots probably thought this was going to be a negative comment.
I actually have a book on the period of the anarchy In my audible list for way in the fucking future 😂
But I might add that pillars series to it and try to read them side by side?
I also feel like I'm permanently banned from the Dun fandom because the only one I've been able to sit through without falling asleep and I've watched all of the adaptations and taken a whack at the first book three times was the fucking Kubric one… 😂
The Accursed Kings is awesome. I grew up on it.
Really wish they made a good, high-budget show, because the old adaptation lacked money and feels very stage-y, and the newer one was very rushed. This story needs time.
Well, as an old who loves Ken Follett, I'll throw out Sherri S. Tepper and her Grass books(the Arbai trilogy). Very cool. And River God by Wilbur Smith(if you like ancient Egypt) is great as well. Oh, and the Steven Erickson Malazan books.
HIGHLY recommend the adaptations of pillars of the earth and world without end. I’m working my way through the Pillars book rn, and you will fall in love with Prior Phillip faster than you think you will.
A recent read I loved was “Gilgamesh the King” by Robert Silverberg. It tells the Gilgamesh myth as if the dying king himself is recounting his life and it’s a really clever bit of historical fiction on a subject that’s shockingly not very common in historical fiction. There’s a sequel I haven’t read yet about Gilgamesh in the underworld as well.
Legacy by Susan Kay is a novel about the life of Elizabeth I and just chefs fucking kiss. Even if you don’t like historicals I’d recommend it. It has a lot of grrmy elements and fun politicking and one of the best portrayals of Elizabeth in fiction I think.
If you want doorstoppers, Colleen McCullough’s First Man in Rome series is a must read. I’ve only read the first book so far but the first book is so incredible. It covers the fall of the Roman republic from the first consulship of Marius to the ascension of Augustus. If you love ASOIAF you will love this series. Sulla is a more competent Theon from book two. Marius is basically Stannis in Ancient Rome. Julila is Sansa’s worst case scenario.
The first book of Clan of the Cave Bear was incredible, I had a hard time getting into book two but I might give it another go. It follows a clan of Neanderthals who take in a cro-Magnon girl and the cultural differences that ensue. Jean M Auel did her fucking research so well she’s considered an authority by actual anthropologists.
Kushiel’s scion series by Jaqueline Carey is technically erotic fantasy, but the world building is so meaty and delicious, I would say it focuses more on politics than sex. But there is sex. It follows a sacred prostitute who is basicallt a genetic submissive, and how she uses her “special ability” to become a political power player.
I could keep going but I already wrote a goddamn novel lmao. Great reccs Kevin, excited to add these to my also never ending tbr
Why as soon as you started talking bout Dune I instantly thought of Quinn😭😭😭😭😭 I always wonder if he watches your channel. I hope he does.😭😭😭😭😭
How adorable. You think Winds of Winter is coming. 😂
They screwed up the whole thing and George didn’t help
Why no First Law by Joe Abercrombie?
That, and The Accursed Kings, are the best for ASOIAF fans