Read-alikes
Books Like Game of Thrones
Politics, betrayal and a world where no character is safe.
Updated September 2026 · By Sawyer V.
The short version
Game of Thrones readers loved the politics, the moral grayness or the war. The Blade Itself matches the gray characters, The Traitor Baru Cormorant the scheming, The Poppy War the brutality, and Gardens of the Moon the enormous scale. The Priory of the Orange Tree is the standalone for a reader who does not want another long series.
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How we picked
Each pick names which element of the series it matches: the politics, the gray characters, the war or the scale. Most open long series, and we say where one is a standalone or a finished trilogy. We have not read all eight.
What we do on every list: read the publisher’s own description rather than a summary of it, check print length and first publication year against library catalog data (last refreshed September 11, 2026), confirm the book is still sold in the format we suggest, and write the match line before the blurb. What we do not do is claim to have read every book here cover to cover. The full method is published, and it is written so anyone can check it.
The short answer
Who each book is for, at a glance. Select a row for the full write-up.
| # | Book | Give this if | Where to buy |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  The Blade ItselfJoe Abercrombie · 531 pagesMatches the gray characters | they loved Tyrion and Jaime | |
| 2 |  The Traitor Baru CormorantSeth DickinsonMatches the scheming | they loved the politics more than the battles | |
| 3 |  The Poppy WarR. F. Kuang · 522 pagesMatches the brutality | they want war with real consequences | |
| 4 |  Gardens of the MoonSteven Erikson · 635 pagesMatches the scale | they want a world even bigger than Westeros | |
| 5 |  The Way of KingsBrandon Sanderson · 1008 pagesMatches the epic, more hopeful | they want a huge world with a warmer heart | |
| 6 |  The Will of the ManyJames Islington · 720 pagesMatches the power structure | they loved how power works in Westeros | |
| 7 |  The Black CompanyGlen Cook · 319 pagesMatches the view from the ranks | they want war seen by the soldiers | |
| 8 |  The Priory of the Orange TreeSamantha Shannon · 848 pagesThe standalone | they want an epic without committing to a series |
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Eight, by which element they match
1. Matches the gray characters
The Blade Itself
Joe Abercrombie
Give this ifthey loved Tyrion and Jaime
A torturer, a barbarian and a vain young nobleman are drawn into a war by a wizard with his own plans. Darkly funny, bloody and full of people who are neither heroes nor villains. The first of a finished trilogy.
One caveat: Graphic violence and torture.
- Print length
- 531 pages
- First published
- 2001
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
2. Matches the scheming
The Traitor Baru Cormorant
Seth Dickinson
Give this ifthey loved the politics more than the battles
A young woman whose island home is conquered by an empire rises within its bureaucracy, planning to destroy it from inside. Fantasy fought with ledgers and loyalty instead of swords.
One caveat: Bleak.
- First published
- 2015
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
3. Matches the brutality
The Poppy War
R. F. Kuang
Give this ifthey want war with real consequences
A war orphan tests into an elite military academy and discovers a dangerous connection to the gods, in a world drawn from twentieth-century Chinese history. The first of a finished trilogy.
One caveat: Depicts atrocities and genocide.
- Print length
- 522 pages
- First published
- 2018
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
4. Matches the scale
Gardens of the Moon
Steven Erikson
Give this ifthey want a world even bigger than Westeros
An empire's campaign to conquer a free city draws in soldiers, assassins, mages and gods. The first of a ten-book series that drops the reader in at the deep end.
One caveat: Confusing at first, by design.
- Print length
- 635 pages
- First published
- 1999
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
5. Matches the epic, more hopeful
The Way of Kings
Brandon Sanderson
Give this ifthey want a huge world with a warmer heart
A slave soldier, a scholar and a highprince are caught up in a war on a storm-scoured world. Enormous and more hopeful than Martin, and the start of a very long series.
- Print length
- 1008 pages
- First published
- 2010
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
6. Matches the power structure
The Will of the Many
James Islington
Give this ifthey loved how power works in Westeros
In an empire where people cede their will up a hierarchy, a hidden survivor infiltrates its most elite academy. Politics, secrets and a rigid social order.
- Print length
- 720 pages
- First published
- 2023
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
7. Matches the view from the ranks
The Black Company
Glen Cook
Give this ifthey want war seen by the soldiers
The last of the free mercenary companies takes a contract with a sorceress-empress, and its physician records the war that follows. Gritty and terse, and a forerunner of the grimdark fantasy that followed.
- Print length
- 319 pages
- First published
- 1984
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
8. The standalone
The Priory of the Orange Tree
Samantha Shannon
Give this ifthey want an epic without committing to a series
A standalone epic with two continents, two dragon traditions, and a queen who must produce an heir before an old enemy wakes. Queens, dragons and court intrigue in one long book.
- Print length
- 848 pages
- First published
- 2018
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
Politics, gray characters or scale
A Song of Ice and Fire is a political drama, a war story and a vast invented history, and its readers attach to different parts.
- The politics: The Traitor Baru Cormorant or The Will of the Many.
- The gray characters: The Blade Itself or The Black Company.
- The scale: Gardens of the Moon or The Way of Kings.
A note on commitment
Most of these books open long series. The Blade Itself and The Poppy War begin finished trilogies, and The Priory of the Orange Tree stands alone. The rest ask a reader to commit to thousands of pages, which is part of the appeal for this reader and worth knowing before you buy.
Where this fits
Fantasy series sorts the long series by commitment, standalone fantasy collects the one-book epics, and books like The Lord of the Rings covers the classic end of the shelf. Long fantasy series are where audio earns its keep, and the subscription panel on this page explains who that suits.
Two ways to read this list for less
If several books here appeal, a subscription usually beats buying them one at a time — but only for the right kind of reader. Here is who each one actually suits.
Audible Premium Plus
For anyone whose hands are busy
Driving, walking, cooking, cleaning. It converts hours that were never available for reading, which is a bigger effect than any discount. Books bought with a credit stay yours after you cancel — titles from the included catalog do not, and confusing the two is the most common complaint about the service.
See Audible plans and current pricingHow Audible actually works — credits, gifting and what happens when you cancel.
Kindle Unlimited
For fast readers who browse
It pays off from about three ebooks a month, in the genres the catalog covers well — romance, romantasy, cozy mystery, thriller, progression fantasy. It does not pay off if you are waiting on a specific new hardcover, because those are usually not included. Everything is borrowed, not owned.
See Kindle Unlimited terms and pricingIs Kindle Unlimited worth it? — the arithmetic, done on your own reading.
#ad — how we are funded. We print no subscription prices anywhere on this site, because they change and a stale figure sends you to a checkout expecting something that is not there. And if you read in silence in a chair, neither of these is for you — buy the book, or borrow it from your library.
What we would skip
The Westeros histories as a first gift
Fire & Blood and the other Westeros histories are written as chronicles, not novels, and a reader who loved the characters may find them dry. They are a good gift for a devoted fan who has asked for more of the world; otherwise, give a new series.
Questions people ask
What should I read after Game of Thrones?
The Blade Itself for the gray characters and dark humor, or The Traitor Baru Cormorant for the politics.
Are there fantasy series like Game of Thrones that are finished?
The First Law trilogy, which begins with The Blade Itself, and The Poppy War trilogy are both complete.
Is there a standalone fantasy like Game of Thrones?
The Priory of the Orange Tree has queens, dragons and court intrigue in a single book.
What book series is Game of Thrones based on?
A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin. A Game of Thrones is the first book.
Sources
- Open Library Search API — First publication year, median print length and cover art for every book on this page. Queried 8 September 2026.
- Audible Premium Plus membership page — The only authoritative source for current Audible plans, prices and terms.
Read next
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- Best Standalone Fantasy Books
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- Books Like Lord of the Rings
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