Recommended House of the Dragon: 7 books I think all fans need to own - including the inspiration for HBO hit By Matthew Mohan-Hickson Published 31st Jul 2024, 10:47 BST Updated 5th Aug 2024, 07:09 BST Watch more of our videos on Shots! and live on Freeview channel 276 Visit Shots! now This article contains affiliate links. We may earn a small commission on items purchased through this article, but that does not affect our editorial judgement. Get your fix of gritty drama 😎 House of the Dragon has left audiences firmly rooted to the edge of their seats for nearly two months now.
But unfortunately all good things must come to an end and the curtain has come down on the second series of the hit HBO show - and Game of Thrones spin-off - with the highly anticipated season finale airing on 4 August in the USA. Worry not though, Team Green and Team Black will return for a third outing in the future after being renewed early in the summer. However it might be an agonising wait for fans, given the nearly two year gap between the first two seasons.
A second Game of Thrones spin-off - A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms - is currently filming and is expected to arrive in 2025, which will help sate the appetite of fans. But if you are wanting to get your fix of epic, gritty, fantasy drama I’ve pulled together a list of books that could help fill the dragon shaped hole in your heart. Sign up to our daily The Scarborough News Today newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with an ad-lite subscription to The Scarborough News, you get 70% fewer ads while viewing the news that matters to you.
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The picks are based on books/ series I have read, and thus can genuinely recommend, so if there are any big name omissions from the list it is simply because I have yet to get round to them. Let’s get to it shall we: Read More Feeling the heat? Aldi is about to sell a slushie maker I tried Amazon's most powerful Fire Stick and it lived up to the hype Perfect first camera for kids is available at an incredible saving How much does an air source heat pump cost? Fire & Blood by George R.R.
Martin Amazon If you can’t get enough of HBO’s hit series House of the Dragon and shudder at the thought of potentially waiting another two years to see what happens next, then boy do I have good news for you. You can get the book the show is based on right now - it is called Fire & Blood and covers the first half of the Tarygearon (get spelling right) reign in the form of a faux history book. Starting with Aegon’s Conquest, it s tretches through the Dance of the Dragons (the civil war taking place in House of the Dragon) and into the aftermath of that.
A second part, covering the rest of the Targyeron reign is forthcoming - although like The Winds of Winter it does not have a release date. It is not a novel per-say, instead it is more like reading a historical text book - just with dragons, incest and bloodshed (so like reading a historical text book). But it does not tell the story of House of the Dragon from the points of view of the main characters in the show, instead it is written by a historian within the world of A Song of Ice and Fire, Archmaester Gyldayn.
Matt Smith and Emma D'Arcy in House of the Dragon Gyldayn’s text is based on a variety of fictional primary sources, such as the jester Mushroom, and often they conflict. House of the Dragon is expanding on the text - see Daemon’s spooky adventures at Harrenhal. Amazon has a wonderful hardback edition with a truly beautiful cover - as well as a paperback edition .
Obviously be warned the book contains spoilers for future seasons of House of the Dragon. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms by George R.R.
Martin A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. Photo: Amazon | Amazon Step back into the world of A Song of Ice and Fire with George R.R.
Martin’s first prequel series . The book is a collection of three novellas , known as the Dunk and Egg tales , taking place just shy of a century before the events of A Game of Thrones. The stories follow the hedge knight Ser Duncan the Tall, an orphan from Flea’s Bottom in King’s Landing, and his adventures across the Seven Kingdoms with his young squire Egg.
However Egg is not exactly what he seems to be. The book includes the three published Dunk and Egg stories - 1998’s The Hedge Knight, 2003’s The Sworn Sword and 2010’s The Mystery Knight. Each is standalone and can be devoured pretty quickly at just over 100 pages a piece.
Unlike Fire & Blood, which is a grand history of the Targaryen reign, or A Song of Ice and Fire which features a huge cast of characters across multiple continents, the Dunk and Egg stories are much smaller in scope. But are no less memorable and offer a unique look at the world of Westeros. The three novellas each have their own flavour with The Sworn Sword being perhaps my personal favourite - it is as close to a western as you could get in Westeros.
And the stories are being adapted into a HBO series due out in 2025. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms also features incredible illustrations by Gary Gianni which help to bring the tales to life and the paperback is available from Amazon. And there are also graphic novel adaptations of the books, although I haven’t picked them up so can’t recommend them outright.
The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson The Way of Kings. Photo: Amazon | Amazon There is perhaps no bigger name in modern fantasy - outside of George R.R.
Martin - than Brandon Sanderson. The extremely prolific author has a number of series that fans eager for a fantasy fix could jump into - like his breakout hit Mistborn - but for those who are wanting a truly epic scale series look no further than his Stormlight Archive books . Starting with 2010’s The Way of Kings these huge tomes - which like George R.
R. Martin’s books are split into half for the UK paperback editions - span thousands of years, dozens of characters and a whole huge fantasy continent. It is not as dark or as interested in interrogating fantasy tropes as the A Song of Ice and Fire series, but in terms of pure blockbusters they are top notch.
Set on a planet that is regularly ravaged by powerful highstorms, the series follows the aftermath of the assassination of King Galivar. While an ancient evil begins to return and magical powers thought long gone start to re-awaken. Read More House of the Dragon: how to watch HBO hit on NOW TV in the UK - and monthly cost Amazon Prime Day: 5 best deals for House of the Dragon fans in Prime Day sale Henry Cavill in Highlander: Everything you need to know as the Witcher star joins movie reboot as Connor MacLeod Each book in the series has a wide range of point of view characters, but also dives into the backstory of one the main players in particular.
For T he Way of Kings that is Kaladin, a slave with a burning hatred for the upper class ‘lighteyes’ (he is also one of the best characters in all of modern fantasy, call me a KalaStan). The Way of Kings is available in paperback form from Amazon - but can also be grabbed as an audiobook on Audible. And with the five Stormlight Archive book due out at the end of the year, it is no better time to dive in.
The Poppy War by R.F Kuang The Poppy War. Photo: Amazon | Amazon If you are looking for a dark and gritty series to fill the Game of Thrones shaped hole in your heart, then The Poppy War might just scratch that itch.
In fact they are so bleak in places it makes A Song of Ice and Fire look like its about rainbows and unicorns. A compelling mix of real world history and fantasy, The Poppy War follows a poor war orphan called Rin in a setting inspired by China and the Opium Wars. Desperate to avoid an arranged marriage, she secretly studies for the national aptitude test and finds herself accepted into the prestigious imperial military academy.
Despite her impoverished background, Rin excels in her studies but soon discovers the lethal, unearthly power of shamanism. When an inevitable conflict arises between longtime enemies, Rin realises her powers may be the only way to save her people. But as she finds out more about the god that has chosen her, the vengeful Phoenix, she fears that winning the war may cost her humanity.
The series goes to some very bleak places and explores the destructiveness of war and power in a way that will leave your brain reeling. You can pick up the full trilogy in this snazzy box set from Amazon . The reading order is The Poppy War, The Dragon Republic and then The Burning God.
The paperback of the first book is also available if you don’t want to commit to the full series out the gates. The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu The Grace of Kings. Photo: Ken Liu | Amazon Another series which offers a fantasy spin on historical China, this book is the first in the Dandelion Dynasty .
It is a self-declared ‘silk-punk’ take on the rise of the Han dynasty and in this first book you may get a bit of echoes of Fire & Blood by George R.R. Martin.
Covering decades of history, it is a bit like a mix of historical text book and a more traditional novel. A wily, charismatic bandit and the vengeance-sworn son of a deposed duke form an unlikely friendship as they wage rebellion against the emperor’s brutal regime. The first book in the series suffers slightly from having to cover a huge swathes of time, but eventually pulls it all together.
It is worth it for the truly mesmerising sequel The Wall of Storms, which may still be the best fantasy book I’ve read in 2024 (Anna Karenina is the best book full stop I’ve read this or perhaps any year), which does not have to rush through years and boasts a huge improvement in its female characters. Just be warned that these books are truly epic in every sense of the word and The Grace of Kings is the shortest at over 700 pages, so it is not a breezy undertaking. On the flip side, your arms will get a good workout.
The UK editions of the books are truly beautiful as well and will look amazing on your bookshelf. The paperback version of The Grace of Kings can be picked up from Amazon here. The Iron King by Maurice Druon The Iron King.
Photo: Amazon | Amazon Stepping away from fantasy for a moment, this book is the first in the historical novel series The Accursed Kings and was a huge influence on George R.R. Martin.
The books follow the French monarchy in the 14th century and the fall of the Capetian Dynasty. Philip the Fair - the titular Iron King - is as cold and silent, as handsome and unblinking as a statue. He governs his realm with an iron hand, but he cannot rule his own family: his sons are weak and their wives adulterous; while his red-blooded daughter Isabella is unhappily married to an English king who prefers the company of men.
A web of scandal, murder and intrigue is weaving itself around the Iron King ; but his downfall will come from an unexpected quarter. Bent on the persecution of the rich and powerful Knights Templar, Philip sentences Grand Master Jacques Molay to be burned at the stake, thus drawing down upon himself a curse that will destroy his entire dynasty. I picked up this book when it was republished in English in 2013 ( the series is originally from the 1950s), following the success of HBO’s Game of Thrones, and while I was not a heavy reader at the time, it was so compelling that I pushed through despite it being a more complex read than I expected.
More than a decade later it has stayed with me and the best part is there are six more books to devour once you are done. And just like George R.R.
Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire books, it is full of wonderfully drawn female characters. You can pick up the paperback edition from Amazon . The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri The Jasmine Throne.
Photo: Amazon | Amazon Returning to the world of fantasy, this is a strongly female led series - so if Rhaenyra and Alicent are your favourite parts of House of the Dragon you will find lots to love here. Set in an epic fantasy world inspired by the history and romances of India, The Jasmine Throne follows a vengeful princess Malina imprisoned by her dictator brother and a maidservant Priya who can use a forbidden form of magic. After Malina accidentally bears witness to Priya's true nature, their destinies become irrevocably tangled.
It is a grand story exploring the price of rebellion, the cost of power and the ways society seeks to oppress powerful women - with a very cool system of magic on top. It i s the first in a trilogy , the second of which is already out and the final instalment is due later in the year. And it has become a big hit on BookTok - particularly for its knotty and tangled sapphic love story.
Reading The Jasmine Throne earlier this summer, I couldn’t help but imagine how it could fit right in on HBO alongside Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon. You can pick up a copy of the paperback from Amazon . Do you have any books you would recommend to House of the Dragon fans? I am currently halfway through Booker prize winner Marlon James’ Black Leopard, Red Wolf which has been called the African Game of Thrones and it is a delight - particularly if you like horrible unsympathetic characters - but I would want to finish it before giving a full recommendation.
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