A Song of Ice and Fire
A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martinby George R. R. Martin
Shares rank 6 of 11 fantasy novel series by recommenders
Recommended for its political approach to fantasy and strong characters and themes, though the prose is uneven and the series is unfinished.
Recommended for its political approach to fantasy and strong characters and themes, though the prose is uneven and the series is unfinished.
9 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 5
- criticize it
- 4
- approval share
- 56%
Recommended in 4 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 5 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 1.2 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 4 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Books more memorable than the show
“People will remember the Song of Ice and Fire books.”
Comment from 18 Feb 2026 in “What is happening to writing?: Claude Code and the negative space around AI” “the books are better than the show”
Comment from 11 Mar 2026 in “Ask HN: Which book are you reading these days?”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Unfinished series, uncertain completion
“The novels are unfinished though and I hardly believe they will be completed by him”
Comment from 25 Dec 2025 in “Paperbacks and TikTok” “I would never start a series I know it is unlikely to be completed.”
Comment from 26 Dec 2025 in “Paperbacks and TikTok”
Other fantasy novel series people recommend
The four most recommended other fantasy novel series, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Discworldby Terry Pratchett | 33 | 4 | 89% | 10 | — | Approved |
| Harry Potterby J.K. Rowling | 28 | 7 | 80% | 9 | 1 yr4 owners | Approved |
| The Wheel of Timeby Robert Jordan | 20 | 10 | 67% | 8 | — | Approved |
| The Stormlight Archiveby Brandon Sanderson | 12 | 1 | 92% | 6 | — | Approved |
| A Song of Ice and Fireby George R. R. MartinThis page | 5 | 4 | 56% | 4 | — | — |
What people said
All 9 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“the books are better than the show”
“People will remember the Song of Ice and Fire books.”
“I am not a fan of the series, I maybe only saw 15 minutes of the HBO series”
“The first three books are some of the finest books ever written.”
“It was original bc it treated fantasy as political first, fantasy second.”
“I would never start a series I know it is unlikely to be completed.”
“sometimes dodgy prose, but occasionally transcendent character and theme”
“The novels are unfinished though and I hardly believe they will be completed by him”
“sort of like George Martin and ASoIaF, it's rather long-winded and name-heavy”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.