Game of Thrones fan? You need to read these 9 great fantasy epics

George R. R. Martin started writing A Game of Thrones, the first volume in the series, A Song of Ice an Fire, in 1991. But how closely the resolution of the TV show will match the content of his other books is anyone’s guess, given that they’ve already shown an ability to veer in their own direction. For fans of the series, waiting breathlessly for the final small screen installment, here’s a few suggestions for some other epic books to help pass the time.

Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien: What is it about fantasy and the initials R. R.?

Anyhow, if you haven’t already read the classic trilogy that can be considered to have started the whole thing, now is the time.

The good news is that there is a beginning, a middle, and, yes, an end.

The series may even be found in schools today – however, these books won’t: they were banned for reasons that today’s readers will find bizarre.

Also famous, and a lot longer, is Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series.

There’s 14 books plus a prequel. Jordan deliberately intended for the beginning of his story to evoke the Shire of Tolkien’s Middle-earth, but the series goes on into way more complicated ground, and way more pages.

Jordan died before concluding the series; Brandon Sanderson, author of the Mistborn books, finished the series.

Sanderson is now at work on a ten-book series called The Stormlight Archive.

Looking for fellow readers to swap ideas with? It’s easy to start a book club – here’s how.

Jim Butcher is the author of the bestselling series The Dresden Files, about a grownup wizard solving paranormal crimes in Chicago.

Less well-known, and well worth reading, is his four-book Codex Alera series. In a world where everyone can control the elements, hero Tavi is unusual in having no such power.

Butcher’s take on fantasy is as much fun as his Dresden books.

The book pictured above, Skin Game, is the 15th in the series.

15 books in a series sounds like a lot of reading, especially if you forget where you are up to! Keep on top of it all with the four rules of reading, according to Bill Gates.

Originally written as a young adult series, Ursula K. Le Guin’s Earthsea series, comprising six books, is nevertheless a satisfying read for adults as well.

As a matter of fact, parents a little wary of the hijinks in Thrones might want to direct their young readers here as a safe substitute.

The books are set in a world of far-flung islands, providing yet another change of pace from the expected.

Did you know Northern Ireland has become a mecca for Game of Thrones fans? The much sought-after Iron Throne – the seat of GoT power and the subject of the battle on which the show centres – is right in the heart of Belfast.

Speaking of young adult series, Scott Westerfield’s steampunk series, Leviathan, is perfect for any age.

Its heroes are a young girl masquerading as a male cadet, and an Austro-Hungarian noble teen boy, just as World War I (or this book’s version of it) is breaking out.

It’s the Darwinists versus the Clankers, and a lot of fun and adventure for all.

Sounds like a great read. So are these 10 strange urban legends that turned out to be true.

When it comes to big BIG books spread out over a long period of time and abundantly filled with incident, it would be hard to beat Peter F. Hamilton’s Commonwealth series.

Starting with Pandora’s Star, which is clearly science fiction, and covering a millennia or two, eventually the story encompasses a classic fantasy tale, told from within the novels’ mysterious “void.”

As a matter of fact, if you stick with it, The Abyss Beyond Dreams, the 6th book, will strike you as having a decidedly Wild West side (apart from the spaceships).

Another series of fantasy material might be familiar to you from a television version is Lev Grossman’s Magicians series.

Yes, there is the whole young wizards at college part, a deliberately adult spin on Hogwarts, but somewhere along the way there is also Fillory, this time a deliberately adult spin on C. S. Lewis’s Narnia.

The TV show is fine, but the books are special.

Speaking of Narnia, there is also C. S. Lewis’s classic Ransom trilogy, Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra and That Hideous Strength.

They’re a decidedly old-fashioned blend of fantasy and science fiction, but then again, they were written roughly during the period of the Second World War and were pretty cutting edge for their day.

Lewis’s allegories have a lot to say about the times back then—with meaning also applicable to our present-day now—as his hero, Elwin Ransom, explores our neighboring planets.

Finally, if you still have time on your hands and you’re looking for ten novels breaking into two cycles of five, plus a handful of short stories (the best way to track all of these down is through Wikipedia), then you’re ready for Roger Zelazny’s The Chronicles of Amber.

It all begins when our hero awakes from a coma, suffering from amnesia.

He soon learns that he is part of a magical family that can wander through something called ‘shadows.’ And the game is afoot.

The image of the book above, Sign of the Unicorn, is the third book in the Chronicles of Amber series.