With the final season of Game of Thrones coming to an end, the fervor over the television show has reached a fever pitch. Game of Thrones and the book series that inspired the show, A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin, have brought fantasy to new levels of worldwide popularity.  Fantasy and Game of Thrones in particular, allows for a sort of escapism from the every day worries of the real world. When surviving is the ultimate goal, problems like bills and office politics seem mundane in comparison. To that point, more fantasy novels have been optioned for television shows and movies. 

Whether you want more political intrigue, world building, mythology, long character arcs, wildling like characters, or even just dragons, I have tried to include something that would appeal to each of those aspects in my list below. 

• The Stone Sky by N. K. Jemisin
• Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas (Hulu has optioned this series)
• Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce 
• The Iron King by Maurice Druon
• A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan
• Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames
• The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
• Wizard of the Crow by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o
• The Worm Ouroboros by E. R. Eddison
• Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb
• Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James
• Descendant of the Crane by Joan He
• Her Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik
• The Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin
• Sheepfarmer’s Daughter by Elizabeth Moon
• The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss (Lin-Manuel Miranda is set to produce a series based on this book, but, full disclosure, the final book has not yet been released.)

As for me, I am currently reading Southern Lady Code: Essays by Helen Ellis, Divine Fury: A History of Genius by Darrin M. McMahon, and With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo. 

Happy Reading!