A Game of Thrones
by George R. R. Martin
Top 10
Noble families battle for the Iron Throne while an ancient threat gathers in the north. Sprawling, political, and unafraid to shock. Read the full description
Best for: Readers who want epic, political fantasy
A Game of Thrones is #9 on BookWard's Top 100 books for September 2026, with a BookWard Score of 81 out of 100.
A Game of Thrones: reading interest over the past 12 months
Sources: Open Library’s public reading-log and ratings data (dump of 2026-08-31), Wikipedia page views and Wikidata. Monthly counts are exact; they show relative interest among readers of these public sources, not total readership.
Ranked against the other books on this list, A Game of Thrones’s reading interest has run from #13 to #35 over these 12 months. Interest rank blends shelf adds, Wikipedia page views and rating activity, each compared with the other 99 books that month.
Shelf adds by month
A Game of Thrones was added to Open Library readers’ shelves 1,251 times in the past 12 months, peaking in September 2025 with 175 (68% above its monthly average of 104). Over the latest three months (Jun 2026 to Aug 2026) shelf adds were down 15% on the three months before. 87% of the adds were “want to read”, 7% “currently reading” and 6% “already read”.
Want to read Currently reading Already read
Wikipedia page views
Its Wikipedia article was viewed 573,070 times in the past 12 months, peaking in February 2026 with 73,302 views. The latest three months were up 34% on the three before.
Source: Wikimedia monthly page views for the article A Game of Thrones.
Adaptations
- Game of Thrones, season 1 (television series season), 2011
Adaptations are listed from Wikidata; a release date near a rise in the charts above is context, not proof of a cause.
Awards and honours listed on Wikidata: Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel, Ignotus Award for Best Foreign Novel.
What the data says about A Game of Thrones
- Moderate swings. Monthly shelf adds averaged 104 with some ups and downs.
- Busiest and quietest months. September 2025 was its busiest month (175 adds), about 3.0 times its quietest, December 2025 (58).
- Attention and shelf adds move independently. Its Wikipedia views and its shelf adds did not rise and fall together over these 12 months (correlation -0.21).
- Against its genre. It had 26% more shelf adds than the average Fantasy book on this list.
- Share of the list. It accounts for 1.2% of all shelf adds recorded for the Top 100 over these 12 months, #22 of 100.
- Its age. First published in 1996 (30 years ago), it is older than 63% of the books on the list.
Each finding is computed from the public data above and shown only when the numbers support it.
A Game of Thrones on the Top 100: rank history
First charted in September 2026. The chart gains a point with every monthly update, so its peak, climbs and falls will show here as they happen.
| Month | Rank | Score |
|---|---|---|
| September 2026 | #9 | 81 |
Is A Game of Thrones rising or falling?
Cooling It ranks lower this week than over the past year, so interest is softening from its recent level.
On Open Library, A Game of Thrones ranks #36 this week, #37 this month, and #27 over the past year. A longer bar means a higher position. Comparing the three windows shows whether readers are arriving faster than the book's long-term pace. Readings as of 2026-09-30.
Why A Game of Thrones made the Top 100
A Game of Thrones made the list mainly on momentum (+29.8 points) and being read right now (+22.8 points). Its smallest contribution is rising (+0). The BookWard Score blends five public signals, each scored from 0 to 100 and weighted as shown.
The reading-now, rating and rank signals come from Open Library’s public data, not from BookWard’s own readers. The score measures reading interest, not quality or sales. How the score works.
Open Library reader stats for A Game of Thrones
Source: Open Library public reading logs, as of 2026-09-30. BookWard’s own monthly snapshots are added to the picture, and anonymous BookWard reader data will be layered in as the community grows.
More readers have A Game of Thrones open right now than 88% of the other books on this list. These counts come from one public source, so they show relative interest rather than total readership.
Where it sits among Fantasy books
It is #2 of the 10 Fantasy books on this month’s list.
About A Game of Thrones
Noble families battle for the Iron Throne while an ancient threat gathers in the north. Sprawling, political, and unafraid to shock.
Why it’s here: It remains the gateway for epic fantasy fans, especially those who loved the series.
Best for: Readers who want epic, political fantasy
At a glance
- First published
- 1996-08-09
- Genre
- Fantasy
- Also described as
- high fantasy
- Series
- A Song of Ice and Fire, book 1
- Length
- about 801 pages (the median across its editions)
- Original language
- English
- Languages
- editions in 18 languages listed on Open Library
- Editions
- 136 on Open Library
- Setting
- Westeros
- Characters listed
- Eddard Stark, Catelyn Stark, Robb Stark, Sansa Stark, Arya Stark
- Awards and honours
- Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel, Ignotus Award for Best Foreign Novel
From Open Library and Wikidata public records. Missing rows mean the records do not list that fact.
Themes
- Power and politics
- Loyalty and betrayal
- Noble houses at war
What reading it is like
Dense, slow-building and told through many characters' eyes. Grim and violent in places.
At about 801 pages it is a long read: roughly 16 hours at an average reading pace (about 250 words a minute, 300 words a page). Audiobook and edition lengths vary.
Good to know
First book of A Song of Ice and Fire and the source of the TV series Game of Thrones. Contains graphic violence and sexual content.
The premise
Several noble families in the kingdom of Westeros scheme for the Iron Throne while a mysterious threat stirs beyond the northern Wall. The story follows many characters and refuses to play safe.
What you’ll get
- Political intrigue and shocking turns
- A huge, detailed world
- The start of a long saga
You might skip it if you dislike violence or big casts of characters.
Pairs well with: The Lord of the Rings · Fourth Wing
Keep exploring the chart
Also on the chart at #8 and #10
Questions about A Game of Thrones
What rank is A Game of Thrones on the Top 100 books?
A Game of Thrones is #9 on BookWard's Top 100 books for September 2026, with a BookWard Score of 81 out of 100.
Is A Game of Thrones rising or falling?
Cooling. It ranks lower this week than over the past year, so interest is softening from its recent level. On Open Library, A Game of Thrones ranks #36 this week, #37 this month, and #27 over the past year.
Why is A Game of Thrones on the Top 100?
A Game of Thrones made the list mainly on momentum (+29.8 points) and being read right now (+22.8 points). Its smallest contribution is rising (+0).
How many people are reading A Game of Thrones right now?
Open Library's reading logs show 895 readers currently reading A Game of Thrones, 11,692 who want to read it and 905 who have logged it as read (as of 2026-09-30). These are counts from one public source, not all readers.
How much interest has A Game of Thrones had over the past year?
1,251 Open Library shelf adds in the past 12 months (peak September 2025, 175); latest three months down 15% on the prior three; 573,070 Wikipedia views in the past 12 months (up 34% over the latest three months); Adaptations on Wikidata: Game of Thrones, season 1 (2011). Figures come from Open Library and Wikipedia public data.
Who is A Game of Thrones best for?
Readers who want epic, political fantasy.
Ask a question about A Game of Thrones
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How we know
This page is built from public data: Open Library’s dated reading-log and ratings dumps, Wikipedia page views, Wikidata, and BookWard’s own monthly Top 100 snapshots. The interest rank blends shelf adds (45%), Wikipedia page views (30%), rating activity (10%) and, for months where a snapshot exists, BookWard’s own score (15%), each as a percentile among the Top 100 books. Every month shown is real data; nothing is estimated. Rankings reflect reading interest, not quality or sales, and can be affected by data gaps. Last updated September 2026. Read the full methodology.
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