A Game of Thrones is the first novel in A Song of Ice and Fire, a series of high fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin. It was first published on 6 August 1996. The novel won the 1997 Locus Award, and was nominated for both the 1997 Nebula Award and the 1997 World Fantasy Award. The novella Blood of the Dragon, comprising the Daenerys Targaryen chapters from the novel, won the 1997 Hugo Award for Best Novella. In January 2011 the novel became a New York Times bestseller and reached #1 on the list in July 2011. In the novel, presenting various points of view and plot-lines, Martin introduces the noble houses of Westeros, the Wall, and the Targaryen plot-line. The novel has lent its name to several spin-off works based on the series, such as several games. It is also the basis for the first season of Game of Thrones, an HBO television series which premiered in April 2011. A March 2013 paperback TV tie-in re-edition is also to be titled Game of Thrones, without the "A". The title comes from a proverb that Queen Cersei quotes on page 471: "When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground."
BooksAvenue 