When was "A Game of Thrones" published?

With all due respect to GoT fans, please stop watching the "Game of Thrones" TV shows. Why? Because you’re distracting George R.R. Martin from finishing the sixth book in the fantasy series that the shows are based on. Stop it!

While a better question might be when will the next book finally be published, all we can do for now is look back. When was the first book in the "A Song of Ice and Fire" series, "A Game of Thrones," published?

Click START below to answer.

Or scroll past the quiz to reveal the answer!

Reveal answer and learn more:

▼

The answer is: 1996

When George R.R. Martin published "A Game of Thrones" in 1996, he couldn't have known he was unleashing a cultural phenomenon that would both crown and curse him. The former Hollywood screenwriter had created something extraordinary: a medieval fantasy that stripped away the genre's rosy veneer, revealing a world where honor got you killed and wedding invitations came with a body count.

The novel kicked off "A Song of Ice and Fire," a planned seven-book series that has since expanded like a feast in Winterfell. While the first three books arrived at a steady pace, the gaps between volumes soon began to match the length of a Westerosi winter. Fans who devoured "A Dance with Dragons" in 2011 are still waiting for "The Winds of Winter," leading to a running joke that Martin's most fearsome creation isn't dragons or white walkers – it's his writing schedule.

HBO's adaptation "Game of Thrones" arrived in 2011, transforming Martin's work into a global juggernaut that made "Winter is Coming" as quotable as "I'll be back." For eight seasons, the show captivated audiences with its intricate plotting, shocking deaths, and dragons that looked considerably better than the 1996 CGI budget would have allowed.

But while Martin continues to craft his ending with the patience of a master storyteller, the TV series rushed to its own conclusion like a Dothraki charge – spectacular but ultimately destructive. The final season left viewers feeling like they'd attended a Frey wedding: betrayed, shell-shocked, and wondering why they'd come in the first place.

Twenty-eight years after "A Game of Thrones" first hit shelves, Martin's masterwork remains unfinished. But perhaps that's fitting for a story that always warned us: in the game of publishing schedules, you either deliver or you delay.