That’s 186 countries it’s shown in, that’s the number of viewers whose seventh season is said to have topped a billion, including pirated “downloads,” that’s 59 Emmy Awards, and a few other records. But which, in the case of Game of Thrones, also concerns the books on which it was based, in particular the A Song of Fire and Ice series by J. R. R. Martin: according to international media, more than 90 books have been sold worldwide. million copies. This is, of course, a publishing phenomenon. Is it also found in Greece?

Babis Moskofoglu, communications manager at Anubis publishing house, from which A Song of Fire and Ice comes out, answers in the affirmative. Since 2004, when the series was first published in Greek, its books, core and supplementary, have sold over 120,000 copies. “Martin,” says Mr. Moskofoglu, “succeeded in popularizing so-called fantasy literature, like J.K. Rowling with Harry Potter and J.R.R. Tolkien with The Lord of the Rings. This attracted new readers to the genre. It can be said that Game of Thrones has gone beyond fantasy literature and now has the dimensions of a classic. Because of this, other fantasy and sci-fi games have also become hits.”

The literary series has sold over 120,000 copies since 2004.

Sometimes other games from the same universe became hits. As well as the book “Fire and Blood” on which the new series “House of the Dragon” is based, which premiered in the USA on August 21 (in Greece it is shown on Vodafone TV) and takes place three hundred years before the event “Game of Thrones“, following the house of the “dragon lords” Targaryens, during the period when they hold the Iron Throne. The book was published in Greece in 2019 and is already being prepared for the third edition. “Of course, bye”Dragon Houseexplains Mr. Moskofoglu, “the book has not had high sales, but now it is doing very well and taking the books of the main series with it. That never stops selling. All popular fantasy and sci-fi series have a steady course, and when any stage, movie or series takes place, they show increased fluidity. The same thing happened with Frank Herbert’s Dune, Nick Gaiman’s The Sandman, and Mark Greaney’s The Gray Man.

In Martin’s case, of course, an entry on his very popular blog could be a milestone. “The public, international and Greek,” says Mr. Moskofoglu, “interact with him, comment on his texts, his announcements, and show constant impatience when he prepares his new book.”

Peculiarities, “Fire and Blood” was appointed by Anubis to six translators, to be released as soon as possible. Some readers, and the so-called “purists”, follow the author, regardless of television adaptations of his books. Another section of the public turned to books after seeing Game of Thrones for the first time on the small screen. Mr. Moskofoglu belongs to the first category. He voraciously read Martin’s books before the start of the series. His friends then wondered what charm they had on him. “Martin managed to discover the language of fantasy,” he says. “Its characters are deeply developed, involved in complex shenanigans, and generally broader and deeper than in earlier fantasy and sci-fi books, which mostly represented new worlds. Here we have something more. We have a fantastic opera that is reminiscent of shows like Dynasty, but also incorporates elements from other literary genres, cleverly and beautifully translating them into a world that is very elaborate from the first to the last page.”