A Song of Ice and Fire is an award-winning series of fantasy books written by George R. R. Martin. He started writing the series in 1991, and the first book came out in 1996. There are five books in the series, and two more are planned. The series was translated into over twenty languages and is a best-seller, with the fourth volume reaching the top of the "New York Times" bestseller lists when it came out. A fictional language, "Dothraki", was introduced for the series. It was adapted into the Home Box Office television series "Game of Thrones".