I knew that the books have become much more popular because of the TV series, but I never expected it to be such a difference in the number of readers.
I was very pleased with the first four seasons of Game of Thrones, generally the first three books were well adapted (although there were some mistakes). After season 5, the show runners went their own way (although partly understandable with the amount of storylines introduced from A Feast of Crows). The self-invented storylines of the show runners were not at the level of those of the original book author, as could logically be expected.
The first books were complete and excellent. A Feast of Crows and A Dance of Dragons are also good, although these books in themselves never had to be split. If you consider the last two books as a whole, it can certainly equal the first three books. For those who were less satisfied with A Feast of Crows and A Dance of Dragons,
I recommend the combined, chronological version: A Ball of Beasts.
I believe The Winds of Winter will be released next year. Now for real. Ten years after the release of A Dance of Dragons. For me, after Game of Thrones, it is still worthwhile to read the next two(?) books in the series. The books after A Storm of Swords already differ radically from the TV series. For example, I don't believe that Cersei will be on the Iron Throne in the books (rather another throne pretender not cast in GoT). Bran may have a leading function in the end (perhaps as a kind of god?), but I expect that magic will play a much bigger role in the books. The events will have a much more logical structure in the books (they will also take place in a different context) than in the TV series.
