Series similar to A Song of Ice and Fire?

Alright, I know its not exactly literature, but I think I'll have more luck here than I would on Yahoo Answers.



About 2 years ago I picked up A Game of Thrones; the first of the Song of Ice and Fire Books. It was by complete chance, and I was not sure how well I would take to the book since I've always found it difficult to find a series of books I could immerse myself into.



Skipping ahead of the reading experience, I've found myself loving this series more than any other series I've read.



CHARACTERS

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Most of the books I read are predictable, the characters are bland and clear cut. Jack is the hero who is out for revenge, blah blah, he is morally pure and will face strife along the way but of course he will make it, hes jack. It's like, I may not know what will happen in the middle, but I pretty much know what will happen at the end. Besides the main character, the antagonists and everyone else are just so...under developed, I could care less what happens to them because I don't know them well.



Seriously, the antagonist just seems to always be some asshole who may have a motive, but...hes just an asshole, you KNOW he is the antagonist.



In a Song of Ice and Fire, I got to know almost every character almost on a personal level, they all had complex personalities. The antagonists? What antagonists? The more the series progresses, the more I question whos good and whos evil.







Bottom line is, I'm actually able to CARE about what happens to all of the characters because I know them all.





STORY PROGRESSION

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What I also love about the series is that its not just a cut and dry quest sort of thing. There are multiple things going on in the world, multiple goals, so it's not like the entire story is funelled into one focal point of achievement that you can't take your mind off of for a minute. It's almost like, it gives the world room to breath...idk.



I can honestly say, I haven't the slightest clue whats going to happen next in the series, the moment you feel a connection to a character, he kills them in a very unexpected turn of events. Only in hind sight can I put it all together and say "Ah, I should have saw that coming."

(SPOILER)

I sort of felt that the story follows the progression of House Stark, and when Rob became king of the north and all that bullshit (I won't go into detail), I really thought that THIS was the main aspect of the book that we were supposed to follow...until rob was killed. When the red wedding went down, I was completely lost. Like I said, I haven't the slightest clue whats going to happen next.





So to sum it all up, I don't know whats going to happen next, I actually CARE about whats going to happen to the characters, the world is so real that it feels almost tangible.



Can someone help me find a series similar to this?Series similar to A Song of Ice and Fire?
I am a huge fan of the series. I am also an avid reader and I have never found a series as in-depth and complex as ASoIaF. None.



However, you might want to try the First Law series by Joe Ambercrombie. There are two other stand-alone books in the same setting.



The good news is, A Dance of Dragons is supposed to be released in July, so we won't have to wait long!