 Martin does not consider "A Song of Ice and Fire" a "series" but a single story published in several volumes.Martin set the "A Song of Ice and Fire" story in a secondary world inspired by Tolkien's writing.Unlike Tolkien, who created entire languages, mythologies, and histories for Middle-earth long before writing "The Lord of the Rings", Martin usually starts with a rough sketch of an imaginary world that he improvises into a workable fictional setting along the way.