A GAME OF THRONES at 30

In May 1996, eager fantasy fans in the UK hit their local bookstore to pick up the seventh and latest Wheel of Time novel in hardcover. Robert Jordan's giga-series ruled the roost in fantasy sales, only beaten in the UK by homegrown legend Terry Pratchett and his Discworld saga (which had two entries in 1996, Pratchett not being one to hang around). But fans picking up the brick-thick tome could…