Ten sources that inspired "Game of Thrones"' dark storytelling

At io9 Katharine Trendacosta and Charlie Jane Anders came up with a list of ten sources that inspired Game of Thrones' dark storytelling, including:
J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings

You probably won't be surprised to hear that Martin borrowed a lot from Tolkien for his epic fantasy series. Both the idea of a "secondary world," in which certain things (like the seasons) are very different, but