Jon Snow is a fictional character in the A Song of Ice and Fire series of fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin, and its television adaptation Game of Thrones, in which he was portrayed by English actor Kit Harington. In the novels, he is a prominent point of view character. He is one of the most popular characters in the series, and The New York Times cites him as one of the author's finest creations. Jon is a main character in the TV series, and his storyline in the season 5 finale generated a strong reaction among viewers. Speculation about the character's parentage has also been a popular topic of discussion among fans of both the books and the TV series. Jon is introduced in 1996's A Game of Thrones as the illegitimate son of Ned Stark, Lord of Winterfell in the North of Westeros. Knowing his prospects are limited by his status as a bastard, Jon joins the Night's Watch, who guard the far northern borders from the wildlings living beyond The Wall. In A Clash of Kings (1998), Jon joins a scouting party investigating the growing threat from the otherworldly "Others" beyond the Wall, and infiltrates the wildlings. Jon learns of their plans to invade Westeros in A Storm of Swords (2000), and falls in love with the wildling woman Ygritte. Jon betrays the wildlings and Ygritte, returns to defend the Night's Watch against the wildlings' invasion, and is elected Lord Commander of the Watch. He appears briefly in A Feast for Crows (2005) and returns as a prominent character in A Dance with Dragons (2011), in which he works to negotiate an alliance between the Night's Watch and the wildlings against the Others; his policies are met with hostility by some among the Watch, and he is left for dead in a mutiny at the novel's end following a desired attempt to break his vows to fight House Bolton. On the HBO series Game of Thrones, Jon's storyline follows the character's plot arc from the novel series, though seasons 6–8 continue on from the events of Martin's latest published installment, detailing Jon's resurrection, and revealing him to have been born Aegon Targaryen, the legitimate son of Rhaegar Targaryen, firstborn son of the Mad King, and Lyanna Stark, therefore possessing a stronger claim to the Iron Throne than Daenerys Targaryen whose birthright is now contested.