ironbaron

The main reason I like the series is your third point regarding re-reads and the details you realise each time. I am up to AFFC in my second read through. A lot of it went over my head in my first read in favour of the overarching plotlines for the main characters. All the Kingsguard and most players during Joffrey's reign were just names for me. Reading it the second time was much more exciting knowing what Mandon Moore would do later and following the rise and fall of Janos Slynt. Actually, this goes for almost every side character that is mentioned more than once. I was definitely very unobservant in some instances - it took my second read to link together all the POVs to understand what happened to Masha Heddle. There is still so much to learn and so many characters I still haven't quite figured out - so absolutely agree with your third point.

How strange, I have just heard about this today. I immediately thought of ASOIAF then saw this thread. While most vertebrates have the pineal gland in the brain, some reptiles and other animals have an actual physical 'Parietal eye' or 'third eye' between the other two that can sense light and might have other functions. I'd previously believed that 'three eyes' was totally fantastical! I wonder whether this pineal gland/eye could create an interesting link between the 'ice' magic and the 'fire' magic in the series. You have already outlined how pines and forest imagery might be associated with the third eye in the series. These things are in turn associated with the 'Northern' magic including skinchanging and the Three Eyed Crow. However, the third eye in real life is often observed in lizards. I am not sure how, or even if, dragons in ASOIAF are related to lizards or other reptiles. However, if we assume that dragons might have a photosensitive 'third eye' based on their potentially reptilian origin, to me this quite clearly throws up the comparison to the 3EC and Northern magic. Could the dragons have their third eye opened?