Jonathan Middleton: Fantasy of A Song of Ice and Fire

 What is perhaps most interesting in A Song of Ice and Fire is that the story takes place seemingly in a world devoid of magic and most fantasy elements for much of its story but does revert into a more traditional fantasy epic as the story goes on. Now this in and of itself is not entirely surprising as there are likely other tales that follow a similar structure. However where I feel that A Song of Ice and Fire is in fact quite unique is that the fantasy elements in that story had been forgotten about in a way until they are brought back.

In this fashion, the character in A Song of Ice and Fire live in a sort of fantasy in that in their world, at least in perspective, there are no mythical beasts, magic doesn't exist, and more. Essentially, to most of the characters, there world was a 'normal one'. 

This view point is quite ironic because again, as the story unfolds the reader, as do the characters, find out that the magic in their world isn't just fantasy but all too real. This is incredibly interesting to the reader as the progresses further and further into fantastical elements as the story progresses and diverges further from our own in the process.