The science of Game of thrones: from the genetics of royal incest to the chemistry of death by molten gold--sifting fact from fantasy in the Seven Kingdoms

part 1. Fire: Here be dragons : where we discover dragons are entirely the stuff of legend, how real-life dragons have sex, whether they could actually fly, the truth about fire-breathing ; Fire power : where we find out how Wildfire is all too real, the hidden secret of Valyrian steel, a tried-and-tested golden formula for killing someone who's annoying to you ; Weapons of Westeros, a (battle) field guide : where we get licensed to kill: the art of poisoning, living and dying by the sword, the truth about shadowy assassins, sexy armour, and what it means to be a real warrior woman --

part 2. Ice: Northern exposure : where we break the ice with our friends in the North, Hodor's "expressive aphasia", warging and the science of astral projection, the psychology of revenge: Arya Stark's kill list ; All creatures great and small (and cold) : where we encounter strange life in the Frozen North, running with dire wolves, the finest mounts Westeros has to offer, how cold makes things huge, giant-killing with Sir Isaac Newton and JBS Haldane, the truth behind zombification ; Another ice brick in the wall : where we scale the Wall, learn how sound waves can destroy solid matter, and recount the sorry tale of the cat piano (a keyboard worthy of Joffrey Baratheon) --

part 3. Magic: Mother tongue of dragons : where we learn a few real and made-up language, discover noun-verb constructs in Dothraki, and eavesdrop on the talking trees ; Real magic : where we discover if magic exists and how to fake it, give the gift of death, and make fantastical creatures in the lab ; How will it end? : where we put on a sweater and consider astronomical answers to the perplexing question of a long winter, and attempt to finally settle the question posed by Robert Frost.