Tough Travel Guide – Minions!!!
26 June 2014
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Fantasy Review Barn, Tough Guide to Fantasy
Every Thursday The Fantasy Review Barn takes us through various fantasy tropes where we get to display our favourite books with this week’s theme. Today is minions (not these little yellow guys) –
So, I’ve been trying to deny it but I simply can’t leave off The Lord of the Rings this week:
Grima Wormtongue. He definitely fits this description. Working for Saraman he infiltrates King Theoden’s court where he acts as a spy and insinuates himself into the King’s life. He has his eye on Eowyn – which – just eugh!
Orcs – they seem to be pretty minion-y – ruled by either Sauron or Saraman. They’re not a particularly brave bunch, and to be honest they need to floss and moisturise a little bit more, but, they have the whole safety in numbers thing nailed. There’s a bloody lot of them! I simply had to have a trip to Middle Earth this week. It would be unforgivable, positively scandalous, not to mention Tolkien in a discussion about minions!
The Narnia minions who serve The White Witch in CS Lewis’s The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. This woman knows how to gather a diverse flock of minions including: lude wolves, Dwarves, Giants, Werewolves, tree spirits, ghouls, boggles and ogres to name but a few! Below is the dwarf who serves her, he is unnamed in the book.
Justine, girlfriend to Thomas in Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files. She’s a bit of a Renfield character – in thrall to Thomas who feeds off her emotions effectively draining her of life little by little. She adores him so much that she will risk herself again and again. And again.
The Kandra from Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn series, They are used as spies as they can mimic any person – they have to, injest the body to do so. They do not however kill. Their services can be bought but ultimately they are the Lord Ruler’s creation.
That is it for me – not a lot that’s original this week!! Stop over to the Fantasy Review Barn and check out the other posts.
Books and travelling with Lynn 
MIstborn has show up on several posts, but you are the first go include something other than the Steel Inquisition.
The orcish horde should probably be #1 on this list always though.
Yeah, the orcs were the first thing I thought of. Then I was literally wracking my brains trying to come up with something unique! Which didn’t really quite work out for me.
Lynn 😀
Mistborn is the only one on your list I have read (yes, you read that right). I may be the only one that forgot it this week! 🙂
Yes, Mistborn seems to have been very popular. So, you’ve not read any of the Dresden files – or did you try them and not like them?
Lynn 😀
Grima Wormtongue is a great choice! I would also choose Peter Pettigrew/Wormtail from the Harry Potter series as a minion of Voldermort.
Ohh, Peter Pettigrew is a great one – which I’d thought of that!
Lynn 😀
Contrary to what Lisa thinks, I didn’t do Mistborn either – but it’s been so long since I read those books I’ve honestly forgotten a lot about them! I didn’t even remember the Kandra, but reading your post made them all come back now! Nice picks!
The Kandra were pretty repulsive – all that injesting the body stuff! I only recently got into Sanderson for a readalong so it’s still fairly fresh.
Lynn 😀
Spot on. Great job.
Thanks 😀
For Narnia!!! Seriously though, I did not remember how many minions the White Witch actually had until I thumbed through The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Classic choice.
Narnia seems to be another one of those books that I could probably pick quite regularly for Tough Travel. Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter are stealing the crown for the moment though!
Lynn 😀
I love it that I’ve read all of your picks this week! Excellent minion choices dear
Hah! My work here is complete *dusts off hands*! I also love it that you’ve read all of these! I noticed you’re reading the second book after Delia’s Shadow – will look out for your review of that.
Lynn 😀
Yes! Almost done with it. I did some fan art for it too. Creepy ghost girl…nothing worse then creepy ghost girls well actually they are good cause they always hit a super creepy nerve.
I love reading a book that makes me have that horrible feeling on the back of my neck, like maybe there’s somebody watching me and then I get goosebumps! Yeah, that feeling. Is that weird? It can’t be, otherwise creepy stories wouldn’t be so popular – right?
Lynn 😀
Oh heck yes I like being creeped out too. But the odd thing is I adore reading the creepy stuff but I don’t like to WATCH it.
LIke those SAW movies? I can’t do it. and zombies I’ll watch them but ooooo it just is something about the sudden jump outs that always happen that make me feel like I’m going to have a heart attack. In a book though it’ll still leave me flipping on all the lights in the house and creeping around at night with my back to the walls.
Yeah, I can’t really watch the Saw movies! I sit and read and have a window to my back. Sometimes, if I stay up late, by myself, reading and it’s gone dark and I haven’t shut the curtains behind me, I suddenly have this overwhelming fear of turning round in case somebody is stood in the garden looking at me through the window! OMG, I’ve scared myself now! *shuts the curtains*
Lynn 😀
Jeezuz woman now you’ve scared me as well!! I only ever leave the blinds in my top windows open past afternoon. Cause I’m always paranoid someone is looking in.
I hate it when I have those creepy thoughts. I work in a really old building – it’s well spooky. If you’re the last one in you can virtually feel eyes on you! Scary or what.
Lynn :
creeptastic. I would hate to be the first one there or the last one to leave!