‘We are the knights who say ‘ni’ ………. and we want a shrubbery’!
18 February 2015
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Fantasy Review Barn, Knights, Tough Travelling
Once again Thursday has arrived and Tough Travel is upon us! That’s right, we’re off, following Nathan, from the Fantasy Review Barn, down the yellow brick road to wherever it should lead: This week :
Knights:
Um. Noble rich people on horseback. Come on, you people know what knights are. (Topic provided byMiriam)
Sebastian – I love this character. Strictly speaking he has been banished from Ynnsmouth where he was a knight – however, I’ll let you find out about that for yourselves because I know you’ll be on Sebastian’s side! The Copper Promise and Iron Ghost by Jen Williams
Merry from LotR – you know I had to go there – wasn’t he named a Knight of the Mark for his bravery in battle – plus helping to kill one of the main baddies?? Now, the picture below is not Merry but, you know, I thought we should look at the Mark itself…..ahem.
Sir Guy of Gisbourne from Howard Pyle’s Robin Hood – to be honest I don’t remember a great deal about him but I know he was in that story somewhere!
Jaime Lannister from GRRM’s Game of Thrones. Been a knight for many a long year – whether you like him or not – there it is! I so wanted to put the Hound – but he’s not a knight unlike his rather cruel brother Ser Gregor.
Roiben – a seelie knight and one of the main characters from Holly Black’s Tithe.
Plus – there are lots of Knights – in the Golden Son, by Pierce Brown – my current read!
Them’s my contributions except for one very honourable mention : Sir Didymus from The Labyrinth:
‘Sir Ludo, canst thou summon up the very rocks?’
Parting is such sweet sorrow!
11 February 2015
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Fantasy Review Barn, To Blathe, Tough Travelling, True Love in Fantasy
This week we are again travelling through the tropes of fantasy with our able guide Nathan from the Fantasy Review Barn. This week’s topic is:
TO BLATHE
Sonny, true love is the greatest thing in the world. Except for a nice MLT, a mutton, lettuce and tomato sandwich, where the mutton is nice and lean and the tomato is ripe. They’re so perky, I love that. But that’s not what he said! He distinctly said “to blave.” (Thanks to Wendy again. Let’s find those examples of True Love!)
Gollum and the Ring. Lord of the Rings – I had to go there. I suppose I could have chosen Aragorn and the she-elf but thought I’d think alternatively here and Gollum did love that ring!
Beauty and the Beast – Many different versions and retellings. However, the story remains the same that Beauty changes the Beast through true love. Hey, I quite liked him as a beast but there’s no accounting for taste – some folks are just plain rude!
Jorg and Katherine – this is an odd choice – not sure if you can call it ‘to blathe’ but I liked 
the idea of it. Jorg kept his strange fascination for Katherine. Was it love??
Locke Lamora and Sabetha – The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch. Locke has been enamoured with Sabetha for ever! We’ll see how this plays out!!!
Howl and Sophie, Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones – I had to have this – I like the way the romance between Howl and Sophie grows gradually – without even the two of them knowing!
Ron and Hermione, Harry Potter, JKRowling – a bit obvious but I thought I’d give it a mention!!
Come with me if you want to live…
This week over at the Fantasy Review Barn Nathan is taking us Tough Travelling through the tropes of fantasy again. this week’s topic :
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Seems odd to think that in fantasy cities in which entire economies revolve around crime there is room for the men in blue (or crimson, or whatever). But the law does the best it can, even when faced with magic, mystical creatures, or rogue deities.
My picks this week:
The Ministry of Defence – they police the magical world of Harry Potter (J K Rowling).
The Owsla – yeah, that’s right – the rabbit police! Starring none other than Bigwig. Watership Down by Richard Adam’s in case you haven’t guessed! Perks of the job include eating all the best clover.
The Volturi – don’t race out with your pitchforks!!! These are the vampire police after all so they have to have a mention! Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight.
I can’t remember the name – but the crazy mechanical dog out of Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. Basically works for the Firemen and searches out all you secret book owners – that’s right – all you book owners out there (and you know who you are) be afraid!!!
Peter Grant – he’s actually a policeman, started out as a regular copper then ended up on the fantasy squad! Rivers of London by Ben Arronovitch.
Kate Prospero, Jaye Well’s Dirty Magic – she’s part of the Magic Enforcement Agency. Things are complicated though – not least because she come from a magical family!!
Atlanta Burns by Chuck Wendig. Bear with me – Atlanta may not be the traditional idea of law enforcement but she knows how to get things done! The end goodbye.
BFFs
22 January 2015
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Art It Up, Fantasy Review Barn, Not Yet Read, Pets, Tabitha
Art it Up. This is a weekly meme hosted by Tabitha over at Not Yet Read. The idea being to see if you can come up with some 
inspiration for a little sketch or doodle from your last week’s reading or just anything else in general. this week I’ve been reading No.5 and 6 of Karina Cooper’s St Croix Chronicles (I already sketched a big top last week). So for inspiration this week I’m going nice and easy – the Fantasy Review Barn tough travelling topic for the day is ‘pets’. Today is a Dude doodle – or a Dude’ll – basically put, my dog doesn’t like to behave – below is his rule number one – ‘1. You threw it not me!’
Let Sleeping Dogs Lie…
21 January 2015
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Edgar Rice Burroughs, Fantasy Review Barn, Harry Dresden, Kevin Hearne, Tough Travelling
This week over at The Fantasy Review Barn we are travelling once again through the tropes of fantasy. This week’s topic is pets. I’ve decided to stick to our best friends. The canines!
Jim Butcher’s Harry Dresden has a dog – Mouse. Quite the opposite as he’s something of a giant!
Kevin Hearne’s Druid Chronicles – Atticus the Druid has a dog called Oberon. Oberon is one of the best fictional dog characters EVER and has the funniest lines of the whole book – well, no, he doesn’t talk but Atticus and Oberton can converse telepathcially.
J K Rowling’s Harry Potter. Hagrid’s dogs – Fluffy and Fang – I think Fluffy was the three headed dog and Fang is the big black shaggy soft hearted critter.
Toto – The Wizard of Oz – not even going to give a name or description – don’t be pretending that you don’t know who Toto is or I’ll set the flying monkeys on you. Would have mentioned them as pets to the Wicked Witch but I’ve decided to stick with the dawgs!
A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs – John Carter finds himself with a very unusual dog like character called Woola – fiercely protective and with three sets of teeth quite a formidable character.
Honorary Mentions –
JRRTolkien’s LotR – Bill the Pony
Captain the cat from Owl and the Japanese Circus by Kristi Charish because a vampire hunting cat is pretty cool
Books and travelling with Lynn 