Behind every great ….army of minions, is an evil ‘overlady’???
8 October 2014
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Dark Lady, Dark Lord, Fantasy Review Barn, Tough Travelling
Every Thursday we travel through the tropes of fantasy guided by our lovely host Nathan at The Fantasy Review Barn. This week’s topic:
DARK LADY. There is never one of these – so see DARK LORD instead.
Um, I think our host missed a few chances with this one. I know we can find some evil women just as bent on control and destruction as their fellow dark lords. Let’s do this!
I won’t deny that this was more of a teaser! It would have been easier to regurgitate old favourites but I wasn’t sure how well they would fit: The Snow Queen, she has magic, she has minions and she definitely plans to take over Narnia spreading her evil and cold. In fact there are quite a number of evil queens – Snow White, Alice in Wonderland, Queen of the Vampires, Sleeping Beauty, etc, etc. Anyway, I kind of opted to go for something else (although I was strongly tempted to throw in DWJ’s witch of the waste:
Catarina from Teresa Frohock’s Miserere. Catarina has made a dark covenant with a fallen angel called Mastema. She intends to open the Gates of Hell and lead the hoardes into the dimension of Woerld. Cruel, evil, possesses magic and intends to invade a different world using hell’s miniions. I think this one counts.
Lilla – from Mike Allen’s Black Fire Concerto. This is a book filled with darkness and horror, living dead, strange cancaballistic types and all other manner of evil. The main pair, Erzelle and Olyssa, search for their enemy – a woman ensorcelled by magic and bent on death and destruction, already being responsible for the deaths of millions and holding under her sway the Grey Ones – who build machines and catacombs from the bones of the living dead. Yeah, this woman is mad as a box of spiders and hell bent on ending the world.
This is a bit of a random one but – She (who must be obeyed) or Ayesha from Rider Haggard’s History of Adventure – Ayesha has discovered the secret of immortality. She is also a great sorceress having the ability to restore the dead to life and read minds. She definitely has magic, she is so beautiful that she bewitches anyone who gazes upon her, she’s definitely not a soft and fluffy type, she has minions (she who must be obeyed!) and she may not have plans to take over the world she’s pretty damned crazy!
That’s it for me – no honorary mention for either LoTR or HP – I feel deeply ashamed – this may be the first of my lists without Tolkien and Rowling – fail!
‘A pox on your house’
2 October 2014
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Curses, The Fantasy Review Barn, Tough Travelling
Every Thursday we go a travelling. We pack up our spotted hankies with provisions and go in search of the tropes of fantasy. Yep, it’s time for some Tough Travelling as hosted by Nathan at the Fantasy Review Barn. This week : CURSES are long-standing ill-wishings which, in Fantasyland, often manifest as semi sentient. They have to be broken or dispelled. {Can include}
-Curses on lands, curses on families, curses on buildings, cureses on rings/swords, curses on people, curses with conditions.
And so, without further ado, I give you my list – although I feel compelled first of all to mention the play that shall not be mentioned, you know, that Scottish play, Shakespeare? Cursed for sure. Did Shakespeare really use true witches incantations (queue evil laughter). Anyway, moving swiftly on:
- Cursed by Benedict Jacka – the clue, of course, is in the title. I’ve read the first couple of this series and enjoyed them. One of the characters definitely has a curse – Luna. But, I’m not going to tell you about the curse because that would spoil all the fun of reading it for yourself.
- Blackbird, Mockingbird, Cormorant by Chuck Wendig – Miriam Black. I do LOVE this series and so this may be something of a cheat. Could I possible get away with Miriam being cursed with the ability to foresee the exact time and nature of a person’s death – following her own near death experience (I think that was when the ability manifested – but my memory could be being tricksy!)
- The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. Something of a ghost story and something of a psychological thriller. I’m plumping for the house being cursed by badness. Badness by the person who built it and badness of what happened within it’s walls. Anyhow, it seems to be evil!!
- Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones – I loved this book! Anyway, the young girl of the story, Sophie, finds herself cursed by the Witch of the Waste.
- Prince of Fools by Mark Lawrence – very entertaining epic adventure involving Prince Jalan and Snorri ver Snagason who are cursed by a witch and their fates are tied together.
- Ring by Koji Suzuki – in which a video tape is cursed and anybody who watches it will die within a specified time frame.
- White Cat by Holly Black – I haven’t finished this series yet but I did enjoy the first two books. Set in the world as we know but with an alternative history where curse workers have been banned.
Honorable mentions:
Harry Potter! Three curses which shall not be named here!
LoTR – the one ring – cursed!
Princess Fiona – cursed to change form at the end of each day.
Me and my shadow?
25 September 2014
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: companions, Fantasy Review Barn, Tough Travelling
This week over at the Fantasy Review Barn‘s Tough Travel event we’re going to be looking at:
‘COMPANIONS… You will normally meet them for the first time at the outset of the tour. They are picked from among the following: Bard, Female Mercenary, Gay mage, Imperious Female, Large Man, serious soldier, Slender Youth, Small Man, Talented Girl, Teenage Boy, Unpleasant Stranger, and Wise Old Stranger.’
Without further ado my list this week is as follows:
- The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman – my first introduction to Gaiman and such an excellent tale. Silas is the rescuer and guardian to Bod. A strange character that I won’t try to define here as it could spoil the story for those who haven’t yet read it – from the list above I would classify Silas as ‘Wise Old Stranger’.
- City of Stairs by Robert Bennett – I dare say that some may disagree with this and perhaps see my choice as a main character rather than a companion but I’m going for Sigrud. Okay, I think introducing his epic-manliness has a secretary is definitely a stretch but, and whilst I really enjoyed the character, I felt like he was Shara’s companion. For me, Sigrud is the ‘Large Man. Please read this book – simply put – it is awesome sauce.
- The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher – I’m looking at Bob! Bob is the spirit of a powerful sorcerer – he mainly lives in a skull in Harry’s cellar and he is an invaluable source of information.
- The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. I’m thinking of the bard who Kvothe is relating his story to – and obviously he falls into the ‘bard’ definition.
- Tindwyl from Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn series – she was one of the keepers from Terris and fell in love with Sazed – I might be wrong with this but I’m putting her under ‘Imperious Female’ – simply because I seem to remember her being a very tall and commanding type character. Whilst not my favourite Sanderson series I think it made a good starting point.
Honorable mentions:
Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter of course – lots of companions to choose from – could I get away with Boromir being a ‘serious soldier’ and Ron could be the ‘teenage boy’???
Don’t forget to stop over and check out the other links this week – and tell me your favourite companions please – I actually had more trouble with this one that I thought!
And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest!…..
4 September 2014
Filed under Uncategorized
Tags: Fantasy Review Barn, Tough Travelling, Turncoats
This week over at The Fantasy Review Barn Nathan takes us travelling through the tropes of turncoats:
‘TURNCOATS are people who change to the side of the DARK LORD in mid-tour.’
Just a little spoiler alert – the following are turncoats, treacherous sorts so, basically speaking, if you haven’t read these books then spoilers be contained herein! You have been warned.
Mr Tumnus from the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe by C S Lewis. I love Mr Tumnus and I forgive him – but he was a little turncoat there momentarily! He went to the wicked snow queen – he did. However, he kind of paid for it and he felt duly sorry!
The start of Brandon Sanderson’s Way of Kings – the Breaking of the Oathpact – ten heralds in a pact together, vowing never to leave one behind after the furious battles they fought – went and left one trapped in hell! Now, I confess, if I was the one left behind, in hell, whilst the other nine walked away to lead whatever blissful lives followed – no, there would be no forgiveness for them. There’s a saying about hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, well, times that by 10 and you about have the strength of feeling that I’d have for the other nine heralds. Call me old fashioned but I’d be seriously annoyed. Livid even!!!!!
Seth McGregor from Bloodstone (No.2 of the Rebel Angel series) by Gillian Philip. I can’t really say too much about this – but, he did have a moment there. However, he’s so very easy on the brain, total mind candy and, well, just… you know. I forgive him. And, he was pretty severely punished!
J K Rowling’s Harry Potter – Peter Pettigrew. What a rat (sorry, bad pun intended). Betrayed his friends and became a little snitch and dirty double crosser for he who shall not be named. I mean, he was one of the Marauders, best buddies with Sirius. He helped to create the Marauders map and was the keeper of the Potters secret hideout – and we all know how that ended. How could you Peter!
Lord of the Rings – if I didn’t give it a mention it would just feel weird. Who to name though. Grima betrayed his own people? Smeagol betrayed his own people? – the Ring – it betrayed Gollum and went to Bilbo.
Honorable mentions:
Mustapha – from The Lion King. His own brother, Scar, betrayed him and also nearly killed his own nephew. And, on top of that he gave his pack over to the hyenas. A cad of the first order
Cypher – from the Matrix – he just wanted to taste some steak (well, he was probably a bit pissed off at being thwarted by Trinity but….
They’re taking the hobbits to Isengard..
28 August 2014
Filed under Uncategorized
Tags: Fantasy Review Barn, Tough Travelling, Towers
This week Nathan from the Fantasy Review Barn is taking us travelling through the tropes of fantasy and focusing on towers:
‘TOWERS stand alone in waste areas and almost always belong to Wizards. All are several storeys high, round, doorless, virtually windowless, and composed of smooth blocks of masonry that make them very hard to climb.’
Surprisingly I found this more difficult than I thought! I’ll start off by chucking in Rapunzel – no doors so it counts – and it belongs to a witch.
This is a cheat – The Once and Future King by T H White – in which Merlin is banished to a remote and crumbly tower in Sir Ector’s castle. This is only a cheat because I never finished the book – not because I wasn’t enjoying it but because it was a library book and I had to return it – I just need to go and get it out again!! Duh…
The Tower of Raven’s Reach – the setting of the grande finale from Scott Lynch’s Lies of Locke Lamora. No witches or wizards and there are doors into the place – but it’s a very tall tower! In fact I seem to remember the lovely Locke suffering from a fear of heights at one point! Plus there are the Glass Towers where all the elite live. Not really any magical connections though…so, grasping at straws at all!
The Two Towers – LoTR by Tolkien – if you chuck a stick anywhere in middle earth you pretty much hit a tower – this is definitely a bona fide entry – however it’s a very easy and rather obvious one. Still, never miss an opportunity to get Lord of the Rings on a list seems to be my motto and therefore it would be folly not to include this!
Two cheats – although I do own both books I haven’t read them so I’m assuming that there are towers involved because it says so in the title!:
The Tower Lord by Anthony Ryan
The Dark Towers by Stephen King
And, finally – thinking outside the box…
Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer – this is a bit of a twisted one really – four explorers are sent to explore zone ‘x’. They find a circular staircase that goes down into the ground – for some reason throughout this is called a tower – given that this isn’t really a tower I could also mention that there is a lighthouse in area x – which also plays a very prominent part?? Trying to think along different lines here – not quite sure it’s working out for me though! Anyway, much creepiness – stay away from area x is my general advice ! – although do read the book I hasten to add.
Books and travelling with Lynn 