‘I used to bullseye womp rats in my T-16 back home. ‘
22 April 2015
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Ace characters, Fantasy Review Barn, Tough Travelling
This week over at the Fantasy Review Barn Nathan is once again taking us Tough Travelling through the tropes of fantasy. The topic this week is THE ACE
Some people are just ridiculously good at everything. Be it magic, swordplay, or all of the above. THE ACE has no equal.
Vaelin al Sorna – Blood Song by Anthony Ryan. Vaelin is definitely the ace in the hand and no mistake. Bloodsong was such an excellent read and watching the young Vaelin going through his paces was great. He pretty much excelled at everything until at the end he is almost like THE ONE!
Tomas – from the Riftwar Saga – oh my lord this is another character that goes above and beyond your expectations eventually becoming part dragon lord. He’s virtually undefeatable.
Jean Tannen – Scott Lynch’s Gentlemen Bastards – don’t judge me! Jean Tannen is a tough nut – he’s very handy in a scrape and he is skilled with the sisters. That is all.
Gandalf – Lord of the Rings, JRRTolkien – now, don’t get me wrong, last week I was lamenting over Gandalf’s lack of grand magic – but, I still love this character – he’s pretty handy if you’re suffering a ‘lights out’, and he doesn’t mind going head to head with a Balrog, that earns him major kudos for me. On top of that he’s pretty damn good with a sword.
Legolas – ditto the above book – Legolas may not be my absolute favourite character (that mantle lands on Aragorn) but, this guy can shoot the fluff of a midge’s didgie at 500 paces – plus, you might not think he has magic but that’s where you’re wrong – he clearly has a self refilling quiver of arrows – which is pretty damned impressive when you’re facing 10,000 orcs.
Hermione – J K Rowlings Harry Potter – she may not wield a sword but she flourishes that wand with barely concealed panache – you could be forgiven for thinking she’s a bit of a smartie pants on occasion but I just like her she’s had to work hard for what she wants!
Apollo from Jo Walton’s Just City – well, he’s a God, but, he’s been reborn as a human for the purposes of this story and he’s still damned impressive!
Westley from A Princess Bride by Williams Goldman – this guy is awesome, not only does he rescue his true love but he bests the finest swordman, the strongest strong man and the smartest Sicilian genius! Then he goes on to tackle the Fire Swamp and finally come back from death to defeat the evil Humperdinck – are you not intrigued??
‘We are men of action, lies do not become us’
Tis all for me this week.
‘I’m free. I’m free. Quick. Quick. Wish for something outrageous. Say, “I, I want the Nile.”‘
15 April 2015
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Awesome magic, Fantasy Review Barn, Tough Travelling
This week over at the Fantasy Review Barn we are once again travelling through the tropes of fantasy with Nathan. This week, I admit I struggled a bit and so some of my suggestions might not quite fit ‘awesome’ magic.
AWESOME DISPLAYS OF MAGIC
Sometimes magic can be subtle. Who wants that? Big explosions or acts of creation, death and destruction or acts of awe inspiring wonder. If your world has magic then why not show it off?
Pug – from the Riftwar Saga by Raymond Feist – I think this is my only example of awesome magic – don’t ask me to explain why – but basically there’s a lot of serious magic in the first three books (I haven’t read further than that at the moment).
Howl’s moving castle – I love the magic in this book – and I do think it’s awesome – living in a moving abode with doors that open into different places – so okay, I think I had two.
Stardust by Neil Gaiman – there’s one scene where the witch turns a goat into a man and creates a whole Inn with roaring fires and hot bath tubs – it’s a little bit impressive.
The Witches by Roald Dahl – those witches are not messing about – turning boys into mice – not to mention killing lots of children – nasty! And, they have a plan to kill ALL the children – that’s big magic – not nice, but big! Watch out for the sweet shops.
The Curseworkers by Holly Black – I’m not going to elaborate though because it would be a spoiler but things pretty much get transformed in the most unexpected ways:
Honorary mentions
Gandalf, LotR and The Hobbit – although, and don’t all beat me up now, but, his magic never seemed overly impressive to me – there it is, I said it – what’s the point of having a wizard who can only create fireworks, light up his staff in the dark, and shout ‘you shall not pass’ when the baddies arrive. Okay, you all know I love Tolkien but as far as impressive and awesome magic it’s not going on with Gandalf – unless he’s keeping his ‘big’ magic hidden (although he did fight with a Balrog and come back as a white wizard).
The World of Harry Potter – okay, I’m not going to give all the examples but there is some good examples of magic – people being transformed into creatures, bones being turned to jelly, etc, etc, not sure if it’s awesome but there it is.
Madame Mim and Merlin – so good the battle they have – I call that some pretty good magic – not only thinking on the hoof but trying to best each other!
‘Feed me Seymour, feed me now!’
8 April 2015
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Fantasy Review Barn, Tough Travelling, Unique Flora
This week over at the Fantasy Review Barn Nathan is again taking us tough travelling. This week we’re looking at
UNIQUE FLORA
Self-explanatory. If you know of a plant that is either not on earth, or doesn’t act the same way in fantasyland as it does on earth, then you can consider it unique. Have fun.
Threads from the Dragonriders of Pern books by Anne McCaffrey. This was the first thing that came to mind (thankfully something came to mind). Threads are spores that rain down upon the planet – not all the time but in cycles (I think – somebody feel free to chuck me a clue here) and basically cause terrible destruction. Left to their own devices I think the planet would be in a pretty bad way but fortunately there are dragons and dragonriders to help with the gardening duties!
Talking flowers – not something you see every day – Alice – Through the Looking Glass by C S Lewis
Triffids from Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham – I should think this doesn’t need an explanation – but basically these plants are mobile, they can communicate with each other and they have poisonous stings.
The Forest of Fighting Trees from The Wizard of Oz by Frank Baum. They’re trees. There’s enough to warrant calling them a forest – and they fight!! Well, they throw things at you anyway.
Yggdrasil – a tree from Norse mythology – encountered by me in the book Hammered by Kevin Hearne where the main character, Atticus, has to climb the tree on the back of a giant squirrel – he’s going on a quest.
Honorable mentions:
Harry Potter – Gillyweed – I would definitely try this – swimming underwater made easy!
Lord of the Rings – Fanghorn Forest – okay, this is maybe a cheat but this forest does seem to have a mind of it’s own so it’s having a mention.
Put down your weapon you have 20 seconds to comply!
1 April 2015
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Enforcers of Fantasy, Fantasy Review Barn, Tough Travelling
This week over at the Fantasy Review Barn Nathan is once again taking us tough travelling through the tropes of fantasy. This week the topic is : ENFORCERS
‘Some people are made to give orders; others are made to make sure they are carried out. Be it through muscle or guile there are just some people you don’t want to hear are looking for you.’
Okay, I had fun with this one:
- Vampire: Prudence from M L Brennan’s Generation V. She’s the actual muscle of the family and believe me you won’t want her on your case!
- Shapeshifters: Ezekiel from Rachel Neumeier’s Black Dog. Ezekiel, appointed executioner for the Dimiloc pack who are responsible for keeping control of lone, stray weres.
- Human: Max Gladstone’s Three Parts Dead. Cat is a Black Suit – enforcing the law within the City of Alt-Coulumb. Black suits are linked to Justice and become possessed with her spirit endowing extra strength and speed during their duties.
- Rabbits: Bigwig – an officer of the Owsla from Richard Adam’s Watership Down.
- Wolves: minions of the White Witch enforcing her rule over the other critters within the world CS Lewis’s Lion, Witch and Wardrobe
- Wizards: The White Council as found in Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files. They ‘police’ the wizarding world – stepping across the boundaries laid down by the Council can result in death – so, you know, quite serious really.
- Jean Tannen – brute force and the Sisters help him to keep people in line! Scott Lynch’s Gentlemen Bastards – never miss an opportunity get Jean on your list – that’s what I always say 😀
- Buffy!
‘It can’t be reasoned with, it can’t be bargained with. It doesn’t feel pity of remorse or fear and it absolutely will not stop. Ever. Until you are dead.’
Saddle up and ride your pony (or dinosaur)
25 March 2015
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Fantasy Review Barn, Favourite steeds, Tough Travelling
This week over at the Fantasy Review Barn Nathan is once again taking us Tough Travellings. This week’s topic
BELOVED MOUNTS
A combination of suggestions from several people, as it seems many want to talk about the various animals that people in fantasyland ride. So be they horse, bear, or other let’s talk about favorite rides.
Dragons – The Riftwar Saga by Raymond Feist. Contained Dragon Lords who rode on the back of dragons. Also The Dragonflight by Ann McCaffrey – a strange mix of sci fi and fantasy.
Horses – not just any horses though! Sandseed horses from the Avibian plains that can travel at great speed. Brought to us by Maria Snyder’s study books. Kelpies from the Sithe world beyond the veil created by Gillian Philips in her Rebel Angels series. Dangerous beasts, carniverous and difficult to tame.
Dinosaurs – well, dinosaur really as I have only one – Sue, a zombiefied t-rex ridden by Harry Dresden in Jim Butcher’s Dead Beat.
Polar Bear – Iorek from Philip Pullman’s Dark Trilogy series. This may be a bit of a cheat as you wouldn’t really cal Lorek anybody’s ‘mount’ – not if you wanted to stay alive. However he does consent to Lyra being carried on his back so I’m having it!
Bats – a huge, talking bat called Rii who carries Eric, from Rebecca Levine’s Smiler’s Fair.
Hon Mentions:
Lotr – Shadowfax, Great Eagles, Fell Beasts (used as flying steeds by the Nazgul), huge crazy elephant looking beasties.
Harry Potter – Buckbeak, a Hippogriff
Ohh, and this – not sure what it’s called but I’d like to ride one:
Books and travelling with Lynn 