Tag: magic

Discussion Post – Favourite/Least Favourite Fantasy Tropes

Posted on October 18, 2023 by fantasyst95

Today’s discussion post is all about fantasy tropes. In my last discussion post, I talked about some of the tropes I love in detail. I’ll touch on those briefly in this post, but the focus of this one is more about those I am less keen on.

To stress, these are all very common tropes in fantasy and whether I like or dislike them is entirely my preference. We’re all entitled to have differences of opinion. If you feel differently about any of these then I would love to hear why in the comments!

Tropes I Enjoy

Realistic magic systems

The main thing I love about realistic magic systems is that they ground a narrative. You’ll see in an opposite in the below section a little later, but when magic has rules, it can be easily understood by readers and not exploited. I’m not going to say much here because that will spoil my point below.

Reluctant Hero / Non-altruistic characters

Who doesn’t love a morally grey character? It seems it’s a bit of a trend at the moment, but I have enjoyed this since time began. Why do you think I love A Game of Thrones so much? I don’t think there is a single character who is purely good hearted and doesn’t do something wrong. Okay, well maybe Hodor… but that’s only because he lacks the wits to do so and he was surrounded by people who looked after him. Can you imagine what he could have been persuaded to do in Ramsey Bolton’s custody?

Medieval Setting

A Game of Thrones also fits nicely in this section. I really enjoy the medieval setting we see in a lot of fantasy. Saying that, I have branched out to read some Eastern inspired fantasy in the last 12-18 months and enjoyed that too. It just seems there is less of it in the market right now. I do intend to read more.

Back to medieval. It’s a setting I am well familiar with based on local history. I can look at castles and remnants of structures all around me and imagine the events of these books. I suppose it has that sense of grounding. Plus, I like the inevitable politics that come with such settings. It’s funny – I love it in books but couldn’t give a fig about real life politics…

Tropes I Don’t Like (at least not all the time)

My main issue with some fantasy tropes is not in the trope itself, but more how often it is used. When you read a lot of fantasy, you can quickly become bored if you find yourself reading the same thing over and over again! I found this as a teenager; I burned out when reading fantasy on repeat for exactly this reason.

Here are some of the tropes that I think are overused: –

Chosen one

Lord of the Rings, The Wheel of Time… even down to Harry Potter – The Chosen One is one of the most used tropes in the genre going. It makes for a very congested market and if you end up reading a lot of this, it can feel repetitive.

I enjoyed both Lord of the Rings and the Harry Potter series. I want to read The Wheel of Time. Books that use this trope aren’t bad, and if they have something unique or well done about them, they stand out against the sea of other books trying to copy them and not quite hitting the mark.

It’s for this reason that I deliberately curtail the amount of fantasy I read. If I read it all the time like I used to as a teenager, I would quickly become bored.

Good vs Evil

Another overused trope, and one that I find a little simplistic, is the good vs evil plotline. For the same reasons as I mentioned above, its overuse makes it boring when read time and again.

Not only that, but the vast majority of people don’t sit on either end of this polarity, so I don’t find the trope all that reflective of reality. Remember A Game of Thrones and all that moral grey-ness? That’s my cup of tea any day of the week!

Quest plotline

There are great books out there that have quests as the integral plot device. Lord of the Rings and Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series are easy examples that come to mind.

But again, these are just a handful of great books in a dense marketplace and can easily feel repetitive if read with other books featuring small variation in between. There’s not much more to say here that I haven’t already…

Magic systems for plot convenience

The polar opposite to one of the tropes I love is magic systems used to cover up or make for an easy solution to a difficult situation.

For me, it’s a sloppy way for an author to resolve a problem they don’t want to consider too much. That may not even be their intention, but it comes across that way. I like plot lines and conflicts to be explored and resolved in a careful and considered way. If a character suddenly discovers they can use magic to do something they never even anticipated at a make or break point (and there are absolutely no hints in the lead up) then I’m just going to expect that the author devised it to get rid of a problem.

Those are my thoughts on my favourite and least favoured fantasy tropes! What are your thoughts? I’m especially interested to hear if your opinion differs to mine, so let’s have a chat in the comments.

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Discussion Post – Favourite Fantasy Tropes

Posted on July 19, 2023 by fantasyst95

In today’s discussion post, I’m looking forward to sharing some of my favourite tropes in the fantasy genre. As I’m sure you’re well aware by now, I read a lot of fantasy. I would safely say that the genre makes up about half of my reading overall. I started reading as a teenager, and it has been my favourite ever since then. So, I know exactly what I my favourite fantasy tropes are, and why!

Realistic Magic Systems

When it comes to magic in fantasy books, I like mine to err on the side of realism. There is nothing more frustrating than getting really into a book to come across a convenience in the plot facilitated by magic because the author didn’t know what else to do to get their main character out of their predicament.

With this in mind, you can probably understand why I am such a fan of Brandon Sanderson. A lot of his books contain magical systems, but they have limits. For example, in his Stormlight archive books, the magic system centres around electrical storm light, which is captured in crystals and stored until used. But, once it’s gone, it’s gone.

Likewise, in his Mistborn series, there are physical limitations to the abilities many characters use. Firstly, abilities are limited by what metals individuals have affinity for. And likewise, when it comes to restrictions, they have to ingest the particular metal to be able to harness their powers. Once it’s gone, it’s gone.

Not only do these physical limitations make for a more realistic story, but more often than not, they provide some tension. The sign of a well thought out magic system, in my opinion, is if an author can deliberately write in these limitations, incorporate them somewhere in the plot to make for a tricky situation, and then have the main character figure out a plausible way of getting themselves out of said tight spot.

Reluctant hero / Non altruistic characters

Plenty of narratives throughout history have been written in a structure where characters are either inherently good or inherently bad. Think fairytales, for example. But the reality is, most people are neither. We all have some good, and we have some bad, and that all combines to make us the morally grey people we are.

I like this to reflect in the fantasy I read, and especially so in the protagonist role. There are plenty of books I’ve read with this kind of character in mind. The Raven’s Mark trilogy by Ed McDonald is the first that comes to mind. There are much larger examples of this amongst my reading. Why do you think I’m such a fan of A Game of Thrones? There are no significant characters in that book that come out clean, shall we say.

Medieval setting

Whilst I have branched out somewhat in the last 12 months in trying to read more eastern inspired fantasy, I have a read far more that are inspired by a medieval European setting. Think large castles surrounded by vast swathes of villages, farmland and homesteads of the common people. It is very heavily used by Western fantasy writers, and I’m not even mad about it. I really enjoy this type of setting and it’s familiarity.

That’s not to say I haven’t enjoyed branching out. In fact, it is something I’m going to be looking to doing more of in future!

Those are my top three fantasy tropes!

Are there certain tropes in fantasy you love reading again and again? Are there any fantasy tropes you really don’t like? Let me know by leaving a comment below!

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Monthly Wrap-Up – June 2023

Posted on July 5, 2023 by fantasyst95

Hello friends and welcome to today’s monthly wrap-up post for June! Overall, it has been a very good month of reading. All the books I completed were five star reads. One blip I had in the month resulted in a book going on hold. It’s not so much that there is anything wrong with the book. However, I just found that trying to read it when I did wasn’t the right time. I’ll explain more about that later.

In my June TBR, I set myself an ambitious goal. I didn’t get around to one of the books at all, but that’s okay. It will still be waiting for me whenever I am ready to pick it up!

Shall we dive into this monthly wrap-up and take a look at what I read in the month of June?

Books Read

A Clash of Kings

I started off with a re-read of a favourite book. As I mentioned in a few other posts on my blog this year, there are rumblings about the next book in George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series, (a.k.a. Game of Thrones), coming out in the near future. With that in mind, I wanted to start a re-read of the series this year, so I can pick this next instalment up whenever it comes out.

I really enjoyed going back to this second book in the series. Whilst I’ve read the first book more times than I have continued with the series, that’s not to say that they are any less good. I ended up making progress through this book in a variety of different ways. I predominantly read this book using my paperback copy, however, there were occasions where I dipped into my kindle version, and also the audiobook copy I have.

It’s rare that I will read a book like this. However, given the size of the book, and the effective time constraint I had set myself to read it (so I could get to the rest of my books in June), this ended up being a good way of helping me progress at times when I couldn’t physically pick the book up.

The Lost Metal

The next book I picked up in the month was the final instalment in the Mistborn second era, The Lost Metal. This book came out in November last year. Being a reasonably recent publication, getting copies of this book isn’t exactly the cheapest right now. Fortunately for me, my library had a copy. So, I decided to borrow this one.

Reading and finishing this book was a bittersweet experience. I absolutely love the book, the storyline, and all the characters we’ve come to know and love over this four-part series. The ending was great, even though it made me very mad. No spoilers, but the ending was incredibly clever, high-stakes and heartbreaking! Me being me, I ended up finishing this book quite late on one night as I couldn’t possibly put it down with just 50 pages left. It took me a long time to get to sleep that night as I couldn’t stop thinking about it!

I really hope Brandon Sanderson comes back to this series and writes a third era. Personally, I loved how he built upon his already established world. He created the brilliant first era trilogy, and then advanced upon it for the second era. If he can do the same thing again, then I’m excited to see what he comes up with.

The Midnight Library

Next, I decided to pick up a relatively short read. At just under 300 pages, this has to be one of the shortest books I’ve picked up in the year so far. It was no less impactful despite its size. The Midnight Library is a book that puts a strong lens on mental health and gives us readers a chance to explore what it might be like to feel as if you have nothing left to live for.

I would definitely recommend it to anybody to read at some point in their lifetime. Through this short narrative, we explore ideas of what it would be like to live different lives. How would our lives be different if we made a different decision at a given time? I went into this book knowing this was the concept and with some ideas of themes the book would explore. In reality, it ends up doing a lot more than that. When I purchased my copy of this book, the bookseller told me that it had changed his outlook on life. I would also agree.

Although the narrative follows of one character and her vast exploration of alternative lives she could have lived, and what she learns about herself in the process, I found myself thinking about myself in that same way. In a way, this book taught me about my fundamental beliefs. It taught me what was important to me, the things I would never change about myself, even if I had the chance. It taught me that I should, and can, appreciate even the smallest things… because they can make all the difference.

This was the first time I had ever read a book written by Matt Haig, and it definitely won’t be the last!

The House in the Cerulean Sea

The last book I picked up in the month was The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune. Much like The Midnight Library, the author of this book was a new one to me. It is an author I had also heard great things about, so I went into the book wondering if I could live up to the hype. It definitely did!

I had initially started this book after recognising that Children of Dune wasn’t really working for me. I ended up starting the first couple of chapters, and then putting it down to try and push through Children of Dune, before ultimately coming back to it. Whereas that book wasn’t working for me because it is a very serious, political science-fiction narrative, The House in the Cerulean Sea is quite the opposite. It is lighthearted and fantastical.

In this narrative, we experience the life of Linus Baker, a caseworker who was sent on a special assignment to a classified orphanage way outside of his normal life. The orphanage is classified because it is home to potentially dangerous magical children… and one of the residents in particular makes the governing body nervous.

The House in the Cerulean Sea is really a heartwarming read. It also ended up being an apt book to pick up in June (albeit I finished the book in July), as it contains a number of queer characters. I really enjoyed the relationships that built up throughout the narrative. Although that’s not something I actively seek out in a book, it ended up working really well in this narrative. It wasn’t forced or shoehorned in for the sake of inclusion. Rather, it felt very natural.

Based on my experience of this book, I will definitely be reading more of T.J. Klune.

DNF / Hold

Children of Dune

As I briefly mentioned above, I attempted to pick up and read Children of Dune this month. In the end, I only made it to around 150 pages before I decided that this particular read isn’t working for me right now.

The Dune series is a very serious and dense political science-fiction. It’s not the type of book that I can or will pick up every day. Whilst I have enjoyed the series so far, and to an extent, I did still enjoy what I read this month, I just didn’t have the mental stamina for it. The 150 pages I did read was done over the course of a week. As far as my reading speed goes, that’s terrible! I was also finding that I wanted to read, but I wasn’t reading very much of this book at a time (and that’s if I did my persuade myself to pick it up – there are plenty of times I distracted myself with other things deliberately).

In the end, I decided to own up to the fact that it wasn’t working, and I have put this book on hold for now.

Summary

I may not have gotten to all the books I intended to pick up in June, and although I have one book that I put on hold, I’ve had a good reading month otherwise. It’s rare to have read so many books that have been so highly rated and made such a profound effect on me. I’ve also discovered two new authors this month that I want to read more from in the future!

So, here concludes my monthly wrap-up post for June 2023! Have you read any of the books I picked up in the month of June? Are any of them on your reading list?

Check in on my blog later this week, as I will be sharing the books I intend to pick up throughout July. I hope you can join me for that!

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Book Review: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – J.K. Rowling

Posted on March 29, 2023 by fantasyst95

Happy Wednesday readers! I’m back with another book review today. I’ve been taking the time to review the Harry Potter books after my re-read of the series in 2021/2022. Today’s review is for the final, and my favourite book of the of series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

If you want to read up on my reviews of the earlier books in the series, you can find links to those posts below.

Now, let’s get stuck in to my review of the final book!

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – J. K. Rowling

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 759

Audience: Young Adult

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Publication Date: 21 Jul 2007

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Goodreads – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Harry has been burdened with a dark, dangerous and seemingly impossible task: that of locating and destroying Voldemort’s remaining Horcruxes. Never has Harry felt so alone, or faced a future so full of shadows. But Harry must somehow find within himself the strength to complete the task he has been given. He must leave the warmth, safety and companionship of The Burrow and follow without fear or hesitation the inexorable path laid out for him…

In this final, seventh installment of the Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling unveils in spectacular fashion the answers to the many questions that have been so eagerly awaited.

My Thoughts

Plot

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is by far my favourite book in the series. We get to see al the plot threads that have been unveiled and unraveling for some time finally come together. I also enjoy hope this book follows on nicely from Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince in that its content is more mature than the previous books. There isn’t a happy ending for everybody! I think the plot, through either the books or films, is well enough known that I’m not really spoiling anything here…

I also enjoy how this final book deviates from the typical structure we have seen throughout the rest of the series. The rest of the books are written with the narrative starting in the summer holidays, progressing through the school terms, and then wrapping up at the end of the school year. In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, we almost completely break away from that.

There are some twists in the plot that I didn’t necessarily expect the first time I read the books. Naturally, with this being a re-read of the series, nothing surprised me the second time. However, I was able to more appreciate the set up and execution of them. There are some plot threads that begin in the very early books in the series. It will have taken some planning in order to incorporate these elements throughout the series and finally bring them to a close towards the end. I really appreciated those this time around.

Narrative Style

Throughout the series, the Harry Potter books have been easy to read. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is no exception to that rule. In this final book, the narrative deals with a lot of plot threads that initially float around before coming together throughout the book. Even though there are quite a lot of unresolved conflicts and such to juggle and wrap up, this isn’t overwhelming. There are gradual revelations and resolutions throughout the book. It’s almost gives a sense of gratification that the ending isn’t being rushed and helps to pace the novel nicely.

As I mentioned briefly above, the structure of this book changes quite significantly to that we have experienced earlier. That has to happen in order for the story to progress as it does. That could be a challenge if you are expecting the same format. However, not only did I find it easy to follow, but I actually preferred that it broke away from that. It was getting slightly repetitive; had it gone on for much longer then I would start to get bored with it. Moving away from the structure means that instead of working towards an epic conclusion at the end, the author was able to intersperse more throughout the novel in a more paced way. Don’t worry, there is still an epic conclusion as well!

Characters

In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, we finally see the battle lines drawn, and we know who sides with who.

In terms of active characters throughout the plot line, this is very similar to the penultimate book of the series, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. There are a good number of individuals that stand out in these books and we have grown to love them throughout the series. There aren’t really any surprises as to who stands out from the crowd, and we finally get to see these people shine.

As with all good writers, the author hasn’t pulled her punches in this book. Although I knew what to expect reading this for the second time, reading the events, and the impact on characters lives, still hit me just as hard as it did the first time.

Summary

I would recommend the Harry Potter series to pretty much anybody. They are the perfect mix of fantasy and magic that are approachable to anybody, regardless of your experience of the genre. They are books to grow with over time. The early series is relatively juvenile in size and complexity, but not in such a way that it feels oversimplified to an adult reader. This series progresses and we get more complexity and darker themes as the story expands into the later novels.

I grew up reading this series and appreciated these books even when I read them the first time. Going back and picking them up for a second time was just as enjoyable an experience as the first. I’m pretty sure I will go back and read them again at some point later in my life. I have a friend who could read these books on loop and not get bored!

Have you read any books from the Harry Potter series? Let me know in the comments.

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First Lines Friday – 17/03/2023

Posted on March 17, 2023 by fantasyst95

Good evening and welcome to this week’s feature post – First Lines Friday!

For today’s post, I feature the book that I’ll be reading with Ezeekat’s book club next month. This was only announced a couple of days ago, so it was great timeliness for making it to today’s post. When I read the announcement, I was immediately intrigued as I want to pick up other books by this author.

Those have been on my radar for longer, but they are a fully published trilogy. I’m now thinking that picking this recent publication may be a good way to explore the author’s writing style before committing to a full series. If I do like it, I can keep up with this one as it gets published. I won’t necessarily feel like I have the commitment of reading the other books if I’m not a fan of the first one. That wouldn’t be the case if I pick up The City of Brass first.

If you like fantasy, adventure, and swashbuckling pirates, then I think you’ll like this one!

Here is today’s First Lines Friday excerpt: –

God as my witness, none of this would have ever happened, if it were not for those two fools back in Salalah. Them and their map.

– What? What do you mean, that is “not how you start a story”? A biography? You wish for a biography? Who do you think you are chronicling, the Grand Mufti of Mecca? My people do not wax poetic about lineage like yours do. We are not even true Sirafis. My father‘s father – an orphan turned pirate from Oman – simply found the name romantic.

– Don’t you think so?

The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi – S.A. Chakraborty

Genre: Epic Fantasy

Pages: 496

Audience: Adult

Publisher: Harper Voyager

Publication Date: 02 Mar 2023

Goodreads – The Adventures of Amina Al Sirafi

Shannon Chakraborty, the bestselling author of The City of Brass, spins a new trilogy of magic and mayhem on the high seas in this tale of pirates and sorcerers, forbidden artifacts and ancient mysteries, in one woman’s determined quest to seize a final chance at glory—and write her own legend.

Amina al-Sirafi should be content. After a storied and scandalous career as one of the Indian Ocean’s most notorious pirates, she’s survived backstabbing rogues, vengeful merchant princes, several husbands, and one actual demon to retire peacefully with her family to a life of piety, motherhood, and absolutely nothing that hints of the supernatural.

But when she’s tracked down by the obscenely wealthy mother of a former crewman, she’s offered a job no bandit could refuse: retrieve her comrade’s kidnapped daughter for a kingly sum. The chance to have one last adventure with her crew, do right by an old friend, and win a fortune that will secure her family’s future forever? It seems like such an obvious choice that it must be God’s will.

Yet the deeper Amina dives, the more it becomes alarmingly clear there’s more to this job, and the girl’s disappearance, than she was led to believe. For there’s always risk in wanting to become a legend, to seize one last chance at glory, to savor just a bit more power…and the price might be your very soul.

My Thoughts…

Piracy isn’t a theme that I read a lot of. However, I am really intrigued by this novel. I like the sound of the premise, and you can already tell that everything is going to go cataclysmically wrong.

I also like that these books are set outside the very typical westernised fantasy setting that floods the market. Whilst the author is known for writing medieval style fantasy, her books have Eastern European setting and cultural elements. I have enjoyed other books with this variation of setting fairly recently – Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan, and The First Binding by R.R. Virdi immediately spring to mind.

Reading this book will be a fun change from those I would pick up normally. Not only that, but it is the perfect opportunity to try something written by Shannon Chakraborty without overcommitting myself. If I read the first book in The City of Brass trilogy and had mixed feelings about it, I would still feel compelled to at least pick up the second book, if not read the whole trilogy. By picking up this book now, I can avoid that scenario should the worst happen.

With that, in mind, I am going to read this book as part of the book club next month, and from there decide if I want to read The City of Brass. Based on the synopsis and the small sample, I have read in compiling this post, I am optimistic I will enjoy this.

That’s all from me in today’s First Lines Friday post. Have you read The Adventures of Amina Al-Sifari yet, or any of the other books written by S.A. Chakraborty? Let me know in the comments!

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Book Review: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince – J. K. Rowling

Posted on March 7, 2023 by fantasyst95

I’m back with another book review and I’m picking up where I left off in the Harry Potter series. Today’s review is for the penultimate book, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince by J. K. Rowling!

I first read the Harry Potter books as a teenager, into early adulthood. I wanted to see how reading the books again from a more mature perspective affected the overall experience. Obviously, I hoped to enjoy them just as much second time, and I did!

If you want to catch up with my reviews of the earlier books in the series, you can find links to those posts below.

Now, let’s get stuck in to my review of the next book!

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince – J. K. Rowling

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 607

Audience: Young Adult

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Publication Date: 16 Jul 2005

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Goodreads – Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

It is the middle of the summer, but there is an unseasonal mist pressing against the windowpanes. Harry Potter is waiting nervously in his bedroom at the Dursleys’ house in Privet Drive for a visit from Professor Dumbledore himself. One of the last times he saw the Headmaster was in a fierce one-to-one duel with Lord Voldemort, and Harry can’t quite believe that Professor Dumbledore will actually appear at the Dursleys’ of all places. Why is the Professor coming to visit him now? What is it that cannot wait until Harry returns to Hogwarts in a few weeks’ time? Harry’s sixth year at Hogwarts has already got off to an unusual start, as the worlds of Muggle and magic start to intertwine…

My Thoughts

Plot

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince is the book in the series from where I would suggest the series transitions from children’s to young adult. Technically, I think the books are classified as young adult, however, the previous books in the series are definitely readable by children to young teens. The themes in it are generally more mature, and as the storyline takes a more sinister turn, there are characters and events that take place that I wouldn’t recommend to a younger teenager. I read this book at around the mid to late teenage. I wouldn’t have read it any sooner.

In a way, I think the formatting and the length of the previous book in the series helps with the timing of picking this up. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is a very large book. Whilst not as dark as this one, the length and the political machinations within require a bit more thought and concentration in the reading of it. As a result, I think naturally readers will progress with the series at a more mature age.

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows are by far my favourite books in the series. I enjoy how some of the very early plot threads (which are largely unknown at the time) start to come together and make sense at last. Others are resolved or at least explained in full. The magic involved has a degree of complication that the earlier books lack, and I really enjoyed exploring that aspect. It almost feels as if we have graduated with the characters in mastering the basics to be able to take on the more complex.