Fantasy Books I've Been Inspired to Read

The Silmarillion Awards 2017 have come to an end, and my to-be-read pile has grown exponentially. I must admit, I haven't read as many fantasy books as I thought I had, so, in celebration of the genre (and in celebration of Lord of the Ring's publication on this day 63 years ago), here are some fantasy books that this year's Silmarillion Awards have inspired me to read (the links lead to each book's respective Goodreads page):

The Wingfeather Saga by Andrew Peterson. Both last year and this year, characters from The Wingfeather Saga rose to the top of the nominations, and now to the top of my TBR (all right, maybe not the tippy top, but pretty close).

The Ranger's Apprentice by John Flanagan. I have heard good things about this series for many years. I want to know why the names Will and Halt incur such rabid joy. I even went as far as to get this book out of the library. Unfortunately, I also took out ten or so other books and never got to The Ranger's Apprentice before it had to be returned.

Paper Crowns by Mirriam Neal. Again, I have heard so many good things about this book! I follow Mirriam Neal's blog and am always impressed with her posts. I can only assume that her stories are just as good. Plus, this book has a cat in it, and I'm a big fan of fictional cats.

The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson. A few years ago, I read Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson and really enjoyed it. I know several people who have read The Stormlight Archive and highly recommend it. From what I know of it, it sounds like a great book! If only it weren't such a daunting size...

Ilyon Chronicles by Jaye L. Knight. This series has garnered a lot of interest and praise across the blogging community. Everyone I know that has read these Chronicles has enjoyed them. Initially, I wasn't too interested in the summary, but the more I hear about these books, the more I want to check them out! Plus, the covers are gorgeous.

Halayda by Sarah Delena White. Jenelle's review first sparked my interest in this book. Then, when several of the characters showed up in the Silmarillion Awards, I decided to definitely add this one to my TBR!

Sentinel by Jamie Foley. While Jet, one of the characters from this book, did not have a lot of votes in the Silmarillion Awards, all of the votes that he did receive were so enthusiastically given that it interested me in the book to which he belongs. Sentinel doesn't look like a book that I would normally pick up, but any book with a character as well-loved as Jet must be good, right?

Percy Jackson by Rick Riodan. Some day I will read these books. That is all I have to say.

The Tales of Goldstone Wood by Anne Elizabeth Stengl. I read the first book in this series last year, and I wasn't too impressed. This is such a well-loved series within the blogging community that I want to give it another try, though. I've been told that the series gets better and better as it goes along, so maybe I will have to pick up a later book.

The Beast of Talesend by Kyle Robert Shultz (our very own Silmarillion Award presenter!). Someone nominated a character from this book for the Silm Awards which first caught my attention. Then, someone on Twitter described The Beast of Talesend as Doctor Who meets P.G. Wodehouse (um, YES, PLEASE). Until about five seconds ago, I knew nothing more than this, and then I looked up the synopsis. It's a detective story, people! Was this book made for me?? Maybe. Either way, it is now on my TBR.

Have you read any of the books on my list? Did you like them?
Did the Silmarillion Awards inspire you to read any fantasy books? Let me know which ones in the comments below!

Lessons Learned from Fantasy

Last month, Jenelle Schmidt hosted "Fantasy February," which was a month-long celebration of one of the best genres in existence. She started a game of tag about "Life Lessons Learned from Fantasy." DJ Edwardson wanted me complete the tag, so even though it is no longer February, I thought I'd do the tag and talk about several lessons that I've learned from fantasy books.

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien taught me what a true hero is.
A hero is not someone with super powers or a champion of men. A hero is an ordinary individual who has enough courage to stand up to dragons. When his friends have been captured by trolls or goblins or elves, a hero is the one to step into a leadership position to rescue them. A hero is the one who, after he finishes his heroic deeds, just wants to go home and live in peace and quiet. He does not want glory and riches; he just wants a pipe and a nice cup of tea.

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien taught me two things: there is always hope, and sacrifice is noble.
The darkness in The Lord of the Rings is a formidable foe. There is so much death and destruction that falling to the shadow seems inevitable. There are, however, little moments in the books that show that there is still hope. Many of these moments come from Sam. He says, "There is some good in this world, and it is worth fighting for" and "Even darkness must pass."
There is tremendous sacrifice to ensure that the darkness will pass. Sam sacrifices his future to go with Frodo to Mordor. Rohan sacrifices itself to go to the aid of Gondor, even though there is only a glimmer of light left to fight for.
Our world, like Middle Earth, is under the power of a dark lord. But we, too, have hope. Our hope lies in Jesus Christ who died to save us from Satan. This hope is lived out every day by people extend kindness to strangers, who give grace to those around them, and who sacrifice themselves for the good of others.

King's Warrior by Jenelle Schmidt taught me that a princess does not need to be either a perfect Mary-Sue character or have a I-need-no-man attitude to be a representative of the female sex in a novel.
Kamarie is an excellent example of a well-written female character. She may start out a little arrogant about her sword fighting and horse riding skills, but she grows a lot over the course of the novel. She is a wonderful blend of femininity and toughness. She is the type of character that I want real girls to read about, and she is the type of character that I want my female characters to emulate.

(WARNING: BIG SPOILER AHEAD ABOUT THE ENDING OF MISTBORN!!!!!!!!)

Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson taught me how central a charismatic character is to a series.
I knew almost as soon as I started The Final Empire that Kelsier was going to die. I knew this because he was the type of character that steals the book and there can't be two such characters in one novel, and all the reviews I had read about this series praised Elend as being the best character. When Kelsier died, however, I felt that the life went out of the series. The second book featured political discussions, but it lacked the action and humor that the first book had (at least until the last 150 pages or so). I learned that killing the charismatic character may not always be in the novel's best interest.

(WARNING: BIG SPOILER AHEAD FOR THE END OF THIS BOOK, TOO!!!!!!!!)

The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen taught me about unreliable narrators.
Before reading The False Prince I had never experienced an unreliable narrator before. When I reached the end of this book and Sage revealed his true heritage, I was blown away. Everything I had read up to that point was changed because of this revelation. Now, I am a little warier to trust everything book tell me.

The Princess Bride by William Goldman taught me that you don't have to take your own writing very seriously.
Basically, you can do whatever you want with your writing. William Goldman does. He pretends that he is simply "editing" The Princess Bride by S. Morgenstern, an epic history of Florin and Guilder. Goldman intersperses real facts and modern expressions with his own made up world, and it's all written in glorious, satirical prose. I hope to write lighthearted stories like The Princess Bride where readers agree with everything I say because I am The Author and I Say So.

And there you have some of the most valuable lessons that I have learned from fantasy books! What are some lessons that you have learned from fantasy (or other genres)?

The Long and Winding Editing Road—Emptiness

I've finished the third draft of my novel. I've sent it off to a few readers. Now, I sit at my computer aimlessly clicking from my email to Twitter and back to my email again.

I expected to be a little dazed after I finished this draft, but I didn't expect to feel so empty.

How do I return to normal life after working so hard on one project for several months?

When I finished the second draft last November, the same thing happened, only I didn't have the advantage of hindsight to recognize it then. Now, at least, I can make an effort to fill the emptiness with useful activities, unlike in November and December, when I filled the emptiness by wasting time.

In my last post I outlined a few things that I wanted to do to fill my time, but none of them hold much appeal to me (except applying for college, though that's more of a necessity than an appeal). All I can think about is writing. So, though I had planned to save outlining stories for a summer project, I will probably start outlining now to save myself from wasting time. Idleness is the mother of all vices, as they say.



When you writers finish a new draft, do you feel emptiness or relief? Do you jump straightaway into the next project? If not, what do you fill your time with?

Fantasy February: An essay about Aragorn

Today, while going through a box of old stories and art, I came across one of the first essays I ever wrote. It's about Aragorn from The Lord of the Rings and dates back to "May 2010," shortly before I turned fourteen. Since Jenelle Schmidt is celebrating the fantasy genre on her blog this month, I decided to join her link-up and share my essay! I hope you enjoy.

By Abbey

May 2010

   Elessar, Strider, Wingfoot... These are some of the many names of Aragorn, one of my favorite book characters. As well as having many names, Aragorn has many virtues, such as, wisdom, courage, and loyalty.

   Because Aragorn was raised by Elves, he learned from them and gained their wisdom. Although he was raised by Elves, Aragorn was really a man. He was part of the race Dunedain, which were descendants of kings and had exceptionally long lives. So, along with having Elven wisdom, Aragorn had 87 years worth of knowledge stuck in his brain.

   In the third Lord of the Rings book, The Return of the King, Aragorn must walk the Path's of the Dead. Let me explain the Path's: a long time ago, one of Aragorn's ancestors was fighting a battle. His men got cold feet and ran away from battle. Because of this, Aragorn's ancestor put a curse on the men, saying that, until they could fultill their oath to him or one of his descendants, they would live forever, not living and not dead. To fulfill the oath, they must fight alongside the Heir of Isildur and then they would be able to rest in peace. Well, Aragorn, being Isildur's Heir, walked the Path's of the Dead where he met the cursed soldiers. There, he convinced them he was Isildur's Heir and they followed him to battle, fulfilling their oath. It took a lot of courage and bravery for Aragorn to walk those paths. He knew that anyone who went in never came out, but he knew what he had to do. That is only one of the many times Aragorn had to be brave.

   Another defining point of Aragorn is his loyalty and perseverance. He had a very hard life, journeying, fighting, hiding. Even though his life was difficult, he still persevered and stayed loyal to the right side. An example of Aragorn's loyalty is Arwen. Arwen was an Elf whom Aragorn was in love with. Even though her father forbid them to be together, Aragorn still stayed loyal to his beloved until her father let them marry.

   Longshanks, Elfstone, Estel. As you can see, Aragorn is a man of brains, bravery, perseverance, and a lot of names! I think that these characteristics are what makes Aragorn one of my favorite characters.

For fun, I decided to rewrite the essay tonight:

By Abbey

February 2016

“What’s in a name?” asked William Shakespeare, and went on to say something about roses. “Power is in a name,” I would reply, and mention something about sunflowers. Foreign names have the power to befuddle. Long names have the power to intimidate. Dull names have the power of slipping from the memory as a Mario Kart character might slip from the Rainbow Road. Someone with many names may have the power of confusion if they keep switching from name to name. Aragorn, a character from J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, has many aliases, including Elessar, Strider, and Wingfoot. In addition to having many names, Aragorn also has many virtues, making him a beloved hero.

One of Aragorn’s virtues is wisdom. In The Lord of the Rings, Aragorn was raised by the Elves, one of the wisest races in Middle Earth. Aragorn had the fortune of learning from Elrond, who was Lord of Rivendell, a valley hidden in the shadow of the Misty Mountains. Elrond, who is over six-thousand years old at the time of The Lord of the Rings, no doubt had many things to teach Aragorn about history and the good and evil in the world. In addition to learning from the Elves, Aragorn gleaned wisdom from his own experiences. As a part of the Dunedain race, Aragorn lives an exceptionally long life, and is already eighty-seven years old at the start of the story. In nearly nine decades, he has learned much from both Rivendell and travelling throughout Middle Earth.

In the third Lord of the Rings book, Aragorn’s travels take him to the Paths of the Dead. Many years ago, Aragorn’s ancestor was betrayed by his own soldiers, and cursed them into an eternal state of being, neither living nor dead. To be able to rest peacefully, the soldiers must fight alongside Isildur’s Heir, who happens to be Aragorn. Aragorn musters his courage and enters the Paths of the Dead to convince the ghost army to fight with him against the forces of Sauron. This is only one instance out of many where Aragorn shows bravery in fearful situations. Such bravery is inspirational, especially to readers who may be facing difficulties in real life.

Another virtue readers admire in Aragorn is his perseverance. Although his father was killed when he was a small boy, and although he and his mother had to flee their home and live among the Elves, Aragorn has always remembered his birthright: he is heir to the throne of Gondor. Throughout the story, Aragorn fights against Sauron so that he can reclaim his throne and bring peace to Middle Earth. Aragorn also showed perseverance in his relationship with Arwen, Lord Elrond’s daughter. Often, they could not be together because of Aragorn’s work against Sauron, but Aragorn remained unwaveringly loyal to Arwen throughout his life.

Aragorn’s wisdom, bravery, and perseverance has endeared him to many readers. Aragorn is an unforgettable hero, whether he is known as Elfstone, Longshanks, or Estel. “All that is gold does not glitter,” said J.R.R. Tolkien of Aragorn, and William Shakespeare said, “What’s in a name? that which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” Though he does not always look it, Aragorn is the long lost king, and, somehow, all of his aliases reflect that birthright.

 

Who are some of your favorite fantasy characters?