Fantasy Favorites Tag

So, back in February, my dear friend Christine tagged me in a Fantasy Favorites Tag. The tag was meant to be filled out in February as part of Fantasy Month hosted by Jenelle. But as usual, I got busy and forgot about it, and the tag sat unanswered in my drafts. Thus, we are publishing it very late here in March. But better abominably late than never, I always say. 

And to further frustrate myself, I shall thus command that I may use no fantasy book/film/world more than once. Because all fantasy deserves to have its moment of glory. 

Ready? 

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What is your favorite fantasy book? 

This may actually come to a surprise to most people, but I love reading Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia. Yes, LOTR is epic in its own right, but it's hard to top C.S. Lewis's writing style. He just has way too many quotable lines. 

“In those days Mr. Sherlock Holmes was still living in Baker Street and the Bastables were looking for treasure in the Lewisham Road.” 
- The Magician's Nephew

“Aravis also had many quarrels (and, I'm afraid even fights) with Cor, but they always made it up again: so that years later, when they were grown up they were so used to quarreling and making it up again that they got married so as to go on doing it more conveniently.” 
- The Horse and His Boy

“You have no idea what an appetite it gives one, being executed.”
- Prince Caspian

“There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it.”
- The Voyage of the Dawn Treader 

"Better tell him I'm Eustace," said Scrubb.
"The boy's Eustace, my Lord," hooted the Owl as loud as it could.
"Useless?" said the Dwarf irritably. "I dare say he is. Is that any reason for bringing him to court? Hey?"

"Not useless," said the Owl. "EUSTACE." 
- The Silver Chair

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What is your favorite fantasy movie or TV show (or both!)? 

Middle-Earth Saga. Because you have to include The Hobbit Trilogy with the LOTR Trilogy. Yes, Peter Jackson did some things wrong (I won't rant here), but I believe that his mistakes are not great enough to doom the saga as a whole. He did do a lot of things right. Besides, you've got the great scenery, the EPIC SOUNDTRACK, all the wonderful characters, and so on and so on. 

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Who is your favorite fantasy hero/heroine? 

Cheating on this one, and doing one of each. 

Hero: Perrin Aybara from The Wheel of Time. He's a loyal blacksmith, is a Wolf-brother, and has the most adorable relationship with Faile. There have been times when reading the series, I'm kinda fed up with Rand and all I want to do is get back to Perrin's story. 

Heroine: Kale from The DragonKeeper Chronicles. If you've never read this series by Donita K. Paul, you don't know what you're missing. Kale is spunky, brave, stubborn, and all-around way to fun to follow around. There are some important life lessons to learn from her, too. Like wearing pink, because it confuses the enemy. 

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Who is your favorite fantasy side-kick? 

I would have said Samwise Gamgee, but since I've already used Middle-Earth in this questionnaire, I'm gonna have to go with Elmont from Jack the Giant Slayer. I recommend the movie with caution since there is some language and fantasy violence. But hands down, Elmont is the best character. *spoiler* He's basically the guy you expect to die at every turn, but survives everything. *end of spoiler* He's stubborn, full of humor and sass, loyal, and all the awesome things. Plus, he's played by Ewan McGregor, so it almost feels like a fairytale/Star Wars crossover. 

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Who is your favorite fantasy villain? (the one you most love to hate?) 

I have a very sneaking suspicion I'm going to hate Grimmel from HTTYD: The Hidden World. I love the HTTYD films, and I've already teared up watching the trailer and clips on Youtube. Once I get the full film, I feel like it's going to stab me right in all the feels. So yes, I will relish hating Grimmel. 

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What is your favorite fantasy sub-genre? 

Fairytale retellings! I am a huge fairytale enthusiast, if you hadn't noticed. That's mainly what I write, and I do tend to read a lot of them (when I can get my hands on one). If you're looking for some epic fairytale retellings, might I suggest With Blossoms Gold By Hayden Wand, The Huntress of Thornbeck Forest by Melanie Dickerson, Five Poisoned Apples collection by Rooglewood Press, and my own The Rose and the Balloon? 

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What is your favorite thing about fantasy? 

Dragons! No further comments needed. 

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What is your favorite fantasy realm? 

Neverland! Peter Pan has long been a favorite story, and at night I would tell myself stories of Neverland. I mean, c'mon -- pirates, Indians, mermaids, adventures, hollow tree homes, fairies. It's got basically everything! 

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What is your favorite fantasy magic system? 

I'm really not into magic, so I'm gonna have to back out of this one. Not that I disapprove of magic in books/film, but after doing a lot of study on the subject, I've learned one has to be very careful about the magic systems built into stories. 

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Sell me a fantasy book! Have you written a fantasy book? Give me your best pitch for it! Have you read an exceptionally great fantasy book recently? Convince me to make it my next read! 

The story I've written is a Cinderella mystery retelling, as of yet unpublished, since I'm still wading through editing and trying to decide how I want to query and find agents. Pitch: Legends claim Cinderella went to the ball to find a husband. In reality, she went to find a murderer. 

Exceptionally great fantasy book? ALL THE ILYON CHRONICLES! It's everything you want in an epic fantasy: family, dragons, adventures, romance, dragons, action, humor, dragons, incredible worldbuilding, dragons. It'll tear your heart out and you'll never regret it. Also, did I mention the DRAGONS?!

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Alright, folks, that's it! Since it's no longer February, I'm not going to tag anyone else with this, but feel free to snag it if you so please! All credit, of course, goes to Jenelle. 

God bless!