I always enjoyed coming across the ‘Tough Travels’ weekly feature on fantasy blogs – started by Fantasy Review Barn, every week it highlighted a different fantasy trope, theme or cliché from Diana Wynne Jones’s classic Tough Guide to Fantasyland, and participating bloggers listed books related to that week’s theme. Now Laura Hughes has brought Tough Travels back and is hosting it as a monthly feature on Fantasy Faction, so I thought I’d join in and become a tough (or not-so-tough) traveller myself!
This month’s theme is beginnings:
The Tough Guide states that you will begin in rather poor circumstances in an unimportant corner of the continent; a kitchen menial, perhaps, or a blacksmith’s apprentice. From there, the Guide advises that ‘you will be contacted by your TOUR MENTOR (normally an elderly male MAGIC USER with much experience) who will tell you what to do, which is almost certainly to discover you are a MISSING HEIR.’
Diana Wynne Jones, The Tough Guide to Fantasyland
The Black Prism
I’m listing The Black Prism first, not only because I recently finished reading it and need to express my love for this awesome book, but because one of the character point-of-views almost perfectly matches the Tough Guide’s beginning trope.
Kip is a poor boy from an unimportant town (he’s even an apprentice of a kind) whose magic-user mentor eventually swoops and informs him of his important lineage. However, the fact that he has to endure a lot before his mentor arrives, that his mentor is rather unorthodox and duplicitous, that he doesn’t exactly get any ‘chosen-one’ special treatment, and that he is not an heir to anything very desirable (indeed, his lineage seems to be a bit of a curse), meant this beginning didn’t feel like your standard stable-boy-abducted-by-wizard fantasy opener.
The Tombs of Atuan
It’s rare that a book hooks me on the first page… for most fantasies, even the brilliant ones, it always takes me a while to get to know the characters and really warm to the story. That’s why I’ve picked The Tombs of Atuan for this theme: not only is it a classic, but it had an intriguing beginning that immediately drew me in.
There are no benevolent mentors or blacksmith apprentices in this opening – only a disturbing cult and a girl unlucky enough to be torn from her family and chosen as a religious figurehead. She has her life and identity erased, is brainwashed into believing in her role, and is forced to partake in the cult’s disturbing rituals… from those first few pages I just couldn’t wait for her to rebel.
Prince of Thorns
The beginning of Prince of Thorns was unlike any I’ve ever read before… it felt like a slap in the face, so full of despicable characters doing despicable things that I found myself wondering how I could ever be drawn into this dark and depraved world.
I was so intrigued by the unorthodox set up, however, that I kept going, and sure enough, I soon found myself wound up in the story. By the end I was cheering for that ruthless antihero I’d found so awful at the start… though I have to admit, he didn’t get any less awful, I just came to appreciate his ability to out-awful all the other awful characters. This is 100% grimdark fantasy and pretty bleak, but I really enjoyed it!
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For links to more Tough Travelling posts, or to join in yourself and see next month’s theme, check out the host page on Fantasy Faction.
Thoughts on Fantasy 
I’m going to go read Prince of Thorns next. I love me some good anti-heroes!
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Great, I hope you enjoy it – Jorg is the ultimate anti-hero!
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Can’t believe I didn’t even *think* of Kip!
(Did you make the banner? It’s gorgeous!)
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I’m sure I only thought of him because I’m reading the series right now! And I did make the banner, though the prettiness is thanks to the Middle Earth map 🙂 (I thought it was a Tolkien original but now realise it’s from the movies so I might not be allowed to use it… oops! I have another map I can replace it with though so I’ll do that 🙂 ).
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Shh… no one will notice! 🙂
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I love the Tombs of Atuan! It seems particularly dark as a young adult fantasy to have this young girl thrown into such a hellish cult right at the start of the novel. But maybe ‘waiting for her to rebel’ is what makes it perfect for its teen audience? I mean, modern day school is a kind of cult in many ways… hmm. Another awesome post, thank you 🙂
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Thanks! That’s true, rebellion is a popular theme in young adult fiction, especially if it’s against an oppressive authority… which I guess is why you end up with some pretty dark YA books! I suppose that’s what makes them all the more enthralling though 🙂
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I read Tombs of Atuan as a middle-schooler and I still love it the best of all Leguin’s books. Arha/Tenar is so awesome, I was really glad to see her play more of a role in the later Earthsea books.
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Arha is indeed awesome, she was my favourite character in the series 🙂
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Awesome post! I hadn’t heard of this feature before- sounds pretty cool. I felt the same way about Prince of Thorns beginning too- but in the end I loved it. And wow those other two books sound amazing!!
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Yes it’s a fun way to go through the various tropes! And also I love Diana Wynne Jones (I still have to actually read the Tough Guide to Fantasyland, but I started The Dark Lord of Derkholm and it’s pretty funny). And yes the others are amazing! I just finished The Black Prism and immediately started on the sequel 🙂
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Ah that’s awesome! And me too!! 😀 I haven’t read that either though. Awesome!! 😀
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Love that you included Jorg – he certainly isn’t too everyone’s tastes but I love his story.
Lynn 😀
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I love it too! But you’re right about tastes, he’s not exactly a character everyone falls in love with 🙂
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Hmmmm The Tombs of Atuan sounds interesting!
This is a pretty cool idea for a blog feature. Although I confess I’ve never read the “Tough Guide.” I need to read more of DWJ’s books, honestly!
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Yes I need to read more of hers too – I’ve only read ‘Howl’s Moving Castle’, but I want to read the ‘Tough Guide’ and also ‘The Dark Lord of Derkholm’ (I read a sample once and it was pretty funny!).
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I’m in exactly that position. I loved ‘Howl’ so much, I can’t believe I didn’t immediately add everything else of hers to my list. xD
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I really like your blog. So glad to have found a jewel in a mud pile!
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Thanks so much! That’s really nice to hear that, I’m glad you like it.
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