Please welcome Stephanie Cage to my blog this week, along with some of her favourite characters from fantasy novels...
 |
| Favourite Books |
There are a lot of characters I love, in a lot of books,
but when it comes to fantasy, two of my favourites are Kvothe, in Patrick
Rothfuss’s powerful and poetic epic, The Name of the Wind, and Locke, in
Scott Lynch’s wonderfully imaginative fantasy The Lies of Locke Lamora. Both are larger than life, one of a kind
characters, unique within their respective worlds. Their deeds are much talked about, sometimes exaggerated, and it
is the stories about them which give them their other names. Kvothe is also the Red and the Flame (for
his striking hair), and Kingkiller, as well as a host of other names. Locke Lamora is also The Thorn of Camorr, a
Robin-Hood-like folk hero.
Both have unusual talents which soon get them into trouble.
Kvothe has a gift for sympathy (the science of what we might call Magic) and
manages to be expelled from the Arcanum at a younger age than most people begin
their studies. Locke’s gift for
thievery is an advantage at first in the Underworld of Camorr, but even there
his talent for causing mayhem becomes too much, and he finds himself with a
bounty on his head, first condemned to death and then sold into the service of
the order of the Eyeless Priest, the shadowy thirteenth deity who rules the world
of Camorr alongside the twelve legitimate ones.
 |
| Lincoln Rhyme Stories |
Fantasy lends itself particularly to the trickster hero,
stronger and cleverer and sometimes just plain crazier than his peers. However, he can be found elsewhere. Kvothe and Locke are distant relatives of
two of my favourite heroes from the world of crime-fighting: Lincoln Rhyme,
Jeffery Deaver’s superb wheelchair-bound criminologist, and Sherlock – not the
original, brilliant though Conan Doyle’s creation is, but his present-day alter
ego in the TV series Elementary.
What I love about all these heroes is their degree of mastery over the
world they live in, their ability to assess all the variables and then put
together a plan and follow it through to the desired conclusion, whether all
runs smoothly or some ingenious improvisation is required to get things back on
track.
Another thing these books share is that they follow the
rule of magic so brilliantly described by Orson Scott Card in his classic How
to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy.
Great power must be balanced by great limitations. Sherlock has his drug habit, Rhyme his
disability, and Kvothe and Locke are hampered by their stubbornness. They simply don’t know when to stop and walk
away.
It’s Card’s rule of magic which in some ways inspired my own fantasy
hero: Ashtad in Djinn and Tonic.
As a djinn, he has the power to bend space and time and make any wish
come true, but he can only use it in service of someone else’s desires. In this case, that someone is Sal, who has
to learn that the things most worth having can’t be gained by wishing for them
- a common lesson in fantasy… and, dare
I say it, perhaps in real life?
About Stephanie Having been born and educated in the South of England, including a degree in English Literature at Oxford University and an MA in Creative Writing at Bath Spa University, Stephanie now lives in the beautiful county of Yorkshire. She is a member of the Romantic Novelists' Association, with books published by The Wild Rose Press and Crimson Romance. She has won the Woman's Own Story competition and Yorkshire Ridings Magazine romance competition. When she is not wirting, she enjoys dance and musical theatre, as well as being a lay worship leader and a member of Doncaster Speakers.
About the Book As fashion photographer Sally Purdew sets up her studio for a special shoot, she wishes for the perfect model, and he appears. Sal just wants to win the Alternative Fashion Awards, but her model, Ashtad, is a djinn with the power to grant her wishes and turn her into anything she wants to be. From the pretty English town of Whitby to a tropical beach, Ashtad whisks Sal away on a magical trip neither of them can forget. When Sal finds herself falling for Ash, she has to decide : do they have a future together, or will his magic always come between them?
http://www.amazon.com/Stephanie-Cage/e/B00AP616GG/
 |
| Stephanie's latest release |
About Stephanie Having been born and educated in the South of England, including a degree in English Literature at Oxford University and an MA in Creative Writing at Bath Spa University, Stephanie now lives in the beautiful county of Yorkshire. She is a member of the Romantic Novelists' Association, with books published by The Wild Rose Press and Crimson Romance. She has won the Woman's Own Story competition and Yorkshire Ridings Magazine romance competition. When she is not wirting, she enjoys dance and musical theatre, as well as being a lay worship leader and a member of Doncaster Speakers.
About the Book As fashion photographer Sally Purdew sets up her studio for a special shoot, she wishes for the perfect model, and he appears. Sal just wants to win the Alternative Fashion Awards, but her model, Ashtad, is a djinn with the power to grant her wishes and turn her into anything she wants to be. From the pretty English town of Whitby to a tropical beach, Ashtad whisks Sal away on a magical trip neither of them can forget. When Sal finds herself falling for Ash, she has to decide : do they have a future together, or will his magic always come between them?
http://www.amazon.com/Stephanie-Cage/e/B00AP616GG/
Hi Angela! Thanks for inviting me and my fictional friends to visit!
ReplyDeleteA pleasure to host you and your fictional friends. Great post!
ReplyDelete