In the Spotlight: Intisar Khanani's Top 5 #Fantasy Worlds
I should start by saying that I mostly
read young adult fantasy, and that while I read epic fantasy on
occasion, it’s not my subgenre of choice. So, you know, I liked
Lord of the Rings, but only after the movies made it worth wading
through the trilogy (it’s also not YA, which was probably part of
the problem). Thus, you won’t see it here.
Here goes!
Okay,
Buttercup needs to get a clue, but when push comes to shove, she does
typically step up to the plate. Thank goodness for that. For scenery,
don’t forget the Fire Swamp filled with all kinds of unique
dangers, including Rodents of Unusual Size. And, finally, this is the
book that gave us Inigo Montaya. His words have been echoed in the
annals of history, and even resulted in hilarious airline
dress code snafus. But what makes the book so much more fun than
the movie are the double authorial asides. Not only does the author
of the original text make some outright strange asides (I’m
thinking of one about chocolate in particular), but William Goldman,
who revised out the miserably boring bits for us, provides his own
hilarious asides as well. Priceless.
Would any list
be complete without a nod to J.K. Rowling’s exceptional world
building? Don’t get me wrong: I loved my boarding school. But give
me Hogwarts any day. Of course it’s not just Hogwarts, it’s also
the whole wizarding world, the brilliant word plays, the depth and
breadth and vitality of it all. And lets not get started on character
development, or characters at all. I’ll never stop. I’ll only say
that I’m really glad to see diversity and a recognition of a wider,
multicultural world in this series—something that is often missing
from fantasy.
I so, so want my
trashcan to turn into a binja and take out home intruders. Okay, that
doesn’t happen in the book (strictly speaking), but I absolutely
love China Miéville’s story of
the “unchosen” one, the underground not-London cityscape, the
awesome lost-and-broken-household-item creatures we come across, and
the tongue-in-cheek commentary on standard fantasy tropes.
Okay,
Buttercup needs to get a clue, but when push comes to shove, she does
typically step up to the plate. Thank goodness for that. For scenery,
don’t forget the Fire Swamp filled with all kinds of unique
dangers, including Rodents of Unusual Size. And, finally, this is the
book that gave us Inigo Montaya. His words have been echoed in the
annals of history, and even resulted in hilarious airline
dress code snafus. But what makes the book so much more fun than
the movie are the double authorial asides. Not only does the author
of the original text make some outright strange asides (I’m
thinking of one about chocolate in particular), but William Goldman,
who revised out the miserably boring bits for us, provides his own
hilarious asides as well. Priceless.
4. Damar
I couldn’t choose
between “The Blue Sword” and “The Hero and The Crown,” but,
fortunately, they were both set in the same land (if a few centuries
apart). I’m actually not sure what it is about this world that
draws me. Of course Robin McKinley is a master storyteller, but I
think it’s the balance of magic and character development that
holds me: the dragon and the girl who must find her own strength to
defeat him not once but twice. This is fantasy at its best—a
fantastic world, and characters who breathe and grow and change.
3. Harry Potter
Would any list
be complete without a nod to J.K. Rowling’s exceptional world
building? Don’t get me wrong: I loved my boarding school. But give
me Hogwarts any day. Of course it’s not just Hogwarts, it’s also
the whole wizarding world, the brilliant word plays, the depth and
breadth and vitality of it all. And lets not get started on character
development, or characters at all. I’ll never stop. I’ll only say
that I’m really glad to see diversity and a recognition of a wider,
multicultural world in this series—something that is often missing
from fantasy.
2. Un Lun Dun
1. Fantastica
Better known as
Fantasia. Now don’t go pulling out your (or your parents’) VHS to
watch “The Neverending Story,” because, while I liked the movie
when I saw it (20 years ago? Or was it 25?), it doesn’t do the book
justice. Not at all. Michael Ende is a genius, and nowhere is his
genius more clear than in this masterpiece of a novel. I’ll admit
the Childlike Empress can annoy the heck out of me on occasion, but
the world? The (double) hero’s journey? The pure horror of the
encroaching “Nothing,” and the link between the human world and
Fantastica? Incredible. This book also has an amazing wealth of
non-traditional creatures and a story that can be read on so many
levels.
Looking over this list, I notice a few
things…
- I really like magical beasts.
- I don’t like it when the one or two pivotal female characters in a story lack depth or strength of character. And why would there only be one female character in a story? Sigh. Let’s not even get into the problem with cutting women completely out of the stories that we tell ourselves and that define us as a society.
- I will probably change this list tomorrow. In fact, right now I’m wondering how I left off The Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia Wrede…
What are your top five fantasy book
worlds?
Are any of these new to you?
Comment on this post for your chance to win a signed Sunbolt bookmark from Intisar!
Are any of these new to you?
Comment on this post for your chance to win a signed Sunbolt bookmark from Intisar!
Meet Intisar KhananiIntisar Khanani grew up a nomad and world traveler. Born in Wisconsin, she has lived in five different states as well as in Jeddah on the cost of the Red Sea. She first remembers seeing snow on a wintry street in Zurich, Switzerland, and vaguely recollects having breakfast with the orangutans at the Singapore Zoo when she was five. Intisar currently resides in Cincinnati, Ohio, with her husband and two young daughters.
Until recently, she wrote grants and developed projects to address community health and infant mortality with the Cincinnati Health Department—which was as close as she could get to saving the world. Now she focuses her time on her two passions: raising her family and writing fantasy. Intisar’s latest projects include a companion trilogy to her debut novel Thorn, featuring a new heroine introduced in her free short story The Bone Knife … and of course, she’s hard at work on the remaining installments of The Sunbolt Chronicles.
Connect with Intisar
My review of Intisar's Sunbolt will premiere later this month!
Fantasy Month Scavenger Hunt
a Rafflecopter giveaway
