Q is for quests

Quests are as much a part of epic fantasy as prophecies are. It can be a quest to retrieve the one weapon that will destroy the Evil One forever, a quest to return magic to the world, a quest to find why you were spared, or even a quest to destroy an evil artifact.

It’s no mistake that quest looks like question; they come from a common root, the Latin word for “ask, seek.” In both, someone is often seeking knowledge (although some questioners seek only confirmation of what they already know, and some quests seek destruction, this is a general guideline), but while a question is an act of asking, a quest is an act of answering.

Do you have a favorite quest in fiction?


This is a post for the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge. My theme is epic fantasy, and blog posts will cover authors, books, tropes, themes, or anything else I can think of to fill the alphabet. Check out some of the other bloggers participating or follow my blog by e-mail if you like what you’ve read.

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6 Comments

  1. Star Wars comes to mind immediately. I love writing quests. They answer the inner questions that the MC isn’t aware of while he’s questing the outer plot.

    • I never thought of it that way, Laura. Thanks for the great insight — I’ll be using in the fantasy I’m planning to work on this summer!

  2. Favorite quest? That’s tough.

    I’d have to go with the quest for revenge in ‘A Breach in the Watershed.’ Of all the quests in the Watershed Trilogy (my favorite high fantasy, which is why nothing else even made the cut), it rings truest, I believe.

    Voss

    • Oooh, revenge! Now there’s a rich subject. I’m going to have to find this trilogy, for sure. Thanks for the recommendation!

  3. There’s a hard question!

    One (or at least one that comes to mind . . .) of my favorite quests is that of Fire, from the book of the same name by Kristin Cashore.

    The Golden Eagle
    The Eagle’s Aerial Perspective

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