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.

P is for prophecy

(Just for the record, I had this post planned before S.L. Hennessy posted about precognition and knowing the future with her N is for Next post.)

Prophecies are always popping up, from the Delphic Oracle to an entire roomful of them at the Ministry of Magic. Wherever there are prophecies, there are people working toward making them come to fruition, and others working just as hard to prevent them (only to bring them about by their efforts, usually). Continue reading

J is for Journey

Hero’s journey, that is. You’ve probably already been exposed to the idea (or monomyth) of the hero’s journey, as put forward by Joseph Campbell: person in the normal world receives a call to action, refuses it, is called again, and goes on a journey whereon he meets enemies and allies and faces challenges. After facing an ordeal, the hero claims the treasure, takes the road back home, arrives home changed (resurrected) and gives of the wisdom or treasure he has received to others. (Yes, this is an overly simplified version. There are many resources to learn more about this journey — I like The Writer’s Journey by Christopher Vogler.) Continue reading

I is for inheritance

Many stories talk about what we get from our families. In epic fantasy, stories can hinge on things that characters have inherited — swords (Shannara), rings (LotR), a way with the Force, the ability to do magic (unless one is a Mudblood, of course). Or inheritances can be more subtle, helping characters face their challenges — Harry Potter, for example, has inherited both his father’s skill with a broomstick and his father’s invisibility cloak.

Inheritance is a way of making the present story the culmination of effects in the past, creating continuity, and increasing the scope of a tale. Of course, it’s not what the characters have, but what they do with what they have that matters. The person who leaves his grandfather’s sword hanging on the wall over the fireplace doesn’t make a good story.

What story has touched you with an heirloom or inheritance, something the main character has received from the past? What was special about it?


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.

G is for good vs. evil

The classic theme for epic fantasy is good vs. evil. It’s big, it changes the world, nations hang in the balance. The nations of the North unite to fight Sauron. Only the Sword of Shannara can defeat the darkness. The Rebels have to destroy the Empire. Good must be triumphant.

This lack of shades of gray is why some people don’t believe that George R. R. Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire series is epic fantasy. It may have all the trappings (although use of magic is low), but all the stakes are personal, individual goals. I’ll come back to this idea when I hit the letter “S.” (Ha! You’ve just had a sneak peek!)

What do you think? Do you like to read or write good vs. evil stories?


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.

F is for farmboy

Poor farmboy goes on a quest and winds up saving the world, right? He doesn’t have to be a farmboy; he can be a pig-herder, a baker’s apprentice, or some other menial occupation. You see it everywhere from Lloyd Alexander to Christopher Paolini — poor boy makes good (even if the pig herder goes back to being a pig herder). Continue reading