Very Maxfield Parrish, no?
Tag: Fantasy
The Convoluted World of Ruwenda
Technically its name is “The World of the Three Moons” but the country the series revolves around is called Ruwenda, so I’m going call the world Ruwenda as well, similar to how “Narnia” refers to both Narnia the country and Narnia the greater world around it. The purpose of this post is to give some …
Passing Obsessions 7-24
Scandal strikes the SFF world again. Writer Neil Gaiman accused of, but denies, sexually assaulting two women, one of whom was the nanny of his child. The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, an animated film by Warner Brothers based on Tolkien’s work, releases some preview artwork. (It’s anime style.) In related …
Worldbuilding Wednesday 6/12/24: Narnian Cat Names (Narnia LI)
Cats get short shrift in The Chronicles of Narnia. Oh, sure, Aslan is a lion, and leopards and panthers are also mentioned. But domestic cats, unlike dogs, do not get to be heroes. In fact, a domestic cat is one of the notable villains of the series, the creatively named Ginger of The Last Battle. …
The White Witch Returns, Part 1
It’s time for some more depictions of Narnia’s White Witch, like this spooky one of a dark-complected, Drow-like (the black-skinned, white-haired chaotic evil elves of AD&D fame) Jadis riding sidesaddle on a white wolf. An anime White Witch with a night sky of storms and snowflakes in her hair. The pale blue and black combination …
The Little Prince (1974) [Review]
If you were an elementary school student in the 1970s, your school library probably contained a copy of The Little Prince. Written by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, a French nobleman, pilot, and adventurer, and published in 1943, it has since become an oddball but revered children’s classic, standing beside The Phantom Tollbooth, Willie Wonka and the …
Nettle & Bone
[Reading Challenge 2024]
Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher Tor Books, 2022 [ #24 Top of the Heap: A book on any Top Whatever list. ] This is another of those books I got from the Little Free Library down the street. I was surprised to find it there, because it’s so recent, so niche, and was so …
Worldbuilding Wednesday 2/14/24: Love Magic
Since it’s Valentine’s day, I thought I’d do a list of spells and magical items related to love, or its lack. Caution, a few of these are NSFW! The fellow above is from Starry AI’s “pinup” art filter. The prompt was a variation of “bearded wizard with arms raised, a cloud of valentine candy hearts, …
Worldbuilding Wednesday 12/6/23: Magic Spells of Ancient Greece
Curse tablets were a cottage industry in ancient Greece. Spells embodying the caster’s desires were written on plaques of stone, clay, papyrus, wax, even thin sheets of gold. Then, to reach the gods, they were thrown into wells or buried with the dead (often without permission from the dead one’s next of kin.) It’s likely …
Worldbuilding Wednesday 11/29/23: Magic Items of Ancient Greece
Greek myths were chock-full of magic items, most of them made by the gods; and with a few exceptions, most of the humans who meddled with them came to a bad end. Take the tale of Jason and the Golden Fleece. It’s a very long and involved one, but the gist goes like this. Disinherited …