Bet you thought I was going to say Aren, didn’t you?
Oh, hi.
One of my favourite things about reading and writing Fantasy is the potential for adventure. Not adventures in meeting rich guys in coffee shops… not adventures in parenting, or shopping, or real estate, but the kind of adventure that takes characters away from their regular lives and throws them into something completely unfamiliar and even magical.
Big adventures.
Epic adventures.
The Bound Trilogy is a series of three adventures, but it’s also just one. Each book has its own story: Bound is about Aren and Rowan’s meeting and (as suggested by the title) the search for a cure for her binding. Torn is about SPOILER ALERT Aren’s quest to find his father and everything that happens during that time, with he and Rowan on separate adventures. Sworn is about… well, you’ll see.
But overall, there’s one massive task, which means one ginormous* adventure: Dealing with Severn. He’s the big bad guy, even if he only shows up a few times in the earlier books. He’s the challenge, the thing that threatens the characters we’re rooting for, and each book is a step closer to whatever the conclusion of that adventure will be.
Of course, life doesn’t deal out one problem or adventure at a time, and neither do stories. Adventure comes in many forms: finding love, losing it, growing up, and even the little things that distract us from our big goals are all adventures in their own right.
Sometimes adventure leads to glory. Sometimes it ends in heartbreak. And some adventures don’t end with every thread tied up in a neat “happily ever after” bow. Life is messy, and life goes on after the adventure is over. That’s another thing I love about Fantasy. Even when the story’s over, the fair dude or damsel saved, the monsters slain (or not), and the world granted a measure of peace, there’s still so much potential for the reader’s imagination to continue the fun. Unless everybody dies, the story goes on.
Life itself is the greatest adventure, and there’s always room for one more.
TELL ME: What’s your favourite adventure in a book or movie? What adventures has your own life led you to recently?
*I know it’s not a word, but it feels good to say it.
disregard the prologue 
May 7th, 2015 at 10:12 am
I giggled when I saw Aren’s eye and the caption, “Oh, hi.” But then I’m usually giggling and fluttering when I see the top cover above. 🙂
As for adventure, that’s also what I love about fantasy. It’s how I discovered your blog–our mutual love of fantastic adventures. Madeleine L’Engle’s Time Quintet, C. S. Lewis, Narnia series, and Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy were the books that solidified my love of the science fiction/fantasy genre.
May 11th, 2015 at 5:54 pm
It has that effect on me, too…
May 7th, 2015 at 12:32 pm
Top favs are Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings – I could read the books and watch the movies over and over.
May 7th, 2015 at 1:10 pm
Harry Potter for me, too. I want to do a re-read this summer. Tried to start with my kids, but they weren’t into it. Guess I’m on my own again. 🙂
May 7th, 2015 at 1:13 pm
I tried to read them to my kids when they were younger with the same result, but the love the movies. I’ve probably read the series through at least three times – by myself.
May 7th, 2015 at 1:18 pm
I’ve only got though twice so far–I’m not actually the fastest reader these days, and there are so many new things still on my list. Going back to old favourites is just such a lovely feeling, though.
May 11th, 2015 at 6:06 pm
Real life has been an adventure all my adult life, from my boyfriend being horrified that I had applied for a job with a cruise line and would be away, to leaving that idea and marrying him instead, Then he lost his job and gained another which led to us travelling the world and living in amazing places, in peace and danger. Now the adventure is in visiting people and being visited, adventures into art, dealing with the things life throws at us and, of course, at the very end of life is the biggest adventure of all.
Anne McCaffrey and her books sparked (‘scuse the pun) my love of fantasy. Another favourite author is Trudi Canavan. I love escaping into a fantasy world.
Hugs.
May 11th, 2015 at 6:11 pm
You’ve had one of the most adventurous lives of anyone I know! Wish we could sit together and chat over tea.
May 18th, 2015 at 9:49 pm
So breezed in and saw that close-up and WHADAYAMEANAISNTFORAREN?!!? *crawls back under rock*
May 19th, 2015 at 7:32 am
Nobody requested him… and that would have been a massive post. 🙂