Hype or Like Friday: Favorite Fantasy Novels

Hype or Like Friday is a meme created by Larkin, Britt and Jill . Check out the Goodreads group to know more about it and stay up to date with the weekly discussions and book of the month.

June 17th: Favorite Fantasy Novels (Tell us why we should read them.)

This post will probably not be what to expect it to be. (How to create suspense, part 1)

I was bumped to have missed my Friday posts in June, so I decided to try harder for this week’s topic, but my knowledge of Fantasy books is still pretty limited. I will not mention Harry Potter because it is a given, neither will I talk about The Lord of The Rings because I never read it and hated the movies. At least the first and only movie I saw. Once those were taken off the list, I was left with a lot of sci-fi books. Sci-fi can be a part of Fantasy according to some sites, but I really wanted to stick to pure Fantasy (I’m the Malfoy of genres).

THE SILVERWING SERIES

Who would have guessed I read fantasy when I was a kid? Not me (Yes, exception made for Harry Potter. Of course, can we move on?).

Shade is a young Silverwing bat, the runt of his colony. But he’s determined to prove himself on the long, dangerous winter migration to Hibernaculum, millions of wingbeats to the south. During a fierce storm, he loses the others and soon faces the most incredible journey of his young life. Desperately searching for a way to rejoin his flock, Shade meets a remarkable cast of characters: Marina, a Brightwing bat with a strange metal band on her leg; Zephyr, a mystical albino bat with a strange gift; and Goth, a gigantic carnivorous vampire bat. But which ones are friends and which ones are enemies? In this epic story of adventure and suspense, Shade is going to need all the help he can find — if he hopes to ever see his family again.

I was around twelve when I picked Silverwing up from a shelf at my local library. This is one of the few childhood memories I have access to. Shade is a very cute bat hoping to prove himself to those around him. Being nice and sweet and close to his mother doesn’t do good to his reputation among his fellow baby bats. I loved following that little beast through his journey. I discovered the importance of friendship at a time I was a loner, I was taught one must learn how to fend for oneself when away from their parents at a time my family was in the midst of a huge drama. I saw Shade and Marina as my friends and had a wonderful time. This story made me go through the whole range of emotions, which is a bit scary for a kid, but so necessary, especially to truly understand the importance of books. I believe every kid should read it. And now I am curious to know what I would think if I read it again at 25. I am sure this would still be enjoyable. I might just buy the series in English to make sure of it. Anyway, this book made it to the list because I remember it clearly more than 13 years later, and that my friends, is a miracle considering how bad my memory is.

THRONE OF GLASS

Don’t be scared. This won’t be a rave review of the series and I won’t beg you to read it to meet the most badass character you’ll ever read (Gosh, even writing it hurts!).

This choice was motivated by two factors.
First, I am still grateful to Jill @ rantandraveaboutbooks for lending me this book and reminding me I do enjoy fantasy.
But what makes Throne of Glass my favorite fantasy is the brilliant read-along hosted by Liam @ Hey Ashers . Imagine an okay story. A girl. A contest. Two guys. Random deaths. Then spice things up with amazingly snarky -but oh so true- comments, and get ready for a good laugh.

Don’t get me wrong, the story is enjoyable by itself and I understand why many people loved it. But I feel like we should publish a version with the original story on one page, and all of Liam’s notes on the other, just like in those translated books. This read-along turned Throne of Glass from the -my first fantasy in years- status to an epic journey through a Lady’s hard hard oh so hard life. So if you haven’t checked her chapters, forget everything you were doing (but leave me a comment first) and go read them!

Here ends my list of favorite fantasy books. Let’s do the same next year, and I am sure I will have enough material for a 5,000 word post!

What do you think of my choices? Have you read them? What are you favorite fantasy novels? (You get a bonus point if they are hyped!)