Art by Peter Fitzpatrick

Last year, I resumed my “About the Characters” post series that focuses on the minor characters in The Wall Of Night series, because:

“I think it’s the presence of the smaller characters that “makes” a story, creating texture around the main points of view.”

~ from my Legend Award Finalist's Interview, 2013 

Initially, the series focused exclusively on characters from The Heir of Night, but now I’m continuing on with minor characters from both The Gathering Of The Lost and Daughter of Blood simultaneously — in alphabetical order, of course!

(The quotes, together with the covers, indicate whether the character appears in all or only one of the books.)

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Emeriath: a figure out of Derai legend, associated with the hero, Kerem the Dark Handed
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Malian—looking from the corner of her eye—saw that even the gray-clad heralds were leaning forward as the minstrel waited, holding the hall in his silence.  Then his hand touched the strings and the golden voice soared, sweeping them into the old, old tale of Kerem the Dark Handed and Emeriath of Night.  Kerem was one of the elder heroes of the Derai, a solitary hunter and warrior who wreaked great havoc amongst the Swarm and rescued Emeriath from the Maze of Fire.  It was a dark story, like all the great hero tales…

~ from © The Heir Of Night, The Wall of Night Book One: Chapter 2 — Heralds Of The Guild
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“I wish,” she began, and then fell silent herself. The nightingale, which had been quiet for some time, was singing again and now the old Derai sorrow was all she heard of its song:  Kerem the Dark Handed and Emeriath; Xeria’s grief for Tasian; Yorindesarinen dying alone, her body

hacked and riven, with the Chaos Worm’s venom racking her veins.

~ from © The Gathering Of The Lost, The Wall of Night Book Two: Chapter 46 — Moonset
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...the face that stooped over Myr’s was undoubtedly a woman’s, even if the eyes were as sorrowful as the crow’s, gazing down on her from the sundered web. “Who?” she tried to ask, and was glad the pain had grown remote again as the darkness pressed close.

“Emeriath,” the stranger said, so perhaps Myr had managed the question after all. Emeriath, she thought, from the heart of one of the old, dark hero tales: a lady of Night who had been captured by the Swarm. Together with Kerem, who came to her rescue, she had trodden the Maze of Fire and escaped.

~ from © Daughter Of Blood: The Wall of Night Book Three, Chapter 55 — The Crow

Artefacts of power, and/or doom, are one of the great staples of epic fantasy and the myths, legends, and folklore that inform the literature. Given they’re frequently the object of heroic quests, this instalment of “Having Fun With Epic Fantasy Tropes” is closely linked to Instalment 8, “We’re All Going On A MacGuffin Hunt.”

Starting With Swords…

Those of you who are following this series will also be aware that it has a predecessor in a guest post (one of a mini-series of three) I put together for (the sorely and sadly missed) SF Signal, awa’ back in the mists of time, aka 2011 (gulp!) The post was titled  “The Soul-Sucking Sword”, which constitutes an artefact of power if ever there was one (imho.) The specific swords featured in that post are:
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• Stormbringer from Michael Moorcock’s Elric of Melnibone series
• Gonturan, the Blue Sword, made famous in Robin McKinley’s Damar books
• Changeling, as featured in CJ Cherryh’s Morgaine ‘verse
• Dragnipur, the sword of Anomander Rake in Steven Erikson’s Malazan: The Book of the Fallen

Aragorn & Andúril

Other swords I’ve mentioned around the interweb traps include Narsil, the ‘Sword That Was Broken’ in the backstory to JRR Tolkien’s The Lord Of The Rings, which was then reforged as Andúril, the Flame of the West, for Aragorn.

And one cannot discuss artefacts or swords of power without reference to Excalibur from the many variants of the King Arthur legend. Not the least of those was Excalibur’s re-imagining as Caliburn, the sword of the fallen (Roman) Emperor Maximus, in Mary Stewart’s wonderful Arthurian sequence.

Gandalf the Grey with Glamdring

The reason for the frequent mentions is because swords of power seem to hold pride of place in epic fantasy. In The Lord of the Rings, for example, we also have a significant number of other named swords, including Orcrist, Glamdring, and Sting… I believe this preeminence is understandable in a branch of Fantasy literature that is also known as “Heroic fantasy” and “High fantasy” although heroes may use many weapons, hand to hand combat in the realm of high deeds is most often with a sword. Similarly, although knights might use other weapons historically, such as the battleaxe and mace, the sword was seen as a knightly and even princely weapon, i.e. when being made a knight by someone of higher status, the candidate was—and is—“dubbed” by means of a sword.

“Hold on,” you may cry, “what about Druss, the legendary axeman in David Gemmell’s groundbreaking heroic fantasy, Legend?” To which I reply—nodding sagely—that although Druss is clearly one of the three leading protagonists in Legend, in the context of the book he is i) not of the high, knightly classes; and ii) does not see himself as heroic, although others clearly do. It is Rek, who becomes the Earl of Bronze, albeit through marriage, who is the great swordsman. Serbitar and the Thirty, who are mostly if not all of noble birth, also primarily use swords.

As for where one finds such swords, the aspiring sword wielder should look among goblin hordes and in lakes and caves, as well as thrust into stones or already in the possession of great heroes and powerful wizards.

However, since I’ve given swords pride of place in SF Signal and other posts in the past, today I’m going to focus on alternative artefacts of power.

…Then Moving Right Along

Thor & Mjolnir

Coming back to the mythic origins of epic, I thought we’d look at some of the prototypes for artefacts of power and doom. From the aegis (a shield), winged sandals, and cap of of visibility borrowed by Perseus (from the gods Athena and Hermes respectively) to the arms of Achilles; and from the Golden Fleece to the Holy Grail; the hammer of Thor (Mjolnir) to the Four Treasures of Erin (the sword, spear, stone, and cup/cauldron of the Tuatha Dé Danann); and Aladdin’s lamp to Maui’s fishhook, myth and folklore abounds with them.

Excalibur (the film)

A few of my other favourites include (without being at all exclusive!) Brisingamen, the necklace of the Norse goddess Freya, and Skidbladnir, the magical ship of her brother, Frey. Argo, the vessel of Jason and his fellow heroes, also has an honorable place in artefact history. Excalibur’s scabbard has considerable potency and the bows of Paris, Philoctetes, and Odysseus all get honorable mentions in The Iliad and The Odyssey respectively. Given their ubiquity, it’s little wonder they are firmly entrenched in both fantasy generally and epic fantasy in particular.

A “farmgal” goes on a journey…

Why “in particular”, you may well ask. My personal view is that it’s because artefacts of power and/or doom, or both, go hand in hand with the farmboy or farmgal, prince or princess, who embarks on a quest-journey to save the world and/or find her or his destiny. The artefact may be the MacGuffin, as discussed last time, or an aid to the protagonist in seeking to either find or destroy another artefact.

Boromir and the Horn of Gondor

For example, in The Lord of the Rings, Frodo and his eight companions are seeking to destroy the One Ring, but of their company, three have magic swords (Aragorn and Andúril; Gandalf and Glamdring; Frodo and Sting.) In addition, Boromir has the Horn of Gondor and Galadriel makes additional gifts to the company, including the Phial intended to provide light “when all other lights go out.” In the backstory, too, we find objects of power such as the silmaril (a great jewel that is eventually set among the stars) and Aiglos, the spear of Gil-Galad.

Lucy receives her gift of healing cordial

The Lord Of The Rings is by no means alone in this respect. Starting with children’s literature, in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe Father Christmas gives three of the four Pevensey children a sword and shield, a bow and horn, and a dagger and healing cordial respectively. This makes Father Christmas’s sack a good starting point for those who seek similar gifts.

Alan Garner goes directly to the Four Treasures of Celtic myth in Elidor, which are found in a mound. These may also be found, although not necessarily in their official Four Treasures guise, in other Celtic-inpsired fantasy novels, such as Guy Gavriel Kay’s Fionavar series and Susan Cooper’s The Dark Is Rising quintet.

In Garner’s The Weirdstone of Brisingamen the treasure is a stone and not the necklace of Norse myth, but it’s rightful resting place is also a cave. Returning to Susan Cooper’s The Dark Is Rising series (as mentioned in the MacGuffin post), the five books centre on the finding of longlost artefacts that will support the power of the light and turn back the dark. These include the grail, a codex to decipher it, and the “six signs” of Will Stanton’s Twelfth Night quest in the second book, also titled The Dark is Rising. As for where to find such items, “over sea and under stone” and generally secreted in unexpected places is the order of things.

In Philip Pullman’s Golden Compass trilogy, the first book is centered around the mysterious alethiometer, a truth-telling and predictive compass that only Lyra can readily interpret. In the second book, The Subtle Knife,  the blade for which the book is named opens gateways between parallel universes. The armour of the panzerbjorn is also a significant artefact as well as the essence of the bears’ physical and spiritual being. The latter are only found in the forges of the frozen north.

As for JK Rowling’s Harry Potter, in which the books grow increasingly epic as the story progresses, the series features an abundance of artefacts of power. These include the philosopher’s stone of the first book (try Gringott’s vaults and/or caves beneath Hogwarts), the cloak of invisibility, the sword of Gryffindor (the Sorting Hat provides sure access), Hermione’s timeturner (professors such as Minerva McGonagall are a reliable source), and the goblet of fire (enchanted within a maze) for which the fourth book is named—not to mention the seven horcruxes in which Lord Voldemort has secreted part of his being. The latter will always be concealed in secret and highly dangerous locations.

If we look back to ships such as the Argo and Skidbladnir—not to mention Prydwen, the ship that bore Arthur to the Celtic underworld—magical vehicles such as the enchanted Ford Anglia in The Chamber Of Secrets and the Knight Bus in The Prisoner Of Azkaban also count as artefacts of power. And when it comes to ships (although it’s not epic fantasy) I do have to mention Hilda Lewis’s children’s classic, The Ship That Flew, in which the ship turns out to be Skidbladnir. As for where it’s found, try a secondhand shop with a mysterious proprietor…

In terms of artefacts that bridge Children’s and Adult literature, one can say that this is “all of them!” since artefacts of power are integral to epic fantasy. Ships, though, are one of my particular favourites, possibly because I always wanted to be an Argonaut as a kid. 😉 So it may then come as no surprise to learn that Robin Hobb’s Liveship Traders trilogy, which starts with Ship of Magic, is a favourite of mine and that I heart all the ships. Vivacia and Paragon are definitely just as much characters as the human protagonists. (At this point, of course, I yearn to mention Iain M Banks’s Culture ships, but of course I can’t because, fantastic though they are, they’re definitely Science Fiction and not Fantasy.)

Musical instruments are another of my favourite artefacts of power.  I’ve always had a particular fondness for the cwidder (a musical instrument, reminiscent of a lute) that Moril uses to bring down mountains in Diana Wynne Jones’ Cart and Cwidder. In literature for older readers, I’ve always respected Morgon of Hed’s starred harp (in Patricia McKillip’s Riddlemaster trilogy), which has a lowest string that will snap steel and shatter stone. Unlike the cwidder, though, which belonged to Moril’s father before he inherited it, Morgon’s harp is a “found” object.

When it comes to artefacts of doom, stones hold a distinguished place in the literature.  The stone called the Terrenon, in Ursula Le Guin’s A Wizard Of Earthsea, and the Stone-at the-Heart-of-the-Deep in Barbara Hambly’s Dragonsbane, are both sources of great power that can be drawn on by others. The difference is that in Earthsea, the Terrenon is clearly evil, whereas the Dragonsbane Stone is neutral but the will of the user determines whether the magic is turned to good or evil ends. Both stones are to be found in secret chambers, deep within the earth.

Golden torcs are a crucial artefact in Julian May’s Saga of the Exiles quartet, as it is the torcs that enable the Tanu (i.e. the sidhe or fey) and those humans allied with them, to access their psychic and magical powers. Being born to or enlisting in the ranks of the Tanu is the usual way to obtain one. Golden torcs also play a significant part, for weal and woe, in Diana Wynne Jones’ Power of Three.

In David Gemmell’s Legend (mentioned above), Druss’s axe Snaga may be named but it has no magical powers. The armour of the Earl of Bronze, however—which also appears in Waylander, the prequel to Legend—is known as “the soul of the Earl of Bronze” and has considerable legendary and mystical status in the hearts and imaginations of the populace. As to where to find it, it is in “a deep cave high up the side of a tall mountain” in Waylander, and in a locked room beneath the fortress of Dros Delnoch in Legend—where the Earl’s sword is encased in a block of mysterious crystal.

No discussion of artefacts of power would be complete without reference to The Luggage from Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series. The Luggage is first encountered following the tourist, Twoflower, who hails from the Counterweight continent and gifts The Luggage to the wizard, Rincewind. The Luggage is distinguished by being able to follow Twoflower or Rincewind anywhere, including into alternate dimensions. It also devours thieves and is the only entity in the Discworld that presents a real challenge to the invincible Coen the Barbarian. If you want your own set of similar luggage, I’m guessing the Counterweight continent is the place to look…

So Why Are Artefacts So Important In Fantasy Storytelling?

Fantasy in general and epic fantasy in particular is often categorized as intrinsically nostalgic and inherently anti-tech. Yet I find it fascinating that artefacts are integral to fantasy storytelling, since they are created or shaped objects and in this sense technological, although usually from an earlier age. The stolen computer in Barbara Hambly’s The Silent Tower is one exception to that rule, though.

In considering their central place in myth, legend and literature, I have come up with two potential explanations.

The Holy Lance of Antioch, displayed in the Imperial Treasury, Hofburg Palace, Vienna

The first is that tools, weapons, and other artefacts have been and still are essential to humanity’s physical and cultural survival and success. As such, they will also, inevitably, provide outward evidence of wealth and social prominence. So it’s not surprising that the importance of ships and cauldrons, musical instruments and jewellery, swords and armor, are reflected in human stories.

Another reason their allure has proven so enduring, even as societies and stories change, is because created objects—especially valued and powerful ones—do endure, well beyond the generation that created them. So they and their magic may be handed down, transcending generations. You’ll recall, too, that the sweep of time is one of the distinguishing characteristics of epic fantasy and a sword, cwidder, or ring can bridge generations and millenia—exactly as archaeological finds do in our everyday, “muggle” world. 🙂

Note: The attribution for the lance image is as follows: 
"By Weltliche_Schatzkammer_Wien_(180)-3.jpg: *Weltliche_Schatzkammer_
Wien_(180).JPG: Gryffindorderivative work: Saibo (Δ) - 
Weltliche_Schatzkammer_Wien_(180)-3.jpg, CC BY-SA 3.0, 
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11725211"

So, Wot About My Writing , Then?

An excellent question. As a reader, listener, and viewer, I have always loved artefacts of power in all their forms so it’s no surprise one or even quite a few of them appear in Thornspell and The Wall Of Night series.

In Thornspell, the primary artefact of power (AoP) is Quickthorn, the red-and-white sword that “the dragons made for Parsifal” —provenance being important to AoPs 🙂 — and which is found in, yes indeed, a cave tomb…Conversely, the foremost artefact of doom (AoD) is the blue ring worn by the chief antagonist, the Margravine zu Malvolin.

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As discussed in the preceding post on MacGuffins, the arms of the long-dead hero, Yorindesarinen, play an important part in The Wall Of Night story. In addition to Nhenir, the Moonbright Helm, the Frostfire Sword, and the Shield of Stars, the arms include a magical armband, although this is not named. However, these are not the series’ only artefacts of power.

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At the same time as the main character, Malian, receives the armband, her friend Kalan (the secondary lead) is given a black-pearl ring (the Token) that turns out to be linked to a series of weapons known as Black Blades, which comprise both spears and a pair of swords. The latter weapons are dual-natured in that their power also holds aspects of doom. So, too, does the Web of Mayanne, a tapestry that binds the chaotic Hunt of Mayanne, to which the Token is also directly connected.

Yep, that’s a sword on the cover!

The WALL story’s roll-call of artefacts also includes a bronze mirror (AoD), a walking stick with inset eyes (AoP), and ships that also have eyes depicted on their prows and can speak mind-to-mind (AoP.) There is also a twelve-sided table in the heart of the Old Keep of Winds, as well as rune scrolls, a medallion, and a wand used by one of the secondary antagonists.

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That probably sounds like a lot of artefacts, but the WALL series is a big story and I believe it can accommodate them; I hope readers agree! As for where the WALL artefacts may be found, not infrequently this is outside of time or within the realm of dreams, including in hidden towers (Nhenir), caverns (the Frostfire Sword), tombs (one of the Black Spears) and concealed rooms (the twelve-sided table.)

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WALL series artefacts may also be found in more mundane but overlooked locations, such as infrequently used or everyday rooms (e.g. the Web of Mayanne and the bronze shield), or even in a tinker’s cart (the black swords.)

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Almost always, too, they are not where the seeker expects to find them—which is all part of the fun, since it means that anything at all can turn out to be important and every footsoldier, to paraphrase Napoleon, may have a marshall’s baton in his or her knapsack.

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Next Time:  Next up will be Instalment 10: “The Alchemy Of Numbers”—probably on Monday 27 August, but failing that, on 3 September.

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Previously In This Series:

Introduction: Having Fun With Epic Fantasy—Meet the Tropes

Instalment 1: Having Fun With Epic Fantasy Tropes: A Farm Boy/Gal Goes On A Journey…

Instalment  2: A Prince/Princess Finds A Destiny

Instalment 3: Dreams and Portents, Prophecy and Destiny

Instalment 4: “Apocalypse Now”

Instalment 5: Meet The Big Bad

Instalment 6: The Sweep Of Time & Its Twin, War Without End

Instalment 7: Fortunately There was A Portal

Instalment 8: We’re All Going On A MacGuffin Hunt

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On SF Signal: The “Having Fun With Epic Fantasy” Series

1. “Making the Grand Tour” (aka the Road Journey);

2. “The “Band of Brothers”; and the

3. “Soul-Sucking Sword.”

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© Helen Lowe

The Wall of Night Series map; design by Peter Fitzpatrick

The A Geography of Haarth post series traverses the full range of locales and places from The Wall Of Night world of Haarth.

From January 25, 2013 to November 25, 2014, the series explored locations encountered in The Heir Of Night and The Gathering Of The Lost.

Now it’s returned to gazette the geography of Daughter Of Blood (The Wall Of Night Book Three.)  The new series comprises updates of previous entries as well as new listings.

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Northern March:  northern border region of the Duchy of Emer, one of the southern realms of Haarth

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Carick fingered the silver medallion at his throat. … “The caravan guide said that the Castellan of Normarch held the Northern March for the Duke and that his knights patroled the pass. He said I would be safe traveling through alone.”

This time Raven slewed right around in the saddle to look at him. “And you believed him?” He shook his head. “The Northern March of Emer is vast and sparsely settled, not like your River lands. The Castellan has his work cut out to uphold the Duke’s law.”

~ from © The Gathering Of The Lost: The Wall of Night Book Two; Chapter 11 — The Wolfpack
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“High stakes, high risks. And so far, little Kalan could do to influence either, except remain alert to the nuances of the game—so long as he lived. Once that thought would have checked him, but now he regarded the possibility of his own death with a detachment learned on Emer’s wild and dangerous Northern March, where giving in to the sway of emotion was a sure way to end up dead.”

~ from © Daughter Of Blood: The Wall of Night Book Three, Chapter 29 — Risk

Firstly, an apology, since today’s post was meant to be another instalment (#9 in fact!) of the Having Fun With Epic Fantasy Tropes series (the link is to the most recent instalment, which in its turn links back to all the previous posts.)

However, as those who have read my 1 August post on the Supernatural Underground may be aware, I have recently sustained an eye injury, one that means I have to limit my screen time until it’s 100% again. So since the “Having Fun” posts tend to be large and require more screen time, it will be delayed until that happy day — which I am really hoping will not be further away than next Monday!

In the meantime, I thought I’d share a few more pics from “Inside Middle Earth”. 😉 These particular ones are from Christchurch’s post-earthquake, Residential Red Zone (and here’s a little more explanation from Wikipedia in relation to the Central City Red Zone), which is close to where I live.

The area alongside the Avon river, as featured in the photo below, was once all houses and gardens in the Christchruch suburbs of Avonside, Dallington, and Richmond, all of which were cleared as a result of the 2010-2011 earthquakes:

Avonside area, Christchurch Residential Red Zone

Spot the ducklings by the way! (This photo was taken last spring.)

“As I went out walking” (to quote the U2 song) a few months back I spotted welcome swallows, around 10 or 12 of them, darting and diving exuberantly to and fro across the river. Naturally, I tried to catch this on film, but largely without success: they were just too fast for me and my fairly basic camera. However, I did manage to get this:

Welcome swallow & silhouette

The flash of one welcome swallow at bottom right — and its far clearer and magnified silhouette. 🙂

I also managed to catch another two as silhouettes only, but they are not as clear: look to the top left this time.

So there you are, a little riverside magic — and if light and shadow is something of a theme, under the circumstances that’s probably appropriate, too. 😀

As regulars here probably know, but newcomers may not, on the first of every month I post on the Supernatural Underground blog.

So yesterday I posted on my recent rediscovery of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (using the US title because the SU is a US-based blog) via the medium of audio book.

As it turns out, the post is timely because July 31 is Harry Potter’s birthday, so what better time to share my thoughts re a first-time listen which is also effectively a “re-read.” 😉 Here’s how it starts:

“I first discovered audio books well over a decade ago, when travelling with friends who enjoyed listening to them on the car radio. I did, too, but for some reason never adopted the medium beyond that one experience.

Recently, however, I sustained an injury to my eye, one which has made any sort of reading and screen work very difficult. Even now, it’s only slowly coming right enough to write this post, and as you can imagine, with a life bereft of books, television, and the internet (“I know” — grave extremes indeed!) it did not take long for my mind to return to audio books.

As I was not feeling particularly well, my first choice was to opt for an old favorite, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone*…”

To read all about how I found both the reread and the audio experience, click on:

Rediscovering Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone Via Audio Book

And have fun in your own reading or listening. 🙂

‘Tis the bleak midwinter still, here “inside Middle Earth” (aka Nu Zild, aka Aotearoa — the “land of the long, white cloud”, aka New Zealand) so I thought I’d share a few snapshots from “around the traps.”

WW1 centenary monument, Rimutaka Crossing

The view north, from Rimutaka Crossing:

Governor’s Bay, Banks Peninsular: the view is of Lyttelton Harbour:

Up close and personal: a Canterbury braided river, not far from the sea:

Looking upriver:

And for those who love gardens, something from the fabulous Hamilton Gardens:

“Concept” Garden: the plants are NZ natives

The whakatauki or proverb inscribed on the wall translates as: “The human family lives on while the branch of the titoki falls and decays.” To read more about the Concept Garden, click on this link: Hamilton Gardens — Concept Garden.

Here’s a closer look at that dirigible, seen in the distance in the previous photo:

And an old favourite of mine, the Russian belltower, ca. 16th-17th century style, that inspired the belvedere in Thornspell:

So there you are, from North Island to South Island and back to the North Island again, or Here and Back Again. 😉

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Last year, I resumed my “About the Characters” post series that focuses on the minor characters in The Wall Of Night series, because :

“I think it’s the presence of the smaller characters that “makes” a story, creating texture around the main points of view.”

~ from my Legend Award Finalist's Interview, 2013 

Initially, the series focused exclusively on characters from The Heir of Night, but now I’m continuing on with minor characters from both The Gathering Of The Lost and Daughter of Blood simultaneously — in alphabetical order, of course!

(The quotes, together with the covers, indicate whether the character appears in both or only one of the books—this week we’re back to a single entry.)

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Elodin: a Star knight, escort captain to Tirael of the Derai House of Stars; her full name is Elodinel

…the dispassionate voice was fading, releasing Rook to the presence that he now perceived was more than just Tirael. Elodin was there, and the rest of the Stars escort, their combined power forming an anchor for Tirael and himself. A storm anchor, Rook thought, another memory shaken out of his long ago Sea keep visit—

~ from © Daughter Of Blood: The Wall of Night Book Three, Chapter 53 — Shadow Play

What The Heck’s A MacGuffin, You May Well Ask…

Wikipedia (aka ‘the font of all wisdom’ ) describes a “MacGuffin” as a “plot device in the form of some goal, desired object, or another motivator that the protagonist pursues, often with little or no narrative explanation. The MacGuffin’s importance to the plot is not the object itself, but rather its effect on the characters and their motivations.”

The Hitchcock film closely associated with the idea of a “MacGuffin”

If you dig a little deeper, the last sentence does appear to be open to some question. For example, although Hitchcock was allegedly of the view that “The MacGuffin is the thing that the spies are after but the audience don’t care [about]” (Boyd, David; Perspectives on Alfred Hitchcock, G. K. Hall, 1995, pg 31), George Lucas takes a different stance. He believes that the MacGuffin should be powerful and that “the audience should care about it almost as much as the dueling heroes and villains on screen” (Vanity Fair, February 2008.)

I believe what everyone agrees on, though, is that the MacGuffin, or MacGuffins, motivate the protagonists and antagonists to undertake the actions that comprise the story, usually by finding the object, or achieving the goal that constitutes the MacGuffin. In most cases, particularly in Fantasy, this involves some sort of hunt or search—aka the quest-journey that featured in the very first instalment of this series: “A Farm Boy/Gal Goes On A Journey.”
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Is A “MacGuffin” A New Thing, Then?

The next question, if I follow the format of preceding posts in this series, is whether what we now term “MacGuffins” have antecedents in the myths and legends, fairytales and folklore that form the background to contemporary Fantasy fiction. The answer is a resounding yes, with perhaps the most obvious and well known being the Grail Quest in the Arthurian Cycle, which is sometimes known as the “Matter of Britain.”

The hunt for the grail, which encompasses both goal and  object, is of vital importance to the knights of the Round Table. Its primary place in the story, however, is to spark the Grail Quest, aka a MacGuffin Hunt, with all the tests and vicissitudes that go along with the traditional quest-journey.

I would also argue that Arthur’s story begins with a MacGuffin quest as well, with the MacGuffin being the sword in the stone, which exists in the story so Arthur can pull it out and be recognized as the true king. If we go back earlier,  to the Greek myths, the golden fleece was the “MacGuffin” that set Jason and the Argonauts on their quest journey to steal/retrieve it.

Norse myth, too, has its examples, such as when the giants steal Thor’s hammer (Mjolnir) in hopes of exchanging it for the goddess, Freya, as a wife for their leader.  The quest to recover Mjolnir is really an excuse for the customary Thor/Loki shennanigans that characterize a significant proportion of Norse myth.

Another legitimate question is whether all MacGuffins are objects, such as the Holy Grail or Excalibur, or alternately the statuette of The Maltese Falcon or the plans of the death star (several times over now) in Star Wars. In my view, the answer is “not necessarily”—although in Fantasy, they very often are.

Arguably, though, one of the most famous “MacGuffins” of Greek myth is Helen of Troy, who was abducted by/fled with Paris to Troy. According to the legend, the reason the Greek armies laid siege to Troy for ten years was to get Helen back. Otherwise, though, the Iliad and other related stories, are only peripherally concerned with Helen: what they’re really all about is the battles and individual heroic contests, the tragedy and drama of the heroes and the siege.
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“MacGuffins” in Fantasy Literature:

I believe it would be fair to assert that MacGuffins in all their forms are integral to epic fantasy literature, and also that objects (as opposed to “goals…or other motivators”) are probably the preferred, although not exclusive, form of epic MacGuffins. I believe this trend is particularly pronounced in epic fantasy written for Children and Young Adult readers, but again, not exclusive to it.

1. The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien:

Both observations bring me directly to The Lord of the Rings, which comprises probably the single most famous MacGuffin quest in epic literature: Frodo Baggins and his eight companions quest to take the evil One Ring to Mt Doom, which is the only place it can be destroyed—destruction being the protagonists’ overarching goal. All other action in the story hangs of this quest, although the ring itself is more of a background threat. In this sense it is aligned to Hitchhock’s definition of a MacGuffin, although its importance to the overall story is probably closer toward Lucas.

The Lord of the Rings is deeply grounded in Norse myth, but it departs from myth and legend in that the MacGuffin quest  is to destroy the ring, rather than recover or restore it.
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2. The Great Hunt (Wheel Of Time, Book 2) by Robert Jordan

As indicated in earlier posts, Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series comprises fourteen volumes so there’s plenty of scope for all the epic tropes including MacGuffins.  I am focusing on Book Two, The Great Hunt, though, because effectively it’s an entire book (of ca. 600-700 pages depending on which edition you read) that is devoted to a MacGuffin hunt. The MacGuffin is the legendary Horn of Valere (i.e. an object/artefact of power) and the book’s title frames its contents (as good titles are meant to do.)
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3. The “Fionavar” Tapestry (Trilogy) by Guy Gavriel Kay

Guy Gavriel Kay’s Fionavar trilogy (The Summer Tree; The Wandering Fire; The Darkest Road) contains a number of MacGuffin hunts, including the quest of the seer, Kim, to enlist/conscript powers to combat or match those of the enemy. She has a magic ring, the Baelrath, to help her do this. Consistent with the Helen of Troy precedent, those she is seeking to enlist are not objects but magical beings.

The second hunt is the voyage of the Prydwen to the magical island of Cader Sedat in order to destroy a sorcerous cauldron that is being used to create revenants. In this way Kay manages to incorporate the more traditional MacGuffin hunt and one that reflects The Lord of the Rings, where the goal is to destroy the object of power.
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4. The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia McKillip

Patricia McKillip’s debut — and World Fantasy Award-winning — novel includes a classic MacGuffin hunt that appears secondary to the main action of the story until the final denouement, while also driving or triggering some of that action. The main character, Sybel, collects magical creatures and the hunt that informs the book is for the magical bird, the Liralen—a hunt that also draws unwelcome attention.  As with Kim’s hunt in Fionavar, the Liralen is a magical being rather than an object/artefact.
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5. A Wizard of Earthsea and The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K Le Guin

The reason I’m including Books One and Two in Le Guin’s classic Earthsea series is because the author employs two distinct MacGuffins in each book. In A Wizard of Earthsea Ged must hunt for the true name of the dark being he himself conjured, in order to master it and so save his own life. In this book, the MacGuffin is vital to Ged and the story, so reflects the Lucas view of the trope.

In The Tombs of Atuan the reason for Ged going into the tombs, and hence sparking the story, is to find the lost half of the Ring of Erreth-Akbe. Arguably, though, the finding of the artefact is peripheral to the Atuan story, which is really about Ged and Tenar, love and hate, power and responsibility.
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6. “The Dark Is Rising” Sequence by Susan Cooper

In Susan Cooper’s renowned series (which draws on the Arthurian legends, English folklore, and Celtic and Norse mythology), every book is centered on a MacGuffin hunts to recover a series of artefacts of power necessary to defeat the Dark. These include the grail and the codex to decipher it, the six Signs, a harp of gold, and a crystal sword. Consistent with Lucas’s thesis, the MacGuffins and their recovery are integral to the series.

The five books are: Over Sea, Under Stone, The Dark Is Rising (a Newbery Honor Book), Greenwitch, The Gray King (Newbery Medal; Tir-Nan-Og Award), and Silver On The Tree (Tir-Nan-Og Award.)
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7. The “Sun Wolf And Starhawk” Series by Barbara Hambly

The conclusion of the first book (The Ladies of Mandrigyn) introduces and sets up the MacGuffin quest for Books Two (The Witches of Wenshar) and Three (The Dark Hand of Magic), in which the wizard, Sun Wolf, searches for a teacher for his newly discovered magical ability. This quest is a classic MacGuffin in that it sets up the plot and character motivations but is never resolved.
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8. The Subtle Knife (“His Dark Materials” Series, Book #2) by Philip Pullman

In The Subtle Knife, in particular—of all Pullman’s “Golden Compass” series novels—the hunt by various parties for an artefact of power drives the action and the characters.  In this case, the artefact is the titular subtle knife that opens doors between worlds—also discussed last time in “Fortunately There Was A Portal.”
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9. Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows (Harry Potter, Book #7) by JK Rowling

I have chosen this specific book in the Harry Potter series for two reasons. Firstly, because the series became increasingly epic in character as it progressed. And secondly because The Deathly Hallows contains a classic MacGuffin hunt: Harry and Hermione’s quest to find and destroy the remaining horcruxes that preserve the life of Voldemort, the series’ Big Bad…
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10. The Drawing Of The Dark by Tim Powers

MacGuffins come in many different forms and in this Tim Powers novel that form is “the dark.” The dark is an ancient and potent brew of (presumably very dark) beer that has the power to restore the Fisher King (aka Arthur and before that Sigurd) and tilt the international balance of power, stemming the ascendancy of the Ottoman Empire. Needless to say both the protagonists and antagonists (in this case, the Ottomans who wish to preserve their hegemony) are in a race to gain control of the dark first.  In the classic fashion of MacGuffins the tale is not so much about the beer as the ups and downs of the race…
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So Who Wins, Hitchcock or Lucas?

On balance, I’d say the honors are fairly even between the MacGuffin being important to the protagonists and antagonists, but not vital to the reader’s enjoyment of the story, and those quests that are significant in their own right and where we (as readers) care about the outcome, e.g. whether the MacGuffin is found, recovered, or destroyed.

So What About My Own Books, Then?

I am reasonably certain (although I stand to be corrected) that a MacGuffin hunt does not feature in Thornspell. The protagonist does find a magical sword, but he isn’t aware of its existence until he stumbles upon it, and he certainly doesn’t go looking for it. Since Thornspell is a retelling of Sleeping Beauty from the perspective of the prince, arguably the quest to find and wake the princess could be the ‘MacGuffin’—but I feel that would only follow if the princess were the traditional non-player character. As I made the princess a far more active part of the story, I’m inclined to the view that she can’t be considered a ‘MacGuffin.’ However, I am happy for readers to make up their own minds on this point.

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On the other hand, the MacGuffin hunt is very much part of The Wall Of Night series. One of the many challenges facing the protagonist, Malian, is to find the lost weapons of power that belong to her predecessor, the hero-mage Yorindesarinen. (Yes, I know, long names—it’s probably another trope. 😉 )

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There are three weapons, a helmet, sword, and shield, with the finding of each one being a thread, but not the principal action, in each of the first three books in the series. That is: The Heir of Night: helmet; The Gathering of the Lost: sword; Daughter of Blood: shield. In this sense, my approach is closer to that of Le Guin in The Tombs of Atuan, than to Susan Cooper in “The Dark Is Rising” series.

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The fact that the MacGuffin hunt is a supporting cause, rather than the central purpose of each book may also seem to point more to Hitchcock than Lucas. Except that each MacGuffin quest ends up being integral to the plot, rather than an outlying element, which I believe brings the creative ellipse back toward Lucas again…

In fact, I suspect the MacGuffin trope is similar to a binary star system, with most epic stories orbiting somewhere between the two approaches put forward by the two famous directors.

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Next Time:  Having read this post you’ve probably figured out that MacGuffins and artefacts of power are closely aligned. So check back in on Monday 6 August for Instalment 9: “Artefacts of Power — and Doom — And Where To Find Them.” 😉

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Previously In This Series:

Introduction: Having Fun With Epic Fantasy—Meet the Tropes

Instalment 1: Having Fun With Epic Fantasy Tropes: A Farm Boy/Gal Goes On A Journey…

Instalment  2: A Prince/Princess Finds A Destiny

Instalment 3: Dreams and Portents, Prophecy and Destiny

Instalment 4: “Apocalypse Now”

Instalment 5: Meet The Big Bad

Instalment 6: The Sweep Of Time & Its Twin, War Without End

Instalment 7: Fortunately There was A Portal

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On SF Signal: The “Having Fun With Epic Fantasy” Series

1. “Making the Grand Tour” (aka the Road Journey);

2. “The “Band of Brothers”; and the

3. “Soul-Sucking Sword.”

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© Helen Lowe

The Wall of Night Series map; design by Peter Fitzpatrick

The A Geography of Haarth post series traverses the full range of locales and places from The Wall Of Night world of Haarth.

From January 25, 2013 to November 25, 2014, the series explored locations encountered in The Heir Of Night and The Gathering Of The Lost.

Now it’s returned to gazette the geography of Daughter Of Blood (The Wall Of Night Book Three.)  The new series comprises updates of previous entries as well as new listings.

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Normarch:  the stronghold of the castellan of Emer’s Northern March

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“Looking the other way, Carick could see the boughs of an orchard above the buttery roof, and wooded hills rising, blue in the distance. He had to lean right out the window to catch a glimpse of the castle, which was built of the same gray stone as the inn. Its walls were considerably lower than those of either Ar or Terebanth, and the central stronghold was little more than a single donjon with a series of roofs stretching away on either side. Halls, Carick supposed, cudgeling his memory for details of Emerian castle architecture, and there would be armories and more stables as well. Kitchens, too, he thought, as fresh baking aromas drifted up to the window. He felt hungry again already.

Craning further out again, Carick saw figures wheeling and maneuvering on horseback beneath the castle walls. He spotted archery butts as well, and guessed that these must be the garrison’s training fields. A working stronghold, he thought, and remembered what had been written in a cramped hand on one of the few maps of Emer to be found in Ar. Normarch, the notation had said, and then, in even smaller letters: the Duke’s bridgehead in the north.”

~ from © The Gathering Of The Lost, The Wall of Night Book Two: Chapter 13 — Normarch
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Drifts of mist lay between black trunks, and a russet fox slipped out of the undergrowth, stopping with one paw raised to gaze at her from eyes she knew would be the color of barley ale. Above its head, a knot in an oak trunk twisted, first into a fox’s mask, before shifting again into the face of Lord Falk, Castellan of Normarch and leader of the Emerian Oakward. The russet fox slipped away.

~ from © Daughter Of Blood: The Wall of Night Book Three, Chapter 18 — The Wayhouse

The real title of this post should be: “What I’ve Been Reading but Haven’t Reported Back On Here” — or anywhere for that matter, because of the time it takes to pen a decent review.

But then I remembered my own advice, which may or may not be on public record (before–but will be now! 😉 ), which is that a review doesna have to be long or indepth, but simply (imho) a fair and balanced report on one’s reading experience, good, bad or indifferent. In my case, I prefer to only talk about the books I’ve liked, by and large (and got around to reading, as the ‘still waiting’ pile is rather large), but that still doesn’t narrow the field nearly enough…

However, taking my own advice, I’m trialling very short reviews (or reports, since if I only talk about reads I’ve enjoyed, I probably don’t count as a “reviewer.”) By the way, as you’ll soon see, they’re by no means all new to the market, only to my reading experience.

The Guns of August by Barbara Tuchman — Historical Non Fiction

First published in 1962 by McMillan, the latest edition by Presidio Press (Penguin Random Group) in 2004.

This book won the Pulitzer prize for General Non Fiction in 1963 and I can see why — it’s a fascinating and extremely readable account of the first month of World War 1. If you’re interested in history generally and military history in particular I’m pretty sure you’ll enjoy this book as much as I did.

The Messenger by Marcus Zusak — YA

First published in 2002 by Pan McMillan Australia; reprinted in 2013, then again in 2014, 2015, and 2017 — by which I’m guessing folk liked it a lot.

I did, too, except for the ending, which I really didn’t care for at all. This statement is also linked to the reason why I couldn’t decide whether to describe it as YA Contemporary or YA Fantasy. To find out more you’ll have to read it for yourself and make up your own mind. However, I liked the majority of the book enough that it’s definitely on the ‘discuss’ list and clearly, from those dates, a lot of other readers did like the ending. Just saying.

Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch — (Urban) Fantasy

First published in 2011 by Gollancz.

I’ve been meaning to read this pretty much since 2011 and am glad I finally have. It’s a well-constructed urban Fantasy in which the city of London is as much a character as the human and paranormal players. I also really liked the use of folklore and the underlying savagery that goes with many such tales, as well as the reasonably diverse cast of characters.

Turtles All The Way Down by John Green — YA; Contemporary

First published in 2017 by Dutton Penguin.

This is my first John Green. (I know, clearly I’m a flawed human being and a failure as a reader.) And I really enjoyed it. It’s about a girl with obsessive compulsive disorder and a boy with serious family problems. It’s also about friendship, money, the environment — oh yes, and tuataras (which hail from NZ and are really cool imho, so how could I not like their appearance in the book…) I was very slightly less taken by the ending than the whole of the book, but that may have been because I devoured it pretty much in one go so I was probably a little jaded by that point.

The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa; Translated by Peter Gabriel — Contemporary

English language edition in 2017, by Doubleday.

I bought this book knowing nothing about it at all but sometimes you have to take risks, right? Right: because I loved it. It’s a gentle and insightful story about love and life, friendship and family. If you’ve enjoyed reads like Tove Jansson’s The Summer Book or films like The Station Agent, I’m pretty sure you’ll enjoy this, too.

The Gate of Ivory by Doris Egan — SF-Fantasy

First published in 1989, by DAW. Nominated for the Locus Award for best First Novel.

I’ve always wanted to read this novel and now I finally have. I liked it a lot, too. It’s one of those novels that’s technically SF (ie it’s set in a world with space travel) but otherwise it’s pretty much straight out Fantasy, even more so than Space Opera. It’s fun and a relatively light read but still with sufficient depth to be satisfying. Interesting use of the tarot, too, as part of the magic system.

The Tale of Murasaki by Liza Dalby — Historical Fiction

First published in 2001 by Anchor (Random House Group)

This book is a fictional account of the life of Lady Murasaki, the author of the Japanese classic The Tale of Genji, which was written in the Heian period, 794 — 1185 (AD), when the government of Japan was based in Kyoto. The story is woven around what remains of Lady Murasaki’s personal papers, as well as records of the period. It provides an interesting window onto the court and literary life of the times, as well as a character study of Murasaki as a woman, author, and courtier of the era.

The Incredible Journey by Sheila Burnford — Children

First published in 1961; latest re-publication 2018.

I know, I know, I should have read this book when I was a kid—but I didn’t. Having finally read it, though, I can say that I agree with its classic status and that it’s one of those great children’s books that reads just as well for an adult as a child.  I have always understood it was based on a true story, but although the biographical material in the edition I read suggested that it was based on the author’s own animals, there was nothing to say that the journey itself was real.

And that’s it for now — seven very short reviews. 🙂