Tough Traveling: Mentor

The Thursday feature "Tough Traveling" is the brainchild of Nathan of Review Barn, who has come up with the excellent idea of making a new list each week based on the most common tropes in fantasy, as seen in The Tough Guide to Fantasyland by Diana Wynn Jones. Nathan has invited anyone who is interested to come play along, so be sure to check out the first link for more information. Compulsive list-maker that I am, I'm very excited to take part!

This week's tour topic is: Mentor

A tour official who will be at your service until halfway through the tour, when you will unexpectedly lose him.

Ah, I love it when we get "easier" theme weeks. That's when we get to play around with more unconventional lists and I'm always looking forward to what others might put on theirs. Mentors of all shapes and sizes populate the fantasy and sci-fi genres so I'm gonna have some fun.


Midnight Riot/Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch
Probably one of my favorite mentor figures in an urban fantasy series is Chief Inspector Thomas Nightingale, who's not only one talented detective but a hell of a wizard as well. Head of the Folly and the last officially sanctioned English Wizard, Nightingale takes on the protagonist Peter Grant as his apprentice and subjects him to repetitive magical exercises. Nightingale's a bit of an anachronism, being much older than he looks, and his total fail with modern technology is merely a part of his charm. (Review)

The Lives of Tao by Wesley Chu
Tao is an atypical mentor, being an ancient alien life-form called a Quasing whose race crash-landed on the planet millions of years before the first humans even walked the earth. Incompatible with the atmosphere, Quasings must take a host in order to survive. Now split into two warring factions, the Quasings are at war. That's how our protagonist, the self-doubting, weak-willed, TV-dinner-munching Roen Tan wakes up one day with an alien's voice in his head. Tao must whip out-of-shape Roen for the coming battle, turning him from a loser to a super spy killing machine. (Review)

The Tropic of Serpents by Marie Brennan
In book two of the Memoirs of Lady Trent series, Natalie is the young woman who shares Isabella's love and fascination with dragons and natural history. Refusing to be married off by her family, Natalie joins the expedition to Eriga against her father's wishes. Isabella makes arrangements to stow Natalie away on the ship, hiding her away until they are safely away from port. On their journey, Natalie becomes Isabella's apprentice of sorts, becoming her companion while also learning research methods. (Review)

The Emperor's Blades by Brian Staveley
Emperor Sanlitun has three children, the oldest being Kaden the heir who has spent the last eight years of his life sequestered in a remote monastery in the mountains, learning the mysteries of the monks who live there. One day, Kaden gets a new mentor in the form of Master Tan, whose teaching methods generally boil down to committing child abuse and torture on his poor royal apprentice, including depriving him of sustenance and beating him bloody almost on a daily basis and pretty much just making Kaden's life a living hell. (Review)

The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey
The Monstrumologist series is probably the most un-YA young adult series I've ever read - as in, if adapted completely faithfully, a movie based on this novel would get no lower than a resounding R-rating in terms of all the violence, blood and gore. The books are written in the form of a diary by protagonist Will Henry, who recalls his life as a twelve year old orphan taken in by Dr. Pellinore Warthope, a man with a most unusual, gruesome specialty. Will Henry becomes the doctor's indispensable assistant and apprentice in his study and research of monsters. (Review)

Tough Traveling: Large Man

The Thursday feature "Tough Traveling" is the brainchild of Nathan of Review Barn, who has come up with the excellent idea of making a new list each week based on the most common tropes in fantasy, as seen in The Tough Guide to Fantasyland by Diana Wynn Jones. Nathan has invited anyone who is interested to come play along, so be sure to check out the first link for more information. Compulsive list-maker that I am, I'm very excited to take part!

This week's tour topic is: Large Man

LARGE MAN…He is very calm, very strong, and not at all stupid. In some cases he will have been a BLACKSMITH, which accounts for the ease with which he severs the chains in the Galley.

Okay, so I was completely stuck for the theme for this week. I tried googling for ideas. And let's just say, I hope no one else made the same mistake I did with the search term "fantasy large men". Yeah, I don't recommend that at all. You would not believe the results that came up. Not what I had in mind.

So I'm afraid I'm going to have a rather weak list this week. The thing is, the LARGE MAN (who is also sometimes a blacksmith) feels like it has come up a lot in the books I read, but I can never remember, as this character is so often in the background, "just some guy" the main characters happen to meet, who might not even be named. A few on my list are going to be more prominent and better known large men instead, even if they don't really fit the description.

Red Country by Joe Abercrombie
Lamb is Shy South's cowardly old stepfather, a big man but also quiet and taciturn. The two come back from town one day to find their farm burned to their ground, and Shy's two young siblings Ro and Pit stolen away. Their journey to get the children back brings out a whole new side in Lamb, and we discover he has actually been hiding a bloody past of his own. If you've read The First Law trilogy before this, you're in for a treat!

A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin
Martin's series is peppered with freakishly large men (and women, in the case of Brienne of Tarth). We have the Clegane brothers, Ser Gregor and Sandor who are both huge and heavily muscled, the former who is nicknamed "The Mountain" because of his enormous stature. We also have Hodor, of course. Well over seven feet tall, it has even been suggested by Osha that he might have some giant's blood in him.

Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling
Speaking of giant's blood, we move on to a character who actually is half-giant. Rubeus Hagrid is the son of a human and a giantess, and at age six he was able to pick up his father and put him on top of the dresser if he annoyed him. Plus, every one of these Tough Traveling posts requires Harry Potter, so glad I was able to get it in for this week.

The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson
The Horneater called Rock is Kaladin's fellow bridgeman in Sadeas' army whose real name is so hard to pronounce that everyone just calls him by the nickname. He is also a large man. He is described as nearly seven feet tall with thick limbs and a powerful torso. Despite his size, others around him are generally not intimidated by him because of his jovial nature. He is quick to laugh and is well-liked. He likes to cook and refuses to fight because being a soldier is not considered reputable in his culture.

The Broken Empire by Mark Lawrence
Prince Honorous Jorg Ancrath travels with his band of gritty brutes, with Brother Rike being notably one of the larger and more blood thirsty members of his gang. There's even a great quote about his size: "Most men have at least one redeeming feature. Finding one for Brother Rike requires a stretch. Is 'big' a redeeming feature?"

Tough Traveling: Invisible Colleges (Or Hard-to-Reach/Difficult to Gain Admission)

The Thursday feature "Tough Traveling" is the brainchild of Nathan of Review Barn, who has come up with the excellent idea of making a new list each week based on the most common tropes in fantasy, as seen in The Tough Guide to Fantasyland by Diana Wynn Jones. Nathan has invited anyone who is interested to come play along, so be sure to check out the first link for more information. Compulsive list-maker that I am, I'm very excited to take part!

This week's tour topic is: Invisible Colleges

Invisible College is used for training WIZARDS and usually occupies a prim site in some major CITY…

But Nathan has taken pity on this week and made things a bit easier, opening up the topic to any school in fantasy that is difficult to reach or gain entrance to. Thank you, Nathan! Because I was starting to get a little nervous here...

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
Let's see how many weeks the Harry Potter books will show up in these Tough Traveling posts! Again I'm choosing another book from the series I haven't done yet though, because while obviously Hogwarts is the obvious one here, I picked Goblet specifically since it's the first book to also feature students from other wizarding schools around the world. Who can forget Krum from the Durmstrang Institute or Fleur from the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, competitors at the Tri Wizard Tournament. Just like Hogwarts, I assume these wizarding schools are also cloaked in some way or are located in some remote place.

The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani
Every child in Gavaldon knows the story of the School for Good and Evil. Two children are kidnapped from their homes every four years, never to be seen again. One child is always beautiful and good, the other one an outcast and strange. They say a mysterious schoolmaster takes them to this fabled and magical place where storybook heroes and villains are made. The "good" kid gets to take classes in Princess/Prince Etiquette and Animal Communication while the "bad" kid gets dumped in classes like Uglification, Death Curses and Henchmen Training. (Review)

Academ's Fury by Jim Butcher
The Academy is the foremost school in Alera. To attend, prospective students would have to be able to afford the fees or find a patron who would support them. In the first book, Furies of Calderon, the main character Tavi's life's dream was to study here, and in the end is granted a scholarship. In Academ's Fury, Tavi learns the lesson of "Be Careful What You Wish For" when he realizes the cruel and petty ways at the Academy, but he's stuck here for now.

The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson
Continuing with the theme of "protagonists who desperately want to get into a particular school of magic but can't", we have sixteen-year-old Joel Saxon who more than anything wants to be a Rithmatist -- but because a tragedy made him miss his inception ceremony, that path is closed to him forever. Being the son of the school's chalkmaker, Joel was still able to attend the prestigious Armedius Academy, but he must watch with envy from afar as the chosen Rithmatist students get to study the magical art of creating chalk-drawn lines, circles and figures called Chalklings. (Review)

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
"The University! I had come to think of it in the same way most children think of the Fae court, a mythical place reserved for dreaming about. A school the size of a small town. Ten times ten thousand books. People who would know all the answers to any question I ever asked." Well, Kvothe does eventually get his wish and attends the University, under extraordinary circumstances -- his young age was factor, and the University ended up paying him to attend rather than the other way around. So, maybe GETTING in for him wasn't an issue, but STAYING in certain was. He constantly had money issues and struggled to pay tuition, and he was always on the verge of being kicked out due to his penchant for getting into trouble.

LAST MINUTE ADDITION!

The Magicians by Lev Grossman
I'm actually reading this book now, and what do you know, it's about an unseen school of magic. A very secret, very exclusive school of magic, hidden by a number of concealment spells. Located in upstate New York, the Brakebills College for Magical Pedagogy is a place where the aspiring young magician can receive a rigorous education in the practice of modern sorcery. I haven't gotten very far in this book yet, but so far it's great. The book has been described to me as "what would happen if a regular person went to a school for magicians and experiences all the things one would at a regular college" - you know...sex, drugs, booze, friendship, boredom and the like.

Tough Traveling: Immortals

The Thursday feature "Tough Traveling" is the brainchild of Nathan of Review Barn, who has come up with the excellent idea of making a new list each week based on the most common tropes in fantasy, as seen in The Tough Guide to Fantasyland by Diana Wynn Jones. Nathan has invited anyone who is interested to come play along, so be sure to check out the first link for more information. Compulsive list-maker that I am, I'm very excited to take part!

This week's tour topic is: Immortals

IMMORTALS are fairly common in Fantasyland. There are three kinds:
1. GODDESSES AND GODS, who exist forever unless people stop believing in them.
2. ELVES or DARK LORDS, who live forever unless someone kills them.
3. Humans who are
a) Cursed and have to spend Eternity drearily Questing and/or hating everything.
b) MAGIC USERS. These generally find plenty of occupy the long years and mostly have a rather good time.

It's feast or famine with these Tough Traveling weeks! We could probably go on forever with books featuring immortals, but to keep this post to a reasonable length and because time is limited, I thought I might be cool if I split up my list using the categories outlined above and feature just a couple books (hopefully one obvious choice, and one not-so-obvious choice) for each.

American Gods by Neil Gaiman
The following two entries are specifically for "Gods who exist forever unless people stop believing in them." Well, that's pretty much the central premise of this book, the idea that gods and other mythological creatures exist due to the sheer force of spiritual belief or mental discipline. From Odin to leprechauns, immortality was achieved when immigrants to the US brought with them their beliefs, though as that belief began to wane thanks to obsession with technology and new fads so did the power of the mythological beings. (Review)

Thief's Covenant by Ari Marmell
The minor god Olgun doesn't actually have a physical body, but he definitely still counts in this category (and I also love these books so much, I never miss an opportunity to talk about them). Instead, he hitches a ride in the protagonist Widdershins' head because she is his last worshiper. They need each other, as Olgun can augment many of Widdershins' abilities and help her get out of tough jams, and Widdershins being his last believer is also the only reason Olgun still has a presence in this world. (Review)

The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien
The obvious choice and most well-known example for immortal ELVES, it would be remiss if I didn't include them. Exactly as the examples states, Tolkien's elves in world of Middle-earth are immune to disease and do not experience physical aging, though they can still be killed by violence or by wasting away when they lose their will to live. Otherwise, they're essentially immortal.

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
My entry for immortal DARK LORD is the Darkling from Bardugo's Grisha trilogy. At first, all we know of the Darkling is that he is the charming, handsome and mysterious leader of the Grisha, but then he is eventually revealed as main antagonist. Turns out all the Darklings who held leadership in the past were all one and the same man - he is an ancient powerful force that has existed since the beginning. (Review)

The Scroll of Years by Chris Willrich
Hmm, cursed humans. Well, Imago Bone isn't exactly what I'd call "dreary". In fact, as a thief and scoundrel, he lives a pretty merry and exciting existence adventuring with his lover Persimmon Gaunt. But he has been touched in some way with immortality. I don't know how precisely, since I've never read the short stories, but the book's description states "A thief in his ninth decade who is double-cursed", Imago has not aged in nearly seventy years. Cursed? Check. Immortal? Sounds like it to me. Questing? Always. (Review)

Hounded by Kevin Hearne
Here's my example for a human MAGIC USER who finds plenty to occupy their long years and mostly have a good time. Uh yeah, that pretty much describes Atticus O'Sullivan to a T. The guy definitely knows how to have fun, and at the moment this two-thousand year old druid's idea of fun is setting up shop in Tempe, Arizona with his talking dog, selling herbal tea to college students and New Age types. Plus, he gets his kicks looking and acting like a frat boy. (Review)

Tough Traveling: Hidden Kingdom

The Thursday feature "Tough Traveling" is the brainchild of Nathan of Review Barn, who has come up with the excellent idea of making a new list each week based on the most common tropes in fantasy, as seen in The Tough Guide to Fantasyland by Diana Wynn Jones. Nathan has invited anyone who is interested to come play along, so be sure to check out the first link for more information. Compulsive list-maker that I am, I'm very excited to take part!

This week's tour topic is: Hidden Kingdom

Usually reached through CAVERNS or after an arduous trek into the heart of the central masssif, this is often the object of the Tour QUEST…

I'll be honest, when I saw this week's topic, I drew a big blank. There are plenty of hidden worlds I can think of, but most of those involve jumping through portals and planes existing on completely different realms. A lot of the ones I can think of that are hidden beneath the earth or in a mountain are actually ruins or untamed "lost worlds" that aren't exactly kingdoms. Maybe I'm overthinking things, but I was only able to come up with a few this week. Hey, just be glad I didn't whip out Otoh Gunga from The Phantom Menace novelization!

Hollow World by Michael J. Sullivan
The first book I thought of when I saw this topic was of course Hollow World, a cross-genre novel about a man with a terminal disease traveling into the future to find a cure. What he finds is an earth overgrown, seemingly devoid of much activity on the surface. But then he is brought below ground into a hollow world, where the denizens of the time had created an impressive civilization beneath the earth, complete with its own solar source.

Stolen Songbird by Danielle L. Jensen
Stolen Songbird is a book I recently read that fits the theme. Though later we find out that Trollus isn't completely hidden, since some merchants know the way to trade there, but for the most part the existence of the troll city is but a mere rumor. This kingdom was buried under the ruins of Forsaken Mountain five hundred years ago by a witch's curse, and since then the trolls have been bound to this place beneath the earth and rock. The main character Cécile was kidnapped and brought here through an underwater passage and a series of confusing caverns. This one totally counts!

The Silk Map by Chriss Willrich 
Dammit, now I'm second guessing myself. Does this book really count? I know in this latest installment of the Gaunt and Bone series our dynamic duo have to travel far to the west to find the mythical land of Xembala. These books have a bit of a surreal quality to them, so it was a bit hard to follow exactly how our heroes actually managed to make it to Xembala. But it is a kingdom and it did actually exist and it was well-hidden. That, and because I'll only have a paltry two entries otherwise this week is why I'm gonna count it!

Tough Traveling: Fairground

The Thursday feature "Tough Traveling" is the brainchild of Nathan of Review Barn, who has come up with the excellent idea of making a new list each week based on the most common tropes in fantasy, as seen in The Tough Guide to Fantasyland by Diana Wynn Jones. Nathan has invited anyone who is interested to come play along, so be sure to check out the first link for more information. Compulsive list-maker that I am, I'm very excited to take part!

This week's tour topic is: Fairground

This is like a MARKET, except it is much, much bigger and planted somewhere right in the middle of nowhere so that everyone can get to it. There will be rows and rows of TENTS and BOOTHS…

Geez, way to choose a hard one for this week, Nathan. I had a pretty tough time with this one. Too bad circuses don't count immediately because I've sure got plenty of those! But hey, if a book features a circus with a fairground, I say that's FAIR GROUND. Har har, I'm hilarious.

Pantomime by Laura Lam - Like a lot of circuses, the one in this book includes a funfair. Protagonist Gene makes frequent visits to explore the fair grounds after shows to visit the different booths for games and delicious carnival food like roasted hazelnuts, popping corn and caramel apples. Yum! (Review)

The Oversight by Charlie Fletcher - We're transported from the London streets to a funfair in the countryside when Lucy Harker gets into a bit of trouble and finds herself traveling with a troupe of performers. She learns that an upcoming "wizard battle" between two rival magicians has become the fair's biggest attraction. (Review)

Moth and Spark by Anne Leonard - I almost forgot about this! If I hadn't picked up my copy the other day and looked at the back cover, which actually shows a short excerpt from a scene where Corin and Tam are riding atop wooden horses on a carousel. The two lovers had donned masks to sneak out to the fair. (Review)

Broken Homes by Ben Aaronovitch - One of the best scenes in this novel is the the Spring Court held by the God and Goddess of Thames. A large celebration in the park, the event featured games, vendors hawking food and trinkets, and even an antique steam-powered carousel and a jazz tent! As the closest thing to magical law enforcement, constable Peter Grant of the Folly has to man a Metropolitan Police booth. (Review)

Hang Wire by Adam Christopher - Most people think of fairgrounds as fun, cheery places, but the one in this book is anything but. Instead of whimsical rides and attractions, there's a creepy circus here with a funfair featuring mechanical devices and structures suffused with pure evil, and they hunger for the blood of carnival goers. (Review)



Honorable Mentions:

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss - While I can't recall an actual fairground in these books, Kvothe spent his childhood with his family, a troupe of traveling players that traveled from town to town performing songs and theater acts at fairs and large gatherings. He describes his early days as happy, like growing up in the center of an endless fair.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern - I think Le Cirque des Rêves is more of an actual circus, featuring tents that are larger and more elaborate, unlike the little stalls and booths you'd find on normal fairgrounds. But the sights within are just too awe-inspiring not to include this book here. (Review)

Tough Traveling: Dark Lord

The Thursday feature "Tough Traveling" is the brainchild of Nathan of Review Barn, who has come up with the excellent idea of making a new list each week based on the most common tropes in fantasy, as seen in The Tough Guide to Fantasyland by Diana Wynn Jones. Nathan has invited anyone who is interested to come play along, so be sure to check out the first link for more information. Compulsive list-maker that I am, I'm very excited to take part!

This week's tour topic is: Dark Lord

There is always one of these in the background of every Tour, attempting to ruin everything and take over the world  He will be so sinister that he will be seen by you only once or twice, probably near the end of the Tour…

Thank you, Nathan, for finally giving us an easy one. Dark Lords (and Ladies) run rampant in fantasy and science fiction, and what I tried to do with my list was think outside the box a little and aimed to mix some of the obvious classic ones in with others who might not be that well-known. As usual, I only list the books I've read, but I still had to cut myself off at ten. Here they are, listed in no particular order of importance or evilness...
 

Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling - Lord Voldemort
Still, let's just get the big You-Know-Who out of the way right off the bat. I have a feeling the boy wizard once known as Tom Marvolo Riddle who eventually became the infamous Lord Voldemort is going to be appearing on many Dark Lord lists today. I am also sure Harry Potter is going to show up a lot more on these Tough Traveling posts.

The Iron Wolves by Andy Remic - Orlana
One of the handful of Dark Ladies I can think of, Orlana the Changer is evil incarnate, a inhuman entity in a sexually attractive woman's body. Cold and sadistic, she commits all sorts of monstrous deeds on her victims just for the fun of it. She is best known for turning the bodies of men and animals inside out and splicing them together to form new nightmarish creatures, and for sacrificing innocents to birth the Mud Orc army she'll need to take over the world.

Star Wars novels by various authors - Sith Lords
Always lurking in the background waiting to ruin everything and take over the galaxy? So sinister and evil that he'll only be glimpsed on screen a handful of times if we're lucky? Pretty much every Sith Lord and Darth that ever existed fits this archetype. A few Star Wars books that I've enjoyed which focus mainly on the "Dark Lord" include the Darth Bane trilogy by Drew Karpyshyn and Darth Plagueis by James Luceno.

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien - Sauron
Here we have another heavy hitter in the world of Dark Lords, one who I'm sure needs no introduction. The lord of the rings and creator of the One Ring was also the lieutenant of another notorious Dark Lord, Morgoth, whom I would have included in this list as well if I'd actually managed to get through The Silmarillion in its entirety.

Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff - Shogun Yoritomo

Stormdancer is a coming-of-age story about a young girl and her fight against a despotic Shogun. Yoritomo is a monster who uses violence, torture and threats to control the population of Shima. With the Guildsmen standing with him behind his tyrannical rule, he chokes the land with the lotus industry, killing slaves to grow the destructive crop and continue making war on his enemies.

The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan - The Dark One
The head bad guy in Wheel of Time, the Dark One has many names including the Father of Lies, Lord of the Grave and Sightblinder, but his true name is Shai'tan, though it is said to be dangerous to use it. The characters in the series know him to be an ancient, power and evil force, the embodiment of destruction and chaos. 

Wizard's First Rule by Terry Goodkind - Darken Rahl
Come on, with a name like Darken Rahl, he's gotta be evil. Indeed he is the primary antagonist for the Sword of Truth series, said to be a vicious man and ruthless wizard. He likes to rule with an iron fist, has an unquenchable thirst for revenge and has no qualms about using torture to get what he wants. Obsessed with world domination, his pastimes include building an army and hunting down confessors.

The Emperor's Knife by Mazarkis Williams - Pattern Master
The Cerani Empire is held in the grip of terror by an epidemic. The plague, which strikes young and old and rich and poor alike, causes geometric patterns to appear and spread across the skin until the victim dies in agony, or worse, becomes a mindless minion controlled by an unknown and mysterious enemy, the Pattern Master.

Children of Fire by Drew Karpyshyn - Daemron
Long ago, a great warrior called Daemron was was chosen by the gods to lead the war against the Chaos spawn. Daemron, however, grew corrupted and the savior of the world instead became its destroyer. He was thwarted in the end, banished and sealed behind barrier called the Legacy. Now the Legacy weakens, and Daemron grows strong enough again to cast his essence into the world.

Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson - The Lord Ruler
Known as the divine and invincible "Sliver of Infinity", the Lord Ruler's reign is filled with red skies and falling ash, and enslaved Skaa are forced to live in misery and fear. At the beginning, no one knows who he is or where he came from, just that the world has sucked ever since he installed himself as a deity and assumed absolute power over the Final Empire.

Man, a lot of these were hard to write without revealing massive spoilers. I'm looking forward to seeing others' Dark Lord lists.

Tough Traveling: City of Wizards

The Thursday feature "Tough Traveling" is the brainchild of Nathan of Review Barn, who has come up with the excellent idea of making a new list each week based on the most common tropes in fantasy, as seen in The Tough Guide to Fantasyland by Diana Wynn Jones. Nathan has invited anyone who is interested to come play along, so be sure to check out the first link for more information. Compulsive list-maker that I am, I'm very excited to take part!

This week's tour topic is: City of Wizards
 
Something tells me this should be one of the easier themes for this feature, but I still had a tough time of it, especially coming up with only books I have read. After combing my shelves, here are my five I came up with:

The Black Prism by Brent Weeks - The Chromeria

Based on chromaturgy, the magic system in this series is one of the more interesting and unique ones I've come across in fantasy. In this world, the "wizards" or magic users can draft a substance called luxin which takes on different physical properties depending on their color in the light spectrum. The heart of the government is located at the Chromeria, also the seat of education and regulation for all color magic.

When the character Kip first visits the Chromeria in order to be trained as a drafter, he is amazed with the huge, impressive colorful structures made of luxin. I'll be honest -- to me this city was a bit hard to visualize. I kept thinking of those multicolored plastic hamsters cages, you know the ones with all those tubes you can add to it to make it a nice rodent funhouse? Yeah, I pictured a whole city like that.

The Magician's Guild by Trudi Canavan - Imardin

Imardin is the capital of Kyralia, home of the Magician's Guild, and as such that is where all magicians go to learn magic and also where most Kyralian magicians live. According to the wiki, because Kyralian blood is so high with magical potency compared to other countries, Kyralia also has a tendency to produce more magicians! Oh how I love learning interesting new things about my books. This Tough Traveling feature rocks.

They're real asshats in Imardin, though. Each winter, the capital gives the boot to all its "undesirables" like the poor and the homeless. In an attempt to protest this Purge, a young vagrant named Sonea somehow manages to pierce the magician's shield and bean one of them on the head, kicking off the chaotic events of this novel.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling - Hogsmeade

Okay, I realize calling the quaint little village of Hogsmeade a "city" is a bit of a stretch. I know that. But I just can't not include this one, if you think about it. I mean, considering how places like Diagon Alley or Godric's Hollow that are really just pockets of the magical community hidden inside established Muggle settlements, Hogsmeade's pretty much the only place they have to themselves and all to themselves. The only all-wizarding community in Britain!

While Hogsmeade was actually first mentioned in the first book, it doesn't have its first appearance until this one.

Elantris by Brandon Sanderson - Elantris

Elantris, capital of Arelon, was once known as the "City of the Gods", where anyone who was "chosen" went to live. Ordinary people touched and transformed by the power of the Shaod go through physical and mental changes that give them special abilities. The city was literally radiant, a place of power where the Elantrians used their magical abilities for the benefit of all.

Lovely place, really, until all of a sudden the magic failed and everyone there lost their powers, leaving Elantris a contaminated prison city. The magic users became powerless, wretched creatures, and the city itself crumbled into oblivion.

Jaina Proudmoore: Tides of War by Christie Golden - Dalaran

I'm totally cheesing it a bit here by including this one, but what can I say, I'm a gamer at heart. When I heard that "City of Wizards" was this week's theme, my mind immediately went to World of Waracraft's renowned city of mages: Dalaran.

Dalaran is a "magocratic" city-state with a turbulent history. Destroyed in the Third War, the mages of the city refused to abandon their home and instead erected a huge glowing force field-like dome around the ruins in order to rebuild. After that, they moved the whole damn city by floating it to another continent by magical means. Now that's dedication! Dalaran plays a pretty big role in this novel, which is why I chose it.