I’m pretty sure we all have that one (at least one) fantasy world that we would love to travel to, if only … (FILL IN THE BLANK) …
Why sure, I’d love to travel to Florin and Gildor (Princess Bride), if only the ROUS didn’t exist. *shiver*
Or, why not swing over to Narnia, if only there wasn’t the chance that you would grow up there and then have to turn back to your previous age when you went back to our world? (Seriously … can you imagine growing up once in Narnia—AWESOME—and then having to do it all over again in our world, where a) you aren’t a king or queen and b) you have to go back to boarding school after ruling a country and leading armies in battle! Whew. Talk about tough!)
For some people, this might be the villain. “I’d love to travel to Hogwarts but only after Voldemort has been defeated.” (Harry Potter) Or “Panem … but only if I was assured protection from the Reaping. Or only if Snow and Coin and all the rest of them were gone.” (Hunger Games) Yeah … I still don’t know about that one.
But for me, I find that my one hang-up typically isn’t related to the villain. I know, I know, that probably sounds completely and totally nuts! After all, who wouldn’t want to get the villain out of the story before you hop into it? Do you really want to have to fight the Fangs of Dang (Wingfeather Saga) or spend your time dodging the Steel Inquisitors (Mistborn series)?
Well, not exactly. But I do think that the author part of me recognizes how the villains and the challenging, sometimes earth-breaking, events they cause do shape our favorite characters and their worlds. Before his adventure in The Hobbit, Bilbo had spent most of his life stifling his Tookish side, the part of him that was attracted to wonder and longed for adventure.
Afterwards, well, he was a much more interesting fellow. If I could travel to a fantasy world, I would want to join the heroes in the fight … not hear stories about it afterward.
For the longest time, Middle Earth has been that place for me. (Now closely followed by the world of Roshar from the Stormlight Archive, because that series is incredibly epic, and if you haven’t read it yet, you should!) But while I dreamed of wandering the northlands with the Dunedain Rangers, or patrolling the rolling hills of Edoras with the Rohirrim, or strolling through leaf-strewn paths in the spring of glorious Lothlorien, there was one minor hang-up …
Okay, let’s be honest, it was a MAJOR hang-up.
Coffee.
Yes. It’s true. I would have a hard time embracing the beauties of Middle Earth for love of coffee. (Don’t judge now. Bilbo loved his pocket handkerchiefs. I love my coffee.) But while visiting family, I recently started reading The Hobbit aloud to my little sister. It’s actually been a few years since I sat down and read it all the way through.
And I made the most incredible discovery!
“Some called for ale, some for porter, and one for coffee, and all of them for cakes; so the hobbit was kept very busy for a while. A big jug of coffee had just been set in the hearth, the seed-cakes were gone, and the dwarves were starting on a round of buttered scones, when there came—a loud knock.”
– The Hobbit
Folks, we are saved, there is coffee in Middle Earth!
Done. Sold. When can I pack up and move there?
How about you? What fantasy world would you love to go to, and what one hang-up—minor, or major, like coffee—would make you pause before leaping into the portal to get there?
And if you enjoy this post and want to make sure you don’t miss another, you can scroll to the bottom of this page and subscribe to magically receive posts in your inbox!
I would love to go to a bunch of worlds, chiefest being Ilyon and Acktar. But I’ll go with Ilyon for this one. My major concern with Ilyon would be the fact that I’d want to come on the adventures, but I can’t fight. I can somewhat shoot a bow(enough to either hurt myself or the bad guy, or both of us) but that’s about it. That and there are evil Ryriks running around. Otherwise, count me in! Just keep the coffee to yourselves, please.
Nice! Haha. Yes, that’s probably true about most of us. We know just enough to hurt ourselves most of the time … and maybe the bad guy once in a while. Lol.
You’re not a coffee person? Are you a tea person instead? Well, I will gladly keep all the coffee to myself, thank you. ;)
Middle Earth and Narnia have long been at the top of my list. I think my hang-up (other than missing my family and friends here) would be no photography. I love photography because I can capture a moment in time (like a sunset), or a beautiful detail in something, or an element of someone’s personality, to remember and share with others. I can’t paint well, and sometimes words won’t suffice. I’d hate not being able to capture the breathtaking sights and memories of worlds like those.
Ah, yes, two of my favorites! I didn’t realize you were a photographer – though I should have! That’s such a neat description of photography, and I bet it would be super hard to have to do without that. The nice thing about writing is that I can always make do with a pencil or paper. (Even though I write much better on a computer.) So there would be options in most fantasy worlds, even if I had to revert to parchment and quill … which would probably be really messy. But yeah, there’s not really an easy option for a photographer.
Hehe yes for coffee! I hadn’t noticed that before either!
I’d love to travel to so many different realms I’m not sure I’d be able to choose. On one hand Narnia would be amazing, but also Middle Earth, and somewhere in Goldstone Wood would be pretty darn cool. Argh, too many amazing options. :P
I know, right? I don’t know how many times I’ve read the Hobbit, and that was the first time that stood out to me.
It would be pretty hard to choose. I’m also adding Roshar from Brandon Sanderson’s Stormlight Archive to my list. It’s just a crazy awesome place!
I think the worst part about travelling to a fantasy world is , most likely, you will arrive in the current time, not the past, like the world you know recorded in whatever book or film. Things will have changed, even if just slightly, and most likely the people will not be the same. It would still be cool, but high chances of disappointment.
Also, not knowing how to get home. This is a big one for me. There is actually a faerie portal growing in my garden, but I have not tried it yet for fear of not being able to return.
Ooh, that’s a good point! Kind of like when Eustace and Jill traveled to Narnia in the Silver Chair. Poor Eustace! Finding all his friends so old or already gone. That must have been so sad!
True that. Knowing how to get home is important. Haha. Let me know if you ever try that faerie portal. We’ll need detailed notes of the whole experience! :)
There are SO MANY amazing storyworlds that would be incredible to visit. And, not being a coffee-drinker, I don’t have a problem there ;) But my issue would be the running. (E.g. LotR. SO MUCH RUNNING.) Basically, any speculative novel involves a lot of running. I would fall behind, get caught by the bad guys, and die. (This could be a good motivation to exercise, perhaps? Training for the day I accidentally fall inside a novel??)
Yes! Way too much running. It’s crazy, especially, when you think about the amount of running that Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli did between the Fellowship and the Two Towers. I love Eomer’s response in the book when he figures out how far they came! Also … in the Hobbit movies, the number of times that Gandalf shouts “Run!” is really quite epic.
Ooh, what a great idea! That could get me running. lol. I’m also picturing a hilarious motivational exercise video with LOTR quotes. “Run as if the very whips of your masters were behind you!” Or “Be a natural sprinter, very dangerous over short distances.”