fantasy

The memory of Half Magic, by Edward Eager, has half-lingered in my mind for several years. I remembered liking the book when I was younger, maybe 8 or 9, but couldn’t recall half-a-thing about it. Then, over February break, when we went on vacation with my cousins, I brought the book along, in hopes of reading it to my nine-year-old cousin, Matty. Although I didn’t finish reading the book to Matty, I finished by myself, and found it just as charming as I did 4 or 5 years ago. Half Magic is the tale of four siblings, Jane, Mark, Katharine, and Martha, who are having the most boring summer of their lives. “The children never went to the country or a lake in the summer,” the author explains on page two, with their mother working all day at the newspaper (they don’t have a father) and leaving them watched over by their dreadfully strict nanny, Miss Bick. Then Jane finds a coin on the sidewalk, a coin that, as they discover, grants wishes. But it only half-grants them. For example, when Martha wishes the siblings’ cat, Carrie, could talk, Carrie begins spouting gibberish. Or, when Mark wishes his friends were home for the summer, the friends are transported to a location which is half-way home. Even to my thirteen-year-old self, both of these instances were greatly amusing. And so the story goes on, with the siblings having all sorts of adventures, ending up in the Sahara, in Camelot, and having plenty of excursions in their own town of Toledo, Ohio. Half Magic was written in 1954, and so it follows an older, more traditional approach. The siblings are four Caucasian kids in the summer, and the book does not really focus on social justice issues or any topic similar to that. There are no serious, underlying themes, no heavy aspect to it. Half Magic really is a tale, a light story designed to entertain, with positive messages and a happy ending. It is perfect for a lazy summer day with no excitement, much like the day that the story begins on, for while reading Half Magic, you are with Jane, Mark, Katharine, and Martha on their adventures and you feel the magic that flows through them flowing through you as well. It is a book with a cheery soul and a light in its eye, and will get you laughing as the siblings try to phrase their wishes properly. What is twice of not here? What is twice of half a talking cat, in the case of the magicked Carrie? Now, obviously, I have never had an experience with magic, but Half Magic describes the daydreaming we all do when we are bored, when we imagine knights jousting in our yard, or sorcerers throwing spells from their hands. Half Magic brings these dreams to life in a joyous, light-hearted tale, and the story doesn’t really end, either. In fact, the last chapter is called, “How It Began Again.” I’ll leave it up to you to figure out what that means. Remember this, though. Anything can happen on a dull summer day. For all you know, magic is just around the corner, waiting for you to find it. Half Magic by Edward Eager. Houghton Mifflin Harcout Books, 1954. Buy the book here and support Stone Soup in the process!

To be honest, when I first saw this book, my heart stopped. At the time, I didn’t really have a book to read (at least not a book for my reading level) and I was running out of what to choose from. Then when I realized there was another fantasy series on the shelf that I didn’t know about, I froze. A fantasy series, for me? I thought. In no time at all I ran up to the librarian, checked the book out, and ran all the way back home. Even after all that, I didn’t expect a ton from this book. But then when I realized what the book was trying to convey, and learned more about the characters and their complex backgrounds, my mind was blown. Inkheart is a book about books. I know that sounds weird, but you’ll understand soon enough. Basically, the whole book revolves around a young girl named Meggie. When she one day discovers a book her father, Mo, tries to keep secret, she gets very suspicious about what’s going on. Soon enough, her father gets captured by a man named Capricorn. She tries to save him, but she gets captured as well! She and her father are then taken to a creepy village, and as Meggie soon learns what’s really happening, discovers that this village, and this devil Capricorn not only want the book, but something far bigger than she could have ever imagined. Now, I didn’t love this book at first. The first half was very slow, underwhelming, and didn’t deliver much. However, once I got to the second half, my whole perspective changed. I then understood why the first half was so slow, and soon, I got addicted. Very addicted. The reason the second half (and basically the whole book if you think about it) stands out compared to other fantasy books is that it makes you think. Most fantasy books I’ve read are mostly just quick adventures with fast-paced action and some small themes, but that’s it. Even my favorite ones (like Harry Potter Books 1-6) focus mostly on the adventure and action in Harry’s adventure, rather than the relationships between the characters, and themes like friendship, sacrifice and power. But Inkheart is different. You learn about the characters’ lives, and ask questions like “Why?” or “How?” For example, Mo doesn’t immediately tell Meggie about the book (because obviously, it’s a secret), but as Meggie gets more caught up in it, he tells her the truth. And he doesn’t just say, “So I found this book and took it with me,” but talks personally about how this book has affected him. It’s amazing that this whole book revolves around one book, and how all these characters get deeply affected by it one way or another. It made me realize the power of books. The amount of knowledge, happiness, and sadness you can get from them— depending on which one you read. It changed my perspective not only about the genre of fantasy, but also about books themselves, which is saying something for a five-hundred-page book. The book is also very clever in how it handles the evolution of the main story line. During their stay at Capricorn’s village, Meg and friends don’t just escape through a window using some crazy James Bond 007 skills. It’s nothing like that. Instead, the author uses these moments to teach us more about the characters, and to reveal more about the villain’s backstory. And he doesn’t do this this through long conversations where the characters sit around and just talk. Instead, Meggie and her father know they have a specific time window before the villains crash the party, and as a reader, you can feel the clock ticking. So much stuff happens at once—all leading to one epic finale—in which there’s no crazy prison escape. There are many characters cleverly brought into the main story to solve various problems, and each of them impacts the plot in some way (even the animals!). In sum, the author conveys the story through clever storytelling techniques rather than long drawn out dialogues or discussions about the Truth and hidden secrets, like The Kane Chronicles and The Heroes of Olympus. Inkheart is one of the best books I’ve read in a while. At first glance, it might seem just like a fun, whimsical adventure, but when you look deeper into it, you’ll realize the themes and beauty it’s trying to convey, and that is why I absolutely loved it. Inkheart by Cornelia Funke. Scholastic, 2005. Buy the book here and support Stone Soup in the process! Have you read this book? Or do you plan on reading it? Let us know in the comments below!

Most people have heard of The Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R Tolkien. But what many people have not heard of is where the monsters and magic in it come from. The truth is, the creatures from The Lord of the Rings, which include giants, dwarves, orcs, trolls, elves, have origins that can be traced back to the beginning of civilization and can also be followed into the world of modern-day novels. The same is true with the magic from The Lord of the Rings. This legendary novel very deep roots in both the mythology of ancient times and the stories and books of modern days. Creatures Many creatures from The Lord of the Rings come from Norse and Greek mythology and other ancient legends. These creatures include giants, dwarves, elves, orcs, and trolls. You can both trace these creatures’ origins very far back in history, or look at how they have impacted modern-day novels. Giants Giants are very ancient creatures. They are basically just enlarged humanoids and originate from Greek mythology. The “Gigantes,” Gaea’s (Mother Earth) offspring, were huge giants, even bigger than the Titans, that were birthed to overthrow the Olympians. Each Olympian had a corresponding giant made to defeat it; Porphyrion was made to defeat Zeus, Polybotes was made to defeat Poseidon, Alcyoneus was made to defeat Hades, etc. Polyphemus and the Titans were also giants. Giants pretty much always play an antagonist role; out of all the Titans and Giants, the only protagonists were Prometheus and Epimetheus. The Lord of the Rings is no exception; all of the giants fight for Sauron, the main antagonist in the novel. And the giants’ influence doesn’t stop there; they are also the main antagonists of the Percy Jackson (Titans) and Heroes of Olympus (Giants) series, both by Rick Riordan. Dwarves Dwarves originate from ancient Norse mythology. According to the site “Dwarves-North Mythology For Smart People”, dwarves were once called dvergr (Old Norse), dweorg (Old English), twerg (Old High German), and dwergaz (Proto-Germanic). In Norse mythology, dwarves are craftsmen. They crafted Thor’s hammer, Mjollnir, the chain that bound Fenrir the Wolf, Gleipnir, Freyr’s magical ship, Skidbladnir, etc. In The Lord of the Rings, the dwarves are also craftsmen; most of the weapons in The Lord of the Rings were crafted by dwarves. The most recent novel that incorporates dwarves is the bestselling series Artemis Fowl. However, they do not play a craftsmen role in this series. Rather, they are depicted as creatures that burrow through the dirt and get nutrition from the soil. Elves Nowadays, elves are often depicted as little creatures that help Santa deliver presents. But they are much older than the time that the myth of Santa Claus started. In Norse mythology, elves are depicted as demigod-like (half man and half god) beings. Elves have the power to cause human illnesses, but they also have the power to cure them. Elves are protagonists in many stories and are very wise. In fact, when Frodo, Sam, and Pippin depart on their journey, Sam wishes that he could meet some elves on the journey, and he was very glad when he did. Like Norse mythology, elves look very much like humans in The Lord of the Rings and also have magical powers. Elves are depicted in the same way in the new series Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger; the elves in this series are basically near-immortal humans, and some of them have magical powers. Orcs Orcs also originate from Norse mythology. According to Britannica.com, the word “orc” was first used to describe a demon or an ogre in the poem “Beowulf,” a very famous epic from Norse mythology about a hero, Beowulf, and his friends fighting a monster. The word orc most likely derives from the Latin Orcus, which was the name of a god of the underworld. Like many other stories, orcs are antagonists in The Lord of the Rings, simply because of their reputation as evil creatures. While orcs may not be very common in modern-day novels, they are in many different board games, card games, and video games, such as Dungeons and Dragons, Magic: The Gathering, and Warcraft. Trolls Trolls originate from the Scandinavian area. While many people think that trolls are usually short and stout, Mythology.net says that there is another type of troll in Scandinavian mythology that is as big as a giant! The short and stout type is called huldrefolk, and the big type is called jotnar. The jotnar is the type of troll in The Lord of the Rings; In the movie, they can grow up to be 10-50 feet tall! They are basically always antagonists, also because of their reputation as evil beings. However, a recent movie, Trolls, depicts the trolls as funny and happy. The trolls in this movie are short, but not as stout as the huldrefolk, and are very colorful and cheery.   Magic Along with the amazing creatures in The Lord of the Rings, there is also a lot of magic. This includes elven magic, wizard magic, and dark magic. These ideas of these types of magic are also very old, and can also be found in modern-day novels. Elven Magic (Enchantment) As mentioned earlier, elves are magical creatures. Their magic is very powerful. In fact, the three rings that they crafted are the second most powerful Rings of Power out of all twenty rings; only the One Rings, which was crafted by Sauron himself, is more powerful, They were also able to enchant items and objects. One king had a river as a border that would make people fall asleep and dream deeply! Enchanters and enchantresses can be found in almost every major mythology; many weapons, such as Thor’s hammer, Odin’s spear, Helen of Troy’s dagger, etc. and other items used in war were enchanted to grant the wearer safety and/or give them an offensive advantage. Enchantment is a very commonly used type of magic in the modern-day series The Kane