Characters
Magical
characters come in a variety of flavors.
Animals:
·
Animals,
of varying degrees of intelligence and/or human-like characteristics
o Animals as intelligent as humans,
which makes them magical. Might have their species characteristics intact to
various extents. Can be singletons, can have their own societies, can be fully
integrated into human society. Many of these stories don’t have fantastical
characteristics beyond the presence of intelligent animals, but some are
full-on fantasy worlds. For a fabulous essay on animal stories read “Cheek by
Jowl: Animals in Children’s Literature”
by Ursula K. LeGuin in her book “Cheek by Jowl.” (“Redwall” Brian Jacques, 1st
in Redwall series)
o Animals as helpers. Can play many
roles. Familiars - part of the power
system of a magic-user. Used as eyes and ears. Magical servants. Beloved
regular animals who play a key part in the lives of their humans.
o Magical beings in the form of animals.
Not really animals at all. Can be higher level beings or parts of our own
souls. Allows the characters to interact with spirits on a corporeal level.
(“Golden Compass” by Philip Pullman, first in the “His Dark Materials”
trilogy.)
Mythical creatures
·
Mythical
creatures – dragons, unicorns, spiders, krakan. Intelligent or not. Can be
creatures of chaos or order. Sometimes working with humans. Sometimes main
characters or an obstacle to overcome. Readers are likely to come and ask for
books with dragons, more than anything else, I think. (“In His Majesty’s
Service” by Naomi Novik, first book in the Temeraire series.)
Fae
·
Fae
– Non-human, non-animal sentient beings of great power and with belief and
value systems that usually bear little relationship to ours. Can be portrayed as ruthless, violent, and
not really friendly to humans. Gleaned from traditional folk sources; often spread
with immigration from whatever culture they originated with. Tinkerbell is not
representative. (“Ink & Steel” by Elizabeth Bear, part of a duology from
the Promethean Age universe.”
Shapeshifters
·
Shapeshifters
- Generally human to animal and back again. An individual might have one
alternate form or many. They might be a magic-user or inherently magical. Many
are from traditional lore, like werewolves. .Even though some are traditional
horror fodder, they are also found throughout fantasy playing differing roles. (“Kitty
and the Midnight Hour” by Carrie Vaughn, 1st in the Kitty Norville
series.)
Traditional Horror creatures
·
Traditional
horror creatures – werewolves, vampires, mummies, zombies. These have
genrecrept all over, including into fantasy. Their appearance the lives of
historical and literary figures in books such as “Abraham Lincoln, Vampire
Hunter” and “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” both by Seth Grahame-Smith are representative.
They’re often treated sympathetically, or at least not as objects of unmixed horror,
more misunderstood, and can be fully functioning and vital members of whatever
society they’re part of. (Betsy the Vampire Queen by MaryJanice Davidson – all
sorts of monsters.)
Want to make a mention of “Sunshine” by Robin McKinley.) (Voodoo
Wars) Best vampire novel I’ve ever
read.
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