Tough Traveling – MOMS

Nathan over at Fantasy Review Barn is the mastermind of Tough Traveling. What’s Tough Traveling? Pretty much, it’s a weekly feature on Thursdays where we dig around to come up with examples of common tropes in fantasy, using Diana Wynne Jones’ The Tough Guide to Fantasyland as our inspiration and guide. Nathan has invited one and all to join in the fun, so feel free to come up with your own lists and add the link on Nathan’s weekly post, which will also contain (unleash) the next weeks theme. So let the fun begin …

This weeks theme?  MOMS

Everyone has a mother. Including people in fantasyland. Just in time to be slightly early for Mother’s Day.

OK, I’m expanding “Fantasyland” to include “SciFiLand” as well. Because they are all awesome! And while I have a couple of ASoIaF entries, I’ll be good and not include Melisandre. I’m also not including Catelyn Stark, just because I have only have so much time, so I maybe picked my favorites 🙂

Alana from Saga by Brian K. Vaughan 

Alana deserves some major Mother’s Day love. On the run, she manages to still be completely bad ass after having her daughter, and her daughter doesn’t disappear into the shadows! As you can clearly see Alana is always a mother, even when the going gets hard. And her lover for her daughter is always without question.

Daenerys from A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin

So, Daenerys is not a mother in the expected sense. But, she is the mother to three very fierce dragons! And no matter how misbehaved they may be at times, her love for them never waivers. And if dragons are not enough, the Yurkish love and adore her. They labeled her “mhysa” which means mother.

Cersei form A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin

No one every said mothers had to be perfect. Or well loved. Cersei actually advises that to love causes weakness, and that you should love no one but your children. I don’t doubt she lives by that philosophy, but even Tyrion can’t question her love for her kids.

Lillia’s Mother form The Mirror Empire by Kameron Hurley

Sometimes love means sacrifice. Lillia’s mother goes above and beyond to protect her daughter. I don’t want to say much here, because spoilers. But she still deserves a mention as she sets the stage for the book in the very beginning by showing everyone just how much she loves her daughter.

Jill from Rebirths of Tao by Wesley Chu

Jill is another do-it-all Mom that manages a crazy career of fighting Genjix and also manages to not just spend quality time with her son, but do some incredible physical training with him! Racing through the woods, hiding, tracking and catching each other, it sounded like a high adrenaline grown up version of hide and seek! Who wouldn’t want the ability to do that with their teenage son?