Sun. Nov 24th, 2024

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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? BUGS

BUGS- Not in the Tough Guide but it should be. Let’s all find anything creepy or crawly, big or small, six legs, eight legs, or more. Bugs, bugs, bugs.

 

 

This was a fun one, but also frustrating because there are a couple of scenes I could picture, but not place. Hate when that happens. I also know there are way more than what I came up with, so I’m looking forward to checking out everyone else’s lists! I kept thinking I should be able to come up with some sort of nasty bug that causes hallucinations and crazy side effects. I know they’re out there, but I couldn’t come up with any!

 

 

7719355Homicidal Mechanical Ladybugs in Blameless (Parasol Protectorate #3) by Gail Carriger

Little side story, when I was in college, my dorm room was infested with ladybugs. When you have an entire wall crawling with any type of bug, they loose any “cuteness” appeal. I then had the same thing happen in our basement. So, ladybugs make me shudder, I’m not a fan. In Blameless, they have been taken even further. They are larger, mechanical, oh, and quite deadly.

 

 

8396337-2Creatures of the Blackveil in Blackveil (Green Rider #4) by Kristen Britain

So, the Blackveil is a forest of all sorts of dark things and bizarre creatures. The one I remember clearly doesn’t have a name. But it spins gigantic webs that an unfortunate Karrigan found herself stuck in, unable to free herself. And the description of these creatures?Absolutely creepy. Pincers, poisonous stingers, etc. etc. It made for an exciting read, but also, absolutely nothing I would want to encounter in a normal size, much less a gigantor size that could catch me in a web.

 

 

220Aragog in Chamber of Secrets (Harry Potter #2) by J. K. Rowling

Ah, the spider that got Hagrid expelled. And then grew up to speak and have a disturbing number of creepy babies in the Forbidden Forest. But no worries, because the babies serve as minions and help lead the way for Harry in friends with their creep crawly trails.

 

 

 

9860471Mechanical Bees in Angelmaker by Nick Harkaway

What could make a doomsday device more interesting? Have it spew mechanical bees whose release starts the end of end of the world. How? By forcing the truth out. Didn’t see that one coming.

 

 

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Insect Aliens in Enders Game by Orson Scott Card

And finally, who says bugs need to be from earth? How about these aliens that are described essentially as gigantic sentient bugs that are out to destroy us.

 

12 thoughts on “Tough Traveling – Bugs”
    1. Uhh… diplomatic response here. It is well written. I can see definite merit in his writing and can understand why some people love it. But ultimately, it was not for me and I had a very hard time finding motivation to finish it. It’s not a book I’m comfortable saying “skip it” but I can’t really say “read it” either because it just wasn’t my cup of tea.
      Lisa (@TenaciousReader) recently posted…Monthly Musings – November 2014My Profile

  1. Lady bug invasion? That is a strange one. My wife and I’s first rental had a earwig invation in the bathroom. So, disgusting. We once found one in a SEALED container of mouthwash. Yes, they were TELEPORTING INTO PLACES, even in suicide.

    I somehow knew Chamber of Secrets would be popular.
    Nathan (@reviewbarn) recently posted…Tough Travels – BugsMy Profile

  2. Oh no with the ladybugs! I’ve always liked them but I think having a room full would definitely put me off!
    Forgot all about the Carriger books! Doh
    I was doing like you were and thinking of insects but couldn’t remember which books. Of course as soon as I’d finished I remembered the hornet like critters in Frohock’s Broken Road!
    Lynn 😀
    Lynn recently posted…Spins a web, any size. Catches thieves, just like flies…My Profile

  3. Nice choices! And I found your lady bug infestation story interesting. They seem to go through a cycle. All ways around the fall season, we have lady bugs too. Thankfully, not inside the house, but there must be some sort of nest or whatever just outside. They get to be so much I can’t even open the front door for fear of letting about half a dozen in.
    Mogsy @ BiblioSanctum recently posted…Tough Traveling: BugsMy Profile

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