Tough Travelling“Tough Traveling” is a weekly Thursday feature created by Nathan at Review Barn where participants make a new list each week based on The Tough Guide to Fantasyland by Diana Wynne Jones. This hilarious little book cheerfully pokes fun at the most prevalent tropes in fantasy. All are welcome to take part, and there is a link up over at his site. Join in any time!

This week’s topic is FLYING RIDES:

Because honestly?  Horses just got boring.  (Thanks to author Anne Leonard for the suggestion).

I’m very curious to see what people have on their lists this week; I’ll be shocked if dragons aren’t the number one choice. On to the list!

His Majesty's DragonTemeraire – His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik

 

Could riding a dragon ever be boring? I don’t think so, but Temeraire’s curious nature and love of books makes for an even more interesting ride than usual. One of the things that I liked best about Novik’s version of dragons is their ability to communicate verbally. Talking things out really is the easiest way to deal with conflict sometimes.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of AzkabanBuckbeak – Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

 

While Buckbeak may not be a major character – or even a steady flying partner – he does help Harry & co. several times. Harry even comes to ‘own’ Buckbeak later in the series, and the hippogriff shows himself to be very loyal. I have to hand it to Rowling, she does an excellent job of incorporating animals in a meaningful way.

The Magician's Nephew by C.S. LewisFledge – The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

 

That’s right people, I got a Pegasus on my list! While Fledge started his life as a regular old cart horse, Aslan gives him wings and makes him one of the first talking beasts of Narnia. Fledge ends up helping Digory and Polly on their quest in THE MAGICIAN’S NEPHEW, flying them to the far reaches of Narnia in search of the silver apple tree.

07_neverending_story_blu-rayFalkor – The NeverEnding Story

 

While I’ve never read the book, I completely fell in love with the movie adaptation of The Neverending Story when I was a kid. My favourite part of the story was Falkor, the luckdragon  who aids both Bastian and Atreyu. In the film, Falkor has a snakelike body with a vaguely canine head – and can somehow fly without wings. Although luckdragons are not particularly strong, they are lucky in everything they do…which comes in handy a few times!