Fantastic Realms Trivia Quiz

Answer: The Wheel of Time

"The Wheel of Time" series by Robert Jordan chronicled the journey of Rand al'Thor from obscurity to saviour of the world. Jordan's world is rich in detail and characters, with fully realized diversity in cultures, countries, and history. Sadly, Jordan passed away following the publication of "Knife of Dreams". Thankfully, the Jordan estate authorized the selection of Brandon Sanderson to complete the series.

The complete story is told in 14 novels and one prequel novella:

#0 - "New Spring" (2004 prequel)
#1 - "The Eye of the World" (1990)
#2 - "The Great Hunt" (1990)
#3 - "The Dragon Reborn" (1991)
#4 - "The Shadow Rising" (1992)
#5 - "The Fires of Heaven" (1993)
#6 - "Lord of Chaos" (1994)
#7 - "A Crown of Swords" (1996)
#8 - "The Path of Daggers" (1998)
#9 - "Winter's Heart" (2000)
#10 - "Crossroads of Twilight (2003)
#11 - "Knife of Dreams (2005)
#12 - "The Gathering Storm" (2009) - Completed by Brandon Sanderson
#13 - "Towers of Midnight" (2010) - Completed by Brandon Sanderson
#14 - "A Memory of Light" (2013) - Completed by Brandon Sanderson

Answer: The Riftwar Saga

"The Riftwar Saga" is but the first in a number of series set (primarily) in the worlds of Midkemia and Kelewan. Magicians in these worlds are able to create rifts that connect these two (and other) worlds in Raymond E. Feist's Riftwar Universe. In "The Riftwar Saga", Pug is apprenticed to become a magician, but he is captured in the early stages of the Riftwar and brought to Kelewan as a slave. There, he grows in his power to eventually become a powerful magician known as Milamber. In the second and third novels, the original riftwar has ended, but further dangers and intrigues arise between the worlds that require Pug's skills to counter.

A multitude of books have continued the story begun in Raymond E. Feist's "The Riftwar Saga", as seen here:

1st Series - "The Riftwar Saga" - 3 novels (1982, 1985, 1986)
2nd Series - "The Empire Trilogy" - 3 novels (1987, 1990, 1992) with Janny Wurts
3rd Series - "Krondor's Sons" - 2 novels (1989, 1992)
4th Series - "The Serpentwar Saga" - 4 novels (1994, 1995, 1997, 1998)
5th Series - "The Riftwar Legacy" - 4 novels (1998, 1999, 2000, 2013)
6th Series - "Legends of the Riftwar" - 3 novels (2001 with William R. Forstchen, 2002 with Joel Rosenberg, 2003 with S.M. Stirling)
7th Series - "Conclave of Shadows" - 3 novels (2002, 2003, 2004)
8th Series - "The Darkwar Saga" - 3 novels (2005, 2006, 2008)
9th Series - "The Demonwar Saga" - 2 novels (2009, 2010)
10th Series - "The Chaoswar Saga" - 3 novels (2011, 2012, 2013)

Answer: The Magic of Xanth

Piers Anthony's "Xanth" series of novels (also known as "The Magic of Xanth") began as a trilogy, but were so popular that he continued writing them. Xanth is a land of (punnish) magic that coincidentally is shaped like the state of Florida, Anthony's home state.

Many of the geographical place names are similar as well, such as Lake Ogre-Chobee (Okeechobee) and the Kiss-Mee River (Kissimmee). Bink is the main character of the first two "Xanth" novels, entitled "A Spell for Chameleon" (1977) and "The Source of Magic" (1979), after which he fades into the background to let other characters take the lead. I won't list all of the books in the series, as there are about 40 written.

Answer: Mistborn

Brandon Sanderson's "Mistborn" series combines a comprehensive magic system with an atypical fantasy premise: the story begins with a world where the bad guy won out over a prophecy, and has been ruling for a thousand years. Throw in a crew of thieves trying to pull of the ultimate heist, and you've got a unique setting for a young heroine to develop.

The story is set in a trilogy, then is followed up with a series of novellas set a few hundred years later.

1. The Final Empire (2006)
2. The Well of Ascension (2007)
3. The Hero of Ages (2008)

1. The Alloy of Law (2011)
2. Shadows of Self (2015)
3. The Bands of Mourning (2016)

Answer: The Dark Tower

Stephen King is primarily known for his horror-genre books, but he has delved into other worlds, none more otherly than "The Dark Tower" series. The gunslinger is in our world of the far future, and the world is winding down to an end. His quest for the Dark Tower ended with the seventh novel, published in 2004, but then King began writing more stories set in his tired world.

1. The Gunslinger (1982)
2. The Drawing of the Three (1987)
3. The Waste Lands (1991)
4. Wizard and Glass (1997)
5. Wolves of the Calla (2003)
6. Song of Susannah (2004)
7. The Dark Tower (2004)
8. The Wind Through the Keyhole (2012) - set chronologically between #4 and #5

Answer: The Sword of Truth

"The Sword of Truth" series follows the journey of Richard Cypher as he learns the truth of his heritage and becomes a seeker, a wizard and a leader. Richard repeatedly faces overwhelming odds and must learn new truths and find hidden strength to succeed. In addition to the eight novels listed below, the story of Richard (and Kahlan) continues in further series "Chainfire" and "Richard and Kahlan", plus two prequels that feature other characters.

1. Wizard's First Rule (1994)
2. Stone of Tears (1995)
3. Blood of the Fold (1996)
4. Temple of the Winds (1997)
5. Soul of the Fire (1999)
6. Faith of the Fallen (2000)
7. Pillars of Creation (2001)
8. Naked Empire (2003)

Answer: The Belgariad

In David Eddings' "Belgariad", young Garion is caught up in great happenings as he becomes a key figure in the fight against the evil god Torak. And the Orb of Aldur (see picture) is the key tool in the fight. Eddings repeats his successful formula (with some major changes) in a second series called "The Mallorean". A few other books have also been written in Garion's world, prequels and the like.

"The Belgariad"
1. Pawn of Prophecy (1982)
2. Queen of Sorcery (1982)
3. Magician's Gambit (1983)
4. Castle of Wizardry (1984)
5. Enchanter's End Game (1984)

"The Mallorean"
1. Guardians of the West (1987)
2. King of the Murgos (1988)
3. Demon Lord of Karanda (1988)
4. Sorceress of Darshiva (1989)
5. The Seeress of Kell (1991)

Answer: Shannara

The "Shannara" series of books by Terry Brooks has expanded greatly since the original "Sword of Shannara" trilogy. And while Shea Ohmsford (adopted into the family) is one of the main characters in the first book, the other two (and following series) continue on to the next and further generations. The elfstones (featured in my picture) also feature greatly in the series. In "The Sword of Shannara" trilogy, the world is our world far into the future, after a nuclear holocaust, and the populace has morphed over the years into four races - humans, elves, dwarves and trolls - named for the mythical creatures of old.

I won't name the myriad other books in the series, as it gets confusing with chronology (some prequels, many continuing, all in different publishing order):

"The Sword of Shannara" Trilogy (Original Trilogy)
1. "The Sword of Shannara" (1977)
2. "The Elfstones of Shannara" (1982)
3. "The Wishsong of Shannara" (1985)

Answer: Discworld

Every book in Terry Pratchett's "Discworld" series can stand alone, but together they create a rich tapestry of satire and humour (with magic). The disc-shaped world on the backs of four elephants, themselves standing on the back of the Great A'tuin, the World Turtle, can provide no better backdrop for the stories of the characters therein. Rincewind is a wonderful antihero - a poor magician who gets involved in great events in spite of every effort not to do so.

Again, I won't list all of the more than 40 books in the "Discworld" series, but the ones that include Rincewind are:

1. "The Colour of Magic" (1983)
2. "The Light Fantastic" (1986)
4. "Mort" (1987)
5. "Sourcery" (1988)
9. "Eric" (1990)
17. "Interesting Times" (1994)
22. "The Last Continent" (1998)
27. "The Last Hero" (2001)

Answer: Lord of the Rings

J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy is the paragon against which all other epic fantasy is measured. Many series seem to mirror the basic premise of the story (quest by individual or group, following prophecy, to defeat a dark, evil ruler). The series was written as a sequel to the earlier (1937) published story "The Hobbit". And, of course, the world of Middle Earth has been well-visualized in the movies by Peter Jackson.

1. "The Fellowship of the Ring" (1954)
2. "The Two Towers" (1954)
3. "The Return of the King" (1955)