Tough Traveling: Drugs
The Thursday feature “Tough Traveling” is the brainchild of Nathan ofReview Barn, who has come up with the excellent idea of making a new list each week based on the most common tropes in fantasy, as seen in The Tough Guide to Fantasyland by Diana Wynn Jones. Nathan has invited anyone who is interested to come play along, so be sure to check out the first link for more information.
This week’s tour topic is: Drugs
DRUGS – Driver of all the underground economies. At times glorified, at times responsible for all the world’s evil, but just as common in Fantasyland as our own. A big thanks to Tammy for the suggestion as this is not from the Tough Guide.
Mogsy’s Picks:
Thank you Tammy for choosing such an interesting topic this week!
The Kingkiller Chronicle by Patrick Rothfuss
There’s no way I can do a Tough Traveling list about drugs in fantasy fiction without talking about denner resin. Made from the sap of the denner tree, this highly addictive substance causes euphoria and deliriousness, and its numbing effects also makes it useful as a powerful anesthetic. Too much, however, can be poisonous, and its users may become addicted. Denner addicts are also called “Sweet Eaters”, and can be recognized immediately by their unnaturally white teeth.
Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie
Drugs are just as ubiquitous in science fiction as it is in fantasy, perhaps even more. In this book, the drug Kef is highly addictive, believed to dull emotions thus increasing greater rationality in the user. The effects only last a short time, however, wearing off quickly after a few doses. The lasting intoxicating sensation afterwards is what causes so many to be come addicted.
The Powder Mage series by Brian McClellan
In this series, specialized magic users called Powder Mages snort gunpowder like a drug user would snort cocaine — ouch — giving their abilities an extra boost when they do. However, the drug also makes the mage feel more alert and energized, sharpening his or her senses and thinking. This is how the key character Taniel becomes addicted to the powder in the second book, following his severe injuries and emotional trauma.
The entire story line in this book revolves around the hunt for a rare psychedelic mushroom — enough said!
Wendy’s Picks
Ah good old Dragon Age. Never lets me down! Lyrium is a potent and volatile substance mined and refined by dwarves and sold to the Chantry. It is used to fuel a mage’s power, but it is also used to enslave the Chantry’s templars, who take it to enhance their mage monitoring abilities and defences. Adverse effects include paranoia, obsession, and dementia.
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
Drugs come in many forms and not all of them involve pills in a bottle or dried up leaves. OASIS is a place where players can escape reality, letting their brains enjoy the fantasy of a virtual world that can be almost anything they want it to be.
Mass Effect: Ascension by Drew Karpyshyn
No matter how advanced our species becomes, we’ll never kick the habit. Red dust is now the drug of choice, and a man’s addiction to the substance is what the terrorist leader, The Illusive Man, uses to keep control of his daughter, a powerful young biotic girl.
The Killing Moon by N.K. Jemisin
The emperor may sit on the sunburst throne, but he does not rule. It is the hetawa that controls him, carefully driving him slowly insane through the use of dreamblood. Well that sure came back to bite them in the arse, didn’t it.
The BiblioSanctum 
Denner resin! I have absolutely no recollection of that -.-
Damn. You’re the first to fulfil my prophecy of listing a pick I’ve read that I didn’t even think of, though -.-
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I did have to look it up…all I had was a vague recollection of some drug making the addicts’ teeth very very white. I forgot most of the other details, including some of the more prominent parts the drug played in the story.
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Wow. I can’t remember anything about it whatsoever. And I’m definitely not up for rereading Rothfuss, lol.
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Good, there were a lot more drugs than I thought. I worried this would be a tough week. Including so many that come from book I read. Two points.
-I almost but Dreamblood but went somewhere else along the same theme so great minds and all that.
– I know alot of people hate the big scene involving Denner trees and a certain creature but I actually enjoyed it.
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Like I told Rabindranauth above, I can’t recall much of the finer details of denner and the parts in the book involving denner…so I must admit have no recollection of that scene at all 😛
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Difficult topic, I think I would have said the Stacia Kane series but after that I don’t really know…
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I haven’t read that one!
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Knew i would see Resin on one of these lists. Im like a Draccus in search of whiter teeth!
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It seemed like Rothfuss put a lot of thought into the background of the drug!
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He is very good at details. Ive seen some people describe his finer details as useless minutiae, but I really dont agree. I see it as having chocolate cake with a lovely helping of ice cream.
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And sprinkles! I’ve just started reading it and am loving the detail.
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Denner resin is a big one, and I liked the mention of drugs in Ancillary Justice. Would any of the ‘glanding’ in Ian Banks count? It’s essentially just a high technology way of drugging yourself.
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It would probably count! Thing is, I haven’t read any Ian Banks! I know, I know…I should really change that.
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Great list – a nice balance of genres and drugs in there. Maybe it’s just been too long since I read it, but there’s no way I would have remembered denner resin.
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I think that’s the case with a lot of people. It’s just been so long between the books!
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I didn’t remember denner resin either, but it’s been a bajillion years since I read The Name of the Wind. And mentioning Ready Player One and the addicting OASIS was a great idea!
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Yep, same deal. Just too much time has passed between the books, like I said, I only vaguely remember some details and had to look it up.
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I wouldn’t have thought to include the OASIS as a drug, but you’re completely right – drugs don’t have to be in a bottle. As for denner resin, I vaguely recall it but not very well. Time for a Rothfuss re-read! 🙂
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Time for a reread here too, or at least just a refresher with the wiki page or something. Glad I’m not the only one who barely remembers the details of Rothfuss’s series!
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It’s all about the mind altering,,,
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Dune should be on that list, too.
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Yep, I saw Dune on a list or two. Would have been on mine except I haven’t actually finished Dune 😛 One of these days I’ll go back and try again!
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The Powder Mage thing sounds unique. I hate it when main characters become addicts though.
Good idea to list virtual reality as a drug! That’s so true!
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It’s absolutely quite a unique premise! I don’t so much mind when the main character is the one who gets addicted though. But if it happened a lot in books I read, it’s probably start to irk me too.
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There’s another one I forgot to add yesterday: David Anthony Durham’s Acacia trilogy where drugs and drug dealing play a pretty important role.
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Silly me totally forgot about gun powder
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You are totally right about the oasis being a drug and hey I literally just pulled Gleam off the shelf an hour ago and brought it downstairs! Lol
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Dreamblood as a drug. Never thought of it that way, although I guess so…
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