Tough Traveling: Fairground

The Thursday feature “Tough Traveling” is the brainchild of Nathan of Review 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. Compulsive list-maker that I am, I’m very excited to take part!

This week’s tour topic is: Fairground

This is like a MARKET, except it is much, much bigger and planted somewhere right in the middle of nowhere so that everyone can get to it. There will be rows and rows of TENTS and BOOTHS…

Geez, way to choose a hard one for this week, Nathan. I had a pretty tough time with this one. Too bad circuses don’t count immediately because I’ve sure got plenty of those! But hey, if a book features a circus with a fairground, I say that’s FAIR GROUND. Har har, I’m hilarious.

Pantomime by Laura Lam – Like a lot of circuses, the one in this book includes a funfair. Protagonist Gene makes frequent visits to explore the fair grounds after shows to visit the different booths for games and delicious carnival food like roasted hazelnuts, popping corn and caramel apples. Yum! (Review)

The Oversight by Charlie Fletcher – We’re transported from the London streets to a funfair in the countryside when Lucy Harker gets into a bit of trouble and finds herself traveling with a troupe of performers. She learns that an upcoming “wizard battle” between two rival magicians has become the fair’s biggest attraction. (Review)

Moth and Spark by Anne Leonard – I almost forgot about this! If I hadn’t picked up my copy the other day and looked at the back cover, which actually shows a short excerpt from a scene where Corin and Tam are riding atop wooden horses on a carousel. The two lovers had donned masks to sneak out to the fair. (Review)

Broken Homes by Ben Aaronovitch – One of the best scenes in this novel is the the Spring Court held by the God and Goddess of Thames. A large celebration in the park, the event featured games, vendors hawking food and trinkets, and even an antique steam-powered carousel and a jazz tent! As the closest thing to magical law enforcement, constable Peter Grant of the Folly has to man a Metropolitan Police booth. (Review)

Hang Wire by Adam Christopher – Most people think of fairgrounds as fun, cheery places, but the one in this book is anything but. Instead of whimsical rides and attractions, there’s a creepy circus here with a funfair featuring mechanical devices and structures suffused with pure evil, and they hunger for the blood of carnival goers. (Review)

Honorable Mentions:

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss – While I can’t recall an actual fairground in these books, Kvothe spent his childhood with his family, a troupe of traveling players that traveled from town to town performing songs and theater acts at fairs and large gatherings. He describes his early days as happy, like growing up in the center of an endless fair.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern – I think Le Cirque des Rêves is more of an actual circus, featuring tents that are larger and more elaborate, unlike the little stalls and booths you’d find on normal fairgrounds. But the sights within are just too awe-inspiring not to include this book here. (Review)