The Speech (fiction)
A trope in modern fantasy/science fiction is the idea of a central language (often called The Speech) that is the root of all languages, and in some cases the true describing words that made the universe. Examples Unifying characteristics of this language in many books include: * allowing comprehension of all other languages, including those of animals * a medium for magic * a mode of communication for a high class of people * difficult or impossible to lie in A popular example of this is found in the '' Young Wizards'' series of novels by Diane Duane. All creatures and things understand and, to a degree, can speak the Speech intuitively, but specifically, it is the wizards who use it as their primary language and means of performing their works of magic. It is incredibly detailed and describes things that other languages cannot. Describing something inaccurately in the Speech may result in catastrophic effects (including changing the nature of the thing or being therein mi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Trope (literature)
A literary trope is the use of figurative language, via word, phrase or an image, for artistic effect such as using a figure of speech. Keith and Lundburg describe a trope as, "a substitution of a word or phrase by a less literal word or phrase." The word ''trope'' has also come to be used for describing commonly recurring or overused literary and rhetorical devices, motifs or clichés in creative works. Literary tropes span almost every category of writing, such as poetry, film, plays, and video games. Origins The term ''trope'' derives from the Greek (''tropos''), "turn, direction, way", derived from the verb τρέπειν (''trepein''), "to turn, to direct, to alter, to change". Tropes and their classification were an important field in classical rhetoric. The study of tropes has been taken up again in modern criticism, especially in deconstruction. Tropological criticism (not to be confused with tropological reading, a type of biblical exegesis) is the historical study of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Young Wizards
''Young Wizards'' is a series of novels by Diane Duane. The Young Wizards series presently consists of eleven books, focusing on the adventures of two young wizards named Nita and Kit. Each novel pits Nita and Kit against the "Lone Power", an entity ultimately bent on the destruction of the entire universe. The series began in 1983 with the book '' So You Want to Be a Wizard'', which told the story of their first experiences with wizardry. In 1997, Duane began a spin-off, the Feline Wizards series, which takes place in the same universe, but with different protagonists. This series incorporates elements of fantasy, science fiction, and religion. The series deals with issues such as death, sacrifice, and redemption. Books Young Wizards # # # # # # # # # # # A short story within the same universe, "Uptown Local", was originally published as part of Jane Yolen's ''Dragons and Dreams'' anthology; it has also been included in the 20th anniversary edition of ''So You ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Diane Duane
Diane Duane (born May 18, 1952) is an American science fiction and fantasy author, long based in Ireland. Her works include the '' Young Wizards'' young adult fantasy series and the '' Rihannsu'' Star Trek novels. Biography Born in New York City, she grew up in Roosevelt, Long Island. After school, she studied nursing and practiced as a psychiatric nurse for two years until 1976, when she moved to California and worked as an assistant to David Gerrold. Her first novel was published by Dell Books in 1979; Gerrold wrote an "overture" to that novel, on the grounds that he'd rather be making overtures than introductions to Duane's work. She subsequently worked as a freelance writer. In 1981 she moved to Pennsylvania. She married Northern Irish author Peter Morwood in 1987; they moved to the United Kingdom and then to Ireland, where they reside in County Wicklow. Bibliography Young Wizards # # # # # # # # # # # A short story within the same universe, "Uptown Loc ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Wizard (fantasy)
A magician, also known as an enchanter/enchantress, mage, magic-user, archmage, sorcerer/sorceress, spell-caster, warlock, witch, or wizard, is someone who uses or practices magic derived from supernatural, occult, or arcane sources. Magicians are common figures in works of fantasy, such as fantasy literature and role-playing games, and enjoy a rich history in mythology, legends, fiction, and folklore. Character archetypes In medieval chivalric romance, the wizard often appears as a wise old man and acts as a mentor, with Merlin from the ''King Arthur'' stories being a prime example. Wizards such as Gandalf in ''The Lord of the Rings'' and Albus Dumbledore from '' Harry Potter'' are also featured as mentors, and Merlin remains prominent as both an educative force and mentor in modern works of Arthuriana. Other magicians, such as Saruman from ''The Lord of the Rings'' or Lord Voldemort from ''Harry Potter'', can appear as hostile villains. Villainous sorcerers were so ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Deep Wizardry
''Deep Wizardry'' is the second book in the Young Wizards series by Diane Duane. It is the sequel to ''So You Want to Be a Wizard''. Plot summary Nita's family goes on vacation with Kit and his dog, Ponch, to the South Shore of Long Island. While swimming in the ocean at night, Nita encounters a dolphin (nicknamed 'Hotshot'), and Kit reports the local rocks' memory of disaster. In the following night, they are carried by the dolphin to a nearby beach, where they see a pack of sharks attacking a humpback whale wizard named S'reee, whom they rescue. Nita heals S'reee, and Nita and Kit return to shore. From S'reee, they hear of a 'Song of the Twelve', in which twelve cetacean wizards were tempted by the Lone Power to embrace entropy; and of the Twelve, three whales accepted this, three were undecided, and three rejected it. A Tenth whale, the Silent Lord, instead sacrificed herself, and was eaten by the Master Shark. This action bound the Lone Power for a time, and succeeding Songs ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG, Berlin/Boston, 2011. Having emerged in the 1st century, it is named after the Arab people; the term "Arab" was initially used to describe those living in the Arabian Peninsula, as perceived by geographers from ancient Greece. Since the 7th century, Arabic has been characterized by diglossia, with an opposition between a standard prestige language—i.e., Literary Arabic: Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) or Classical Arabic—and diverse vernacular varieties, which serve as mother tongues. Colloquial dialects vary significantly from MSA, impeding mutual intelligibility. MSA is only acquired through formal education and is not spoken natively. It is the language of literature, official documents, and formal writ ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Pellinor
Pellinor is a fantasy series by Australian author Alison Croggon, spanning four books and a prequel. The series is the retelling of the "Naraudh Lar-Chanë", the Riddle of the Treesong, set in the fictional world of Edil-Amarandh. The story mainly revolves about the character of adolescent girl Maerad, who was forced into slavery along with her mother as a child, after the sacking of the Bard school of Pellinor. Books So far the books have been published by Penguin Books in Australia, Walker Books in the UK, Candlewick Press in the US (except ''The Bone Queen'' published by Walker Books), and Bastei-Lübbe in Germany, with the translation done by Michael Krug. The Bone Queen A prequel, published in 2016. The promising young Bard Cadvan summons a revenant, the Bone Queen, which causes him to be exiled. Cadvan and his friend Dernhil the poet must then track down and vanquish the Bone Queen. The Friendship (short story) A prequel story of how Cadvan and the healer B ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Alison Croggon
Alison Croggon (born 1962) is a contemporary Australian poet, playwright, fantasy novelist, and librettist. Life and career Born in the Transvaal, South Africa, Alison Croggon's family moved to England before settling in Australia, first in Ballarat then Melbourne. She has worked as a journalist for the ''Sydney Morning Herald''. Her first volume of poetry, ''This is the Stone'', won the Anne Elder Award and the Mary Gilmore Prize. Her novella ''Navigatio'' was highly commended in the 1995 The Australian/Vogel Literary Award. Four novels of the fantasy genre series ''Pellinor'' have been published. She also founded and edits the online writing magazine ''Masthead'' and writes theatre criticism. Croggon has also written libretti for Michael Smetanin's operas ''Gauguin: A Synthetic Life'' and ''The Burrow'', which premiered respectively at the 2000 Melbourne Festival and Perth Festival, produced by ChamberMade. In 2014, Iain Grandage (composer) and Croggon (librettist) collaborat ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Christopher Paolini
Christopher James Paolini (born November 17, 1983) is an American author and screenwriter. He is best known for '' The Inheritance Cycle'', which consists of the books '' Eragon'', ''Eldest'', '' Brisingr'', ''Inheritance'', and the follow up short story collection '' The Fork, the Witch and the Worm''. His first science fiction novel, ''To Sleep in a Sea of Stars'', was published on September 15, 2020. He lives in Paradise Valley, Montana, where he wrote his first book. Early life Paolini was born in Los Angeles, California, and raised in the area of Paradise Valley, Montana. His family members include his parents, Kenneth Paolini and Talita Hodgkinson, and his younger sister, Angela Paolini. Home schooled for the duration of his education, Paolini graduated from high school at the age of 15 through a set of accredited correspondence courses from the American School of Correspondence in Lansing, Illinois. Career He started his work on his first novel, '' Eragon'', at the age ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Inheritance Cycle
''The Inheritance Cycle'' is a tetralogy of young adult high fantasy novels written by American author Christopher Paolini. Set in the fictional world of Alagaësia (), the novels focus on the adventures of a teenage boy named Eragon and his dragon, Saphira, as they struggle to overthrow the evil king Galbatorix. The series was originally intended to be a trilogy (named the "Inheritance Trilogy") until Paolini announced on October 30, 2007, while working on the third novel, that he believed the story was too complex to conclude in just three books. The book series as a whole received mixed reviews by critics, but has gained both popularity and commercial success. The first book in the series, ''Eragon'', was originally self-published by Paolini in 2001, and subsequently re-published by Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers on June 25, 2003. The second book in the series, ''Eldest'', was published by Knopf on August 23, 2005. Both were New York Times bestsellers. The third boo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ursula K
Ursula may refer to: * Ursula (name), feminine name and a list of people and fictional characters with the name * ''Ursula'' (album), an album by American jazz pianist Mal Waldron *Ursula (crater), a crater on Titania, a moon of Uranus *Ursula (detention center), processing facility for unaccompanied minors in McAllen, Texas *Ursula (The Little Mermaid), a fictional character who appears in ''The Little Mermaid'' (1989) *Ursula Channel, body of water in British Columbia, Canada *375 Ursula, a large main-belt asteroid * HMS ''Ursula'', a destroyer and two submarines that served with the Royal Navy *Tropical Storm Ursula (other), a typhoon, two cyclones, and a tropical depression, all in the Pacific Ocean * Ursula, signals intelligence system used by the Finnish Defence Intelligence Agency See also *Saint Ursula Saint Ursula (Latin for 'little female bear', german: link=no, Heilige Ursula) is a legendary Romano-British Christian saint who died on 21 October 383. Her ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Earthsea
''The Earthsea Cycle'', also known as ''Earthsea'', is a series of high fantasy books written by the American writer Ursula K. Le Guin. Beginning with '' A Wizard of Earthsea'' (1968), '' The Tombs of Atuan'', (1970) and '' The Farthest Shore'' (1972), the series was continued in '' Tehanu'' (1990), and '' Tales from Earthsea'' and '' The Other Wind'' (both 2001). In 2018, all the novels and short stories were published in a single volume, ''The Books of Earthsea: The Complete Illustrated Edition'', with artwork by Charles Vess. Setting The world of Earthsea is one of sea and islands: a vast archipelago of hundreds of islands surrounded by mostly uncharted ocean. Earthsea contains no large continents, with the archipelago resembling Indonesia or the Philippines. The largest island, Havnor, at approximately across, is about the size of Great Britain. The cultures of Earthsea are literate non-industrial civilizations and not direct analogues of the real world. Technolog ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |