I’m a Sucker for…

This is a short blog post challenge I’m hoping a few friends might engage with.

It’s a simple blog post detailing what the no.1 thing is that just somehow pulls us towards a book. I’m going to tag 5 people on twitter, and hopefully they post and do the same thing.

So here goes mine:

I’m a Sucker for…

Factions

So what exactly do I mean?

Well, I am an absolute sucker for books that feature competing factions, preferably with their own unique traits, traditions, mottos, strengths and weaknesses.

For me, this doesn’t tend to be competing nations, which feature in a lot of books where there is a war between two or three sides, or between races in fantasy where it’s orcs vs dwarves vs elves etc (though if these are brand new races and not the stereotypical ones in can be cool!)

It’s more a case in which A Song of Ice and Fire (Game of Thrones) would be the most well known example, though something like the Hunger Games or Harry Potter satisfy this to a lesser extent.

In A Song of Ice and Fire, there are multiple houses with their own banner, motto, a unique identity. They have their own allegiances, traits and histories. Their strengths and weaknesses are clear.

For example, you have the resilient and sombre Starks in the cold north. The Dornish are famously passionate and fiery, and independent. The rich Tyrells with their bountiful lands. The ambitious Lannisters. The prideful and often mad Targaryens. And so many other houses that are different still. It just makes things so interesting when anything kicks off because you see how all these various factions react to events, unlikely alliances etc.

It’s hard to really explain but I think a part of it appeals to that sort of collecting nature. When you collect different types of stamps, stickers, badges. Whatever it is. There’s an appeal to a range of things with different colours, designs and properties. I am probably making no sense but if someone ‘gets me’ I will be relieved.

Game of Thrones and Harry Potter can put part of their success down to this and the merchandising is a dream. A different colour for each house. Which one will you side with and buy? A Baratheon notebook, a Ravenclaw scarf?

Both of these series may have incidentally lost part of their popularity recently and I’m not saying these are the go to series with this element in it – they’re just perhaps the two most well known.

I’m also a sucker for things that play on this sort of collecting – book covers can be great for that. I look at Will Wight’s Cradle series and those covers already have me intrigued.

If you want to comment with your thoughts and any series you feel scratches this itch, let me know!

Maybe you just want to tell me I’m talking absolute nonsense! Thanks for reading.

---