Abby's Blog for Literature of Horror, Fantasy, and Sci-Fi

The Hobbit , the fantasy classic by J.R.R. Tolkien, is the embodiment of the Hero’s Journey, leading us through Middle Earth on the formulaic Campbell’s path of tropes. Bilbo Baggins is a middle-aged hobbit, which is essentially a short human-like creature who lives a quiet life of comfort and luxury, who gets swept up into a quest with a troupe of dwarves to win back an abandoned mountain kingdom from the dragon Smaug. His life gets turned upside down as he’s plucked from his easy-going life, but after primarily refusing this call to adventure, Bilbo realized that he’s wanted something like this to come along. A great adventure, something to interrupt the routine life he’s lived. He, the troupe of dwarves, and Gandalf the Wizard trek along on the typical Hero’s Journey, complete with a road of trials, apotheosis, a magic flight, becoming “master of two worlds,” and returning back home as a new man- or, hobbit. Unlike a lot of L ord of the Rings fans, I actually really enjoyed th...

Practical Magic , starring Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman, is all around a good movie-  entertaining and interesting, though not necessarily something I need to watch again. The plot revolves around two witch sisters named Sally and Gillian Owens; Sally never wants to fall in love, but for Gillian it’s a life goal. Unfortunately, their family is cursed so that any man who loves an Owens woman is doomed to die. Sally starts a family and tries to lead a normal life, but just as the curse forewarned, her husband is killed. Gillian, on the other hand, had been hopping from man to man before getting tangled with an abusive kidnapper. Sally tries to save Gillian but accidentally kills the boyfriend in the process, then resulting to a revival spell in order to avoid murder charges. The plot thickens as the boyfriend haunts them as a ghost and the sisters try and keep their spooky secret from the lead detective. Quite a story! Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman’s performances are bewit...

There’s always that one family member that everyone struggles to get along with at family gatherings, but I can assure you that nobody can compare to Aunt Maria. Aunt Maria , by Dianne Wynne Jones, tells the story of a family going to visit their Aunt Maria off in the odd and isolated town of Cranbury Head. While there, the main character Mig uncovers the twisted, magical matriarchy of the town- headed by her very own Aunt Maria- and faces witchcraft, brainwashing, ghosts, and local legends. I truly enjoyed reading this novel because of its wonderful cast of characters. Mig is a delightful and relatable protagonist, not afraid to act and be assertive. Her young age makes her fierce curiosity and strong emotions believable and real, and her point of view being executed through her journal entries makes for an interesting way to transition between chapters of the story. Mig’s brother Chris is a great character as well; his cleverness helps pull the plot along and prevents Mig from ha...