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Fantasy topics > Most memorable magic object

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message 1: by Kristina (new)

Kristina Kamaeva | 89 comments Of the books you've read, which magical object do you remember the most?
For me, it's The Luggage, a large chest made of Sapient Pearwood, from Discworld novels by Terry Pratchett. It has hundreds of little legs and a mouth full of teeth. The Luggage follows its owner anywhere and also is very protective. It's unstoppable!


message 2: by Lynn (new)

Lynn Helton (slynnhelton) | 4 comments Ah, yes, The Luggage!

Also from that same series, Granny Weatherwax's flying broomstick, which needs to be bump started! :)


message 3: by Kristina (new)

Kristina Kamaeva | 89 comments Lynn wrote: "Ah, yes, The Luggage!

Also from that same series, Granny Weatherwax's flying broomstick, which needs to be bump started! :)"

Magic objects should have some temper!


message 4: by Jabotikaba (new)

Jabotikaba | 119 comments Kristina wrote: "Magic objects should have some temper!"
That's right!
Perhaps I could mention the sarcastic talking sword from Chosen of Changeling by Gregory Keyes or the foul-mouthed ring from Forever After by Roger Zelazny, which also does a lot of talking.
But, to be honest, my favourite is the moon-carrot from The Talking Parcel by Gerald Durrell. It's not strictly fantasy because it's a children's book written by a scientist. But it tells the story of children who find themselves in a magical land inhabited by mythical creatures such as cocatrices and dragons. So perhaps this book can be considered fantasy, too.
So, the moon-carrot is a vegetable that can turn into any other food you want to eat.
Imagine you have a moon-carrot on your plate, but you would rather eat a chocolate cheesecake. As soon as you imagine the cheesecake, the moon-carrot immediately transforms into it. It can turn into any food, whether a dessert, soup, salad or something else.
I think it's a very useful object — no worse than the Luggage, although the Luggage is great too.


message 5: by P. Pherson (new)

P. Pherson | 145 comments Mod
The holy hand-grenade of Antioch comes to mind.


message 6: by Jabotikaba (new)

Jabotikaba | 119 comments P. Pherson wrote: "The holy hand-grenade of Antioch comes to mind."

It's a very useful thing, too.


message 7: by Kristina (new)

Kristina Kamaeva | 89 comments Jabotikaba wrote: "Kristina wrote: "Magic objects should have some temper!"
That's right!
Perhaps I could mention the sarcastic talking sword from Chosen of Changeling by Gregory Keyes or the foul-mouthed ring from F..."

I haven't read about those objects!
What happens when you eat that food? Do you need another moon carrot every time you want to do the trick?
The magic tablecloth (skatert' samobranka) would be handy. You spread it out and it sets itself with food and drink. You fold it, and all food and drink vanish until the netxt time!


message 8: by Kristina (new)

Kristina Kamaeva | 89 comments I remembered one more fun object - the Hobgoblin's top hat from Tove Jansson's Moomins books. It could transform anything you put in it. Eggshells to clouds that you can ride or threads to jungle. And you never knew what would turn into what.


message 9: by Jabotikaba (last edited Jun 29, 2025 09:38AM) (new)

Jabotikaba | 119 comments Kristina wrote: "Jabotikaba wrote: "Kristina wrote: "Magic objects should have some temper!"
That's right!
Perhaps I could mention the sarcastic talking sword from Chosen of Changeling by Gregory Keyes or the foul-..."


Kristina wrote: "Jabotikaba wrote: "Kristina wrote: "Magic objects should have some temper!"
That's right!
Perhaps I could mention the sarcastic talking sword from Chosen of Changeling by Gregory Keyes or the foul-..."

Eating a moon carrot won't do much to you. It will be digested like normal food. You'll need new carrots, but that's not a problem since this magical land has great fields of them. In fact, it's practically the only crop grown there because it replaces all the others very effectively.
This magical tablecloth is obviously very useful. A Grimm Brothers fairy tale (unfortunately, I don't remember the name) describes something similar. There's a table that provides food when you tap it. However, a tablecloth is much more portable than a table, even a small one.
Chosen of Changeling duology consists of two books, The Waterborn and The Blackgod. The books are very strange because they are about a royal family descended from a divine river, a guy with a talking sword, an ape-man, and an undead assassin in love with a teenage princess. It sounds absurd, but the books are very well-written. The author has a degree in anthropology and is an expert at creating fictional societies and peoples.
Specifically, the talking sword is actually a sentient god-sword named Harka. It is much older than its young owner, Perkar, who is a funny combination of the traditional Farmer Boy from epic fantasy books and Conan the Barbarian, so the owner and his sword have a strange relationship. Imagine the weapon is much smarter than its owner, and you'll understand why it's very odd and sometimes funny.
Forever After by Roger Zelazny is a parody that mocks old clichés and tired tropes of traditional high fantasy. In this book, the magic ring can read people's thoughts and immediately speaks them out loud, accompanied by some pretty dirty comments.
Kristina wrote: "I remembered one more fun object - the Hobgoblin's top hat from Tove Jansson's Moomins books. It could transform anything you put in it. Eggshells to clouds that you can ride or threads to jungle. ..."
Considering what that thing did to poor Moomintroll, it's a pretty creepy object. Do you remember the ugly King of California?


message 10: by Kristina (new)

Kristina Kamaeva | 89 comments Jabotikaba wrote: "Kristina wrote: "Jabotikaba wrote: "Kristina wrote: "Magic objects should have some temper!"
That's right!
Perhaps I could mention the sarcastic talking sword from Chosen of Changeling by Gregory K..."

Considering what that thing did to poor Moomintroll, it's a pretty creepy object. Do you remember the ugly King of California?
Yes, I remember :) At least it was temporary!
Moon carrot certainly would be every child's favorite vegetable if existed.
The ring sounds obnoxious!
So many fantastical ideas. My TBR is already too long :)


message 11: by Jabotikaba (last edited Jul 01, 2025 05:59AM) (new)

Jabotikaba | 119 comments Kristina wrote: "Jabotikaba wrote: "Kristina wrote: "Jabotikaba wrote: "Kristina wrote: "Magic objects should have some temper!"
That's right!
Perhaps I could mention the sarcastic talking sword from Chosen of Chan..."

Exactly! This moon carrot might be the perfect vegetable for kids. That's probably why I remember it so well. I was seven or eight when I read the book, and vegetables were a relevant topic for me at the time.
The Chosen of Changeling is a very interesting duology. It contains both horror (as I've mentioned, Ghe is an undead assassin, and Hezhi teeters on the brink of becoming a water monster) and great humor.
Out of all the books I've recommended for you here, I think this story is the second best, after Chimeras of Estmer.
But Forever After is just a parody, albeit a very funny one.


message 12: by P. Pherson (new)

P. Pherson | 145 comments Mod
I always thought mournbringer and stormbreaker were pretty cool. Swords possessed by demons.


message 13: by Jabotikaba (new)

Jabotikaba | 119 comments P. Pherson wrote: "I always thought mournbringer and stormbreaker were pretty cool. Swords possessed by demons."

When I saw your post here, I immediately thought of the Khazid'hea and the awkward situation Catti-brie and Drizzt once found themselves in because of it. I'm wondering why I don't recall this episode before.


message 14: by Mathew (new)

Mathew Kellerman | 51 comments Stepping outside of literature for this, but I've always found the Boots of Blinding Speed were hilarious. Makes you super fast, but blind as a bat - a hilarious trade off in a game where you must cover vast distances on foot in a land where everything is trying to kill you.


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