7 Signs You’re Stuck in a Fantasy Novel

After all, you might be trapped in a prophecy without realizing it!

If the title caught your attention, you already have your doubts.

Maybe that creaking noise you heard before going to bed last night wasn’t a coincidence. Maybe it was a part of the elaborate scheme the evil overlord had cooked up to lure you out of the comfort of your house into his den?

Or maybe that nice stranger who smiled at you from across the room yesterday wasn’t just trying to be kind. Maybe he recognized you from the times you have no memory of, and has been planted here by a lost kingdom to claim back their heir to the throne?

Luckily enough, if your life is a fantasy novel, there are some tell-tale signs you can be on the lookout for.

If you can check off one (or more) items on this list, chances are, your life is a fantasy novel. And so, read on, my friend, for you can’t be sure what lies in wait for you at the other end.

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1. Your Name is Full of Apostrophes

Do you call yourself Karen or Ka’ren?

If I filled all my forms with my name as Anang’Sha, I’d definitely be worried.

But if you safely use the former, you’ve got nothing to worry about.

2. You Didn’t Have a Happy Childhood

If you have no memory of how your parents died except a brilliant flash of green light, you might be Harry Potter.

Or if your parents were wonderful and loving, but were killed off because they composed a song about an ancient demonic apparition, you might be Kvothe (from The Name of the Wind).

If your mother was sweet and loving, but you had to live with an alcoholic wife-beater (who smelled terrible) because you never knew your father, you might be Percy Jackson.

No matter how your parents treated you or who you had to live with, if you didn’t have a happy childhood, your life is probably a fantasy novel.

3. Your Mentor Suddenly Dies (or Disappears)

After your parents left, you found solace in a parental figure you met when you were fairly young.

Just as you're figuring out the ways of the world, the mentor suddenly dies.

Maybe he’s killed by the villain you’re trying to vanquish, like Kelsier of Mistborn: The Final Empire.

Or maybe he dies in a fight, trying his best to protect you, like Brom of The Inheritance Cycle.

Either way, after your mentor is gone, you’re thrust with the sole responsibility of fulfilling your destiny. It’s a tough world. Have you got the courage to face it alone?

4. Something That Hasn’t Happened in a 1000 Years is Happening Again

Maybe the assassins no one has seen since the legends of the past have started coming closer to your kingdom, like the attack on the House of Berethnet in The Priory of the Orange Tree.

Or maybe a dragon egg has hatched somewhere near you, making you the sole dragon rider after all the dragons were wiped out in war thousands of years ago, as in A Song of Ice and Fire.

The world as you know it is changing. And no generation in recent history has ever had the privilege to witness such transformation first-hand. If you can relate to this, your life is definitely a fantasy novel.

5. The World is About to End or be Taken Over, and You’re the Only One Who Can Save it

You might not have any special powers. Heck, maybe each thought you have is filled with self-doubt. But the world is about to end, and everyone believes you’re the only one who can save it.

So, what do you do?

Jump right into your role, negotiate with the gods, and arrive at the battleground all guns blazing like Nahri of The Daevabad Trilogy?

Or do you recognize what’s at stake, decide to look at the bigger picture, and sacrifice yourself so everyone else can survive, like Nathaniel of The Bartimaeus Sequence?

Whichever option you choose, you’d require lots of courage. Only the protagonist in a fantasy novel can muster that. If you resonate with this, there's no turning back.

6. You Have a Pet Dragon

Of all the items on this list, this is the most tell-tale of them all. If you have a pet dragon, there's no way you’re not in a fantasy novel.

Even if the dragon isn’t your pet, even if it’s a wild fearsome beast who can turn you to toast with one breath, the fact that you’ve encountered one in your life proves that you’re stuck in a fantasy novel.

Yes, even if that dragon can talk and is a hoarder of books, not shiny objects— much like Kevin of The Lightning-Struck Heart.

The question is, how do you go ahead, now that things have become clear?

7. You’re in Love With Someone You Can’t Have

Of course, if this is the only point on the list that you can relate to, it isn’t definitive proof that you’re stuck in a fantasy novel. Many “Muggles” also have the misfortune to love someone who doesn’t love them back.

But if the reason why you can’t be together is something beyond the ordinary reasons like they don’t love you back or your parents don’t agree, then you could be the protagonist in a fantasy novel without knowing it.

For example, if you’re a human and the woman you love is an elf, then you might be Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings.

Or if your lady love was possessed by a dancer God and made into an assassin, her memories stolen away without consent, you could be Crokus of Gardens of the Moon.

Not being able to be with your one true love sucks. But if it indicates you’re in a fantasy novel, maybe things aren’t for the worse after all. Maybe you have hope to wield some of that magic flowing in your veins to turn things back in your favor.

In case this wasn’t clear, this article is just for fun. Take it with a pinch of salt, and don’t forget to introspect on your life. After all, only the “chosen one”s get to live a life like that in a fantasy novel.

As you might have guessed, I’m an avid reader of fantasy fiction. Here are some articles where I’ve recommended my favorites. Feel free to browse through and pick one that catches your attention:

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