Top Ten Tuesday: Fantasy books with the best modes of travel

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. This week’s theme is:

June 12: Books That Awaken the Travel Bug In Me

I recently wrote a post about books that give me wanderlust, so I thought I’d do something slightly different this week and talk about fantasy books that have amazing modes of travel.

The Last Namsara // Some of the characters in this book can ride dragons. That may be the best way to travel. Ever. As long as no dragons were harmed in the making of this transport. (Which, judging by the plot, they weren’t.)

An Enchantment of Ravens // Although I wasn’t enamoured with this book, I did enjoy the way Rook could turn into a raven and fly. Seeing the world from a birds-eye view (literally) would be a pretty cool way to travel, and I’ve always wanted to fly.

A Court Of Mist and Fury // As much as I’m not really a fan of this series, I have to admit, winnowing is a good way to travel. To be able to teleport anywhere would be so handy, and the characters in this book definitely use it to their advantage when fighting battles (which they seem to do all the time).

Invictus // The team in Invictus havefirefly spacesh a time machine that transports them from era to era, and it sounds brilliant. The interior is described in such detail, that I can virtually see the beds and the medical room, and I imagine the exterior to be a cross between the Enterprise from Star Trek and the Serenity from Firefly.

A Darker Shade of Magic // One of the first things that made me begin to fall in love with this series was the way Kell can travel between worlds. Using his blood and a coin from the relevant London, he can open up a ‘door’ (thought not the same physical kind of door as in DOSOB) and move between the four cities. I would love to be able to travel in this way and be able to go anywhere at the drop of a hat.

Harry Potter // There are so many cool modes of travel in Harry Potter, I don’t even know where to start. Although I imagine it’d be a little uncomfortable, flying on a broom would be incredible. Teleporting using a portkey also sounds like a lot of fun, and using the floo network – although slightly messy – would be a much faster way to get to work than my current transport.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone // I loved the way doors can lead to other worlds in this trilogy; even though it’s a frequently-used metaphor, it was done so well in a fantasy environment.

The Mortal Engines // This series is set in a world where cities are mobile and move around on giant wheels/tracks. Although the aim of most of these cities is pretty diabolical (they need to eat other cities for fuel), travelling on a moving metropolis would be pretty cool.

Children of Blood and Bone // Some of the characters in this book have snow leoponaires or other creates they can ride, and that act as companions (almost like the dæmons from The Northern Lights). As long as there’s no animal cruelty involved, I’d love to have a creature that I could ride to different lands and be best buds with.

Bleach // I had to include one manga series in this list because the way the characters travel is one of my favourites. In the Japanese manga it’s called shunpo, and in English it translates as flash step, which is basically to flash-teleport between one space and another. Characters who have more power (reiatsu) can become faster and better at shunpo and eventually master it. Super handy in a battle. Or if you’re late to work.

What would your favourite method of travel be? Would you rather pilot a spaceship or ride a dragon? Are there any other books with amazing ways to travel that I haven’t included in this list?