I’m sure it’s a familiar feeling for any avid reader—wishing to be whisked away into the fantastical world of a favourite story. So this month, we ask: if you could travel to any fictional place, where would you go?
Table of Contents
If you could spend a week on holiday in any fictional place, where would you go?
Taya
A bit of a throwback for this answer, but I would love to holiday to the Magic Faraway Tree, specifically when the Land of Wishes is at the top of the tree. I was obsessed with this land as a child. I couldn’t think of anything more fun than hanging out with Moonface, Mr Watzisname and Silky where my wildest wishes could come true. Enid Blyton’s work was a staple for me as a child. I believe this is where my love for fantasy started. Her writing was so beautiful and whimsical, it had me believing that at any moment I could stumble across a magical forest or have a fairy pop into my room to take me away on a magical adventure. Despite this novel being published in the 40s, almost a century ago, I could reread this today and still feel as though those magical moments were possible. I think this speaks to how great of a writer Blyton was, her stories speaking to children of many generations. These books will definitely be passed down to my children, if I have any.
Lauren(’s Colleagues)
It’s been a super busy couple of weeks at work, which isn’t leaving me a lot of time for … well, anything! Working with such creative people, though, got me thinking: stories unite us, no matter the medium. With backgrounds as varied as art, film and cosmetics, I was curious to see the answers I might get for these prompts from the talented people who put up with me for (at minimum) eight hours a day. Sorry, dear colleagues!
May I present: Belinda, Claudia and Simon.
Simon: Anywhere with magic!
Claudia: The Hunger Games districts. It’d be interesting to see them all, I think, how different they are from each other, what makes them unique. It’s something I’d like to have seen more of in the series.
Simon: Be careful with wishes like that, it may be reality soon…
Lauren: Right now? Thedas, from the Dragon Age games. The world-building is off-the-charts level detailed, it’s incredible, but I wouldn’t want to live there. Way too many near-apocalyptic mishaps with the Fade, the dream-realm of magic and demons.
Brittany
“The River Liss runs north to south, and its waters brim with grammar” begins The River Has Roots, a fantasy story by Amal El-Mohtar. “The rocks over which it tumbles shiver into jewels of many colours. Along its banks nod flowers and grasses, but all out of season and sense: spring bluebells mix with autumn asters, and towering cattails scatter frosted seeds over beds of blooming marigolds”. This magical land through which the River Liss runs is called Arcadia, or the Beautiful Country, or the Land Beyond, or Antiquity. You might think of it as Fairyland.
As of writing, I finished reading The River Has Roots yesterday, and I am currently captivated by Arcadia. I would love to visit. Though, Arcadia is apparently an unreliable keeper of time—all the grammar in that river does strange things to tense—so it is uncertain how long my “week” on holidays would last.
If you had to move to a fictional place, where would you live?
Taya
I think I would choose to go to the world of Medora from Lynette Noni’s Medorian Chronicles series. I was looking at my bookshelf for ideas of places to go, and in my head I was going, “Nope, would die. Yeah, no. Would die. Yep, wouldn’t survive that.” Until I got to the Medorian Chronicles, which I feel confident that, as a side or background character, I would be OK. Noni’s world is one of magic, found family and adventure. The settings in all the books in the series varies, but the one consistent place the characters reside is Akarnae Academy (where I feel I would spend most of my time). Everyone at the school has a magic power, and they do awesome classes such as Combat and Gift Development, a bit different to English and Maths. Also, the academy itself sounds super cool with magical foods and an endless sentient library. I could go on and on about why I’d want to live there, which is why I think it’s the perfect answer for this question.
Lauren & Co.
Claudia: Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory! It’s just so surreal. It’d be cool to see the Oompa Loompas, and imagine that giant chocolate fountain!
Simon: Yeah, except they’re pretty loosey-goosey on the whole child murder thing, aren’t they? People always seem to skip over that part.
Belinda: I think I’d go with the video game, Stardew Valley. It’s just calm and fun, and you can spend all day on a farm. I’d like that.
Lauren: Japan, Battle Royale-universe! Nah, kidding. I wouldn’t last two seconds. Hm … Victoria Aveyard’s Red Queen universe would be awesome. I also wouldn’t last two seconds, but I’d risk it for a chance of being a newblood/Ardent with the brilliant powers they have. Even if I were born a Red (a regular human with no powers), they’re pretty damn tough and it’s all very inspiring.
Brittany
Surely, I thought when I posed this question, someone is going to pick The Shire from The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien. The cosy hobbit holes in the bucolic countryside—something of a safe haven amongst the tumult in Middle Earth—are designed to be an idyllic place to live. But no. So let me be the one to say: I want to move to The Shire.
My next pick would be Deltora from Deltora Quest by Emily Rodda (a bit of a throwback for this answer, as Taya said). Certainly, there are dangerous, and unpleasant places in Deltora. For example, The City of Rats as Lief, Barda, and Jasmine find it is not somewhere I would want to live. But Deltora Quest seemed like such as fun adventure as a kid, so this is a story I would happily live in. (Also, Deltora is one of the first examples I thought of when proposing a blog post about fictional places, so I felt I needed to include it.)
Then of course there is the possibility I never escape my holiday in Arcadia, in which case I may end up living there.
Where is one fictional place you would NOT want to visit?
Taya
Easy answer. Any apocalyptic book. For a specific answer, Station Eleven. I fear that I and any survival situation just isn’t going to work out. I’d be dead immediately. In fact, I’d probably be patient zero. Station Eleven is under the “plague” categorisation of apocalyptic books, which is possibly the scariest categorisation to me, living in a post-COVID era. In fact, this book was recommended to me by my friend, who actually read it in December of 2019. Now, if you’ve been following recent history, that date might stand out to you as being only a bare few months before the COVID outbreak. I can only imagine her experience hearing about COVID with this story fresh in her mind. And again, let’s just say I am so very grateful that COVID didn’t reach apocalypse level.
Lauren & Co.
Belinda: Anywhere with fighting! Oh, and I wouldn’t want to go to the From universe, either. That’s a TV show by the same team as Lost, I think, about this group of travellers who drive through a strange town, except they don’t seem to be able to leave it. And anyone who stays out at night might be killed, and whatever lives out there can assume the identities of their friends and family to convince them to open their doors. It’s creepy, like purgatory. No thanks.
Simon: Anywhere’s better than this, the darkest timeline.
No, wait, except for the movie Everything, Everywhere, All at Once. Everyone’s fingers turn into hot dogs, and it’s inconvenient and gross. It’s such a good movie, you should watch it.
Claudia: You know the movie Rango? That desert. It’s dry, and hot, and there’s no food or water. It’s very depressing.
Lauren: Yup, not my idea of a good holiday…
Brittany
I have to agree with Taya; there are many, many post-apocalyptic stories I would absolutely not want to visit, on account of wanting to remain alive. Along this vein, I have to disagree with Claudia; Panem from The Hunger Games by Susan Collins seems like a risky place to visit, and I would rather not.
But, having recently been reading Mentoltrans’s ongoing translation of The Hunter’s Gonna Lay Low[1] by Baek Sam, I’d say this is the world I would least like to visit. Sure, this story starts out in what seems like a perfectly pleasant version of South Korea with a fantasy twist. But, as the story progresses, things get (metaphorically) darker. The Whitening makes more, and more of the world utterly uninhabitable, and monster mutations put everyone at risk. Overall, I do not rate my chances of surviving this story highly. I would not like to visit.
1. 헌터는 조용히 살고 싶다 | Heontaneun Joyeonghi Salgo Shipda [back]
If you want to be swept away into another world, why not try “Have You Ever Been Arrested or Convicted for Any Offence or Crime?” by S. L. Johnson, or “For the Sake of the Octopus Cousins” by Kathy Gollan!
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Taya Dardengo
Taya is a student from Perth studying a Professional Writing and Publishing degree alongside a Marketing degree. When she doesn’t have her head buried in a book, she still finds a way to be surrounded by them as she works as a bookseller. In her spare time from reading and working, she enjoys challenging herself at long-distance running.
Lauren Hancock-Coffey is the co-founder and financial manager of Banksia Journal. She’s also a writer and devourer of historical fiction with a speculative twist and an avid fantasy RPG-er with more books and games than sense. She’s a full-time editor with a BA in Linguistics and an MA in Professional Writing and Publishing.
Brittany Lee is the co-founder, and editor of Banksia Journal. She is a writer from Perth, Western Australia, with a BA in Linguistics, and Postgrad Diploma in Journalism. Her work has appeared in AntipodeanSF, Dusty Attic Publishing, and Perth’s Raine Square Story Dispenser. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, knitting, and taking photos of flowers (such as banksias).
You can find her online at brittanyerinlee.com.