The members of the Fantasy Book Club at Wright State University (WSU) gathered in Allyn Hall on Wednesday, April 15, to finish discussing their first novel, "Shadow and Bone" by Leigh Bardugo.
The Fantasy Book Club emerged this spring semester, co-hosted by The Adventurers Guild and The English Club. Once founded, members took a deep dive into the adventures of character Alina Starkov in the land of Ravka. Themes of camaraderie, struggle and love are shown through compelling storytelling and captivating characterization.
In discussion of the novel, a Fantasy Book Club attendee, Zachary Pleiman, spoke about which topic in the book he thought created the most discussion.
“We’ve had a lot of discussion about [the main villain’s] motivations, his manipulation [of characters] and how it shapes the main character, Alina,” Pleiman said.
The novel created a detailed world for the Fantasy Book Club to break down as the novel progressed. The magical world of "Shadow and Bone" captivated members of the club through its links to Russian culture.
Victoria Smith, the Treasurer of The Adventurers Guild, spoke on how a fantasy world centered in Russia drew the attention of the Fantasy Book Club.
“The things that have generated the most conversation from our book so far [are] the magic system and the world-building,” Smith said. “Leigh did an amazing job at researching Russia, building the world and coming up with a unique and interesting magical system.”
This semester, WSU has hosted a surge in events for the fantasy-based community. Starting with the emergence of The Adventurers Guild earlier in the semester, students began to flock to events such as Dungeons and Dragons or Star Wars-themed events.
Smith spoke on how the arrival of science fiction and fantasy into mainstream culture has affected student life on campus.
“I feel like the want for fantasy, sci-fi and more ‘nerdy’ events has grown on campus a lot,” Smith said. “We have a lot of people interested in light saber sparring, fantasy book club and cosplay.”
With the growing interest in the fantastical, the Fantasy Book Club started as Smith’s idea for an event hosted by The Adventurers Guild. When her idea was thought to have some merit, a collaboration with The English Club was brought to The Adventurers Guild’s attention.
Both The English Club and The Adventurers Guild worked to lay the groundwork for the Fantasy Book Club as a unique environment for students to create conversations and community solely around fantasy novels. The messages and themes within fantasy novels act as a way for people to process the world around them by making connections between reality and fantasy.
Andrew Slusser, President of The English Club, spoke about how fantasy can act as a tool to understand events in everyday life.
“The thing I like most about fantasy is [that it can take] real-world problems that might otherwise be difficult or exhausting to discuss and transform them into something more fantastical,” said Slusser. “The trauma [of the real world] is a bit hard to quantify and really fight back against, but a dragon that represents the same thing is [relatively] easy to slay.”
Fantasy Book Club offers students the chance not only to explore worlds outside of reality but also the possibility of reading about characters and settings that they relate to on a personal level.
While the club is a new feature on campus, WSU students have started taking an interest in The Adventurers Guild and The English Club's collaboration. Both clubs plan to schedule more novels and events for the upcoming Fall semester, with the goal of increasing involvement in the student body.
If the Fantasy Book Club has piqued your interest, you can learn more about the club by reaching out to the President of The Adventurers Guild, Talon Hirt, or the President of the English Club, Andrew Slusser, at hirt.15@wright.edu and slusser.22@wright.edu, respectively.
