5 Fictional Characters I Would Travel to the Courts of Hell to Save

Go to hell. This is a phrase that people often calmly scream at one another when they’re super-duper mad – like, you-just-ate-the-last-slice-of-pizza mad. (The last slice of pizza is no laughing matter, folks.) But in Stronger Than a Bronze Dragon, the main character literally goes to hell. In a valiant quest to save her village, the feisty Anlei and a mischievous punk thief named Tai must journey together to the Courts of Hell, a place where sinners are tortured endlessly by the demon king in new and creative ways. Sounds kind of like The Bad Place, doesn’t it?

Imagining herself to be the Warrioress from legends of old, Anlei braves untold tortures, bloodthirsty demons, and eternal damnation. Why would anybody who is sane in their brain (oh look – I rhymed!) willingly do that, you might ask? Well, to save a group of helpless villagers who have been unjustly trapped in the Courts of Hell. Obviously.

Held prisoner by the evil demon king, the villagers’ only hope of escape is Anlei. But instead of blasting off in the opposite direction like a cheetah on a treadmill, she steals a mechanical dragon and rides it straight into the heart of hell itself. As one does. Which got me thinking, who would I steal a mechanical dragon for? Who would I ride straight into the heart of hell to save? The answer? My fictional babies, of course. And now let me tell you why.

Darius from Darius the Great is Not Okay

Darius is too pure for this world and if anybody messed with him, I would have to unleash my inner ninja-assassin all over the perpetrator’s butt. (Bet you didn’t know I had an inner ninja-assassin, did you? Well, I do. So you better watch out).

But vicious paper-folding aside, Darius is the softest of all the softbois and if he was languishing in the depths of the Courts of Hell, I would channel all of Anlei’s reckless courage and walk there myself. (One does not simply walk into The Courts of Hell, you say? Well, just watch me!)

Prince Rhen from A Curse So Dark and Lonely

Rhen is your basic DID: a dude in distress. Cursed to become a vicious beast that delivers destruction and death to all those who cross his path, it can be argued that he’s already in hell. And boy, does he need some saving. Big time. All through A Curse so Dark and Lonely, my heart ached for him, just like my legs do after walking up a flight of stairs. (Apparently, I need to work out more.) If I could’ve done something to break that nasty spell on him, you bet your waffles I would’ve. (And you know things are serious when I’m betting on my precious waffles).

Cress from The Lunar Chronicles

For over seven years, sweet, innocent Cress was imprisoned in a satellite that orbited the Earth. A FREAKING SATELLITE, FOLKS! How many people do you know can say that their childhood was spent in a tiny metal ball that bobbed around in space? Probably not many. (In fact, probably not a single one… Well, now that I think about it, there was that one kid named Sam…)

With nobody but her netscreens for company, this dear child missed out on some important learning opportunities, such as appropriate social cues, the inappropriateness of stalking, and how, exactly, to give oneself a haircut. This awkward ball of awkwardness excels in all things digital, and could probably hack her way out of the Courts of Hell if she tried. But sadly, I don’t think computers are allowed in the demon king’s terrain. So I’d volunteer as tribute in true Hunger Game fashion and go to save this adorable little cinnamon roll with nothing but my barehands and a waffle iron. (The waffle iron is non-negotiable).

Yumeko from Shadow of the Fox

Yumeko is 50% kitsune, 50% human, and 100% adorable. Raised by monks in a secluded, middle-of-nowhere Buddhist temple, she’s lived a pretty sheltered life, but that doesn’t mean she hasn’t learned a thing or two. She’s learned that you really shouldn’t climb onto the temple roof at midnight during a rainstorm. And that if you’re going to pop out of a closet to scare a martial arts master, you should be ready to duck. And if you have to flee an angry bear in the forest by climbing a tree, you should first check that there aren’t any hornets’ nests hiding under the branches. Oh yes, the things she has learned.

Also, when Yumeko meets a hoard of bloodthirsty demons, she reaches the rational conclusion that the only proper way to proceed is to chuck RADISHES at said demons’ heads. Yup. She does that. Do you really need a better reason to love this big ball of naivety and fluff? I don’t think you do. Do you also need a better reason to wonder why she’s on this list? Again, I don’t think you do.

Squad 312 from Aurora Rising

These guys are 100% Squad goals (literally, since they are like…an actual space squad). And although I’d travel to Octavia III (which is arguably as bad as the Courts of Hell) and back for these guys, I don’t think they’d actually need my help. This group of elites and misfits are more than capable of saving their own necks, and they’d do it all while serving up a plate-load of witty banter and scathing sarcasm too.  

About the Book

Stronger Than A Bronze Dragon by Mary Fan

Published on June 11th 2019 by Page Street Kids

384 Pages Long

Classified as Fantasy & Young Adult

Cover Design by Laura Gallant

ISBN 162414733X

Obtained as an eArc (Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher so that I could participate in this blog tour.)

When a powerful viceroy arrives with a fleet of mechanical dragons and stops an attack on Anlei’s village, the villagers see him as a godsend. They agree to give him their sacred, enchanted River Pearl in exchange for permanent protection—if he’ll marry one of the village girls to solidify the alliance. Anlei is appalled when the viceroy selects her as a bride, but with the fate of her people at stake, she sees no choice but to consent. Anlei’s noble plans are sent into a tailspin, however, when a young thief steals the River Pearl for himself.

Knowing the viceroy won’t protect her village without the jewel, she takes matters into her own hands. But once she catches the thief, she discovers he needs the pearl just as much as she does. The two embark on an epic quest across the land and into the Courts of Hell, taking Anlei on a journey that reveals more is at stake than she could have ever imagined.

With incredibly vivid world building and fast-paced storytelling, Stronger Than a Bronze Dragon is great for readers who are looking for something fresh in epic fantasy.

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About the Author

Mary Fan is a hopeless dreamer, whose mind insists on spinning tales of “what if.” As a music major in college, she told those stories through compositions. Now, she tells them through books—a habit she began as soon as she could pick up a pencil.

Mary lives in New Jersey and has a B.A. from Princeton University. When she’s not scheming to create new worlds, she enjoys kickboxing, opera singing, and blogging about everything having to do with books.

Blog Tour Schedule

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Who are some fictional characters you love so much that you would travel to the Courts of Hell to save?

What do you think of my precious babies? Would you, like me, go to Hell to save any of them?

Have you read Stronger than a Bronze Dragon? What did you think of it?