Odd One Out Trivia Quiz

Answer: Lord Asriel

Lord Asriel, in Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy, is a man possessed of immense powers and extraordinary knowledge, but he is not described as a wizard; are his powers magical or scientific? It is left to the reader to decide. Merlin, in the Arthurian legends, is obviously a wizard; Mithrandir is the elvish name for Gandalf in Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings". Cadellin is the wizard in Alan Garner's pair of books about Colin and Susan set on Alderley Edge, "The Weirdstone of Brisingamen" and "The Moon of Gomrath".

Answer: Yvaine

Yvain is not a wizard; she is the fallen star in Neil Gaiman's "Stardust"; she seems to be immortal but not to be possessed of the ability to perform magic as wizards are - and she's female so she can't be a wizard! Armando Dippet is J.K. Rowling's creation, headmaster of Hogwarts in Tom Riddle's day. Nemmerle is Archmage (chief Wizard) on the island of Roke in Ursula le Guin's "A Wizard of Earthsea" and Radagast the Brown is the only one of the five Istari (wizards) other than Gandalf and Saruman mentioned by name in "The Lord of the Rings".

Answer: Roäc

Of course you knew that Roäc is the talking Raven who brings news to the dwarves in "The Hobbit" when they reach the Lonely Mountain. Trumpkin is the trustworthy dwarf who is a major character in "Prince Caspian" and also features in "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" and "The Silver Chair" in C.S. Lewis's Narnia books. Tyrion is the charismatic Lannister dwarf in George R.R. Martin's "Song of Ice and Fire" series. Peter Dinklage has played both these roles exceptionally well in screen adaptations. Doli is the dwarf in Lloyd Alexander's "Chronicles of Prydain" - like Trumpkin he is red-headed and inclined to grumble but has a kind heart. Unlike the other two, Tyrion is a vertically challenged human rather than one of a separate race, but his status as a dwarf is a vital component of his character.

Answer: Balthamos

Balthamos is one of the two angels who aids Will in "The Amber Spyglass", the third in Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy. Viktor Krum is, of course, a whiz with a broomstick and expert Quidditch player who plays in the Quidditch World Cup before turning up at Hogwarts and being selected for the Triwizard Tournament in "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire". Cyril - author E. Nesbit doesn't give him a surname, only the nick-name "Squirrel" - needs a magic carpet to get around - and a phoenix to guide him and his four younger siblings - in "The Phoenix and the Carpet" - although to be fair, the Psammead briefly grants him his own wings in "Five Children and It" (they vanish at sunset, leaving him stranded on top of a church tower!). Surprising as it may seem to contemplate a flying dwarf, Durathror uses a magic cloak to descend impossible distances without injury in Alan Garner's "The Weirdstone of Brisingamen".

Answer: Eragon

Paolini's book "Eragon" and its sequels are certainly about dragons, but Eragon is the boy - his dragon is Saphira. Smaug is, of course, the fire-breather from whose lair Bilbo Baggins is expected to burgle the dwarves' treasure in Tolkien's "The Hobbit". Rhaegal is one of Daenerys' cute baby dragons (at least, they start out that way) in George R.R. Martin's "Ice and Fire" books. Norbert also starts out cute - at least, in Hagrid's eyes - but proves too hot a pet to handle in "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone". That's "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" to Rowling fans across the pond.

Answer: Fredegar Bolger

Fredegar Bolger (a.k.a. Fatty) is the hobbit friend of Frodo who stays behind in Buckland to look after Frodo's new home when the four companions set out for Rivendell. Obviously, this is in the book but not the film. Tom Bombadil - also not in the film - saves the hobbits from Old Man Willow in the Old Forest.

He is described as a man but has magical powers and the Ring has no power over him; he seems like a kind of nature-god. Barliman Butterbur is the forgetful innkeeper at the Prancing Pony in Bree and is definitely a man not a hobbit. Bill Ferny is the unpleasant man at Bree after whom Bill the pony is named.

Answer: Dobby

Dobby is not a goblin, but the house-elf devoted to Harry Potter who appears in several of the books (and films). However, Griphook, also from the pen of J.K. Rowling, is a goblin - the one who helps Harry, Ron and Hermione get into Gringotts Bank in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows". Bolg is the goblin-leader killed by Beorn in the Battle of Five Armies towards the end of "The Hobbit". Perhaps fewer quiz-fans will have read the enchanting fantasies by the Victorian minister George MacDonald; Harelip is a goblin-prince in "The Princess and the Goblin" who tries to abduct the child-princess Irene to be his bride. MacDonalds' goblins have two peculiar weaknesses - they have very soft, vulnerable feet, and they also hate to hear songs, especially if the lyrics are rude about goblins!

Answer: Atlendor

Atlendor is not an animal; he appears in Alan Garner's "The Moon of Gomrath" (the sequel to "The Weirdstone of Brisingamen") and is an elf-lord whose people are being poisoned by man's pollution of the planet. Most animals can talk in C.S. Lewis's Narnia: Fledge is the talking, flying horse who befriends Polly and Diggory in "The Magician's Nephew". Gwaihir, the wind-lord, is chief of the giant eagles in Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings".

Hen Wen does not, it's true, communicate through speech, though Gwydion, who has the power to understand all animals, is able to communicate directly with her.

Hen Wen is the Oracular Pig in Lloyd Alexander's "Chronicles of Prydain", who makes prophecies through arranging the letter-sticks/ash-rods devised by the magician Dallben.

Answer: Rumblebuffin

Rumblebuffin is the friendly, loyal giant in C.S. Lewis's "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" turned to stone by the White Witch and rescued when Aslan breathes on him. His return to living form is gradual, starting with his lower legs and feet (even Aslan can reach no higher) and Susan wonders if it's safe - Aslan reassures the girls that the rest of him will follow, which is not quite the safety they had in mind! Rowling's Hagrid is not a true giant; he has giant blood in him but also human; he is only half-giant as his father was human (in "The Goblet of Fire", Hagrid tells Madame Maxime how by the time he was six he could lift his father and put him on top of the dresser). Grendel is the lake monster which the hero defeats in the Anglo-Saxon poem "Beowulf"; he seems to be vaguely humanoid and large in size but is never identified as a giant as such. Quickbeam is also larger than any human but not a giant; he is the "hasty" Ent (or tree-shepherd) who looks after Merry and Pippin for Treebeard during the Ent-Moot in "The Two Towers" (Tolkien).

Answer: Lyra Belacqua

The heroine of Philip Pullman's "Northern Lights" and its sequels has her daemon, Pantalaimon, which does change his form - in Lyra's world daemons can change their shape whilst their humans are young, but once they reach puberty, their daemons assume a fixed animal form.

However Lyra, as a human, does not, herself, shapeshift. In Tolkien's "The Hobbit", Beorn can assume the form of a bear, which makes him a very formidable opponent in battle - fortunately he is friendly towards the dwarves and Bilbo! Harry Potter's godfather, Sirius Black, is a special kind of wizard known as an animagus who becomes a black dog when the need arises. Ged (or Sparrowhawk as he is known to those not privy to his true name) can - as indeed his name suggests - transform himself through magic into a bird of prey, and in "A Wizard of Earthsea" (by Ursula K. le Guin) he nearly loses his human form altogether by so doing.