Has there been a published fantasy novel...

[Ripheus23]

... where there's a scene with an army of living books? I know there have been book-monsters in, say, the Final Fantasy series, or the Ildatch in the Shannara books, or that Care Bears movie with the evil book... And other examples... But a whole army? Like thousands of them?

I have an explanation, sort of, for how this would happen (a magic-logic explanation, that is), but if the image itself seems absurd then at best it would only be good for an absurdist story.

[Ashertliden]

In Mario 64 ds haunted books fly at you.

[Ripheus23]

1 minute ago, Kal-Eldin said:

In Mario 64 ds haunted books fly at you.

How many?

[Borio Singaldi he/him]

Too many. Far too many. It's in Super Mario 64 for N64 as well. I would know. The horror...

To be honest, like, just a few. Not a full army or anything.

[Ashertliden]

Theres many more on the shelves though. Waiting. Watching and waiting.

Edited October 19, 2018 by Kal-Eldin

[Kureshi Ironclaw]

I'm picturing thousands of books flying around like a swarm of bats. That makes it a bit more menacing in my mind. I think if you use the right words to describe the army of books it won't seem as absurd.

[Zelly]

I can see it working, but only if they're flying books or acting almost like a fluid, an overwhelming wave of books working together.

If they're....um...flopping towards me on the ground like fish, it's far less intimidating.