Welcome (back) to my unapologetically casual top-5 series. Follow the tag ‘Top 5 2023’ for more. There are no stars and no metrics. The only criteria is how much I enjoyed the book, and how well its strengths place it primarily in a given category. Yes, books can appear on more than one list if they fit.
Magic can be an incredible storytelling tool. It can inspire a sense of wonder. It can be a magnifying glass to more everyday problems, facilitating powerful allegories. Usually, it’s just pretty dang cool. I love books with magic.
As fantastic as a well-written magic system is, thoughtlessly written magic can ruin an otherwise good story. Magic with little to no cost pummels a story with plot holes. If it’s so easy to do magic, why doesn’t everybody? Magic with no clear boundaries makes the reader wonder – rightly – why magic doesn’t swoop in to solve any and every problem. This is why you hear fantasy authors discuss not ‘magic’ alone but magic systems. Magic needs rules and boundaries to keep things interesting.
When I write magic, I ask myself these questions:
- How do mages learn or obtain magic?
- What does magic cost the mage?
- What are the limits of magic – what can it do? What can it never do?
- How does this magic serve this specific story? Why do I need it at all?
You can find variations of this list (Brandon’s Sanderson’s so-called Laws of Magic are a famous modern example) all over the internet, if you’re interested in researching that sort of thing. But, this preamble has gone on long enough. Here are some of my favorite fantasy novels (almost all series, coincidentally) which handle magic exceptionally well –
5. A Promise of Blood (Powder Mage) – I love that this book tackles not one, not two, but three magic systems. The conflict between different types of magic users which genuinely feel distinct is fascinating to behold.
4. Jade City (The Green Bone Saga) – Jade Magic checks all the boxes. Fun, flavorful effects? Check. Clear rules and limits? Check. Heavy cost for misuse? Double cheek. The way magic intersects both the setting and characters of this series is a work of art.
3. The Fifth Season (The Broken Earth Triology) – Jemisin writes a delightful balance of science fiction and fantasy. The magic feels like science and the science is magical, and you had better believe this literally earth-shaking magic has global consequences.
2. Babel – Babel is a masterclass of creating a magic system which intrinsically and uniquely reinforces the themes of the overall work. Magic is the perfect extended metaphor. Check it out, you’ll see what I mean.
1. The Rage of Dragons (The Burning)- I have read many fantasy novels since i picked up The Burning series, but the high-cost, well-formed planes-walking magic found therein is still the reigning champion of magic systems in my book. I cannot share too many details, because the slow unveiling of the mystery of the magical mechanics is an important aspect of the plot, but know that there is no greater metaphor for the high price of power and the self-destructive nature of war and revenge.
Honorable Mention – Master of Djinn – The Djinn-binding magic system of this fantasy noir mystery is a delightful, fun bit of flavor.
Happy reading, folks.
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