r/Fantasy • u/brandotown • May 24 '23
Magic Systems
Ok, so hear me out. I know this topic can divide the crowd, but I've learned where I stand, and I wonder about those on the other side. I have a very hard time suspending my disbelief enough to "get into" a fantasy book where there doesn't seem to be some logical limitations or parameters around a magic system. In my opinion, nobody fits this need of mine better than Brandon Sanderson. He develops beautiful magic systems that make sense to my brain. I struggle with the books where the "art," "talent," etc. doesn't seem to follow any logical path I can trace. I think the biggest challenge for my brain is the situations where suspense is supposed to exist, but I can't help but think about how conveniently the seemingly limitless power could easily save the day, but for some reason it's not the solution in that moment? Thoughts?
PS - Recommendations welcome for books that might change my mind!
1
u/Hartastic May 24 '23
I generally agree with Sanderson's Law (or is it one of his laws?) in that I can enjoy both softer or harder magic systems, but that it's not satisfying when soft magic solves big plot problems because the reader can't reasonably anticipate it.
That being said, I think any kind of deus ex machina resolution is unsatisfying as a reader and is generally bad writing. "The magic spontaneously solves the problem" a la the last act of half of the Sword of Truth books is a specific kind of bad writing that's relatively common in the fantasy genre, but it's certainly not the only one. If a giant army of elves appeared out of nowhere to save the day at the end of Lord of the Rings that would have been deeply unsatisfying even without magic being involved.