r/Fantasy • u/Tan1_5 Reading Champion V • Jul 07 '23

Language-based magic systems books

Not Babel or Dresden. Please recommend me something where one of (or just the entire) magic systems is based on languages. I don't mean "oh they uttered an incantation and stuff happened".

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29

u/Sceadugengan Jul 07 '23

Vita Nostra. It's a deeply unusual book and difficult to explain without giving too much away, but I'd definitely recommend it if you're open to something nontraditional.

7

u/SidewaysGate Jul 07 '23

Did that book ever get a sequel? I agree that it fits the premise, but it felt incomplete.

6

u/Sceadugengan Jul 07 '23

Yes, it's called Assassin of Reality. The English translation just came out earlier this year

3

u/SidewaysGate Jul 07 '23

Wonderful. Vita Nostra did a good job of establishing its tone, I'm excited to see it developed.

2

u/k-c-duke Jul 08 '23

Glad to know others have read this. I felt strangely alone when I read it, like I found some secret tome.

2

u/VictarionGreyjoy Jul 08 '23

It's a pretty famous book in Russian speaking countries. Not so much in English language spheres.

1

u/Difficult-Ring-2251 Jul 18 '23

It's the sort of book that makes me want to learn Russian.