The title pretty much says it! I’d like to explore that idea a little and would love to hear y’all’s recommendations. This thought was originally inspired by lord of the rings, but I’m also currently on a little nostalgia trip by reading The Sea of Trolls and the soft magic system in that is pretty fun

    • dandelion@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
      12·
      1 month ago

      https://habitwriting.com/hard-magic-vs-soft-magic/

      Hard Magic System: A type of magic that has specific rules that the reader understands and which limit a magic user in what they can do.

      Soft Magic System: A type of magic that–though rules may apply to it–does not have specific limits that are expressed to or known by the reader or audience.

      Basically how much readers are exposed to the mechanics of the magic system, and thus how realistic or constrained-to-reality the magic seems. Harry Potter and LotR are probably more in the soft magic category, whereas Brandon Sanderson’s novels have good examples of hard magic.

      • Zagorath@aussie.zone
        15·
        1 month ago

        Sanderson, who coined the terms, describes Potter as being a pretty good example of a mixed magic system.

        Which makes sense to me. The spells they learn at school are a pretty hard magic system. But then things like “the power of love” are more reminiscent of a soft system.

        • dandelion@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
          2·
          1 month ago

          Thank you, I do think this was mentioned in the article I linked, and it does seem like Harry Potter is a good example of a mixed system. In my mind what makes it a soft system more fundamentally is how the author is inconsistent and the way magic is never really restricted by rules, even if there is a lot of focus on classes and how the spells are conjured, etc.

  • Franconian_Nomad@feddit.orgEnglish
    7·
    1 month ago

    Hmmm.

    • „The dark is rising“ Series by Susan Cooper
    • „The Moon of Gomrath“ by Alan Garner
    • „The Innkeepers Song“ by Peter S. Beagle
    • „Stardust“ by Neil Gaiman
    • „The Night Circus“ by Erin Morgenstern
    • „Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrel by Susanna Clarke

    Those were on top of my head. There are probably many many more. Also check out other books by the authors I mentioned.

  • ursakhiin@beehaw.org
    5·
    1 month ago

    The Riftwar Cycle might fit. The magic system starts off with the users having a hard understanding of how magic works only to learn how soft and pliable it really is.

    That said, this series is like 30+ books and is put it at half of them being really good and half being a grind while nearly all of them are dated in fantasy style.

  • murmelade@lemmy.mlEnglish
    4·
    1 month ago

    I’m more of a sci-fi guy but I listened to Joe Abercrombies The First Law trilogy as audio books and holy shit was it great. Ended up devouring the 3 standalone books and the following Age of Madness trilogy that plays out in the same world. Very dark stuff and I believe fits within the requested “soft magic” setting.

  • Timecircleline@sh.itjust.works
    41·
    1 month ago

    Howl’s Moving Castle - the book showcases it a lot better than the movie. Kind of kiddish but that makes it a fast read, and I really appreciated the magic system.

  • johncutting [he/him]@hexbear.netEnglish
    2·
    1 month ago

    A few years ago, I devoured the Ascendant series by K Arsenault Rivera. Basically a soft magic universe based on Mongolian and Chinese mysticism set in a different world, but the parallels are pretty obvious. The main focus is the sapphic romance between the two leads, but It does a good job of mixing world building, epic battles and military maneuvers, demons and magic, and relationships. I highly recommend it.