6.6 KiB
[HF][Q] Stories which go in-depth into magic, and the character's reasoning?
-
Author: u/devDorito *
-
URL: https://www.reddit.com/r/rational/comments/3q35ls/hfq_stories_which_go_indepth_into_magic_and_the/
-
Score: 17
-
Created: 2015-10-24T23:08:12
Post:
I just caught the fantasy bug again, after years of not reading anything good. I just caught up reading Mother of learning, and I find the main character's deliberations to be a wonderful change of pace from the standard "I must power up to defeat the evil guy". I was up all night reading the web novel. I'd buy the e-book if the Author ever made one.
Are there any Hard Fantasy stories which you've been reading (online or otherwise) where you feel like the logic of the story and at least one of the main character's decision-making processes as they overcame their obstacles were really effective?
Comments:
u/Transfuturist [+10] Carthago delenda est. (3 hours later)
Ra. Although I haven't actually read it yet. qntm has a fabulous track record, though.
u/Nevereatcars [+1] The Greatest Is Behind (6 hours later)
I read it and it is everything OP wanted.
u/ArgentStonecutter [+7] Emergency Mustelid Hologram (15 minutes later)
- The Lord Darcy stories by Randall Garret.
- The Incomplete Enchanter series by L Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt.
- The Wiz Biz series by Rick Cook.
u/devDorito [+1] (a day later)
Wow. None of my nearby libraries have those. I'll have to find them on Amazon.
u/mg115ca [+1] (a day later)
I can't speak for the other series, but the first 2 Wiz Biz books are available via the wayback machine. 1 2
u/devDorito [+1] (2 days later)
Thanks! I'll definitely check it out!
u/noggin-scratcher [+4] I am a happy tree (11 hours later)
Not sure if it's considered "hard" fantasy but Name of the Wind (Patrick Rothfuss) comes to mind - there are several distinct systems of magic varying from "obeys conservation of energy" to "poorly understood even in-universe", and the main character is narrating his life story so you get the inside view on his thoughts.
Also the writing is just excellent. I would recommend it on the strength of that alone.
u/pizzahotdoglover [+1] (26 days later)
If /u/devDorito were posting in /r/books or somewhere I'd keep my mouth shut because these books are so popular, but this is /r/rational, so let me just say, if you are looking for a story where the main character is actually intelligent (in that he makes smart decisions in a show-don't-tell way), this story will probably disappoint you. Mother of Learning is amazing, and the protagonist is very smart and effective. In NotW, there is a lot of wish-fulfillment type stuff that is annoying, where he is the very best at everything, and a lot of the plot seems contrived. For example, he is supposed to be the best musician ever but he somehow is constantly poor, and he's supposed to be super smart, but he falls for the most obvious trick where someone tells him to take a candle into the rare book section of the library, resulting in a ban (so the resulting conflict feels very contrived). He's telling the story about himself so you could say he's exaggerating, but that doesn't fix the fact that it makes the story worse.
On the other hand, the magic system is fantastic and well thought out. It might be worth reading for that alone if you can get past the cringe, but
u/PeridexisErrant [+4] put aside fear for courage, and death for life (13 hours later)
I'd second suggestions of Ra, or anything by Brandon Sanderson.
I'd buy the e-book if the Author ever made one.
u/devDorito [+2] (23 hours later)
Thanks for that link! I'll definitely support his patreon when I get some more cash.
u/Rhamni [+2] Aspiring author (an hour later)
Working on it. Discipline is hard.
u/devDorito [+2] (23 hours later)
Oh, so you're writing your own! Best of luck. I'm interested in these story types.
u/Rhamni [+1] Aspiring author (a day later)
It'll be a while. I kinda finished one this spring, but it was my first major project, and it was very rough around the edges, so I put it down as training and shelved it. 30k words into my second project though, and it's looking much more promising! Still, next year some time I should be making a post on this sub asking for readers.
u/Salaris [+1] Dominion Sorcerer (11 hours later)
Have you read any of Brandon Sanderson's stuff? He's pretty much the king of hard fantasy.
If you don't mind self-promotion, I also write novels in this style. My first novel, Forging Divinity, is already out. The sequel is on its way.
I go into a ton of detail about magic theory - to the extent that many readers think it's overkill. That sounds like something you might enjoy, though.
Two of my perspective characters are pretty solidly rational (Jonan and Lydia), although they're still flawed and have holes in their reasoning. My third character, Taelien, is tactical and knows how to optimize his abilities, but he has more of a traditional shonen hero style of approaching his problems - mostly because he hasn't run into many things that he can't brute force his way through (yet).
Here's a quick blurb for my own novel if you're interested: Some say that in the city of Orlyn, godhood is on sale to the highest bidder. Thousands flock to the city each year, hoping for a chance at immortality.
Lydia Hastings is a knowledge sorcerer, capable of extracting information from anything she touches. When she travels to Orlyn to validate the claims of the local faith, she discovers a conspiracy that could lead to a war between the world's three greatest powers. At the focal point is a prisoner who bears a striking resemblance to the long-missing leader of the pantheon she worships.
Rescuing the prisoner would require risking her carefully cultivated cover - but his execution could mean the end of everything Lydia holds dear.
u/devDorito [+2] (a day later)
A good variety of character, and the reviews were pretty solid. I'll pick it up for my Kindle!
u/Salaris [+1] Dominion Sorcerer (a day later)
Awesome, hope you like it! Let me know if you have any questions or anything. =D