New poll - Magic systems

In my last poll, I wanted to explore some genre bending or mixing.  I was interested in finding out which genre creates the best mix with Epic Fantasy. The top four answers were:

I was surprised by the result. With the trend of 'grimdark' Fantasy, I thought that Dark would have been higher in term of percentage. It seems that the Epic genre can't really be dissociated with the military element found more often than not in our favorite books.  However, a fresh dose of genre bending will always be welcomed.

On to the next subject!

If you have followed my reviews over the years on the blog, you know that I rate the books on a ten-point scale and that I rate five more categories to give some perspective, point things out. I'm not writing this post to talk about the ratings, this has already been discussed, but to talk about one specific element, magic systems.

Magic is a fundamental aspect of Fantasy, it's what differentiates the genre.  It may not be paramount to a great story but it can add a nice flavor to a story built around great characters and a compelling story.  Magic is usually a talent, a force, supernatural powers or simply the unexplained when no god is around to justify or blame it on. Who doesn't like magic?

I will have to write a AFR Top List for the best magic system I read about in my years of Fantasy reading but for now, I can still throw out some names. Robert Jordan's Saidin and Saidar are unavoidable, the warrens of Steven Erikson were complex but brilliant, Brandon Sanderson came up with originality when he presented allomancy, Blake Charlton created one in parallel with his disability in Spellwright and Brent Weeks felt colorful when he invented chromaturgy for the Lightbringer series.

The use of the 'magic system' terminology seems to be creating dissension into the ranks of Fantasy readers, even if it's simply a term used so we can understand each other. Usually, when you think of magic systems, rules more often than not find their ways into the melee.  Orson Scott Card wrote about it in a book (with a very interesting argument about the price of magic and the balance it creates or breaks) and Brandon Sanderson posted this essay (which include a law...), beginning with:

You can't really disagree with him on that part.  However, after this he explains the intricacies, uses, boundaries of magic systems and how it should be developed. Many Fantasy authors spend a lot of time on their magic system (or simply on the magic present in their world) and it can become a distraction, it's a dangerous line to follow.  But then, I think that it's mostly the same for the world building and the infamous info-dumps, the stereotypical or one-sided protagonists and the all-tangled-up storylines.  Whether you do an intricate magic system or not, I don't think that the success of it depends on its creativity but on its execution. Can it save a poorly written novel?

I think that indeed, a magic system ought to have limits but they don't really have to be crystal clear and explained as if I was reading a physics book. However, I'm a fan of original magic systems and I tend to prefer when some explaining is done, slowly, throughout the tale. Apprentices are the best avatars in this instance. I love some mystery around it but I hate it when something comes out of nowhere to save the day without any hints as to why it was possible.

Here's more on the topic: