Fantasy Books with LOTS of magic use

[hephaest]

Hi,
Im looking for fantasy books that are good but
also that have lots of magic use. Especially the main
character. I have read the following:
Lord of the rings
Sword of Truth (all in series)
Sword of Shanara (first trilogy)
Wheel of Time (all in series)
Inheritance (Eragon and Eldest)
Earthsea Cycle (books 1 and 2)
A Game of Thrones (dropped after 50 pages)
Narnia (dropped after 50 pages)
Dragons of Pern (most books in the series)

I would say out of the above, the one series that has the most magic use is the Wheel of time. Here, the main characters use magic quite frequently. You have all the Aes Sedai using magic all the time and occasionaly Rand uses his magic. The problem with Wheel of time, is that it has too much diplomatic intrigue and too many sub-characters and sub-plots and too many descriptions of clothes and furniture. It drags on at a snail's pace. Probably the series that appealed to me the most is Sword of truth. It doesnt have that much use of magic, but it goes at much faster pace and keeps you in suspence. Inheritance, Main characters use magic often. Now Lord of the ring, while a great book, doesnt really have any magic use. Gandalf does some stuff rarely. And theres the evil Sauron that is all magic (including his ring). But poor old frodo has no magic at all. I want to read books filled with the use of magic. Teleportation, stoping people's hearts, fire from fingertips, etc. and the more mundain use of magic like combing ones hair and drying one's clothes. A world full of magic use.

Does the "Chronicles of Thomas Covenant- the unbeliever" have lots of magic use?

[Jay]

In manys way, it's almost as if like your asking me to recommend you a bad fantasy novel, but I think we can overcome that!

Steve Erikson's Malazan book of the Fallen, and unlike Goodkind, Brooks, Jordan, and Paolini's series, it's actually not absolutely awful - and has more magic.

Steven Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen:

Gardens of the Moon (available in the U.S)
DeadHouse Gates (available in the U.S)
Memories of Ice (available in the U.S)
House of Chains
Midnight Tides
BoneHunters
Dust of Dreams (forthcoming)
Hounds Toll (forthcoming)
Reapers Cale (forthcoming)
Crippled God (forthcoming)


There are also two Malazan related novellas by Erikson, Blood Follows and The Healthy Dead, as well as a novel written by Ian Cameron Esslemont, called Night of Knives, that serves as a prequel to Gardens of the Moon.

(edit)

Does the "Chronicles of Thomas Covenant- the unbeliever" have lots of magic use?

It does, but I'm afraid (from what you posted) you may not find the pacing of it - Donaldson is rather methodical -to your liking.

[Adasunshine]

I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest a series of books you may consider childish...

...Harry Potter

They are full of magic - the fun kind, they're a quick, easy read and I love them!

Also, it depends what kind of magic you're after, Robin Hobb's Farseer, Liveship & Tawny Man trilogies are full of magic but it's not the staff-wielding kind!

Also, Eddings' books are completely jam-packed with magic, all the time, start with Pawn of Prophecy and go on from there.

If any of these interest you then all the authors have their own forums and list of books (normally written in order of reading).

xx

[Brys]

Jay got there first - again! Erikson's Malazan series was the first to come to mind for me as well. Others you might consider include:
Michael Moorcock's Elric
Patricia McKillip's Riddlemaster
Roger Zelazny's Amber - this one has quite a bit of magic, but it isn't traditional at all, so it might not be what you're looking for (though it's a truly excellent series).

[hephaest]

Re, the harry potter books:
Yep, you are right, i consider it childish. But thats because I am 32. I watched the latest potter movie and didnt like the whole "prom/dance" and all the romance thrown in there. it took up most of the story. But you are right, there is alot of magic use in there

[hephaest]

Originally Posted by Jay

In manys way, it's almost as if like your asking me to recommend you a bad fantasy novel, but I think we can overcome that!

Thanks for the Recommendations Jay
Its interesting though that you should say that wanting lots of magic use makes for a bad fantasy novel. Why is that? Does it have anything to do with the books that I read, or is it just in general, most books with magic are bad?

another question for you, why do you find Terry Goodkind and the sword of truth series, bad books?

[Jay]

Thanks for the Recommendations Jay
Its interesting though that you should say that wanting lots of magic use makes for a bad fantasy novel. Why is that? Does it have anything to do with the books that I read, or is it just in general, most books with magic are bad?

another question for you, why do you find Terry Goodkind and the sword of truth series, bad books?

I was just having some careless fun, admittedly I don't care for Goodkind...or Jordan...or Paolini...or Brooks... and when I say I don't care about them, I really mean I think they represent some of the worst fantasy on earth (to me). That said, I'm not going to sit here and tell you the fantasy you like and have enjoyed are bad books. If you enjoyed them, then they work for you, and that's all that really matters.

To answer your question, however, while l can't say I have a particular disdain for high magic novels, if I evaluated the books I tend to favor presently they are generally (most of them) comparitively low magic worlds. That isn't to say I don't like magic, but it's just I feel that particular authors often use magic to cover up weaknesses in there plot (often times as deus ex machina) which doesn't automaticaly cause me not to like a work, but it grates on me. I also tend to like books that employ magic to have some sort of reasonable consequences reflected in its use and displayed in the setting. On the other hand I love Erkson's work, and I thought Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell (high magic content) was one of, if not the best book in 2004 (doesn't really fit your preferences however), and Bakker's Prince of Nothing trilogy is a favorite of mine as well.

To be short, the book you quit reading, A Game of Thrones, I think is by far the best book you have listed up there, and Martin, I consider - by a huge margin - the best author of the ones you listed.

That said, what I think doesn't matter, you now what you like, and I think Erikson offers a unique combination you may enjoy.. A high magic world with a lot of action, tons of high powered characters, yet also delivers a level of writinh that I don't find completely appaling.

another question for you, why do you find Terry Goodkind and the sword of truth series, bad books?

That's a simple question that I could write a 10 page essasy on. Goodkind falls in the trap of being derivative, with displays of gratutiy for seemingly no purpose, but to exist (I'm certainly not against bondage, but it served absolutely no purpose, except perhaps to fullfill Goodkind's personal fantasy). He recycles the same plot that could just be avoided if the two main characters would just tie a rope to each other. Worst of all, Goodkind uses his work as a platform for his ridiculous beliefs. I'm completely for an author's social concious and beleifs to be relayed in fiction, but with Goodkind his characterrseem to stop what they are doing, and virtually grab a microphone and start spoutng off some rhetoric that at times reach a couple of pages in length. It's ridiculous. That's the basic gist of it. Although it doesn't have anything to do with how I view his work, it doesn't help that Goodkind is a first class idiot to go along with it (read an interview) It goes beyond him thinking he doesn't write fantasy, he makes some of the most outlandish social observations I have ever read. I really think he has lost his mind. You probably won't find a fantasy author who is the subject of more jokes than Goodkind is online - it's a hobby in itself.

[direghost]

In terms of reccomendations, you might want to try some early Feist--Pug is a pretty all-powerful sorcerer. You may want to consider Forgotten Realms too, there is a lot of magic in those, I seem to recall.

In terms of Goodkind, I have to agree with Jay 100 %. Except for Gars, those are kinda cool.

[hephaest]

About Game of Thrones, I guess I dropped it because It didnt pull me in in the first 50 pages. Generally, I don't like political intrigue. To me thats not fantasy. I read Fantasy to escape from current day events. If I wanted to read about political intrigue, I could just pick up a non-fiction book on the Iraq war.

Originally Posted by Jay

That's a simple question that I could write a 10 page essasy on. Goodkind falls in the trap of being derivative, with displays of gratutiy for seemingly no purpose, but to exist (I'm certainly not against bondage, but it served absolutely no purpose, except perhaps to fullfill Goodkind's personal fantasy). He recycles the same plot that could just be avoided if the two main characters would just tie a rope to each other. Worst of all, Goodkind uses his work as a platform for his ridiculous beliefs. I'm completely for an author's social concious and beleifs to be relayed in fiction, but with Goodkind his characterrseem to stop what they are doing, and virtually grab a microphone and start spoutng off some rhetoric that at times reach a couple of pages in length. It's ridiculous. That's the basic gist of it. Although it doesn't have anything to do with how I view his work, it doesn't help that Goodkind is a first class idiot to go along with it (read an interview) It goes beyond him thinking he doesn't write fantasy, he makes some of the most outlandish social observations I have ever read. I really think he has lost his mind. You probably won't find a fantasy author who is the subject of more jokes than Goodkind is online - it's a hobby in itself.

Yes its true, the main character in his books tends to spue a bit much on the philosophy, especially in the later books. Goodkind does say on his website that he uses his books as a platform for his philosophy. But I tend to forgive that in his books because they have alot to offer for me personally. I actually love the excessive gratuituous violence in his books. In one book, I recall Kahlan makes an enemy chop his own balls off (through the use of mind control). Thats just too precious. I love stuff like that. To me, its not excessive at all. Yes, Goodkind didnt have to write that in. Kahlan could just have killed the enemy or let him be. But what fun would that be. Yes, Goodkind didn't have to write all that bondage and torture of richard. But it was so much fun. Goodkind made it plausible. Aside from that, I like who Goodkings novels are fast paced. I like how they place the main character into the lowest pits of hell and leave you the reader in suspence. He makes you want to read more. From the limited fantasy that I have read, I would say he is fairly original. If you compare him to say Terry Brooks. Terry brooks, now there is a bad author (from my experience of reading his first 3 shannara books. We all know that he copied Lord of the rings. But worse than that, those 3 books (sword of shannara, elfstones, wishsong), are basically the same plot over and over. There is so many things I find wrong with his books, wont go into it here.

[Silent Speaker]

I second direghost's recommendation of Feist's Riftwar saga. Plenty of magic there. And if you like ongoing sagas there's the Serpent War saga too (the in betweens "King's Bucaneer" and "Prince of the Blood" have less focus on magical characters if I remember correctly, it has been a while since I've read them.)

First book: "Magician" (I believe it has been split into two volumes, right?)
I believe the third book contains the most magic. ("Darkness at Sethanon")

The Serpent war saga (though adding new characters) eventually contains cast of several magic(al) users banding together.

[beenorthern]

You want books with lots of magic ... You don’t care for a lot of political palaver, but you don’t mind violence, and I think you prefer a smaller cast of characters. You’re past juvenile fantasy -- gotta agree with you on Harry Potter – don’t care for the public school setting – and Narnia – loved them at ten, too simple now ...

Jay has recommended Erikson, but if you couldn’t get into Martin I really don’t think you’re going to fancy Erikson. I’ve tried both in the last month ... read Martin’s first three books, but bogged down on page 93 of *Gardens of the Moon*. The Thomas Covenant books are very grim and slow-moving – I don’t think they’re your cup of tea either.

I suggest you try:

Alice Borchardt: *The Dragon Queen* & *The Raven Warrior*
Elizabeth Wiley: *A Sorcerer and a Gentleman*, *The Price of Blood and Honor*
Emma Bull: *The War for the Oaks*
Michael Scott Rohan: *Chase the Morning*, *The Gates of Noon*, & *Cloud Castles*
Sean McMullen: *Voyage of the Shadowmoon* & *Glass Dragons*
David Gemmell: *Knights of Dark Renown*, *Sword in the Storm*
James Stoddard: *The High House*
Nina Kiriki Hoffman: *The Thread That Binds the Bones*
Peter Morwood: *Prince Ivan*, *Firebird* & *The Golden Horde*
Anne Bishop: *Daughter of the Blood*, *Heir to the Shadows* & *Queen of the Darkness* [omnibus *Black Jewels Trilogy*]
Glen Cook: *The Black Company*, *Shadows Linger* & *The White Rose* [first 3 of 10]
Greg Bear: *The Serpent Mage* & *The Infinity Concerto* [omnibus *Songs of Earth and Power*]
Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle: *The Burning City*
Orson Scott Card: *Prentice Alvin* [first in Alvin Maker series]
Anselm Audley: *Heresy*, *Inquisition* & *Crusade*
Kate Elliott: *King’s Dragon* [first of Crown of Stars series]
Holly Lisle: *Diplomacy of Wolves*, *Vengeance of Dragons* & *Courage of Falcons*
Rick Cook: *Wizard’s Bane*, *The Wizardry Compiled* [omnibus *The Wiz Biz]
David Brin: *The Practise Effect* [billed as SF, but it has LOTS of magic]

Many of these are OOP [out-of-print], and you should check used bookstores. Since you’re in the US, you’ll find it easy to order books from eBay sellers or from American members of Abebooks or Alibris. [If you can find at least four books from one seller, it minimizes the shipping.]

[Teir]

Janny Wurts - Wars of Light and Shadow Series

Feist (as already mentioned)

David (and Leigh) Eddings - basically anything under the banner that is those names fantastic.

[GOLLUM]

Perphaps not unsuprisingly I too can recommend Erikson's Malazan series for an interesting spin on magic and McKillip's Riddlemaster trilogy was a revelation for me.

Like other members here I enjoyed Donadslon's Covenant series but it can be a little heavy going and not everyone's cup of tea.

Can also recommend:

Kingdom Of Thorn and Bone - Greg Keyes
Sword Of shadows - JV Jones
Crown Of Stars - Kate Elliott

Several others but you could do worse than start with these.

[Mark Robson]

From your list of reading material, I would say you prefer a light read. On that basis I would recommend the following:

The Belgariad Series by David Eddings
The Bartimeaus Trilogy by Jonathon Stroud
The Old Kingdom Series by Garth Nix
Master of the Five Magics by Lyndon Hardy
The Darkweaver Legacy by me!

Some of the above are classed as Young Adult novels, but the ones I've listed are equally enjoyed by adults and young adults alike.

[hephaest]

Originally Posted by Mark Robson

From your list of reading material, I would say you prefer a light read. On that basis I would recommend the following:

The Belgariad Series by David Eddings
The Bartimeaus Trilogy by Jonathon Stroud
The Old Kingdom Series by Garth Nix
Master of the Five Magics by Lyndon Hardy
The Darkweaver Legacy by me!

Some of the above are classed as Young Adult novels, but the ones I've listed are equally enjoyed by adults and young adults alike.

The reason why I read the above books was because they were popping up in many people's top 10 lists of fantasy books on amazon. This is the first time I am visiting a fantasy forum. Most of the Titles recommended by people in this thread, I never heard of.
By light read vs heavy read do you mean that a light read is fast-paced?
or that it doesnt have too many parallel plots?
or that it doesnt have too many side characters?
or that it doesnt go too deeply into the personality and psyche of the main characters?
Is a game of Thrones- a heavy read? I dropped it after actually around a hundred pages. And the reason was not because I found it heavy. I just felt that nothing was really happening in the book. The author introduced the main characters and various supporting characters. There was an attach in the woods by some magical beings (if memory serves). A wolf was adopted by a bastard son. The king visits one of the main characters to offer him a promotion. But it just didn't pull me in. It just seemed boring. Does the book go on in the same manner? With nothing much happening?

I went through all of the books in (wheel of time series). At first it was moving along nicely, but ofcourse in the latter books it slowed down and developed too many plots that werent tied off. You dont get to see the main character often anymore. There is too much description of furniture and clothes. But the reason I stuck with it is because it sort of became a soap opera. I just wanted to know what was going to happen.