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

  • Franconian_Nomad@feddit.orgEnglish
    7·
    5 days 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.

  • theRealBassist@lemmy.world
    2·
    4 days ago

    Honestly Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas fits. It’s more a medium magic system, if that makes sense. Instead of not clearly defined rules it more just has ever changing, very simplified, rules.

  • murmelade@lemmy.mlEnglish
    4·
    5 days 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.

    • dandelionEnglish
      9·
      6 days 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
        11·
        6 days 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.

        • dandelionEnglish
          1·
          5 days 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.

  • ursakhiin@beehaw.org
    5·
    6 days 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.

  • Bob Smith@sopuli.xyz
    3·
    5 days ago

    Malazan Book of the Fallen is fairly soft due to complexity and overlapping systems. A dozen or so themed sources of magic(warrens), several older sources of power (holds) and several powers specific to certain species.

    Some characters can access several of these sources and one character semi-accidentally creates a supplemental system that might be more rules based. Geographical location matters and the warrens/holds are also physical realities separate from the main one with their own hazards.

    Also, there are mysterious elder entities and there’s always the possibility of ascending to godlike powers through a parallel system of high houses roughly aligned to warrens and mysterious buildings but defined by an in-universe tarot deck that can be altered…

    • chobeat@lemmy.ml
      10·
      5 days ago

      Malazan is everything but soft. Its magic system and the world building in general look like what a programmer with a degree in reddit history would build

    • redhorsejacket@lemmy.world
      2·
      5 days ago

      How are you defining “soft” in this case? It seems you and I have very different ideas of what that term means, and I’m curious about your perspective.

      • Bob Smith@sopuli.xyz
        2·
        4 days ago

        Haha! My definitions are arbitrary now that I think about it. Tons of gray area, since it’s all fiction to begin with.

        My definition of ‘soft’ would be any magic system that lacks exact rules or a concrete cause and effect relationship with scale. Flexible power from a vague connection to a god, planet of origin, or elemental source would be soft. Even softer if there are dozens or hundreds of vague sources with unpredictable effects.

        Specific, quantifiable effects from a concrete source (a specific spell, ritual, or x amount of a substance) would be hard.

  • Timecircleline@sh.itjust.works
    4·
    5 days 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.