TheCrystallineEntity
Istar
My books are all over the place: fantasy, hints of sci-fi without the science, mythological, supernatural, romance, and bits of horror here and there. The only thing missing is cowboys.
I tend to write Low Fantasy with the less magic, the better. This is because I have come to realize that magical systems, kewl powerz and stuff are not very interesting. Characters interacting in a historical enviroment are much more interesting than throwing fireballs or lightning. But I find that historical fiction demands way to much detailed research before I can put my characters into the story and that a fixed historical timeline limits me to where I can take my characters. So Fantasy it is.
I tend to write Low Fantasy with the less magic, the better. This is because I have come to realize that magical systems, kewl powerz and stuff are not very interesting. Characters interacting in a historical enviroment are much more interesting than throwing fireballs or lightning. But I find that historical fiction demands way to much detailed research before I can put my characters into the story and that a fixed historical timeline limits me to where I can take my characters. So Fantasy it is.
Just curious: Have you read Mistborn: The Final Empire, and if so, did you find its magic system and kewl powerz uninteresting?
No, I'm afraid I haven't read Misborn.
Short text on my views on the subject of magic in fantasy below.
I've read Tolkien, Wheel of Time (about half anyway...), most of what David Eddings has writen in Fantasy, Katherine Kerr (most of what she's written at least), parts of what Robin Hobb has written and more. And whenever it was magic I found it boring and in the way of the characters. The concept of the Aes Sedai was great, I was just bored about reading about their magic and wanted to read about them as characters and their interaction with each other and the rest of the world.
When I did find material that didn't have much magic in them, like the books about Mara of Acoma (loved those books due to an non-Western setting and due to them not having much magic in them!) or historical fiction, I found myself relived that there was no magic to get in the way of the characters but that they could develop and interact with each other more on a human level.
And maybe its just me, but I personally think that many Fantasy authors uses magic in a way I don't agree with. To me magic is a spice that can be sparsely applied to give a hightened taste of a character or story. But its never a main ingredient to the story or the setting in itself. Let the characters, relations and interactions be the main ingredients.
I just have to interfere here once more, you really should read Mistborn! I envy you, as I can never read it for the first time, again... The book is fantastic, and like you I don't like too much magic - but the magic system in Mistborn is so well planned out, and has their strengths and limitations clearly mapped out so eventually it becomes just as an extension of the humans natural abilities - you learn to see "ah, in this scenario the character can do this or that", if you get what I mean. Brandon Sanderson is a genius when it comes to magic systems in my humble opinion.
Did you self-publish your "novel" or was it traditionally published? My "novel" turned into four novels, or as I've been considering them more recently, one novel in four parts. I have hopes of seeing them traditionally published but think most publishers want first-time novelists to have a self-contained novel and not the first book in a series.My first novel (or novels, as it was published in four parts) was pretty much Epic Fantasy
Like so many here, I DON'T KNOW MY GENRE! And I don't mean to be contrary, I just sat down to write.
It's NOT fantasy in that there is nothing supernatural. But not so much science either.
It's New Adult soft sci-fi (I guess) alt-earth lit fic with a modernized medieval feel and a neurodivergent MC.
Can't market that; it's already an entire Tweet.
It isn't even alt-history 'cause I muddled up the geography. Finding comps is murder.
There's computer tech in a kingdom avoiding other innovations like mass-transport and mass-communication because it's polluted nations around them, but all that is only setting. My MC Messengers are like grad-students-meet-Jedi.