Best Magic Systems
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Mistborn
by Brandon Sanderson
3 avg rating For a thousand years the ash fell and no flowers bloomed. For a thousand years the Skaa slaved in misery and lived in fear. For a thousand years the Lord Ruler, the “Sliver of Infinity,” reigned with absolute power and ultimate terror, divinely invincible. Then, when hope was so long lost that not even its memory remained, a terribly scarred, heart-broken half-Skaa rediscovered it in the depths of the Lord Ruler’s most hellish prison. Kelsier “snapped” and found in himself the powers of a Mistborn. A brilliant thief and natural leader, he turned his talents to the ultimate caper, with the Lord Ruler himself as the mark.
Readers of Elantris thought they'd discovered someone special in Brandon Sanderson. Mistborn proves they were right.
3 Similar Reader Recommendations
The Stormlight Archive
by Brandon Sanderson
4.6 avg rating Six years ago, the Assassin in White, a hireling of the inscrutable Parshendi, assassinated the Alethi king on the very night a treaty between men and Parshendi was being celebrated. So began the Vengeance Pact among the highprinces of Alethkar and the War of Reckoning against the Parshendi.
Now the Assassin is active again, murdering rulers all over the world of Roshar, using his baffling powers to thwart every bodyguard and elude all pursuers. Among his prime targets is Highprince Dalinar, widely considered the power behind the Alethi throne. His leading role in the war would seem reason enough, but the Assassin’s master has much deeper motives.
Expected by his enemies to die the miserable death of a military slave, Kaladin survived to be given command of the royal bodyguards, a controversial first for a low-status "darkeyes." Now he must protect the king and Dalinar from every common peril as well as the distinctly uncommon threat of the Assassin, all while secretly struggling to master remarkable new powers that are somehow linked to his honorspren, Syl.
Brilliant but troubled Shallan strives along a parallel path. Despite being broken in ways she refuses to acknowledge, she bears a terrible burden: to somehow prevent the return of the legendary Voidbringers and the civilization-ending Desolation that will follow. The secrets she needs can be found at the Shattered Plains, but just arriving there proves more difficult than she could have imagined.
Meanwhile, at the heart of the Shattered Plains, the Parshendi are making an epochal decision. Hard pressed by years of Alethi attacks, their numbers ever shrinking, they are convinced by their war leader, Eshonai, to risk everything on a desperate gamble with the very supernatural forces they once fled. The possible consequences for Parshendi and humans alike, indeed, for Roshar itself, are as dangerous as they are incalculable.
The doors of the Stormlight Archive first opened to us with The Way of Kings. Read that book – now available in all formats – and then Words of Radiance, and you can be part of the adventure every dazzling step of the way.
The Kingkiller Chronicles
by Patrick Rothfuss
2.5 avg rating My name is Kvothe. You may have heard of me.
So begins the tale of a hero told from his own point of view?a story unequaled in fantasy literature. Now in The Wise Man’s Fear, Day Two of The Kingkiller Chronicle, Kvothe takes his first steps on the path of the hero and learns how difficult life can be when a man becomes a legend in his own time.
1 Similar Reader Recommendations
Harry Potter
by J.K. Rowling
4.57 avg rating 1 Similar Reader Recommendations
Wheel Of Time
by Robert Jordan
4 avg rating 
Codex Alera
by Jim Butcher
5 avg rating When the power-hungry High Lord of Kalare launches a merciless rebellion against the First Lord, young Tavi of Calderon joins a newly formed legion under an assumed name. And when the ruthless Kalare allies himself with a savage enemy of the realm, Tavi finds himself leading an inexperienced, poorly equipped legion—the only force standing between Alera and certain doom...
4 Similar Reader Recommendations
Warbreaker
by Brandon Sanderson
After bursting onto the fantasy scene with his acclaimed debut novel, Elantris, and following up with his blockbuster Mistborn trilogy, Brandon Sanderson proves again that he is today’s leading master of what Tolkien called “secondary creation,” the invention of whole worlds, complete with magics and myths all their own.
Warbreaker is the story of two sisters, who happen to be princesses, the God King one of them has to marry, the lesser god who doesn’t like his job, and the immortal who’s still trying to undo the mistakes he made hundreds of years ago.
Their world is one in which those who die in glory return as gods to live confined to a pantheon in Hallandren’s capital city and where a power known as BioChromatic magic is based on an essence known as breath that can only be collected one unit at a time from individual people.
By using breath and drawing upon the color in everyday objects, all manner of miracles and mischief can be accomplished. It will take considerable quantities of each to resolve all the challenges facing Vivenna and Siri, princesses of Idris; Susebron the God King; Lightsong, reluctant god of bravery, and mysterious Vasher, the Warbreaker.
Malazan Empire
by Steven Erikson
Included in The Malazan Empire collection are Steven Erikson's books:
Gardens of the Moon
Deadhouse Gates
Memories of Ice
House of Chains
Midnight Tides
The Bonehunters
Reaper's Gale
Toll the Hounds
Dust of Dreams
The Crippled God
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Dresden Files
by Jim Butcher
5 avg rating 
Runelords Series
by David Farland
Certain works of fantasy are immediately recognizable as monuments, towering above the rest of the category. Authors of those works, such as Stephen R. Donaldson, Robert Jordan and Terry Goodkind, come immediately to mind. Add to that list David Farland, whose epic Runelords series continues now in Sons of the Oak.
The story picks up eight years after the events of Lair of Bones and begins a new chapter in the Runelords saga focusing on Gaborn's son, Fallion. Gaborn, the Earth King, has been traveling far from his home, to strange and unknown places. While beyond the edge of the earth, he finally succumbs to the accelerated aging that comes from all of the endowments he has taken. His death is the signal for a revolution, an attack from the supernatural realms by immensely powerful immortal beings.
These forces have discovered that Gaborn's son is the resurrection of an immortal, one whose potential power is so great that he might be able to reorder the entire universe. Fallion's enemies have decided that they must control him, and failing that, destroy him. He is only a child, but he is the heir to Gaborn's kingdom, and so must flee to the ends of the earth to avoid the destruction of all that Gaborn accomplished.
One of the mightiest of contemporary fantasy epics continues.
The Witcher Saga
by Andrzej Sapkowski
4.67 avg rating Geralt is a witcher.
Yet he is no ordinary killer-for-hire.
But not everything monstrous-looking is evil and not everything fair is good. . . and in every fairy tale there is a grain of truth.
The Time of Contempt
Baptism of Fire
The Swordmage Trilogy
by Martin Hengst
From slave to swordmage, experience Tiadaria's coming of age journey in a single volume.
The Swordmage Trilogy, Books 1-3 of the Magic of Solendrea Series
The Swordmage Trilogy follows the adventures of Tiadaria, a girl sold into slavery by her father and rescued from certain death by a retired soldier dying of a mysterious disease. As she discovers her destiny, Tiadaria must battle against some of the most fearsome enemies the Human Imperium has ever known, including the Xarundi Combine and a species once thought extinct.
This eBook Bundle Contains:
- The Last Swordmage, The Swordmage Trilogy #1
- The Darkest Hour, The Swordmage Trilogy #2
- The Pegasus's Lament, The Swordmage Trilogy #3
??? The Last Swordmage - The Swordmage Trilogy #1, a Magic of Solendrea Novel
As far as bad luck goes, Tiadaria’s has been the stuff of legend. After being sold into slavery by her father and accused of a murder she didn’t commit, she finds herself facing the executioner. The only thing standing between her neck and the sharp edge of the axe is the village Constable.
After thirty years of loyal service to the Imperium, Royce has retired to King’s Reach as the village’s Constable. He thought that the frontier town would be the perfect place to rest, relax, and die in peace. He was wrong. With a crooked Magistrate on one hand and a conniving slaver on the other, things are anything but peaceful. To complicate his life even further, the slave with her neck on the block seems to possess the same magic Royce has hidden all his life.
Paying off Tiadaria’s bond, Royce takes possession of a slave in a land where slavery is verboten. Now he must teach her to trust him, teach her to fight, and teach her about her unique abilities before they both run out of time. An ancient menace is coming. The Xarundi have returned. They are the most dangerous enemy humanity has ever faced, and they have a thousand years of bloodthirsty vengeance to exact.
??? The Darkest Hour - The Swordmage Trilogy #2, a Magic of Solendresa Novel
When an agent from the Imperium Intelligence Service shows up on Tiadaria’s doorstep, he leaves her with unwelcome news. Recovering from their brutal defeat at Dragonfell, the Xarundi are seeking out an ancient and incredibly powerful relic buried in the snow and ice of the Frozen Frontier.
Tiadaria travels to the city of Ethergate to seek out an apprentice skilled in magical research. Even with his reluctant help, unearthing information on the relic proves to be almost impossible until a savage turn of events puts them on the right path.
Now it’s a race against time through some of the most unforgiving territory on Solendrea to beat the Xarundi to the relic and stop them from unleashing its devastating power on the unsuspecting masses.
??? The Pegasus's Lament - The Swordmage Trilogy #3, a Magic of Solendrea Novel
A desecrated tomb, a missing relic, and cold-blooded murder. The streets of Dragonfell are awash in blood and the King has called on Tiadaria, the last swordmage, and Wynn, her quintessentialist companion, to uncover the nature of the darkness.
What they find is more dangerous than they could ever imagine and from a source they’d have never expected. Now Tiadaria must defeat an enemy that knows her almost as well as she knows herself.
The survival of the Human Imperium is on the line and time is running out for the last swordmage and everyone she holds dear.
Titles in the Magic of Solendrea Series
- The Last Swordmage, Magic of Solendrea #1
- The Darkest Hour, Magic of Solendrea #2
- The Pegasus's Lament, Magic of Solendrea #3
- Volinette's Song, Magic of Solendrea #4
- Quintessential Tales, Magic of Solendrea #5
Scroll up and buy your copy now to embark on a fast-paced sword and sorcery adventure!
Abhorsen
by Garth Nix
The apocalyptic conclusion to the New York Times bestselling Abhorsen series—an epic fantasy experience not to be missed.
The Abhorsen Sabriel and King Touchstone are missing, leaving only Lirael—newly come into her inheritance as the Abhorsen-in-Waiting—to stop the Destroyer. If Orannis's unspeakable powers are unleashed, it will mean the end of all Life. With only a vision from the Clayr to guide her, and the help of her companions, Sam, the Disreputable Dog, and Mogget, Lirael must search in both Life and Death for some means to defeat the evil destructor—before it is too late. . . .
His Dark Materials
by Philip Pullman
Uprooted
by Naomi Novik
5 avg rating HUGO AWARD FINALIST • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NPR | BuzzFeed | Tordotcom | BookPage | Library Journal | Publishers Weekly
“Uprooted is confidently wrought and sympathetically cast. I might even call it bewitching.”—Gregory Maguire, bestselling author of Wicked and Egg & Spoon
“Our Dragon doesn’t eat the girls he takes, no matter what stories they tell outside our valley. We hear them sometimes, from travelers passing through. They talk as though we were doing human sacrifice, and he were a real dragon. Of course that’s not true: he may be a wizard and immortal, but he’s still a man, and our fathers would band together and kill him if he wanted to eat one of us every ten years. He protects us against the Wood, and we’re grateful, but not that grateful.”
Agnieszka loves her valley home, her quiet village, the forests and the bright shining river. But the corrupted Wood stands on the border, full of malevolent power, and its shadow lies over her life.
Her people rely on the cold, driven wizard known only as the Dragon to keep its powers at bay. But he demands a terrible price for his help: one young woman handed over to serve him for ten years, a fate almost as terrible as falling to the Wood.
The next choosing is fast approaching, and Agnieszka is afraid. She knows—everyone knows—that the Dragon will take Kasia: beautiful, graceful, brave Kasia, all the things Agnieszka isn’t, and her dearest friend in the world. And there is no way to save her.
But Agnieszka fears the wrong things. For when the Dragon comes, it is not Kasia he will choose.
Praise for Uprooted
“Uprooted has leapt forward to claim the title of Best Book I’ve Read Yet This Year. . . . Moving, heartbreaking, and thoroughly satisfying, Uprooted is the fantasy novel I feel I’ve been waiting a lifetime for. Clear your schedule before picking it up, because you won’t want to put it down.”—NPR
Elantris
by Brandon Sanderson
Arelon's new capital, Kae, crouches in the shadow of Elantris. Princess Sarene of Teod arrives for a marriage of state with Crown Prince Raoden, hoping -- based on their correspondence -- to also find love. She finds instead that Raoden has died and she is considered his widow. Both Teod and Arelon are under threat as the last remaining holdouts against the imperial ambitions of the ruthless religious fanatics of Fjordell. So Sarene decides to use her new status to counter the machinations of Hrathen, a Fjordell high priest who has come to Kae to convert Arelon and claim it for his emperor and his god.
But neither Sarene nor Hrathen suspect the truth about Prince Raoden. Stricken by the same curse that ruined Elantris, Raoden was secretly exiled by his father to the dark city. His struggle to help the wretches trapped there begins a series of events that will bring hope to Arelon, and perhaps reveal the secret of Elantris itself.
A rare epic fantasy that doesn't recycle the classics and that is a complete and satisfying story in one volume, Elantris is fleet and fun, full of surprises and characters to care about. It's also the wonderful debut of a welcome new star in the constellation of fantasy.
3 Similar Reader Recommendations
The Black Magician Trilogy
by Trudi Canavan
"Even if a magician's powers surface of their own accord, he will soon be dead if he does not gain the knowledge of how to control them."
Alone among all the novices in the Magicians' Guild, only Sonea comes from lowly beginnings. Yet she has won powerful allies—including Lord Dannyl, newly promoted to Guild Ambassador. But Dannyl must now depart for the Elyne court, leaving Sonea at the mercy of the lies and malicious rumors her enemies are busy spreading . . . until the High Lord Akkarin steps in. The price of Akkarin's support is dear, however, because Sonea, in turn, must protect his mysteries—and a secret that could lead a young novice mage deep into the darkness.
Meanwhile, Dannyl's first order to resume High Lord Akkarin's long-abandoned research into ancient magical knowledge is setting him on an extraordinary journey fraught with unanticipated peril—as he moves ever-closer to a future both wondrous . . . and terrible.
The Chrestomanci Series,
by Diana Wynne Jones
The Chants are a family strong in magic, but neither Christopher Chant nor Cat Chant can work even the simplest of spells. Who could have dreamed that both Christopher and Cat were born with nine lives--or that they could lose them so quickly?
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