Fiction

[qos]

I'd like to know which works of fiction you've read which you feel best reflect your own experience with magic, the gods, the unseen realms.

Which authors either openly admit to being magical practitioners, or give the distinct sense that they know more than they're admitting to?

Which books are otherwise are entertaining reads, but have description of magic, the unseen, and etc. that are obviously not the work of someone who really understands such things?

Thanks!

Comments

[wyldlingspirit.livejournal.com]

If you haven't read Neil Gaiman's American Gods DO IT!!! We'll compare notes when you're done.

To get a glimpse into my day-to-day world, read almost anything by Charles de Lint, but start where I did with Dreams Underfoot. Then read Yarrow.

[shadowandstar.livejournal.com]

I recently re-read "American Gods" and enjoyed it a lot more this time. Then I read "Anansi Boys". I like "American Gods" better.

DeLint is one of those who's on my list of "definitely knows more than he's telling" -- although his stories often don't stick with me. I'll put "Dreams Underfoot" on my list.

[wyldlingspirit.livejournal.com]

In particular, the story "Ghosts of Wind and Shadow" fits me very well. I resonate with Meran.

[starfrosting.livejournal.com]

I agree with you about deLint, and I'm curious what else people will recommend. As far as magic goes, have you read Wise Child? That, and another favorite book of my child called So You Want To Be A Wizard, were very formative as far as magic is concerned.

[nicanthiel.livejournal.com]

Lois McMaster Bujold's Chalion-verse books - the first two (particularly the second) for a good perspective on "uncomfortable" gods, and the third for a more animist perspective.

Several of Gaiman's short stories, particularly one in Smoke and Mirrors on angels.

Prachett, just because (I'm a little odd on this one)

Judith Tarr has some great books, particularly her ones focusing on England/the Crusades, but she also has a good Egyptian series, and a decent, non-cringeworthy take on Gimbutas-esque European prehistory. And, for your Grail-ness, Kingdom of the Grail.

For you, in particular, Grail of Hearts by Susan Shwartz, if you haven't already read it.

[shadowandstar.livejournal.com]

Ack. I didn't enjoy the first Chalion book I read, and never got to the others. I love Bujold's Vorkosigan books, but I've never enjoyed any of her fantasy works.

Gaiman definitely raises questions about where he gets his information.

There's a lot of Pratchett. Any specific recommendations?

I've enjoyed several of Tarr's works, especially the ones about England's magic connected with sovereignty and her Crusades books.

Trying to remember if I've read Grail of Hearts. I know I've seen it over the years. . .

Thanks!

[alfrecht.livejournal.com]

I'd have to go with pretty much anything by Alan Moore...Even though a lot of his stuff isn't magic-related at all, his stuff that is (e.g. Promethea) is fantastic...

That is, if you don't mind comics/graphic novels...

[shadowandstar.livejournal.com]

Promethea is up toward the top of my list. :-)

I like graphic novels and comics a great deal.

[heron61.livejournal.com]

Of course, Promethea is about equal parts very cool story and a well done training manual in the Western Esoteric Tradition disguised as a supers comic.

[mamadar.livejournal.com]

Diana L. Paxson is definitely a writer who knows whereof she speaks. She gets my top vote for fiction that portrays magic as it is or can be. The Avalon series, her versions of the Tristan and Lear stories (both from the POV of female protagonists), the Wodan's Children trilogy, and the Westria series are all worth checking out.

I wasn't wild about Katherine Kurtz's Adept series, mainly because the female characters were overall weaker than the male (a problem she seems always to have), but I thought her portrayal of ritual/ceremonial magic was very accurate.

I think Diane Duane's Young Wizards and Feline Wizards books are very good on the ethics of magic and the responsibilities that come with enhanced knowledge and power.

Reading Moore's Promethea is a magical experience in and of itself.

[morgwensraven.livejournal.com]

Hmm.. might have to get back with you on this one.. I know it's probably trite, but Kushiel's series .. is pretty close.. especially Chosen and Avatar..

The other one would be Black Jewels by Anne Bishop... Both of them reflect a LOT of the way I feel and interact on a lot of levels.. I don't know what Ms. Bishop's background is, but Jeez.. it's like someone took my feelings, and views on a lot of
things and turned them into a novel...

there'll probably be more, but this is what I can think of

[morgwensraven.livejournal.com]

oh yeah .. and Saintcrow's Dante Valentine books.. *big thumbs up for that one*

[stiobhanrune.livejournal.com]

*grins*

Ok, so here's my input.

The best book I've read recently on magic and on gods is A Rumor of Gems, by Ellen Steiber. Seriously, this very quickly became my favorite book, so I recommend this to everyone in the world.

My second favorite series for magic is, oddly, the Kushiel series and sequel/s by Jacqueline Carey. It's very weighty and rich with history.

Then, for simple fictional magic which still follows a strong continuity that's not foreign to real magic, I say read T.A. Pratt's Marla Mason series.

*grins*

And finally, Jim Butcher, Laurell K Hamilton, Kelley Armstrong, and Kevin Andrew Murphy have all given me the "spine-tingle" feeling, when reading their magical systems. They experience magic, even if they don't practice as magicians, although I'm pretty sure Laurell does. I know she's pagan, at least- she signed one of her books with "blessed be."

And that's all I've got to offer about that. ;)

[oakmouse]

Keep in mind that I pretty much stopped reading new science fiction and fantasy close to twenty-five years ago, so my reccys in that field are all older books.

I haven't found anything that exactly matches my experiences, but several writers come close. Charles Williams and George Macdonald are probably closest, followed by Dion Fortune, John Crowley, and Emma Bull. Katherine Kurtz is good from a ritual magic perspective, although her magic is a bit "off" compared to the real thing.

Interestingly enough, the best books I've seen fr describing the experience of ordinary psychism and inner plane contact are the later books in Elizabeth Peters' Amelia Peabody series, especially those after The Ape That Guards The Balance. Amelia's dreams of her dead reis Abdullah, the psychic link between Nefret and Ramses, etc, are all realistically described and treated as normal everyday things in the lives of the characters.

Specific books/stories I would suggest:
Charles Williams, All Hallows Eve, The Place of the Lion, and The Greater Trumps (although any of his are good reads from that perspective, these three are the ones I think you could get into most easily; he's an acquired taste)
George Macdonald, "The Golden Key"
DF we've already discussed. ;)
John Crowley, Little, Big (IMO this one is a MUST READ.)

[oakmouse]

I forgot one good one: Terry Pratchett's novel Pyramids, source of the quote I've mentioned to you a few times: "We think that we think the gods are benevolent, wise, just, and merciful. But what we really think is that they are like our father at the end of a hard day." (That's very approximate, as the book is still packed and I can't check the quote.)

As for bad ones, well. Got a week or so? *g*

Any of the cheeseball three-to-five novel fantasy series that have people shooting lightning bolts from their fingertips and levitating in mid-air and whatnot. (Not Tolkien; he reserved such things for nonhumans, used them extremely rarely, and didn't pretend that it has any counterpart in the real world. Also not Pratchett, as he again makes no bones about the fantastic element of his Discworld magical system.)

Neil Hancock's Circle of Light series, anything by Terry Brooks, anything by David Eddings (I know he's a popular writer and he was a very nice man, but sweet jumping Jesus on a pogo stick, his magical knowledge could be fit into a child's thimble with room to spare for an entire martini). Basically, any book that predicates its magic on D&D, WOW, Gimmick: The Exploitation, or other such.

Also, if you can find them, the truly hideous books by Peter Valentine vast purple throbbing phallic Timlett. (Yes, we actually call him that chez Mouse. The phrase should also be inserted into the title of each of his three novels, thus The vast purple throbbing phallic Seedbearers.) Not only did he write truly unbelievably terrible magic, he also wrote prose that makes The Eye of Argon look reasonable. One of his characters, for instance, slinks nakedly away. And to top it all off, he got his ass thrown out of DF's magical order, the Fraternity of the Inner Light, because he copped the material for his books from their archives of members' past life visions and inner plane workings. (He was the archive librarian.) Who could ask for more in a truly bargain basement fantasy novel? It's better than the bear in the Circle of Light series who fills his hat with strawberries and says goodbye to all of his favorite places before setting off on an epic adventure.

[sekhmetkare.livejournal.com]

I relate heavily to the witch's magic and way of thinking in Barbara Hambly's "Dragonsbane", as well as the magic in her "Time of the Dark" trilogy.

[heron61.livejournal.com]

For magic that matches my own experience:

Freemaster, Mentor, and Healer all by Kris Jensen, who is pagan & uses magic (at least in the late 80s & early 90s).

The Liaden series by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (or at least the books I read, especially Conflict of Honors). These 2 authors are familiar with Wicca and may be pagan.

To a slightly lesser extent:

Ordeal in Otherwhere & the first 5 Witchworld novels by Andre Norton (Witch World, Web of the Witch World, Three Against the Witch World, Year of the Unicorn, and Warlock of the Witch World). Norton was not pagan, but her work inspired several generations of pagans, myself included.

Excalibur by Sanders Anne Laubenthal
Laubenthal wrote Excalibur in 1973, and there was a lot of authentic magic in it. She either did lots of research or was into such things.

Diane Duane's Tales of the Five (especially The Door into Shadow). I'm fairly certain Diane Duane does not in any way practice magic.

I hadn't expected (but should have) that half of these books are SF.

As for fun books that have nothing to do with my own experiences with magic:

Roger Zelazny's Amber series (and pretty much everything else he wrote that involves magic).

Kage Baker's two fantasy books: The Anvil of the World & The House of the Stag

The Abhorsen trilogy by Garth Nix

Steven Brust's Dragaeran Empire series.

Ursula K. LeGuin's Earthsea series.

[mamadar.livejournal.com]

queenofhalves once pointed out that Duane's Tales of the Five universe has many similarities to Feri in its magic/religion.

[anax-anarkhos.livejournal.com]

The Diana Tregarde trilogy by Mercedes Lackey was so "real" that she stopped writing it due to death threats. It's some of her earlier works and a little hard to get a hold of, but IMO worth the effort.

[shadowandstar.livejournal.com]

Added all three volumes to my Booksfree queue.

Thanks!