Overview So, you want to write a fantasy book or create your own tabletop game, or you simply enjoy idea crafting. One of the cornerstones of any of these is a sound magic system. Magic draws a reader or player in. It breathes life into an author’s world, giving it an element … Read more
Overview When designing a magic system, be it a soft one or a hard one, perhaps the most fun part is creating the different powers a magic-user has access to. After all, who does not like imagining some noble, heroic figure staunchly turning away a dragon’s fire? Or someone roasting entire armies … Read more
James Oliver Rigney Jr. wrote the Wheel of Time under the pen name Robert Jordan. This series consists of fourteen high fantasy novels and has two authors, the aforementioned Jordan and Brandon Sanderson. Jordan died while writing what he planned to be the twelfth and final book of the series. Sanderson, a long-time … Read more
Artemis Fowl is a book series published by Irish author Eoin Colfer. It received substantial critical acclaim and is incredibly popular around the world. The series has eight books. They are Artemis Fowl, The Arctic Incident, The Eternity Code, The Opal Deception, The Lost Colony, The Time Paradox, The Atlantis Complex, and The Last Guardian. The … Read more
Harry Potter is a quintessential young adult fantasy novel series by J.K. Rowling. The first book, titled Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, was released in June 1997. This first book was published in America titled as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, due to publishers fearing Americans would not be familiar with the term … Read more
Mistborn is a series written by Brandon Sanderson. The first book, The Final Empire, was released in July 2006. The next two books of the trilogy, The Well of Ascension and The Hero of Ages, were released over the next couple of years, the final book in 2008. Brandon Sanderson crafts a fantastical world filled with despair … Read more
The Chronicles of Narnia is one of the most beloved series around the world. It will forever be a classic children’s series. Written by C.S. Lewis, the books took decades for him to write and perfect. Lewis published the series over six years. The first, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, was released … Read more
Magic, an essential part of nearly any fantasy book. Magic separates fantasy from any other genre of story. It is often the driving force behind the issues characters face. Magic allows characters to transcend the mundane. It ignites the reader’s imagination and truly allows them to immerse themselves and fall in love … Read more
The Lord of the Rings is one of the penultimate fantasy series. Without its influence, many of the concepts and tropes we see in fantasy today would not be present. Written by J.R.R. Tolkien, the series has captivated fans for decades, receiving the highest of critical acclaim. Three books, published from July … Read more
The Inheritance Cycle, otherwise known as the Eragon book series, is a fantasy series written by Christopher Paolini. He published four books in total, Eragon, Eldest, Brisingr, and culminating with Inheritance in November 2011. Paolini has stated that he will eventually write the fifth book in the series, though apparently, it will contain new main characters and a … Read more