Fantasy without magic...

[Keeper]

If you were to hear about a fictional story that is set in a fantasy realm, but did not have magic, what would be the first thought in your mind?

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

That depends on what you mean by a "fantasy realm."

 

[Commonmind]

I don't find there to be a very strong magical element in Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire." There definitely is one, but it takes a back seat to the characters and the story, and quite often I forget it's even part of the mythology.

So my first thought would be that, if it suits the story, there doesn't necessarily need to be a magical element.

 

[thaddeus6th]

I think it'd be fine.

In mine there's some magic, but it's far outweighed by political chicanery and angry blokes with big swords.

 

[Lenny]

It wouldn't bother me at all to hear that there's no magic. In fact, my favourite trilogy (Second Sons by Jennifer Fallon) is completely politics, with no magic at all.

A fantasy novel does not require magic to be fantasy.

 

[Cal20]

I agree with Commonmind. If the characters and land were strong and well-developed it wouldn't matter that the magic took the back seat - Cal

 

[j d worthington]

As has been argued in other threads, all a fantasy needs is a touch of the numinous, something that hints of a violation of natural law, either beneficent or malevolent (or indifferent); something set in a "fantasy realm" (if I'm understanding what you mean by that -- a more-or-less typical pre-Industrial Revolution sort of milieu) needs some hint of that to become a true fantasy, generally speaking, though there are some exceptions, such as Peake's Titus books; but magic per se certainly isn't required, as can be seen by any number of older fantasy works....

 

[Lobolover]

Look at Lord Dunsany-while what he sometimes shows is the influence of the gods,the way he plays it makes it diferent from plain "magic" .

 

[Mharvey]

I don't find there to be a very strong magical element in Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire." There definitely is one, but it takes a back seat to the characters and the story, and quite often I forget it's even part of the mythology.

So my first thought would be that, if it suits the story, there doesn't necessarily need to be a magical element.

Here here.

"Magic as a must" is definately a preconceived notion, and it's not one that's required. Think of magic like spice in a fantasy novel. Some stories can use more than others. Some stories use just a pinch for flavor. Some dump an entire bottle into it (often to cover a very bland or vile taste), and some stories taste just fine without it.

And yes, I know I lose points for an extended metaphor.

 

[Aes]

As has been argued in other threads, all a fantasy needs is a touch of the numinous, something that hints of a violation of natural law, either beneficent or malevolent (or indifferent); something set in a "fantasy realm" (if I'm understanding what you mean by that -- a more-or-less typical pre-Industrial Revolution sort of milieu) needs some hint of that to become a true fantasy, generally speaking, though there are some exceptions, such as Peake's Titus books; but magic per se certainly isn't required, as can be seen by any number of older fantasy works....

This, and I should add that "magic" is really just an otherwise unexplainable phenomenon that, as stated above, seems to violate that which is accepted as the laws of physics and nature. Old men in robes throwing lightning bolts at each other, nine shadowy figures chanting a prayer of resurrection for dead god on a lightless night, the eerie lights that fill the sky every 16 days at midnight, or even something as mundane as the crops in a small town always yielding enormous, bountiful harvests with fruits and vegetables of unsurpassed quality, regardless of the year's weather patterns; All of these could constitute magic in some form or another.

Without magic of any type, is it a fantasy story, or is it a fictional story set in the feudal age, middle age, or what have you?

 

[Connavar]

My first thought was make sure your world doesnt become just another psuedo european medevil world that the writer thinks is cool just because of lack of magic.

You could read interesting worlds like that in Historical Fiction....

Build the world,characters first. If thats interesting enough it doesnt matter if
there is magic or not.

 

[Anthony G Williams]

From what I can recall (and my memory is not what it was...) one of the Guy Gavriel Kay epics has no magic in it - The Lions of Al-Rassan. It is a fantasy rather than a historical novel simply because it is set in a different version of medieval Earth.

Kay's earlier books had prominent magic (Tigana, for instance) but he seems to have played this down more and more as his writing progressed.

 

[bigxemptyxbrain]

I myself am writing a story where the main character has no magical ability and one of his allies is an illusionist. He does not use true magic. Rather he just tricks the eye.

 

[Relenzo2]

What comes to my mind is the words: Ranger's Apprentice. Read it, and you'll know what fantasy without magic done well means to me.

 

[JDP]

Generally, I prefer fantasy with little to no magic in it.

 

[Archus]

well fantasy with no magic, or magic that is scarce is typically referred to as Low Fantasy. The tales tend to be more gritty and 'down to earth' than high fantasy, which relies upon an extensive mythology (such as Middle Earth) and typically include magic elements.

As there is such a thing as a sub-genre to do with low magic/realism/little or no epic events, then I should say it is perfectly acceptable to write a no-magic fantasy.

 

[chopper]

connavar's got it right as far as i'm concerned. if the characters and the plotting are strong enough, then it doesn't truly matter whether or not there is magic.