Is there too much magic in fantasy?

Vince W said:
Well, it's been 28 years since I read it, and it didn't feel like there was too much magic at the time. Not like the later books.
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Just because Everest is eight times bigger than Ben Nevis doesn't mean Ben Nevis isn't a mountain!
 
Brian G Turner said:
Eye of the World was one of the books I had in mind for over-doing it, especially near the end with Rand. :)
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Opinions differ, obviously - but for me it was well foreshadowed and entirely in keeping with the world already portrayed. That to me makes a colossal difference in terms of whether its overdone.
 
Tower75 said:
...I've found quite a common thing that magic seems to be, well, everywhere; wizards, or magic-throwers, of magical entities pour out of every book, it seems.

...does that mean that fantasy 'must' have magic coming out of the rafters?

...whenever I'm reading a new fantasy and someone flings a spell I go, '(sigh) magic...
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If magic is an answer to shortage of authors skill, there is too much of it, even when there is only very little magic.

If magic is not too magical, not way to handle structural difficulties, not free of charge, not like superpower... then it might work.
 
It makes very little difference too my reading experience, though a well realised element of magic can be a nice gimmick to pull the reader in.
 
Magic is fins so long as it doesn't undermine the story.
 
I'm having a hard time understanding arguments against magic in fantasy.

My suggestion woud be, if you don't like magic, don't pick up a fantasy novel.

Yes, I realize there are fantasy novels that have no magic in them, but they are the exception. Magic and Fantasy is almost synonymous.

And "too much" is subject to personal taste; thus mostly unarguable.
 
Cathbad said:
I'm having a hard time understanding arguments against magic in fantasy.

My suggestion woud be, if you don't like magic, don't pick up a fantasy novel.

Yes, I realize there are fantasy novels that have no magic in them, but they are the exception. Magic and Fantasy is almost synonymous.

And "too much" is subject to personal taste; thus mostly unarguable.
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For me, the fact that they are almost synonymous says there is too much Magic and Fantasy. I don't think it has to be that way.
 
Cathbad said:
Without the Fantastic, what is fantasy?
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I don't buy magic as the only source of the fantastic. I guess that depends a little on how you define magic, but I think there are potentially fantastic and impossible things out there that wouldn't involve what we normally regard magic as.
 
No, magic is not the only source of the fantastic. I guess I was alluding to so many who also complain about "unbelievable" creatures, and unrealistic science.

So take out magic, exotic creatures, and non-fundamental physics and... we're talking about alternate history, right? :p
 
Cathbad said:
No, magic is not the only source of the fantastic. I guess I was alluding to so many who also complain about "unbelievable" creatures, and unrealistic science.

So take out magic, exotic creatures, and non-fundamental physics and... we're talking about alternate history, right? :p
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Yeah, I'm not sure what's left if you remove all three.
 
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