The 10 Best Fantasy Books with No Magic
A fantasy book with no magic? That’s like a bagel without cream cheese! Cereal without milk! An owl without a graduation cap! Criminal! Heretical! An affront to nature! Or is it? Maybe fantasy books don’t actually need to be propped up by whacky magic systems, allowing author to focus on character building rather than enchanted swords and ponderable orbs. Maybe these authors are actually on to something here? I’ll give these 10 best fantasy books with no magic a try, but I’m still gonna put cream cheese on my bagel. Some things are meant to be a certain way for a reason, any college educated owl could tell you that.
His Majesty’s Dragon
If dragons existed during the 19th century, would the Napoleonic Wars would have gone differently for their namesake Corsican general? Naomi Novik’s His Majesty’s Dragon is a thought experiment that attempts to answer that very question! After Napoleon has victory all but assured through the clever use of his dragon riders, the tides of battle shift when British sailor William Laurence finds a dragon egg on a captured French frigate. He forms a bond with the beast, naming his new mount Temeraire, and finds himself reassigned to the British Aerial Corps to do battle for the Crown. Dragons aren’t magical beings in this series, just animals with strategic merit. Like horses that can fly and breathe fire! Sorry, actual horses, y’all are gonna have to do better if you want to earn military glory.
The Goblin Emperor
While there are no court magicians in Katherine Addison’s The Goblin Emperor, the courtiers of the Elflands certainly have something up their sleeves. Daggers, mostly. Maybe the odd flail. Being a ruler isn’t for the faint of heart, and no one knows this better than the recently crowned Maia – who was made an unlikely Emperor after the rest of her royal family perished in an airship crash. Now the half-Goblin outcast has to navigate the politics of an Elvish world as its reluctant regent, much to the chagrin of the nobles vying for the position. The only magic that exists in this steampunk world is the arcane art of negotiation, which Maia will have to get very good at if she wants to go on living in it.
The Lies of Locke Lamora
The first of the Gentleman Bastard series, Scott Lynch’s The Lies of Locke Lamora is the story of Chaotic Neutral poster child Locke and his equally unscrupulous friends. Locke’s gang ekes out a living as con artists in the city of Camorr, but their morally grey existence is threatened by the coming of a mysterious figure known as The Grey King. Now Locke and crew must struggle to keep their hold on their various “legitimate business endeavors” and not get murdered by the King’s ruthless criminal forces. While rudimentary magic does exist in this universe, the only sleight of hand that Locke’s crew employs involves the art of deception.
Titus Groan
The first of gothic fantasy series Gormenghast, Mervyn Peake’s Titus Groan revolves around its morosely named titular protagonist, an infant who takes his first breath in a castle that’s on its last legs. The halls of the crumbling castle Gormenghast are haunted by Titus’ own familial relations, each of whom is losing their tenuous grip on sanity as the days drudge on. The Groans attempt to stave off madness by adhering to ancient family traditions – with predictably middling results. There’s no magic in this fantasy comedy of manners, unless you find arcane beauty in stagnation and slow decay. While most of Gormenghast’s denizens are content to rot, one homicidal kitchen by with delusions of grandeur didn’t get the memo – and he’s making a Machiavellian play to grab aristocratic power.
Tooth and Claw
Jo Walton’s Tooth and Claw is Victorian parlor room drama with dragons. In this world, dragons assert their social standing by cannibalizing each other, absorbing the power and wealth of the eaten. After a draconic patriarch dies, his five aristocratic descendants must decide who will inherit their father’s wealth (and consume his remains). While it sounds whacky on paper, this is a high concept story that is written with deadly seriousness – these dragons lead full lives in high society, and the novel itself is more social commentary than fantasy adventure. The only magic here is the sweet, sweet inheritance for which these dragon children are tying themselves in scaly knots.
The Ruins of Gorlan
Do YOU have what it takes to be a ranger? According to John Flanagan’s The Ruins of Gorlan, probably not. In this fantasy kingdom, Ranger candidates are trained to serve as scouts and spies from grade school age. They aren’t learning social studies like you were at age 9, but rather studying how to stick things with the business end of an arrow. After young Will is chosen to become a Ranger, he embarks on a grueling quest to learn the tricks of the trade. It’s essentially a high fantasy version of the Spartan agoge, where young boys were trained to become elite warriors in Greek antiquity. There aren’t any arcane shortcuts here, just hard work – the only magic potion Will needs is a little elbow grease. Considering that an exiled dark lord is summoning an army of non-magical but still vicious creatures to take over the realm, Will’s training will come in handy.
The Dragonriders of Pern
While dragons are magical mainstay of fantasy, Anne McCaffrey’s fire breathing reptiles are built different. Engineered different, I should say. While The Dragonriders of Pern may be titled like a high fantasy romp, it’s actually sci-fi in disguise! In the distant future, human settlers touched down on the faraway planet of Pern, but found themselves cut off from the rest of mankind by a flesh eating fungus that fell from space. In order to fight the shroomy threat, the settlers genetically engineered dragons to burn away the space spores. While most of advanced technology has fallen to ruin on Pern, dragons remain. The series spans thousands of years, and details the exploits of Pern’s dragons and the riders with whom they share a psychic connection. No magic here, just science – which looks like magic when you don’t understand it.
The False Prince
Jennifer A. Nielsen’s The False Prince takes place in a fantasy kingdom on the brink of ruin. In order to stave off political collapse, a cunning nobleman decides to install a fake prince on the throne of a recently deceased king and establish a puppet regime. In order to find the perfect child actor, the nobleman auditions four orphans for the part. One of them will be chosen to play the prince, the other three will be put to the sword. One orphan, a plucky young boy named Sage, dead set on making the cut – lest part of him get cut off. As the game goes on, the rebellious Sage attempts to fight back against his cruel captor, playing by his own rules. Nothing arcane here, the only art is the art of deception – which Sage will have to get very good at in order to survive.
The Steerswoman
Rosemary Kirstein’s The Steerswoman is the story of Steerswoman Rowan, whose job involves seeking knowledge for knowledge’s sake. Steerswomen travel throughout the land answering people’s questions, provided that those people answer their questions in return. Rowan is seeking information about a mysterious artifact that is coveted by a shadowy group of power hungry wizards. “”Wizards?!” you’re probably thinking. “I thought this was a list of books without magic!” Don’t fret, while the characters in this novel think they’re in pursuit of the arcane, they’re actually uncovering anxiety technology that seems like magic. That’s right! It’s a secret, slow burn sci-fi all along! Unlucky for Rowan, everything she thought she knew about the world was dead wrong.
The Grace of Kings
Ken Liu’s The Grace of Kings is a sweeping epic inspired by Chinese history, and an enemies to bromance story about two men from opposite walks of life. Kuni Garu is a cunning street thief, while Mata Zyndu is the son of a disgraced duke. Though they might be opposites when it comes to social class, adherence to the law, and fashion sense, the pair become fast friends after joining a rebellion against a corrupt emperor. While there’s no magic system in the traditional sense, the supernatural does play a role in the form of gods masquerading as humans. But are gods magical? Is organized religion an arcane pursuit? That’s a question for your local priest, my friend. I’m not qualified to weigh in on matters of spirit – just literature.
(Featured Image: Amazon Prime)
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