The title pretty much says it! I’d like to explore that idea a little and would love to hear y’all’s recommendations. This thought was originally inspired by lord of the rings, but I’m also currently on a little nostalgia trip by reading The Sea of Trolls and the soft magic system in that is pretty fun

  • johncutting [he/him]@hexbear.netEnglish
    2·
    2 days ago

    A few years ago, I devoured the Ascendant series by K Arsenault Rivera. Basically a soft magic universe based on Mongolian and Chinese mysticism set in a different world, but the parallels are pretty obvious. The main focus is the sapphic romance between the two leads, but It does a good job of mixing world building, epic battles and military maneuvers, demons and magic, and relationships. I highly recommend it.

  • Franconian_Nomad@feddit.orgEnglish
    7·
    7 days ago

    Hmmm.

    • „The dark is rising“ Series by Susan Cooper
    • „The Moon of Gomrath“ by Alan Garner
    • „The Innkeepers Song“ by Peter S. Beagle
    • „Stardust“ by Neil Gaiman
    • „The Night Circus“ by Erin Morgenstern
    • „Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrel by Susanna Clarke

    Those were on top of my head. There are probably many many more. Also check out other books by the authors I mentioned.

  • theRealBassist@lemmy.world
    2·
    6 days ago

    Honestly Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas fits. It’s more a medium magic system, if that makes sense. Instead of not clearly defined rules it more just has ever changing, very simplified, rules.

  • murmelade@lemmy.mlEnglish
    4·
    7 days ago

    I’m more of a sci-fi guy but I listened to Joe Abercrombies The First Law trilogy as audio books and holy shit was it great. Ended up devouring the 3 standalone books and the following Age of Madness trilogy that plays out in the same world. Very dark stuff and I believe fits within the requested “soft magic” setting.

  • Bob Smith@sopuli.xyz
    3·
    7 days ago

    Malazan Book of the Fallen is fairly soft due to complexity and overlapping systems. A dozen or so themed sources of magic(warrens), several older sources of power (holds) and several powers specific to certain species.

    Some characters can access several of these sources and one character semi-accidentally creates a supplemental system that might be more rules based. Geographical location matters and the warrens/holds are also physical realities separate from the main one with their own hazards.

    Also, there are mysterious elder entities and there’s always the possibility of ascending to godlike powers through a parallel system of high houses roughly aligned to warrens and mysterious buildings but defined by an in-universe tarot deck that can be altered…

    • chobeat@lemmy.ml
      11·
      7 days ago

      Malazan is everything but soft. Its magic system and the world building in general look like what a programmer with a degree in reddit history would build

    • redhorsejacket@lemmy.world
      3·
      7 days ago

      How are you defining “soft” in this case? It seems you and I have very different ideas of what that term means, and I’m curious about your perspective.

      • Bob Smith@sopuli.xyz
        2·
        6 days ago

        Haha! My definitions are arbitrary now that I think about it. Tons of gray area, since it’s all fiction to begin with.

        My definition of ‘soft’ would be any magic system that lacks exact rules or a concrete cause and effect relationship with scale. Flexible power from a vague connection to a god, planet of origin, or elemental source would be soft. Even softer if there are dozens or hundreds of vague sources with unpredictable effects.

        Specific, quantifiable effects from a concrete source (a specific spell, ritual, or x amount of a substance) would be hard.

  • Sas [she/her]@beehaw.org
    2·
    7 days ago

    The Priory of the Orange Tree might fit what you are looking for. I’ve only learned the term soft magic just now so I might be wrong but magic in that world is mysterious and feels similar to Lord of the Rings. However there’s multiple types of magic and one of the main characters understands a bit more about one of those types and thus knows a bit about its limitations iirc so we as the reader are introduced to those a bit. Overall I’d say it probably fits.