Magic! What would fantasy be without it? About the same place as science fiction if you took out the science. Speculative fiction is all about the sense of wonder that it makes you feel, and the main way that fantasy does that is through magic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Brandon Sanderson\u2019s writing class (which he has generously made available to the public, by videotaping and podcasting his lectures), Sanderson divides magic into two broad types: hard magic and soft magic. And while some fantasy readers take issue with the way that Sanderson leans more toward hard magic in his own books, the division he draws between hard and soft magic is still quite useful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Soft magic is the kind of magic that isn\u2019t fully explained, and is mostly left up to the reader\u2019s imagination. Magical things happen, and we don\u2019t know how or why, but it helps to instill a feeling that the world is vast and wondrous. As such, soft magic is primarily used as a way to enhance the setting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Tolkien\u2019s Lord of the Rings,<\/em> a good example of this is the elves. We know that they are immortal and that they are far more glorious than most other races, but we never really know the full extent of their capabilities. Gandalf is another example of this. Just what was he doing with the Balrog, and how did defeating that ancient beast in a marathon spelunking-hiking-wrestling match? Who knows!<\/p>\n\n\n\n And that\u2019s the biggest criticism of soft magic: if you don\u2019t know how the magic works, how do you know that the heroes won\u2019t just pull a rabbit out of their hat to save them at the last possible moment? Or summon the eagles, which amounts to the same thing. For that matter, if the eagles are so awesome, why don\u2019t the heroes just fly on their backs all the way to Mount Doom? I mean, can you believe what it would have been like if they had to walk the entire way? Somebody might have died!<\/p>\n\n\n\n