Vision: A Resource for Writers
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Holly Lisle's VisionModern Magic in Books:A short overview of Modern Magic novelsBy
Cindy M. Clark
©2001, Cindy M. Clark
Like
all writers, I tend to read a lot.
For this article I decided to go through the books I’ve read and find ones
that relate to modern magic. If you are interested in writing in this subgenre,
these books might spark your imagination with modern magic ideas for your
own material. The
first author up is L. J. Smith, or Lisa Jane Smith. Almost of all her novels
revolve around modern magic, but I'll only discuss two. Dark Visions is
about a girl who is elected to be part of a teenage group. They all soon find
out that they have psychic abilities, which is in its own way, magic. I won’t
give away the plots for all three books; however, I found these three books
fast-paced, easy to read and enjoyable. L.
J. Smith's other series, Secret Circle, starts with another teenage girl
who, with her mother, suddenly moves away from her familiar settings. At the new
school she becomes involved in a club, and soon learns that it centers on magic
and witchcraft. Like the other
series, the three books are fast-paced and keep you interested until the last
page. I
think it’s a safe bet to say that nearly everyone who reads fantasy has read
some of Mercedes Lackey’s books. The books that deal most with modern magic
are her Serrated Edge ones. These books feature elves who drive racecars that
are really elven steeds, and humans who are tangled up with them in mysterious
ways. Each book features different characters and the different evils they have
to overcome. Larry Dixon, Mark Shepherd, Rosemary Edghill, and even Holly Lisle
have coauthored Serrated Edge books. Mercedes'
other modern magic series is the Diana Tregarde Investigation trilogy.
These tell the story of a romance writer who is at the same time a
powerful witch. The three books show her helping a policeman solve a mass
murder, finding out how to stop psi-vampries, and helping a teenage boy find his
own magic power. These are books you can’t put down until you’ve read the
last paragraph. A
lot of people have also read Terry Brooks' work. His Running With the Demon,
A Knight of the Word, and Angel Fire East books all fit the
category of modern magic. In the first book we find a girl who has a friend that
is a spirit from the forest. We also find a man who is a Knight of the Word and
hunts evil. The Knight of the Word is shown dreams of what the world will become
if he doesn’t help change things, and this is done using magic; and the young
girl's parents also show the use of magic. These books were interesting: a
change of pace from the normal fantasy books. I’m
not sure if anyone has read Mark Anthony’s The Last Rune series. I wouldn’t
have if I hadn’t run across the first two books at a discount store. The first
one is about a man and a young woman doctor who are is taken from the modern
realm and pushed into a medieval one. She soon finds out that she has magic and
must learn how to use it, while the man also finds he has what is called rune
magic. I have yet to read book three, but you can find more about his books at
Mark Anthony's web page: www.thelastrune.com
The
last author I'll discuss is K. A. Applegate and her Everworld books. I just
learned that the series is going to be twelve books long. This one starts out
with a teenage girl being sucked into another world and her four friends
following her. The four friends land in a world that is inhabited by all the old
gods and other things that have been forced from Earth. The friends find
themselves barely surviving, and their only hope is in their dreams where they
find themselves back in their bodies that are still in Earth. This is an
interesting series, each book is in first person with a different person telling
the story. I
hope everyone gets a chance to look at these books.
If you love tales of modern magic, these books are some of the best.
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