This week the dragons are delighted to welcome Olivia Atwater - author of Half a Soul and Small Miracles - to the show. Olivia's fantasy novels cross several genre lines and magic systems play a strong role in the stories, which makes her the perfect person to join this episode's discussion.
Magic systems in fantasy have evolved a long way since the advent of recording traditional folk tales in writing and the dawn of modern epic fantasy. There are now a variety of different types of systems which broadly fall within the hard (defined) and soft (nebulous) categories. In fact many fantasy novels employ a combination or even both at once, so does it matter which you use? What does the magic system add to the story and how do you shape it for best effect?
Under the microscope this week: The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien, The Old Kingdom series - Garth Nix, Small Miracles - Olivia Atwater and many more.
Title music: Ecstasy by Smiling Cynic
Dissecting Dragon: Episode 81: War! What is it good for... in Storytelling?
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 80: Pivot Points - Historical Moments that changed Everything
Dissecting Dragon: Episode 79: Ouija Boards, Possessed Dolls & Bloody Mary - the Fascination with Supernatural Games
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 78: Portents, Symbols and Future Knowledge - Precognition and Foreshadowing in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragon: Episode 77: Man out of Time - Displaced Protagonists in Speculative Fiction
Disseecting Dragons: Episode 76: From Aslan to Ananda - Religious Allegory in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 75: Labyrinth - Looking at the Mystery of Mazes
Dissecting Dragon: Episode 74: The Sorting Hat and Other Trials - Finding your Tribe in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 73: Sand and Sky - Desert Archetypes in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 72: Maenads, Black Magic & Demon Drink - Addictions in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 71: The Lazarus Effect - Back from the Dead (Again!)
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 70: They Shall take up Serpents - Religious Cults in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Ep 69: When you say Nothing at all - Sparkling Dialogue in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 68: Cautionary Tunes - The Fantasy & History behind Folksongs & Nursery Rhymes
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 67: That Ship has Sailed - Happy Endings, Fan Service & the Appropriate Finale
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 66: Strange Familiarity - the Uncanny in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 65: The Strange Case of Professor Lupin - the Subversive Power of Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 64: Rogues, Renegades and Robin Hood - Our Favourite Outlaws in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 63: Mentors, Wizards and Wise Women - Portrayals of the Elderly in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 62: Occult Detectives - Urban Fantasy and Mystery
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