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/lit/ - Literature

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[ERROR] No.2041575 [Reply] [Original]

Can you guys point me to some quality fantasy books that have NO magic whatsoever in them? I mean no wizards, no spells, no gods, no demons; none of that shit. I hate it. I tried to read Malazan Book of the Fallen, but the gods and warrens (seriously what the fuck are these things?) drove me insane. I'm too much of an atheist and realist to enjoy stuff like that.

I've read ASOIAF, and its (for the most part) lack of magic is one reason I enjoyed it so much.

Thanks.

>> No.2041577

But if it doesn't have magic then how is it fantasy?

>> No.2041579

What you really want is Medieval historical fiction. Read Ivanhoe.

>> No.2041580
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[ERROR]

>Fantasy without any magic in it?

Read the history of the Middle Ages.

>> No.2041583

>I'm too much of an atheist and realist to enjoy stuff like that.

PFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFT

lol'd. What a fucking baby.

>> No.2041584

I don't really want to read historical fiction. I want a fantasy book that is set in a different world, has monsters and shit, but doesn't have any magic in it.

>> No.2041585

>>2041584
Tyr The Odyssey, by Homer.

>> No.2041589

>>2041584
So you want fantasy without the fantasy. I'm with this guy then >>2041580, read Medieval histories. Either that, or stop your bitching.

>> No.2041590

>I'm too much of an atheist and realist to enjoy stuff like that.

Do you hate Disney movies too? Just wondering. I've never understood what it's like to try so hard to be edgy.

>> No.2041592

15 year old detected

>> No.2041593

K J Parker writes that stuff. There's no monsters, though. In fact, while the previous stuff is rather hard to find, I'd say +monsters -magic... Well I won't say anything, but good luck finding that stuff.

>> No.2041594

>>2041584
If I remember correctly, This Sundering Flood by William Morris had no magic. Well, it might have, but it was more implied rather than explicit.

>> No.2041604

The magic in Robin Hobb's 6 Dutchies books have an implied science fictional basis, or at least the magic system doesn't really intrude on the story too much. You might enjoy them.

>> No.2041609

>I'm too much of an atheist and realist to enjoy stuff like that.

>Implying a lack of imagination is a good thing.

>> No.2041611

>I'm too much of an atheist and realist to enjoy stuff like that.
It seems you lack fantasy yourself. You probably hate donald duck too. DUCKS DON'T SPEAK!

>> No.2041614

Read Chétien de Troyes, especially "Yvain, the Knight of the Lion" and "Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart".
It tells the story of the knights of King Arthur.
It's very old (XIIth century) but entertaining, be sure to find a modern translation.

>> No.2041639

OP may be looking for a...

people from our world fall into fantasy world and fight the monsters with what techno know-how they can scrape together

..type of novel.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGREVTjIpC4

>> No.2041642

>>2041575

Tastes differ, but it always pisses me off when people supposedly dislike fantasy because they are realists and/or atheist.

I am an atheist and consider myself a realist and a pragmatist. I am a romantic however, and thus feel drawn to fantasy, mindfucks, drugstories and weirdshit in general.

>> No.2041643

>>2041590
>>2041592
>>2041609

Not saying it's a good thing at all, I hate myself for it since it ruins so many things for me. Like I know Malazan are good books, but I can't get past the magic part of it because I'm constantly thinking, "this is stupid, magic isn't real, god doesn't exist" so I just stop reading the books.

Also I will check out the suggestions posted here, thanks guys.

>> No.2041644

Try the Redwall series. Sure it consists of exclusively anthropomorphized talking animals, but there's no magic.

>> No.2041648

Maybe you're looking for sci-fi?

>> No.2041661

>magic: oh thats way to unrealistic for me.
>monsters: perfectly logical

>> No.2041672

>>2041661

monsters are living, breathing, biological creatures that you can actually see and understand. magic is invisible, and there's no explanation behind it. it just happens. well I think that's stupid, and I agree with OP. Magic is just an excuse for authors to be lazy and is basically deus ex machina.

>> No.2041686

easy joe abercrombie! His stuff is all sword and sheild fighting and so are the raven books by james barcley. You could also try the shadows of apt series.

>> No.2041693

>>2041575
The thing I like of ASOIF is how magic is slowly coming into the scene. I bet in the last book magic, wizards and all that shit is gonna be extremely prevalent.

>> No.2041721

>>2041672
i would agree to an extent, but I'd qualify it by saying that there are fantasy authors who handle magic in a reasonable way by defining it's limitations or making it about balance. Its a common issue a lot of people have with High Fantasy as a genre.

>> No.2041727

Joe Abercrombie The Blade Itself series
Steph Swainton The Castle Omnibus (3 books)
KJ Parker The Engineer series

>> No.2041751
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[ERROR]

Read the Bible

Oh wait... there's magic in it.

Ur fucked son

>> No.2041757

hows about a nice math textbook?

>> No.2042906

>>2041672
you know what else just happens? Existence.

>> No.2042915

So just a fantastical world setup? You might be better off with science fiction set on distant planets, some Robert Heinlein. Ray Bradbury could even kind of fit the bill.

The real non-magical fantasy series off the top of my head I can think of the Stone Dance of the Chameleon series. There's sort-of magic, but the society is very primitive, almost stone-age, so any scientific thing is seen as magical. Very religious, but once again a bit more stone-age primeval than anything else, ritualistic human sacrifice and blood-drinking and cannibalism seen as totally normal, shit like that, but it exists more as something people just believe in. Their faith in it influences plot, not actual supernatural happenings.

There are monsters - clearly dinosaurs in the description, but never called as such. Hell, the whole setting could fit in that crazy Graham Hancock's theoretical Antarctic civilization now that I think about it.