For every reader of fantasy, there are times when we find ourselves yearning to walk alongside a wielder of great and terrible magic. Not merely to witness such wonders from afar, but to inhabit the very heart of one who bends the elements to their will, who speaks words of power into the trembling air.
And so we have assembled for you, dear seeker of arcane adventures, a collection of novels wherein the mage takes center stage. These are not tales in which the wizard appears merely to offer cryptic counsel before vanishing into mist. No, these are stories where magic-workers themselves grapple with destiny, where the sorcerer’s journey becomes our own.
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
In all our wanderings through the territories of imagination, we have seldom encountered a more bewitching rogue than Kvothe. Here is a tale told by the legend himself—now a humble innkeeper, once the most notorious wizard his world ever knew—and what a telling it is.
Young Kvothe travels with a troupe of performers until tragedy strikes in the form of the terrible Chandrian. Orphaned and forced to survive as a street urchin, he eventually talks his way into the legendary University, where he learns the science of sympathy and pursues the mystical art of Naming. The prose flows like music, for indeed, Kvothe is musician as much as magician, and the boundary between the two proves rather thin.
A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin
Before there were schools for wizards in the popular imagination, there was Roke, and before there was any young chosen one learning to wield power, there was Ged. This 1968 masterwork established the template that countless authors would follow, yet none have matched its elegant simplicity.
A gifted but arrogant young mage called Sparrowhawk unleashes a shadow upon the world through reckless magic. His journey to confront this darkness unfolds across an archipelago of islands with Taoist wisdom underlying every wave. Le Guin’s prose possesses the quality of ancient myth newly discovered.
Magician by Raymond E. Feist
We find ourselves enormously fond of Pug, that orphaned kitchen boy from the small coastal town of Crydee who rises to become Milamber, the most powerful magician across two worlds. The Riftwar Saga begins here, with alien invaders called the Tsurani arriving through magical rifts in space.
Captured and taken to the Tsurani homeworld, Pug discovers he possesses a talent for a form of magic that is unheard of on his home world. His path forward as he begins to hone those abilities remains one of fantasy’s most satisfying.
The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher
Should you desire your magic served with a side of wisecracking detective noir, look no further than Harry Dresden. He is Chicago’s only wizard listed in the phone book—under “wizards,” naturally—and he consults for the police on matters of the supernatural variety.
What begins as urban fantasy procedural evolves across eighteen novels into something grander, with Dresden battling vampires, faeries, fallen angels, and entities whose names we dare not speak carelessly. Harry’s blend of genuine magical power and very human vulnerability makes him splendid company through any number of impossible situations.
The Black Magician Trilogy by Trudi Canavan
Sonea dwells in the slums of Imardin, where the poor are largely ignored by the powerful Magicians’ Guild—until the day she hurls a stone through a magical barrier and accidentally injures a magician behind it. Thus begins a chase through the city’s underworld, for an untrained mage’s power will eventually kill her and those around her.
Trudi Canavan weaves together class conflict, academic intrigue, and dark secrets lurking at the heart of an institution. Sonea must learn to navigate both magic and politics, eventually discovering that the forbidden art of black magic—drawing power from living things—is not so forbidden as the Guild would have commoners believe.
Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson
In a world where ash falls from the sky and mists shroud the night, Vin begins as a street urchin among thieves. She ends as something considerably more impressive. Brandon Sanderson’s Allomancy system—wherein gifted individuals ingest and “burn” metals to gain specific powers—demonstrates what happens when an engineer’s mind creates magic.
Vin proves to be Mistborn, capable of burning all metals rather than just one. She joins a crew of thieves planning the impossible: to overthrow the immortal Lord Ruler who has dominated this world for a thousand years. The heist-meets-revolution plot crackles with energy, and Vin’s journey from frightened survivor to confident heroine provides the beating heart.
The Belgariad by David Eddings
Garion believes himself an ordinary farm boy. He is, we confess, spectacularly wrong about this. Raised by his Aunt Pol, young Garion discovers he carries within him the power of sorcery and a prophecy concerning the fate of the world.
The magic here operates through “the Will and the Word”—one gathers one’s will and speaks a command into reality. Garion’s initial attempts prove charmingly disastrous; he nearly triggers an ice age whilst creating a thunderstorm and sinks into mud whilst trying to throw a boulder. But he learns, as heroes must, only to face far greater challenges along the way.
The Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud
We must warn you: the djinni Bartimaeus possesses footnotes. Sarcastic, fourth-wall-breaking footnotes that will have you laughing aloud in public places. This ancient spirit of considerable power narrates much of the trilogy, though he has been summoned and bound by a twelve-year-old magician’s apprentice named Nathaniel.
Set in an alternate London ruled by magicians who command demons, the series follows Nathaniel as he seeks revenge on a more powerful magician by stealing the Amulet of Samarkand. Things spiral magnificently out of control. The interplay between ambitious young mage and five-thousand-year-old djinni who desperately wishes to kill his master provides endless entertainment.
The Alex Verus Series by Benedict Jacka
Alex Verus operates a magic shop in Camden Town, London, and he would very much like to be left alone. Alas, his abilities as a diviner—one who sees probability and possible futures—make him valuable to parties on all sides of magical politics.
Having been apprenticed to a Dark mage in his youth (it ended badly), Alex now walks a careful line between Light and Dark factions. His divination magic lets him see dangers coming but gives him little power to stop them directly, making for wonderfully tense situations where cunning must substitute for raw power. Twelve novels follow his increasingly complicated life.
The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan
Rand al’Thor discovers he can channel saidin, the male half of the One Power—and in this world, male channelers go inevitably mad from a corruption placed upon the power three thousand years past. He is also, as prophecy would have it, the Dragon Reborn, destined to either save the world or break it.
Fourteen books follow Rand and his companions across a sprawling epic wherein the magic system of channeling receives meticulous attention. Women channel safely through organizations like the Aes Sedai; men who channel must be gentled or they will destroy everything around them. Rand must somehow survive long enough to face the Dark One while his own mind crumbles.
The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson
Surgebinding allows Knights Radiant to manipulate fundamental forces through bonds with creatures called spren. Scholar Jasnah Kholin wields these powers with devastating precision, whilst her ward Shallan Davar discovers abilities she cannot explain. Both women use Soulcasting—the power to transform matter itself.
Brandon Sanderson constructs his magic with architectural precision. Each order of Knights Radiant possesses two Surges from a set of ten, creating overlapping combinations of ability. The series explores what it means to be broken—for only a cracked soul allows something else to fit inside—and how those wounds might become strength.
Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson
We shall be frank: this ten-volume series is not for the faint of heart. Steven Erikson drops readers into deep waters and expects them to swim. But for those who persevere, the rewards include Quick Ben—the Malazan Empire’s most powerful mage, who carries secrets wrapped in mysteries shrouded by enigmas.
Magic here flows through Warrens, alternate dimensions from which power may be drawn. Different Warrens grant different abilities: healing, shadow manipulation, fire. The system deliberately retains mystery; the authors believe explained magic loses its sense of wonder. This philosophy produces genuinely awe-inspiring moments when powers collide.
Battle Mage by Peter A. Flannery
Falco Danté carries the stigma of being a madman’s son. His father was a battle mage—one of those rare individuals who bond with dragons and shield armies with their power—but his dragon went black and mad, as black dragons do. Now Falco struggles through martial training while doubting his own worth.
Peter Flannery delivers everything one might desire from epic fantasy: coming-of-age trials, heart-pounding battles, romance, and dragons aplenty. The world falls before demonic forces called the Possessed, and only battle mages might turn the tide. Falco’s journey from weakling to something considerably more formidable provides immensely satisfying reading.
The Magic of Recluce by L.E. Modesitt Jr.
Here magic divides between order and chaos, black and white—but not as you might expect. Black mages harness order; white wizards wield chaos. L.E. Modesitt Jr. delightfully subverts expectations whilst building a system where balance between forces must be maintained lest nature itself rebel.
What makes this series distinctive is how practitioners apply their gifts. Order mages typically work as craftsmen—woodworkers, smiths, engineers—using magic to strengthen and perfect their creations. The protagonist Lerris begins as a bored young man exiled from his peaceful island homeland, only to discover depths of power he never suspected and responsibilities he never wanted.
Which Mage’s Journey Calls to You?
We have walked many paths with many wielders of power, and each journey offers its own rewards. Perhaps you desire the lyrical beauty of Rothfuss, the philosophical depth of Le Guin, or the systematic precision of Sanderson. Perhaps you wish the wit of Dresden or Bartimaeus, the epic scope of Jordan or Erikson.
Whatever calls to you, know that these mages await. Their staffs are raised, their words of power ready upon their lips, their adventures eager to unfold before your wondering eyes. You need only choose your companion and begin.
