I’m looking for books with a hidden magic PART of our world (not an entire separate world like narnia)
Like, people having to hide the magic world from normal people
LGBT elements are a plus 😁 (and preferably not a transphobic author like a certain someone. But I understand we don’t know everything about all authors) x
by charliewatzz
13 Comments
Ghostfinders, Green
Laundry Files, Stross
Differently Morphous, Crowshaw
My go to recommendation for people who liked harry potter is Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson. Magic isn’t hidden but is rare. Most people aren’t magic
The other recommendation I’d give is the first law trilogy by Joe Abercrombie. There is magic but the vast majority of people aren’t aware of it. It’s seen as a fairytale.
It is a lot darker than Harry Potter and far more morally grey
Kraken, by China Miéville. Fantastic example of this
The October Daye series by Seanan McGuire.
Ilona Andrews Innkeeper Chronicles –A magic Inn, space werewolves and vampires, a lot of really unique aliens, mystery, romance, action, a fun and humorous series
Ninth House is soooo good! (scarier than HP but not too scary)
Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire
Small Miracles by Olivia Atwater
The Talisman by Stephen King and Peter Straub
Almost all the Neil Gaiman books.
The Dresden files! Lots of books in the series too. I’ve re-read them several times
The House in the Cerulean Sea and sequel
Weaveworld by Clive Barker was really good and worth looking into. It’s hard to describe it without giving too much away, but it’s somewhere between a portal fantasy and a hidden magic world. It’s definitely less of a “portal fantasy” like Narnia than it initially appears to be.
The book begins with the search for a tapestry said to contain a whole world inside, and it just gets stranger and crazier as it continues.
It was written in the 80s and has a few elements that are a bit dated, but Barker did include quite a bit of LGBT representation from what I remember, and he himself is a gay man. I doubt Barker is a transphobe because the new Hellraiser reboot did star at least one trans actress. Also, a few of his works from this era have been read as allegories for LGBT discrimination/persecution.
Brandon Sanderson’s The Stormlight Archive series.
Some characters begin to manifest magic powers and have to hide that fact from others.
However, I think he is Mormon. I have a lot of respect for Mormons, but I doubt their religious beliefs allow for acceptance of LGBTQ (etc) people.
Now I want to read all his stuff and see if I find any anti-LGBTQ stuff. Or if I might be pleasantly surprised by an obviously queer character or something. Sanderson might surprise us. We can hope.
But any way, he is an amazing world builder, story teller, and word smith.
The last binding trilogy by freya marske