The best books about magic (supernatural)

In the aftermath of a devastating attack on his hometown, Gordie Leonhart is confronted by an Olympic god. Hermes tells him that he is the descendant of Hercules, and that this destruction is the result of Zeus's attempt on Gordie's life. In the face of grief, anger, and even girl troubles, Gordie begins his journey to complete twelve labors and attain his Herculean potential in this first installment of The Heir of Olympus.

The Alchemist meets fantasy with a splash of space opera in this 2021 Author Elite Awards finalist by award-winning and bestselling South African author, Astrid V.J. This gem of transformation fiction explores our human capacity for achieving success in the face of adversity in a magical setting.

Viola Alerion, a renowned storyteller in the Haldrian Empire, wants to be left in peace. For years, she’s been hounded by her past, never to find a moment’s rest. Then she meets a boy who wants to become her apprentice. He refuses to take no for an answer, and she reluctantly yields, even though she knows taking him with her could endanger his life. As their journey progresses, Viola begins to understand she’s not the only teacher in the equation…

After five years of working for the Devil, Claire Cooper believes she lives an otherwise normal life. Until she finds herself in jeopardy for a murder she did not commit. Desperate to save her life and soul, she enters Purgatory, but runs afoul of the Pagan Queen Mab. Mab has her own agenda and uses Claire to get even with the Devil. Claire learns each ruler is in a race to discover “the girl” in the prophecy to fix time. As Claire peels away clues to the real killer, she realizes she must outwit the Devil’s children or end up a prisoner in Purgatory forever.

This extraordinary tale alludes that Aliens visited Earth in prehistory, creating Elves, Dwarves, and other mythological creatures. In the contemporary world of today, these figments no longer exist, or do they? When Jack shambles ashore upon a South Pacific island, he discovers a mysterious world shielded from our senses. It is filled with people, but not homo sapiens.

From shipwreck to survivor, castaway to explorer, our hero adapts to his new life, increasing the bounty for all, aided by the advanced science of The Ancestors. Fast-paced and riveting, the trilogy takes off when an abandoned spacecraft is discovered. Now Jack and his new friends need to unlock its secrets, but before they can do so, the Island is invaded by Ogre hordes.

Cloke is one of the premier combat mages of the 22nd century, a mercenary for hire that takes only the highest paying or most interesting jobs. Zee is an enormously talented console jockey with no name, no past, and no future unless a big score finally arrives.

When Cloke gets a job offer from someone that’s not even technically alive, she needs a new hacker to fill the gaping hole her dead one has left. Cloke and Zee find themselves on a globetrotting heist of magic, digital hijacking, and taking on the biggest multinational corporation on Earth for a score that can change the world order.

Five siblings fall into Ganbihar, where thought can turn into reality and where the edges of what’s real blur dangerously. Thrust into a conflict between two powerful forces, their love for each other and their desire to get home will be tested by the wonders and the terrors that they encounter in the midst of an ancient society heading toward all-out war.

As a fussy baby, Anne de Bourgh’s doctor prescribed laudanum to quiet her, and now the young woman must take the opium-heavy tincture every day. But she comes to see that what she has always been told is an affliction of nature might in fact be one of nurture – and one, therefore, that she can beat. She throws away her laudanum and seeks refuge at her cousin’s London home. Suddenly wide awake to the world but utterly unprepared, Anne must decide what matters more: society’s approbation, or the pull of her newfound sense of self.

An extraordinary tale of one woman’s liberation, The Heiress reveals both the darkness and light in Jane Austen’s world, with wit, sensuality, and a deeply compassionate understanding of the human heart.

The Reader of Acheron is a thoughtful dystopian/fantasy about a world where reading is prohibited. The book wrestles with the concept of willful ignorance, and the way an established power system can spread misinformation in the interest of servitude. The book has many parallels in our current political environment.

Delve into a world of might and magic where ancient creatures roam the earth and shape the destinies of humans.

Get to meet Lorian, a simple boy born with a leg disability, who finds himself right at the core of a timeless conflict between magic wielders and magical creatures. Without much choice, he is forced onto a wicked path of constant danger and separated without a reason from his promised love, Elmira. He befriends an Iprorim, an imp, will get to know some of the secrets of a witch called Naghnatë and will meet a Drakhahoul, Ghaeloden-Three-Horns, a dragon, who will take a peculiar interest into the boy’s fate.

Princess Stasia follows a vision from a magic dream away from the underground ice kingdom Iskalon. She disobeys her father, outruns the infuriatingly handsome captain of her guard, and ventures into the dangerous tunnels of the fire kingdom. Just another day for Stasia. Until it isn’t. Unbeknownst to Stasia, the half-mad fire king has escalated a centuries-old conflict, determined to burn Iskalon to the ground. Captured in battle, Stasia succumbs to magic flames to protect her family’s secrets in death. Impossibly, she survives the inferno. A new magic begins to grow inside her, the power of the enemy: Fire.

If you like the vivid cast of Assassin’s Apprentice, the detailed worldbuilding of The Eye of the World, and the gritty realism of Empress, you’ll love the Dreams of QaiMaj epic fantasy series!