For as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to pack my bags (or trunk), stow my wand, hop on my enchanted vehicle of choice and make my way to a magic school. Sadly, that’s never going to happen, but there is no shortage of amazing fantasy books / series out there that will make you forget you live in the real world and believe for hours at a time that you are a magic student.
That said, there are a few on this list which I would actually pay good money to stay away from (looking at you, Scholomance!).
In no particular order, here are five great magic school books and series that should be on your TBR.
Nevernight, by Jay Kristoff
Nevernight, the first book in the Nevernight Chronicle, features the Red Church as its magical assassin school – think Hogwarts meets a murder cult. The lessons are some of the tensest scenes you will ever read, with students risking (and often losing) quite literally life and limb in and outside the classroom. Oh, and it has one of the greatest school libraries in fantasy literature.
The Kingkiller Chronicle, by Patrick Rothfuss
There are a handful of fantasy locations that are so compelling and so homely that I could happily read endless stories that simply follow characters living out their days there. The University from The KingKiller Chronicles is one of them. Whilst the books are epic in their thematic scope, length and number of locations, and though every page is a joy to read, it’s the scenes set in The University that feel like coming home to me. Another ten books just following Kvothe attending magic classes please, Mr Rothfuss.
The Scholomance, by Naomi Novik
Novik takes the concept of a magic school and turns it into a setting that’s about as cute and cosy as a Venus flytrap. As well as the danger lurking round every corridor, what really makes this series shine is the protagonist and narrator, Galadriel (“El”) Higgins. She brings a degree of character and tenacity reminiscent of Wednesday Addams, and it’s impossible not to find yourself rooting for her.
Babel, by R.F. Kuang
I listened to the final four hours of the audiobook for this in a single car journey, which is saying something as my attention span for audiobooks usually maxes out at 45 minutes. Set in an alternate Oxford University in the 1800s, the magic system is fiendishly clever and rooted in language. It also acts as an allegory for British imperialism, with the empire establishing power over conquered peoples through magical silver bars inscribed with words in different languages.
The Will of the Many, by James Islington
One of the best-paced, most addictive magic school books I’ve read in recent years, most of the plot in The Will of the Many unfolds at the Catenan Academy. With a praetorium, quadrum, gymnasium and bibliotheca, there’s a strong classical vibe that’s sure to please even the most insatiable Roman Empire aficionado. It’s also a setting where students and politics collide, with consequences that make for an unputdownable read.
Step into Solar Carpenter’s magic school…
If you enjoyed exploring these magic schools, you might just love my fantasy series, Chronicles of the Divided Isle. Set in a medieval kingdom plagued by monsters and agents of dark magic, roaming magic schools train students to defeat these threats – and prove their worth.
But in an age where only sons of the aristocracy may study magic, Solar Carpenter – a criminal and tavern barmaid – becomes the first girl of common birth to enrol in an elite academy in over a century. There she is embroiled in romance, high politics, the highs and lows of friendship, and adventures where the price of failure is certain death.
Read on for an excerpt from the first book in the series, Witchcraft and Fury (available on Amazon), where Solar has her first magic lesson, and don’t forget to subscribe to my newsletter to receive a free prequel novella!
“After breakfast the five trainees – Solar, Bear, Pingot, Oswald and Wyman – had their magic class with Loveday. Cal, an apprentice and so more advanced in his studies, practised magic by himself next to the fire in preparation for a private lesson that would take place later that day.
They seated themselves on five flat, grey boulders that lay near the lake. Loveday stood to the side of a small fire with a pot of simmering water suspended magically over it. Solar fidgeted nervously as she waited for the lesson to begin.
‘Don’t worry, this is the first class for all of us,’ said Pingot in an undertone beside her.
‘What? Really?’ asked Solar, surprised.
‘We’ve only done fitness and weapons training with Binns so far. Loveday was waiting until Hroth joined us. Now that we’re a full class he’s finally going to teach us magic.’
Loveday cleared his throat, and Pingot fell silent. ‘Manipulation of the natural world is the foundation of the art that we call wizardry,’ he began, his voice calm and measured. ‘Understanding nature is the first step towards understanding and controlling ourselves, for the simple reason that we come from and return to the very earth upon which we stand.’
‘And some of us have earth between our ears,’ whispered Pingot to Solar, nodding his head almost imperceptibly towards Wyman. The boy was lying stretched out on his boulder, supporting himself on bony elbows and looking up at the azure sky absent-mindedly. Solar smirked and stifled a laugh. She decided she was starting to like Pingot.
Wyman’s cousin Oswald was sitting bolt upright on the boulder next to him, hanging on to Loveday’s every word.
‘To manipulate the world around you, you must not just comprehend but also feel how you are but a part of it. Feel with your mind. Close it to distractions. Feel yourself become one with the element you wish to manipulate. If you wish to change the flow of a river, in your mind move with the water between the riverbanks. You must feel all the river feels, the idleness of its meanders, the fury of its rapids. Only if you are a part of it can you hope to control it. To stoke or calm a fire you must know both the greed it feels as it strives to consume and its glow of satisfaction when it later subsides to a smoulder.’
Solar felt perplexed. Was all magic so wishy-washy? She had thought Loveday had enrolled her to study magic due to her daring and quick thinking, not an ability to ‘feel with her mind’, whatever that was supposed to mean. She looked around at the other students. Bear was leaning forward in a hunch, his chin on his fist and brow furrowed in concentration. Wyman had finally sat up, evidently having decided that he might have to apply himself after all. Pingot was cracking his knuckles and stretching, eager to have his first go at ‘manipulation’.
Loveday had them approach the fire and attempt to fan the flames with their minds. They would know they had succeeded if the bowl of simmering water boiled over. Wyman went first, walking with reluctance and sloped shoulders as if he didn’t have the least bit of confidence in himself. When he was no less than four paces away the flames turned a sickly green, spluttered and died.
‘Useless boy,’ reprimanded Loveday. ‘Are you completely hopeless?’
Wyman went back to his boulder, and Loveday relit the fire with a cursory glance at the ashes. Then the wizard looked to Solar. He smiled at her, and when he spoke there was an excited edge to his tone. ‘And now for our encampment’s newest addition to try her hand. Solar, you next, if you please.’
Solar moved to the fire, feeling all eyes upon her. She stood before the flames and tried to close her mind to all else around her, to focus on the fire, to understand how it would feel as it grew into a roar that would send the water into a fierce boil. She found it impossible, for whispered commentary from Oswald and Wyman distracted her:
‘Time to see what the hag can do.’
‘I wouldn’t pin my hopes on her having much success. The hags my father burned clearly had no skill at controlling flames.’
Loveday silenced them with a furious stare. He is quite terrifying when he wants to be, Solar mused. Then she caught herself. Concentrate! she thought sternly, and she turned her attention back to the flames.
‘Focus, Solar. You can do this,’ said Loveday, his voice still excited, full of belief in her.
But the next couple of minutes were just as fruitless, and she had no choice but to give up. She stormed back to her boulder, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment, not looking at Loveday. She feared that she was letting him down; he had spotted her potential back in Falcontop, and now she felt duty-bound to fulfil it.
She and Wyman were not alone in struggling with the task. One by one the others approached the fire, and one by one they failed to exert any influence over it. Loveday kept them practising until the sun reached its zenith. On his final attempt Pingot managed to stoke the flames into a small inferno, and the simmering water boiled over. Solar and Bear whooped and cheered as Pingot walked back to his seat, sweat pouring from his pasty brow but a smile on his face.
‘Don’t let the flames grow too hot, piggy, or the rest of us will be having roast pork for lunch,’ sneered Oswald.
‘Seeing as I’m the only one who can control the flames, it is me who has the power to make threats,’ retorted Pingot. But when Oswald approached the flames for his final attempt, he too managed to make the water boil over the rim.
‘Why does Oswald seem to hate you so much?’ Solar asked as they headed back to the campfire for lunch, thoroughly exhausted from mental exertion.
‘Oh, the Goldmonts and the Humbys have hated each other since time immemorial,’ Pingot replied. ‘His family have held the lands to the south of my own family’s duchy for a thousand years, and the wars between our ancestors often lasted decades. Hating each other is in our blood. Of course, now that we are learning to be wizards together in a royal magic encampment we are meant to put those differences behind us, though it is easier said than done.’
