4.52 avg rating — 1,075,160 ratings

"This book doesn't have just one system, but five or six, and they interact. Plus most are implemented in a systematic and scientific way (sympathy, sygaldry), but at least one is pure instinct (naming)."

4.19 avg rating — 589,282 ratings

"Most realistic and thoughtful depiction of magic ever, with intricate descriptions of "weaving flows" of the Power. Both systematic and instinctive simultaneously (men seem to be more instinctive, women more systematic)."

4.49 avg rating — 956,393 ratings

"This is either one very complex system with sixteen or so different parts, or sixteen different systems. Each metal does something unique when "burned" by the appropriate people, and their effects interact."

4.16 avg rating — 217,974 ratings

"Two systems: one that's more classic, with written and spoken runes that combine to form complex effects; and one very much unique that's a systematic treatment of necromancy, with magical bells, and a "death world" with nine gates leading to the final death."

4.12 avg rating — 253,292 ratings

"Pure instinct for the main character, but much more systematic for the other wizards and sorceresses around him, so they get to explain how things should have worked, and then the main character gets to break all their expectations."

4.20 avg rating — 28,457 ratings

"There are at least two systems of magic, one that has various flavors of "mind-magic" that incorporate classic powers like telepathy (mindspeech), far-seeing, and specific kinds of telekinesis like firestarting. Then there's the "real" magic that's done using power from ley lines and nodes, which gets very complex. Oddly enough, the various hedge wizards and such seem more traditional because they don't have as much power to work with, so they have to rely on cantrips and focus items and the like, and learn in various schools, while those who can access the lines and nodes do everything with pure energy. Some people have both mind magic and real magic."

3.85 avg rating — 28,284 ratings

"This magic is very scientific, literally learned from a book, and it has to be done just right, or it won't work. No acting on instinct here."

4.17 avg rating — 343,974 ratings

"Actually explaining the magic system would probably be a spoiler, but it's runic and very precise, down to the way that teleportation distances can be calculated."

4.03 avg rating — 45,002 ratings

"There are several different types of magic in this series, where everyone seems affiliated with an element. The main children are affiliated with various crafts though, like weaving (thread and cloth), gardening (plants and earth), blacksmithing (fire and metal), and weather (water and lightning). The manipulation of these elements is mostly instinct but takes practice to have control."

3.87 avg rating — 25,757 ratings

"Order vs chaos, and a reversal from the usual "white as good" mentality - white is chaos and black is order."