Why is magic treated like the last kid chosen in Physical Ed class

[A.J.]

This is one of the reasons why I decided to ONLY write fantasy.
It seems that magic is always put at the rear of every epic fantasy story. Many fantasy authors treat magic like the last kid chosen in soccer practice.
Why isnt there enough magic in fantasy novels. JK Rowling did an awesome job in creating a magic system but George RR Martin made magic a thing within the imagination of the characters.
When it comes to magic most fantasy books substitute it with a mystical creature or magic item. Rarely do they make magic a primary thing in the story.

What do you think?

http://ajmartinezauthor.com/elf-tale/

[Joe]

Usually because to set the bounds so that the magic-using character can actually be challenged outside of horrible cliches takes a LOT of forethought. Rowling's system had a lot of "safeties" put in place so that no one became an "archmage" overnight and they could still be rendered near-powerless without their wand. But how many fantasy novels do you read where the wizard becomes all-powerful within the first half of the book, and then the author can only throw cliches and laughable obstacles in the character's way?

[Aaron]

A.J. wrote: "JK Rowling did an awesome job in creating a magic system"

What Magic System?

[Isaiah]

There are plenty of fantasy books with magic used frequently throughout the story. Some are better than others, I think, but there are plenty of stories where the magic isn't relegated to being in the form of and item or whatever. Some magic systems are well constructed enough to allow for frequent use throughout the book, without seeming like deus ex machina, or allowing the magician to solve everything with some ill defined hand wavery at the end of a book. (I'm looking at you, Terry Goodkind). Brandon Sanderson and Patrick Rothfuss both have well constructed magic systems that allow their characters to be powerful but are still challenged by other practitioners who may be more experienced than they are with that magic. Steven Erikson has TONS of magic going on in his books, but it isn't as clear cut how that magic works, which lends itself to a sense of mystery. Lev Grossman's books also have a shitload of magic being thrown about throughout the book. (Which makes sense with a book called The Magicians). As for Martin, there is definitely magic in his world, its just that a lot of it is subtle. I guess if you want to see books with a lot of magic the authors I mentioned would be a good place to start.