Fantasy without violence? Whoever heard of such a thing? How else the realm supposed to defeat the Dark Lord no one’s gonna introduce him to the business end of a magic sword? While many fantasy stories feature characters who let their fists do the talking, this list made for readers who prefer a more mature form of conflict resolution – one where the punches are entirely emotional. Looking to defeat the Dark Lord with words? Make him question his own actions and seek redemption? These 10 best non-violent fantasy novels will give you an idea of how to beat any big bad with a heart to heart.
The Goblin Emperor
Why use cloaks and daggers when you can use deals and diplomacy to sort out the kingdom’s political problems? That’s the question posed by Katherine Addison’s The Goblin Emperor – the story of a half-goblin outcast turned reluctant regent. After the royal successors die in an offscreen airship accident (no violent descriptions of aeronautical death here) an estranged member of the royal line finds himself seated on the throne of Imperial Court. Surrounded by sycophants and snakes in the grass, the young ruler must use both his head and his heart if he’s going to survive his imperial tenure. When you’re in a diplomatic battle with multiple Machiavellis, the only way to win to pull a Marcus Aurelius and take the moral high ground.
A Psalm For The Wild-Built
While a genre purist might consider Becky Chamber’s novel to be sci-fi, the whimsical vibe of this solarpunk series places it perfectly in the purview of fantasy. A Pslam For The Wild-Built is set in a post-apocalyptic utopia – one where robots rose up and decided to skedaddle off to the wilderness, leaving humanity to build an agrarian society on the ruins of their now defunct technologies. The story follows a nonbinary tea monk (basically a tea pouring therapist) named Dex, who is on a quest to figure out the question: “what do people need?” When Dex journeys into the wilderness and discovers a robot named Mosscap asking the same sort of questions, the pair set off on a totally non-violent journey to find spiritual answers.
The House In The Cerulean Sea
The House In The Cerulean Sea isn’t a novel, it’s a warm hug bound up in text form. TJ Klune’s low fantasy romance is centered around Linus Baker, a caseworker at the Department in Charge of Magical Youth. The job sounds exciting on paper, but it’s mostly just paperwork – that is until Linus is assigned to monitor the a seaside house where a group of magical orphans and their caretaker dwell. As Linus gets to know the children and their mysterious but charming guardian, his by-the-book existence is slowly filled with light and love, kindling into a romantic conflagration by the novel’s peaceful and picturesque end.
Howl’s Moving Castle
Before it was a surprisingly violent Studio Ghibli movie, Howl’s Moving Castle was a totally no punches thrown novel by Dianne Wynne Jones. Well, one punch was thrown – a magical one. After running afoul of a wicked witch, young Sophie Hatter is cursed to take the form of an old lady. After seeking out employment in a wilderness wizard’s perambulatory palace, the beleaguered Sophie finds belonging with magical Howl and his fire demon familiar Calcifer. The novel is a slowburn marriage between the magical and the mundane, taking place in whimsical world where curses are broken and love will prevail, as it always does.
Legends and Lattes
Sitting squarely in the “cozy” subgenre of fantasy, Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree is the story of two sapphics starting a small business in a mythical world. Orc warrior Viv decides to put her violent days behind her, hanging up her sword to open the doors of a small coffee shop in a village that’s never heard of coffee. Viv is aided in her marketing conundrum by a business savvy succubus named Calamity (“Cal” for short) who lends a helping hand to the entrepreneurial endeavor. While Viv and Cal’s relationships (both business and personal) are tested throughout the course of the series, the pair never resort to violence in order to solve their problems. Despite being an orc and a demon, the pair continually appear to the better angels of their nature – it’s better for business that way.
The Empress of Salt and Fortune
Nghi Vó’s The Empress of Salt and Fortune is a lyrical tale of an empress from an age past, narrated by a historical relic who watched her royal rise. After a nonbinary cleric discovers an old woman named Rabbit hiding out in the ruins of an old palace, the wandering chronicler asks the old woman to tell her story – how she once served as a handmaiden to the fabled Empress herself. Rabbit weaves a legendary yarn about the Empress’s rise from political prisoner in to regent of the realm, and how the handmaiden herself aided the empress in her quest to overthrow a tyrant – all without violence! Well, some violence came later, but the novel never shows it, and rather highlight’s the Empress’s clever political maneuvering with which she amassed power under the old emperor’s nose.
The House of Rust
Khadija Abdalla Bajaber’s The House of Rust is the story of Aisha, a young girl living in a coastal town in a mythical Kenya. After her fisherman father goes missing, Aisha sets out on a dreamlike quest across the ocean to find him. Riding in a boat made out of a skeleton (don’t worry, she didn’t kill anyone to make it) Aisha must confront three horrible sea monsters in order to bring her father home – at least that’s what the talking cat that serves as her guide tells her that she’s gotta do. One would think that the story would end after this happy homecoming, but things only become stranger once the pair return to familiar shores. What begins as a mythical quest across the waters soon transitions into a metaphorical dive into the oceans of the heart, as Aisha slowly learns what it is to grow up.
The Night Circus
Erin Morgenstern’s The Night Circus centers around a titular traveling circus that has all of Europe in a nocturnal tizzy! Only appearing after dark, the fabled circus dazzles spectators with bonafide illusions, spun by two rival magicians competing for greatness. The circus’s owners have trained these two young sorcerers to take part in a magical rivalry, after which the loser will be forced to give up their life. Things get complicated when the two dueling enchanters become enchanted with one another, and begin leaving magical love notes for each other as the novel progresses. If you’re a fan of bigtop carnivals and whirlwind romances spun out under the stars, The Night Circus is an act you can’t miss.
Circe
Her sophomore novel after the emotionally blistering Song of Achilles, Madeline Miller’s Circe shifts focus from demigods to the fully divine. Circe is a young goddess banished to a remote island after casting a destructive spell on a rival, and now spends her immortal days cultivating the lost art of witchcraft. Just as Song of Achilles was a reimagining of Homer’s Iliad, Circe is retelling of The Odyssey from the point of view of one of its lesser explored characters. How did the feared sea witch first get her start turning stranded sailors into pigs? Miller’s novel will explain everything. While the novel does feature the threat of violence, all of this novel’s beatdowns are magical or emotional in nature – getting cursed to turn into a hideous sea monster certainly hurts, even if Circe’s rivals totally deserved it.
A Wizard of Earthsea
Ursula K. Le Guin made fantasy history with her groundbreaking series The Wizard of Earthsea, which subverted traditional hero’s journey stories to tell a tale with real world emotional weight. When a wandering wizard appears on his small island, young Ged decides decide to leave his budding career as a goatherd behind. Thirsty for power, Ged defies his master’s cautioning that a wizard must strive to maintain equilibrium with the natural world, and the recklessly dabble in dark magic instead. Things expectedly backfire after Ged releases an evil spirit into the world, but rather than stick the thing with a sword, Ged is forced to take a more mature stab at conflict resolution by facing the darkness and owning up to his mistake. The remaining books in the Earthsea series pits their protagonists against similar foes, often forcing them to defeat outer demons by facing their inner ones. After all, it’s the adult thing to do.
(Featured Image: Studio Ghibli)
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