Magic Aluminium Creativity

If you ask me, there’s a serious shortage of creative magic systems in young adult novels as of late. I do like a story with an interesting magic system, but most of the ones hailed as ‘creative’ are just copies of each other. 

It’s like ‘ooh, wow, they use stones to fight each other. And the stones have symbols on them. Wow!’ Or you’re reading a book and it’s all like ‘the main characters are angels, fighting tree people, and they use the power of singing to cast magic!’ And my response to that is… they’re still using magic. It’s just magic, except with voices instead of sticks.

A half canopy! That’s what would make for a real magic system. I’m sitting there in my TAFE class, and when I’m not actively wondering why I chose to do a course in powder coating I’m doodling ideas on magic systems using only the things around me. The other day we got introduced to a real powder coating professional, who rolled up in his ute that seemed to have state of the art everything. Tapered under tray tool boxes, central locking for every drawer, even those racks that hold surfboards or whatever.

I started to wonder if you could make a magic system based around ute toolbox components. Like, people fuse with tools of their industry, giving them special powers based on what they’ve got. Like, people fused with toolboxes have metal skin and they can throw up all kinds of interesting things, depending on the situation. Some people are fused with aluminium canopies for utes, giving them the ability to… I don’t know, maybe their bones have been replaced with metal frames and they can open themselves up, to trap bad guys inside.

And all the people who’ve taken on the traits of staple guns are involved in a war with the White Collar Empire with their s great water cooler missiles. And there’s a love triangle, and the third book sucks.

I’d buy it.

-Alec