Let’s set the parameters first. By “magic post-apocalypse fantasy,” I mean “a fantasy with a magic-based apocalypse.” I do not mean “the magic came back after a nuclear war or cosmic disaster,” “there was magic but now it’s fading,” or “there was no magic but suddenly there is Magic, and Science is turned off.” This probably going to be far from a comprehensive list. (Limited to the ones I’ve read and can remember.)
One of the reasons I’m using narrow parameters is because I have read so many post apocalyptic stories and novels. Some were science fiction based, some leaned toward science fantasy. Some were very stupid road warrior masculine power fantasies. Some had a an axe to grind, others were pure entertainment. My only excuse is that I was strongly influenced by the tail end of the Cold War?
Another note: some of these settings may be controversial, as for example, I feel Glen Cook’s Black Company books qualify as post-apocalyptic, and others might disagree. (I am not sure how. There are several apocalyptic events in the series as well as several apocalyptic landscapes.)
Annals of the Black Company, by Glen Cook: Our protagonists are mercenaries who end up accidentally adopting The Chosen One, and the only one who can defeat their employer, a ancient sorceress known only as “the Lady.” This ends up meaning that the Black Company is set against their employer, though not actually because of any moral or ethical concerns. (The members of the Black Company are shaky in regards to both. After all, they ARE working for the Evil Dark Lord.) The problem is instead the suspicion that they might find reason to betray their employer. (Which they do.)
In the back story, there was a war against a powerful and extremely evil sorcerer called the Dominator, who was so nasty and powerful they couldn’t kill him, only seal him and his most powerful minions. (This is apparently a cycle as most horrifying or just plain weird areas in this setting usually turn out to be the result of an evil sorcerer getting pegged to the ground by the eventual victors who are tired of the evil sorcerer’s bullshit.) He gets sealed up in the Barrowlands which are very small potatoes compared to The Plain of Fear, which has an entire alien ecosystem and forty or so different sapient species. (Many of them probably the result of “change storms.”) It also has an evil wizard pegged down, but I suspect he may have been more powerful because he apparently needed a “baby god” to keep him down.
The post-apocalyptic nature of the setting does not impact very much on the plot or themes except where they end up having to live in or infiltrate areas that are Extremely Weird Due to Magic Apocalypse. A recurring theme that does appear is one that shows up in Cook’s work in general: power corrupts and absolute power corrupts everything. (And corruption is the defining feature of any being with power.)
Dragaera/Vlad Taltos, by Steven Brust: Most of the events of the Vlad Taltos books take place after a literal Apocalypse called the Interregnum, wherein a Sea of Chaos replaced the former imperial capitol. The Dragaera books take place just before and just after that same Interregnum. This isn’t even the first apocalypse: the first one was due to extra-dimensional entities kidnapping humans and other species and then experimenting on them until the experiments revolted. You could even argue that the revolt is still ongoing because the extra-dimensional entities have not gotten the clue that perhaps they are not welcome and should stay away.
The apocalypse(s) are directly relevant to the plot, and Vlad in particular is being nudged, nagged. shoved, coerced and cajoled in playing a part in the ongoing war. (While having various emotional and philosophical journeys as he navigates a. becoming an assassin, b. becoming a mid-level crime boss, c. having an epic divorce due to Revolution, d. retiring from being a crime boss without dying e. discovering his multiple incarnations have been [series spoilers].
Tales of the Five, by Diane Duane: Now, this series is very blatantly post-apocalyptic, but it did not at first register as such to me, even though the elements are pretty blatant! (Possibly because I was mostly sticking it into the Epic Fantasy category of “War between Good and Evil,” and also the Sword and Sorcery version of same.) In this series we have a Goddess who created the world and the Shadow created by a mistake she made while creating the world. The overarching plot is the eventual defeat of the Shadow, and the restoration of the Blue Flame, a magical gift that currently, (but didn’t always) result in the early deaths of its users. This series is notable for its early LGBT representation (first book came out in the seventies. Bi/Queer/Homosexual/Lesbian sympathetic main characters were NOT thick on the ground at this time!)
So, we have wastelands of barren ground and weird apocalyptic ruins of a lost and magical nature. There are lots of cultural points that fit in with post-apocalyptic worldbuilding, like population building and control, and healing the land damaged by the darkness cast by the Shadow. We have Mutant Hordes; Fyrd are basically the Orcs of the series. They are extremely hostile mutant animals of various kinds, created by the Shadow. There are also Assumed to Be Evil humans. This would normally be a source of aggravation for me, but these issues are resolved as part of the overarching themes of the series. (The “evil” human tribes that raid from time to time turn out to be trying to find better grazing for their herds and are being manipulated into making bad life choices. The Fyrd species can be restored, uplifted or otherwise assisted into become something other than sad killing machines.)
Valdemar/Velgarth setting by Mercedes Lackey: We find out through multiple series in this setting that there was an apocalyptic war that left extremely apocalyptic magic-radiated lands behind. We don’t find out the full details for a very long time! The Mage Wars were bad enough that they left behind two immense craters and again, highly radioactive wildlands referred to as “Pelagirs,” or the “Pelagiris Forest.” The Pelagirs are overseen by a nation of mages/park rangers who are trying to get rid of the magical radiation, preserve “good” species and get rid of “bad” ones. A nation that shares heredity with the park rangers oversee plains at the bottom of a crater created by the war, guarding various artifacts.
The post-apocalypse is not really relevant to the earlier books in the series. The Pelagirs are just weird, and then we learn about the war. Then we read about the events of the war via the human and nonhuman combatants. Then we read about the various aftermaths and the apocalypse becomes more important to the overarching themes of the series. There are aspects to this that make for interesting world-building, and aspects that come across as very dated or overwrought. One of my biggest beefs (which is apparently shared by a good chunk of the fandom if some of the fanfic I read in the in the 2000s was any indication) are the Evil Mutant Mages. Granted there is one (1) canon to the main series non-evil 1Changechild…but apparently only one, and only because she was her father’s lab rat and catspaw. (Yeah, I went there. She was a feline mutant.) I prefer nuance, generally speaking? And there could have been some interesting story ideas about conflicts between the Tayledras and various Changechild clans/families that could have added some nuance to the situation.
The Sharing Knife, by Lois McMaster Bujold: I could also probably include the World of Five Gods as post-apocalyptic, because there’s a canon plague of sorcerer-lords that the saint/sorcerer who ascended to become the Bastard was empowered to defeat. However, the Sharing Knife setting is more blatantly post-apocalyptic. Our protagonists are a “Farmer” named Fawn and a “Lakewalker” named Dag who end up working together and eventually marrying. Lakewalkers are mages who have the self-imposed duty to destroy “malices” which are the result of some horrifying magical disaster that destroyed the civilization of their ancestors.
The post-apocalyptic themes are extremely baked into this setting! The Farmers have been spreading out slowly from what are apparently bunkers for generations. Meanwhile, the Lakewalkers clear the land of malices ahead of the settlements so that the Farmers don’t end up dead. There are some generally interesting tensions between the two communities. The Farmers don’t trust the Lakewalkers, the Lakewalkers are extremely condescending to the Farmers. One of the themes is overcoming prejudice so that everyone can find ways to work together.
City of Bones, by Martha Wells: Many of Martha Wells’ works take place in a post apocalyptic setting! The most blatant and viscerally upsetting (in the sense that the setting somewhat gives me anxiety for the future survival of the people living in it) is probably City of Bones! The setting is one that takes place after a devastating war between human mages and extremely unpleasant extra-dimensional invaders. The war was won, but only at the cost of nearly wiping out humanity. (To the point where the reasons for the war have receded into legend and myth.)
The protagonist of this book is a nonhuman/post human being named Khat whose ancestors were created to survive in the desert hellscape the world has become. Humans are still around, but their communities are struggling for life along the edge of the last body of water on the planet. City of Bones’ themes involve the pursuit of knowledge, pursuing knowledge you probably shouldn’t because it’s a trap and the horrifying discoveries such knowledge can lead to. This is also a book where ideas of xenophobia and prejudice are examined, as well as trauma.(Khat is a mess. You can fit SO MUCH TRAUMA in this character.)
Honorable Mentions
GRR Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire: The set up of seasons that can potentially last several human generations has some definite inherent “apocalyptic” themes. (Survival and adaptation, destruction and the potential to make something new from the ruins, for example.) However, the writer does not really take these themes into account in his writing. (His main thesis is, “people are terrible and ruthless, except for the ones who get killed because they were good and honorable. Good and honorable actually means stupid in this case by the way.”) Also, the worldbuilding doesn’t address the effects generations-long-seasons would have on…pretty much everything. (The animals, plants and people and their societies would be completely different than this fakeuropean mid-evilish society Martin came up with.)
Andre Norton’s Witch World: Andre Norton wrote a lot of post apocalyptic settings! Witch World can technically be considered one of them! The world of this setting is one with multiple gates to and from other worlds. Some of those worlds have magic, some of those worlds use various levels of technology. Multiple settlement waves and individuals have come and gone through the gates and made changes to the world and to the people(s) living there. There are ancient ruins and forgotten knowledge hidden in the strangest and most fantastical places. This all fits mostly into the post apocalyptic genre. However, Witch World is mostly within the Sword and Sorcery genre. (And also Sword and Planet.)
1.By canon to the main series I mean as opposed to the anthologies which I consider to be slightly less canon.
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