Magic May Return (Ace Science Fiction) [Paperback]

Larry Niven (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 255 pages
• Publisher: Ace (September 1, 1981)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0441515487
• ISBN-13: 978-0441515486
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,806,661 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Niven is brilliant, Alicia Austin's illustrations fabulous, September 9, 2000

By 

Mary Carol Scherb (Irvine, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Magic May Return (Paperback)

ONCE THERE WAS MAGIC IN THE WORLD....Unlimited magic, enough magic for every wizard's son who ever wished to cast a spell. But the "mana;' the power that makes the magic and fuels the spells, is drying up, a natural resource wasted by centuries of careless and short-sighted magicians. In The Magic Goes Away master fantasist Larry Niven chronicled the end of an age, and the beginning of a new world where steel and muscle rule. In this eagerly awaited sequel, Larry Niven has invited Poul Anderson, Steve Barnes, Mildred Downey Broxon, Dean Ing and Fred Saberhagen into his world to tap the hidden reserves of mana and uncover the forgotten places of power. All is not lost. The magic may return. Illustrated by Hugo winner Alicia Austin.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Possible Return of a Lost Resource, October 5, 2000

By 

"kingsransom" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Magic May Return (Paperback)

The Magic May Return is a collection of short fantasy stories based on a common theme. Each tale involves the concept that magic, once prevalent on Earth, has now become at best an extreme rarity, having been exhausted through use. However, each story also raises, in its own way, the possibility that the loss of magic may not be permanent (hence the collection's title). The only exception to this is "Not Long Before the End" which is set in the time before the magic was used up.

This is a delightful collection of stories which is sure to entertain.

4.0 out of 5 stars Super Reader, August 30, 2007

By 

Blue Tyson "- Research Finished" (Legion clubhouse) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Magic May Return (Ace Science Fiction) (Paperback)

Not Long Before the End as a story begins thusly :

"A swordsman battled a sorcerer, once upon a time.

In that age such battles were frequent. A natural antipathy exists between swordsmen and sorcerers, as between cats and small birds, or between rats and men. Usually the swordsman lost, and humanity's average intelligence rose some trifling fraction. Sometimes the swordsman won, and again the species was improved; for a sorcerer who cannot kill one miserable swordsman is a poor excuse for a sorcerer."

The tone follows, as a barbarian swordsman encounters the sorceror and his female assistant. Said swordsman has a bad magic sword.

Magic, in Niven's Warlock series, is a non-renewable resource, and when the mana is gone, it is gone. This sorcerer sets a disc to spinning magically, to tell him when the mana is all gone.

Also useful as a weapon against sword arms, when the arm is carrying a magic sword that protects against all magic.