The Magic Goes Away Collection: The Magic Goes Away, The Magic May Return, and More Magic (Paperback)

~ (Editor) "BEFORE THERE WAS science fiction there were fairy tales..." (more)
Key Phrases: bronze teardrop, loyalty spell, magic goes away, The Magic May Return, Frost Giants, Shubar Khan (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Larry Niven created his popular "Magic Goes Away" universe in 1967, and it has been a source of delight and inspiration ever since. By asking the simple question, What if magic were a finite resource?, Niven brought to life a mesmerizing world of wonder and loss, of hope and despair. The success of his first story collection, The Magic Goes Away, birthed two sequel anthologies, The Magic May Return and More Magic. All three volumes are collected here for the first time, with stories by Niven himself, as well as contributions by such luminaries of fantasy as Roger Zelazny, Fred Saberhagen, Steven Barnes, and Poul Anderson.

Featuring a brand-new introduction by Larry Niven, The Magic Goes Away Collection gives readers insight into the breathtaking world of Niven and Jerry Pournelle's The Burning City and Burning Tower and stands on its own as a landmark in fantasy fiction

About the Author

Larry Niven (left) is the Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author of such classics as Ringworld, The Integral Trees, and Destiny's Road. He has also collaborated with both Jerry Pournelle and Steven Barnes on The Legacy of Heorot, Beowulf's Children, and the bestselling Dream Park series. He lives in Chatsworth, California.

Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle were the joint winners of the 2005 Robert A. Heinlein Award.

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Pocket (February 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743416937
• ISBN-13: 978-0743416931
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #579,874 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Variable quality, but engaging "SF-fantasy" from 9 authors, March 25, 2007

By	T. D. Welsh (Basingstoke, Hampshire UK) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Larry Niven fans should be aware that this book features work by nine authors, including Niven himself. He contributes a one-page introduction, "The Magic Goes Away" itself, "Not Long Before The End", and "The Lion In His Attic". There is also "Talisman", a collaboration between Niven and Dian Girard. Of the 358 pages, Niven alone contributes 125 (35 percent); if you include "The Talisman", this rises to 160 pages (45 percent).

For my money, the first two stories stand head and shoulders above the rest (with one exception). "The Magic Goes Away" is more of a novella than a novel, running just 90 pages, but its striking originality makes it linger in your mind. The basic thesis is that magic used to exist, long ago, but that it depended on a natural resource called mana which the magicians of the time depleted, just as we are using up fossil fuels. This simple change to our understanding of the universe allows Niven to construct an elaborate "alternative history" while technically keeping one foot in the domain of science fiction. For instance, we read how Atlantis was preserved by spells woven by its priest-kings, which gave way when Greek invaders killed the priests. The plot concerns how a group of sorcerers join together, in spite of powerful enmity and distrust, to find some new source of mana - without which their longevity spells will lapse, dooming them to immediate death (as they are all hundreds of years old). Their quest involves crossing the ocean on cloud-tops, and planning to steal the last surviving god from its place of rest.

"Not Long Before The End" is a "prequel" to "The Magic Goes Away", giving a full account of a critical incident merely referred to in the earlier story. Although only ten pages long, it has the mixture of excitement and intellectual adventure that characterize Niven's best work. "The Lion In His Attic" is set in a drowned castle, years after the flooding of Atlantis. Two strangers arrive, ostensibly on honeymoon, but actually seeking a magic emerald. They make the mistake of underestimating the "lion" of the title, who is actually a were-sealion. "The Talisman", co-authored with Dian Girard, though perhaps less ambitious and more subtle, paints an equally fascinating picture of magicians, thieves, kings, and soldiers.

The other stories are a mixed bunch, but none of them is less than readable. Fred Saberhagen contributes "Earthshade", an elegant miniature that neatly imports the Greek pantheon into Niven's "magic" universe. Less exalted, earthier and more complicated is Dean Ing's "Manaspill", which deals with how a court magician might use a windfall of mana to further his ambitions. I admit to being rather baffled by Steven Barnes' "...But Fear Itself", with its mystical vision of an enslaved tribe that uses the magical power of its children to wreak a terrible revenge on their oppressors. Poul Anderson is a writer whose books I have alway enjoyed, and "Strength", which he co-wrote with Mildred Downey Broxon, is the sort of post-apocalyptic adventure in which he excels. Shalindra, the widow of a sorcerer, rescues the hunter and practical man Brandek after a shipwreck, and the story develops the tension between her yearning after the old ways of magic and his determination to make a fresh start using simple technology.

Then we come to "The Shadow Of Wings" by Bob Shaw, another fine example of the "magician conspiring against the king" sub-genre. Even King Marcurades, who comes across as a blend of Alexander the Great and Edison, is a pawn in the hands of those who control mana - as long as they do control it, that is. And then, just as the book is nearly finished, we come to the best surprise of all: a fine piece of work by no less an author than Roger Zelazny! The protagonist of "Mana From Heaven" is a sorcerer at the height of his powers, but he is threatened by unknown assailants for reasons he cannot guess. No one has ever been better at telling this kind of story, and Zelazny does not disappoint.

I began by being aggrieved that Niven had written less than half of this book, but the more I read the more I liked it. The other authors (apart from Zelazny) may not quite rise to the levels of which Niven is capable, but they introduce a fascinating variety of points of view and emotional climates. All in all, strongly recommended!

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's about time, February 6, 2005

By	Bette Noir "Bette" (Sunny California) - See all my reviews

Larry Niven, primarily known for his hard science fiction, is equally adept at fantasy. "The Magic Goes Away", his masterpiece in this genre, has been out of print for years, and increasingly difficult to obtain. At last, it is available again.

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent stories dealing with Magic, November 25, 2008

By	Norman Strojny "retired tech-person" (western desert of Utah) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

"The Magic Goes Away Collection" has stories from three separate collections of stories that are from "The Magic Goes Away" fantasy universe created by Larry Niven. All the stories are good. I think Larry Niven's stories are particularly good.

The novella, "The Magic Goes Away", was the start of this universe and is based on a new concept for Magic universes. Larry did good!

There are some stories by other authors, but they are good, too.

I recommend this book for anyone who has ever enjoyed a magic-centered fantasy.