The Magic Goes Awayis afantasyshort story written byLarry Nivenin 1976, and later expanded to a novella of the same name which was published in 1978. While these works were not the first in the "Magic Universe" or "Warlock" series, they marked a turning point after the1973 oil crisisand Niven's subsequent transformation of the series into an allegory for a modern-dayenergy crisis.The setting was later used as a backdrop for the Golden Road series of novelsThe Burning CityandBurning Tower,co-written withJerry Pournelle,and the novelThe Seascape Tattooco-written withSteven Barnes.
| "The Magic Goes Away" | |
|---|---|
| Short storybyLarry Niven | |
 Cover for the illustrated edition, art byBoris Vallejo. | |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Fantasy |
| Publication | |
| Publication date | 1976 |
List of works in the series
editThis is a list of publications based on the setting ofThe Magic Goes Away.[1]
| Title | Sub-series | Published | Original publication |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Not Long Before the End" | Warlock | 1969 | Fantasy and Science Fiction,April 1969 |
| "Unfinished Story" | Warlock | 1969 | Fantasy and Science Fiction,December 1969 |
| "What Good Is a Glass Dagger?" | Warlock | 1972 | Fantasy and Science Fiction,September 1972 |
| "The Magic Goes Away" (short story) | Warlock | 1976 | Odyssey,summer 1976 |
| The Magic Goes Away(novella) | Warlock | 1978 | Trade paperback,Ace Books |
| The Magic May Return | (compilation) | 1981 | Trade paperback,Ace Books |
| "Talisman" | (none) | 1981 | Fantasy and Science Fiction,November 1981 |
| "The Lion in His Attic" | (none) | 1982 | Fantasy and Science Fiction,July 1982 |
| More Magic | (compilation) | 1984 | Trade paperback,Ace Books |
| "The Wishing Game" | Warlock | 1989 | Aboriginal Science Fiction,May/June 1989 |
| "The Portrait of Daryanree the King" | (none) | 1989 | Aboriginal Science Fiction,September/October 1989 |
| The Burning City | Golden Road | 2000 | Hardcover,Pocket Books |
| "Chicxulub" | (none) | 2004 | Asimov's Science Fiction,April/May 2004 |
| Boomerang | (none) | 2004 | Flights: Extreme Visions of Fantasy |
| Rhinemaidens | (none) | 2005 | Asimov's Science Fiction,January 2005 |
| Burning Tower | Golden Road | 2005 | Hardcover,Pocket Books |
| Burning Mountain | Golden Road | in progress | in progress |
| The Seascape Tattoo | (none) | 2016 | Hardcover, Tor Books; 1st edition (June 28, 2016) |
Plot summary
editThe Warlock, whose actual name is both unknown and unpronounceable,[2]is a very powerfulsorcererat least 200 years old.[3]He observes that when he stays in one place too long, his powers dwindle, and they return only when he leaves that place.[4]Experimentation leads him to create an apparatus, now known as the Warlock's Wheel, consisting of a metal disc enchanted to spinperpetually.[5]The enchantment eventually consumes all of the mana in the vicinity, which causes a localized failure in all magic.[6]The Warlock realizes that magic is fueled by anon-renewable resource,which would cause great concern among themagicians,as it was through their magic that nations enforced their wills both internally and abroad. The widespread diminishing of magical power inThe Magic Goes Awaytriggered a quest on the part of the most powerful of the magicians of the time to harness a new source of magic, theMoon,which results in the events described in the book.
It was eventually discovered (inThe Magic May Return) that mana was originally carried to Earth and the other bodies of the solar system on the solar wind, which replenishes mana slowly over time. However, at some point in the "recent" past (a few thousand years ago), a god created an invisible shield between Earth and Sun that intercepted the solar mana and caused the eventual decline of magic on Earth.
Traditional fantasy creatures inhabit Niven'sMagicuniverse but devolve into normal animals when deprived of mana. For example, aunicornbecomes a simple horse.
Main characters
edit- The Warlock:One of the world's foremost magicians.
- Clubfoot:The Warlock's apprentice. A Native American named after a deformity of his foot that he could have cured long ago but at the cost of half of his power.
- Wavyhill:The first necromancer. Exploiting the mana inherent in murder, he inventednecromancy.His name comes from his practice of building his houses under magically-supported overhangs; when the local mana is depleted by a battle, the hillside collapses, trapping his foe and eliminating the evidence at the same time.
Minor characters
edit- Orolandes:A Greek soldier, survivor of the sinking of Atlantis.
- Mirandee:A powerful witch, formerly Warlock's lover.
- The World Worm:Its spine composes all the world's mountain chains: the Andes, Himalayas, Rockies, etc.It consumes its own tail,along with anything that might be living on it.
Reception
editRichard A. Lupoffreviewed the 1978 novella unfavorably, saying that although the story "bristles with amusing devices", the writing itself was unsatisfactory; he felt that there was not a spark of humanity in the book, and that the writer used "flat", "dull", "sterile" narrative prose.[7]
Influences
editIn her afterword to the novella,Sandra Mieselidentified a number of influences on the setting: "The Wheels of If",The Incomplete Enchanter,The Blue Star,Operation Chaos,Too Many Magicians,The Dragon and the George,as well as Niven's earlier works, "All the Myriad Ways"and theSvetz series.[8]
There are also several references to the works ofH. P. Lovecraft,such as the reference of a mad magician namedAlhazredand an amorphous god called theCrawling Chaos.
Graphic novel adaptation
editThe Magic Goes Awaywas adapted as agraphic novel,the sixth in theDC Science Fiction Graphic Novelseries, byPaul KupperbergandJan Duursemain 1986.
In popular culture
editThese card games use a card called "Nevinyrral" ( "Larry Niven" spelled backwards), which reference elements fromThe Magic Goes Away:
- Thecollectible card gameMagic: The Gathering(byRichard Garfield) has a card called "Nevinyrral's Disk", which is a reference to the Warlock's Wheel. This card roughly has the effect of removing the effects of players' spells from play, while leaving their lands intact.
- Thecollectible card gameNetrunner(also by Richard Garfield) has a card called "Nevinyrral", which has the effect of giving the Corporate player an extra action each turn, but if this card goes away the Corporate player loses.
References
edit- ^Known Space Bibliography
- ^Niven, Larry(2005).The Magic Goes Away Collection.New York: Pocket Books. p. 98.ISBN0-7434-1693-7.
We will call him the Warlock, as his name is both forgotten and impossible to pronounce.
- ^Niven, Larry(2005).The Magic Goes Away Collection.New York: Pocket Books. p. 102.ISBN0-7434-1693-7.
'Everyone in the village knows your age', said Hap. 'You're two hundred years old, if not more'.
- ^Niven, Larry(2005).The Magic Goes Away Collection.New York: Pocket Books. p. 98.ISBN0-7434-1693-7.
He found that when he had been ten to fifteen years in a place, using his magic as whim dictated, his powers would weaken. If he moved away, they returned.
- ^Niven, Larry(2005).The Magic Goes Away Collection.New York: Pocket Books. p. 99.ISBN0-7434-1693-7.
His last experiment involved a simple kinetic sorcery set to spin a metal disc in midair.
- ^Niven, Larry(2005).The Magic Goes Away Collection.New York: Pocket Books. p. 107.ISBN0-7434-1693-7.
'The disc? I told you. A kinetic sorcery with no upper limit. The disc keeps accelerating until all themanain the locality has been used up'.
- ^"Lupoff's Book Week",Starship35, 1979, p. 76.
- ^Sandra Miesel, "The Mana Crisis",The Magic Goes Away,pp. 196–97,Ace Books,1978.
External links
edit- The short story:"The Magic Goes Away"title listing at theInternet Speculative Fiction Database
- The novel:The Magic Goes Awaytitle listing at theInternet Speculative Fiction Database