More Magic

Rating:
Summary: No New Breakthroughs, Just More of the Same
Review: This book continues in the vein of the magical mythos originally devised by sci-fi master Larry Niven. Niven's concept is that centuries ago, magic was a rare but available technology, requiring substantial training for its initiates, and dependent on the presence of mana, an intangible, but nonrenewable natural resource. As all the mana in an area was used up, magicians simply moved on, until the time when there was no mana left anywhere and the secrets of practicing magic became meaningless lore. Against this backdrop, we are presented with four stories of the days when magic was dwindling, but still alive.

In Niven's "The Lion in the Attic" the last standing tower of the lost continent of Atlantis is converted into a restaurant by its jovial innkeeper. Mysterious visitors from a far land mingle with a confusing mix of mer-people, but the shifting point of view makes it difficult to know whom to side with. As is too typical of Niven's fantasy, the climax is quite clever, but the reader isn't sufficiently involved with the characters to care either way. In Bob Shaw's "Shadow of Wings" a troubled visionary uses a beautiful woman to recruit a reclusive magician. His plan: to assassinate the land's popular ruler before the passage of time turns him into an insatiable tyrant. The ironic twist at the end is amusing, but the story itself is no better than average. Rather better is the engaging "Talisman", in which a beautiful young thief and a wandering magician search for a legendary treasure. What keeps this story crackling is the way the more sympathetic character of the thief is continually trying to outwit the power of the magician, and how she subverts his attempts to retain control over her. The even-handedness of the conclusion should delight readers of both sexes. In "Mana from Heaven", Roger Zelazny shows a modern day sorcerer locked in a deadly struggle with an unknown adversary. Amusing an idea as it is, the modernization doesn't really accomplish anything because Zelazny doesn't choose to tell a particularly timely story. This showdown between magicians could just as easily have happened in the past, and would have if Zelazny hadn't wanted to point out some plans for the future. Still, this isn't a bad story; it just leaves one wishing that it been better integrated into the here and now, else why bother?

Readers who enjoyed Niven's other 'magic' books will certainly enjoy this one - it's pretty much more of the same - the same kinds of personalities, the same kinds of locales, the same easy sexual conquests, and maybe even a little less emphasis on the technological aspects of spell-casting, but science fiction fans who appreciated the technological approach to magic first displayed in "Time of the Warlock" will find little of interest here.