Wizards (Isaac Asimov's Magical World of Fantasy, Book 1)

In his introduction to this anthology, Asimov describes wizards as wielding a double-edged sword: they have mastered the forces of Nature, but in doing so have had to immerse themselves in destructive forces as well as beneficial, and are always at risk of succumbing to the dark side. Asimov goes on to suggest that, from a story-telling point of view, wizards who have succumbed to the dark side make for better drama. This anthology then is filled with stories that contain malicious wizards of some kind, from the curious student to the evil tyrant. Here are the stories: 1. "Mazirian The Magician", Jack Vance (1950) 2. "Please Stand By", Ron Goulart (1961) 3. "What Good Is A Glass Dagger", Larry Niven (1972) 4. "The Eye Of Tandyla", L. Sprague de Camp (1951) 5. "The White Horse Child", Greg Bear (1979) 6. "Semley's Necklace", Ursula K. Le Guin (1964) 7. "And The Monsters Walk", John Jakes (1952) 8. "The Seeker In The Fortress", Manly Wade Wellman (1979) 9. "The Wall Around The World", Theodore Cogswell (1953) 10. "The People Of The Black Circle", Robert E. Howard (1934) One and three are my favorite. Both are good yarns, with wizards who are neither evil nor law-abiding. They also both have elements from D & D or RPG type of games, which I always assumed came first from these games but apparently not: the wizards in Vance's story can only keep in memory a certain number of spells and must strategize which ones to remember before stepping out for an adventure. This always irks me when I play computer RPG games but Vance makes it thrilling to read about. Niven's story concerns mana, having a limited supply of mana, a common element in computer RPG games. In a couple stories, the adversary of the main character is a wizard, not the main character, and I wondered if these stories should be in the anthology. Four and eight are about thieves stealing from wizards. Ten is a Conan The Barbarian story, a 75 page one at that. Greg Bear's story is about mysterious strangers and I doubt if Bear himself thought he was writing about wizards. Le Guin's story, even though it's a fantastic story, doesn't even have a mysterious stranger. (The editors introduce it by alluding to Arthur C. Clarke's statement on advanced science appearing to be magic.) Cogswell story is about a boy going to school to learn magic (the students ride flying brooms too), but in a society where EVERYONE knows magic, which kind of dilutes magic as a dramatic element, and the story is rather a basic tale of boyhood and self identity. A mixed bag, I would give it 3.5 if I could.

An incredible antology of wizardry short stories by Jack Vance, Ursula K. Le Guin and other award winner writers, if you like magic this book will surely put a spell on you, Wizards is an awesome book with 10 charming stories with the warranty of Isaac Asimov's taste.-to the beholder an advanced science appears to be magic- Arthur C. Clarke's first law- From Atlantis to California, from the orient to far-distant worlds, come classic tales of wizardry used for evil and for good. from a sorcerous battle where a warlock's only ally is his werewolf, to demons thirsting for the souls of victims and masters alike, to Conan the Barbarian in a danger-filled contest with the forces of darkness, these are spellbinding journeys into Isaac's Asimov's magical worlds of fantasy: Wizards -