The Day the Magic Stopped

by Christopher Stasheff (Editor)

What do you do when the foundation of your universe suddenly vanishes? In a world where magic works--and then suddenly stops working, all bets are off. Those who have magically enhanced their attractiveness must now live by their true appearance. Buildings created by sorcery to hover high in the air suddenly collapse. And wizards must find more physical means of defense.

Includes the following stories:
Pride and Puppetry by Christopher Stasheff
Now You See It by Morgan Llywelyn
Loyalty by S.M. Stirling
Flicker by Jody Lynn Nye
The Thief of Eyes by S.M. Stirling
A Day in the Life by Laura Anne Gilman
Elemental Tactics by Roland Green
disIllusions by Mike Resnick and Lawrence Schimel
What Price Magic? by Teresa Patterson
The Scam by Brian Thomsen
Alternative Medicine by Judith R. Conly
The Beggar’s Revolt by Michael Scott
Jacus the Slug by John Mina and William R. Forstchen

Genres: Fantasy, Anthologies, Fiction

313 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published September 1, 1995

About the author

The late Christopher Stasheff was an American science fiction and fantasy author. When teaching proved too real, he gave it up in favor of writing full-time. Stasheff was noted for his blending of science fiction and fantasy, as seen in his Warlock series. He spent his early childhood in Mount Vernon, New York, but spent the rest of his formative years in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Stasheff taught at the University of Eastern New Mexico in Portales, before retiring to Champaign, Illinois, in 2009. He had a wife and four children.

Reviews

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

   When I first opened this, I thought that each story took place in its own universe, despite the prologue setting the scene. (I thought it might be more of something to just set the tone, honestly.) And some of the stories, such as “Now You See It” with the trains arriving from the mundane world into Constantinople, and the cost of magic as related in “What Price Magic?” supported this assumption. However, apparently most of the stories are supposed to take place in the same universe, as several mention that the floating buildings/palaces/etc. fall when the magic stops, and there are even some characters who are given passing mention in stories not their own, such as Binyamin ben Gibb being mentioned in “Jacus the Slug” when his story was told in “Flicker”, and using magic taking a physical toll on the body as experienced by an “outsider” in “What Price Magic?” and how we see what are presumably the long term effects of it in “The Scam”. (Yes, I just used “What Price Magic?” in mutually exclusive examples, because I am entirely guessing about the long-term effect bit since it seems to both be supported and not in other stories, and WPM offers the clearest presentation of it in the first place). Overall this collection is a bit confused about whether it is supposed to all take place in the same universe or not, thus I prefer to think of each story as a complete stand-alone.

   I think my favorite stories were “The Thief of Eyes” (snarky thieves are fun!) and “What Price Magic?” (using magic takes an actual toll on the body and magic is not necessarily a “good” thing). They stood out the most to me, and really made good use of the magic stopping in a very magical world. Both of them, especially “What Price Magic?” also brought up more questions about life and magic and beliefs, and had a sort of profoundness that stood out more as compared to the other stories in the collection.

   Plus, by and large many of the other stories ended up with a very similar theme: someone with little or no magical abilities, or even someone who uses more wiles and tricks in their trade, turns a situation to their advantage, or takes some sort of power, now that the Magic’d (as they were called in some stories) have lost their power. Not all, but quite a few. This theme is probably what backs up the line in the book cover summary, “And if the magic returns, will the world go back to where it was before—or has everything been changed forever?” The thing was, the stories all ended shortly after the (spoiler…) magic came back, so for most, we don’t quite get a solid idea of the more lasting repercussions for the world. For some individuals, such as Joklyne in “Now You See It” and Zoë in “Alternative Medicine”, the immediate and even to an extent the lasting repercussions are evident enough; for others, such as for Ragnar in “What Price Magic?” and Stiicho in “The Beggar’s Revolt”, while the repercussions seem clear at first, we really don’t know to what extent the effects will actually hold.

   All in all, while this collection did not provide me with the satisfaction of a solid fantasy book (especially as a follow-up to Tempests and Slaughter) that I was hoping for, it was enjoyable, but not very outstanding as a whole.

Contents
Pride and Puppetry by Christopher Stasheff
Now You See It by Morgan Llywelyn
Loyalty by S.M. Stirling
Flicker by Jody Lynn Nye
The Thief of Eyes by S.M. Stirling
A Day in the Life by Laura Anne Gilman
Elemental Tactics by Roland Green
disIllusions by Mike Resnick and Lawrence Schimel
What Price Magic? by Teresa Patterson
The Scam by Brian Thomsen
Alternative Medicine by Judith R. Conly
The Beggar’s Revolt by Michael Scott
Jacus the Slug by John Mina and William R. Forstchen

Favorite quote:
“Magic doesn’t work. What will you do?”
“What ordinary people do, I suppose,” she said, glaring at his back. “Make cryptic remarks and then walk away from them.” – page 146, The Thief of Eyes, by S.M. Stirling

Typo:
…when a noble woman, came up to him, reaching down to… page 156, A Day in the Life, by Laura Anne Gilman (The real typo is that the title for this story in the table of contents is “Facts of Life”) – just wanted to point out yet another use of my least favorite comma usage, that of the pausing comma.

Ragnar though that, wings or no… -- page 212, What Price Magic? By Teresa Patterson – should be “thought”

[Dawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a great concept, but I don't think all the authors got the same memo. Certain details tended to shift from story to story--the name and appearance of the emperor, for example. Some felt more modern than others, too. And given that Lord Thraik was mentioned 2-3 times, I halfway expected to actually see him. Kinda sorry I didn't.

Overall, not bad stories, just a little disjointed for being in the same setting.

[Charles Yoder · Rating 3 out of 5]

It varied from author to author. Some I liked, some I didn't.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a set of stories by different authors, all given the same setting and the same premise. Most of them were good, but after a while it was repetitive.

The stories are set in an alternate Constantinople, where magic is commonplace. It is known as the City of Magic. Buildings hang in the sky. People are beautiful but their appearance may be due to illusion. People with more magical power are usually richer and more powerful. So what happens if the magic doesn't work anymore?

I had expected this to be similar to stories set in a modern universe where suddenly electricity doesn't work any more, like S.M. Stirling's Change series, but in these stories the magic comes back. So instead of long-term societal change, it becomes just a short vignette. Since I knew after the first few stories that the magic would return, there wasn't as much suspense.

Another reader has commented that they bought this for S.M. Stirling's story. I was also expecting that to be a high point, but it turned out to be my least favorite since it was more horror themed while the others were closer to standard fantasy tropes.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great concept! In a world where magic is inborn to some people it created a world of elite magic families who controlled all wealth and power. Sounds a bit familiar. But what happens when the magic stops? Different authors were asked to submit their short stories on this theme and this collection is the best of them. Covering everything from a healer that must suddenly rely on the herbal remedies her father insisted she learn, a thief that suddenly finds the protecting wards of houses gone, to an heir to the throne that has been targeted for assassination because of his limited magic abilities seeing the tables turned. Sadly to some, the loss of magic is temporary but the repercussions are not.

[Sonia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the sort of book I enjoy because it knows what it is trying to do and commits to it. The fantasy elements have the kind of imagination I enjoy: strange rules, dangerous worlds, and a sense that magic has weight rather than being just decoration. Christopher Stasheff gives it enough control and personality that it feels like more than just a premise on a page. The pacing, mood, and central ideas all came together well enough that I was happy to keep turning pages. It had the right mix of substance and entertainment, which is always the sweet spot for me. Five stars because I finished it feeling satisfied rather than merely done.

[Craig · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read specifically for S.M. Stirling story.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

Uninspired & underwhelming. I gave up halfway through.

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 rounded up; as with all collections, some were better than others.