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Old 2009-05-28, 22:05   Link #1
mitsuganae
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Departure of Magic ...

Does anyone know of any works that concern themselves with the departure of magic from the world? Sometimes this is linked to the departure of a particular creature/race, such as gods, fairies, dragons, wizards, unicorns, etc.

One of my first encounters with this theme is the old animated movie "The Flight of Dragons." Wikipedia has a pretty good entry on it:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Flight_of_Dragons

"Magical Girl Squad Alice" touches on this theme somewhat, but I can't think of many other works that use this theme.

Oh, and please don't limit answers to anime/manga/light novels etc. Naming works of any type (plays, poetry, movies, novels, short stories, folk and fairy tales, myths, etc.) and origin would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks in advance!
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Old 2009-05-28, 22:24   Link #2
qwertyuiopz
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..harry potter l0l?

i think u need to elaborate on 'departure of magic'
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Old 2009-05-28, 23:07   Link #3
XGeneral2000
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Quote:
Originally Posted by qwertyuiopz View Post
i think u need to elaborate on 'departure of magic'

I'm guessing "departure of magic" refers to a world in which magic once existed in abundance, but either no longer does or is isolated and secluded from most of humanity for any number of reasons (like genocidal "witch hunting" by ordinary humans). That said, the only thing I can think of that is anything like that are the Artemis Fowl books.
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Old 2009-05-28, 23:20   Link #4
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Don't know if it's what you're looking for, but just watched the "Dark Crystal" again and that movie is fantastic! Watch it over and over! I'm pretty excited for the new movie (although I'm still sad that Jim Henson is dead).

Oh, what about "Legend"? They hunt Unicorns in that movie don't they?
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Old 2009-05-28, 23:21   Link #5
mitsuganae
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Many thanks, XGeneral2000 -- that is indeed what I had in mind. I don't know the Artemis Fowl series, but I'm certainly going to do some research on it.

I just remembered there's also an old Star Trek episode where they find an ancient Earth diety living on a distant planet. Cheesy, but it had some interesting thoughts.

Last edited by mitsuganae; 2009-05-28 at 23:49.
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Old 2009-05-28, 23:34   Link #6
ACGalaga
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Read the book American Gods!
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Old 2009-05-28, 23:46   Link #7
mitsuganae
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Thanks for your suggestions, ACGalaga. Strangely enough I've never encountered "The Dark Crystal" or "Legend" before, but I'll be sure to look them up. "American Gods" sounds fascinating from what I've read.
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Old 2009-05-29, 00:04   Link #8
meh
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Sword of Truth series? I haven't followed this series for years now, but I believe the premise is something like that. It's a novel that I believe has been adapated into a series.
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Old 2009-05-29, 06:23   Link #9
Saleh
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Yes, Sword of truth meets OP's criteria.

Spoiler for Sword of truth:


Tales of Abyss may meet the criteria (I didn't follow the series so I am not sure ).
Flame of Recca (Manga).

Last edited by Saleh; 2009-05-29 at 06:38.
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Old 2009-05-29, 07:03   Link #10
SeijiSensei
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It's a game, but Final Fantasy VI has exactly this plot.
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Old 2009-05-29, 12:39   Link #11
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Earl and Fairy, has this as a subplot. Magic originated with the varies types of fairies, spirtes, and the like, and is slowly phasing out--they refer to humans being able to see fairies are quite rare. The departure of magic isn't central to the story, but more part of the backdrop.

Good Witch of the West - Astraea Testament has it as a theme towards the end of the story, though I am rusty and its been awhile seen I watched it. There's no orginator race though and again its not a central plot.

I'd hope you read The Lord of the Rings because that's entirely what the story is about. Magic and fanastic creatures are slowly disappearing, as the world presumables changes from Middle Earth, to Modern Earth. There's plenty of refences to when the world was younger and more magical. Tolkien's work is a classic--I actually don't like his writing style as much as his ideas and lore.
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Old 2009-05-29, 21:11   Link #12
mitsuganae
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Many thanks to everyone for your suggestions!

Incidentally, the concept of a particular species/race as the source of magic and/or a genocidal component for magic's departure is not a big deal to me, so suggestions need not be limited to those that contain them.

Telmah, I too have reservations about Tolkein's writing style, but agree that as a mythmaker he is quite impressive. I've only read parts of "The Silmarillion" (the creation myth is one of the best of its type IMHO) and "Lord of the Rings" but maybe I'll watch the films one day (yes, I know I'm one of the rare people on this earth who have not watched them!).

Last edited by mitsuganae; 2009-05-29 at 21:22.
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Old 2009-06-01, 01:52   Link #13
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Princess Mononoke?

American Gods is great, btw.
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Old 2009-06-01, 03:22   Link #14
Telmah
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mitsuganae View Post
Many thanks to everyone for your suggestions!

Incidentally, the concept of a particular species/race as the source of magic and/or a genocidal component for magic's departure is not a big deal to me, so suggestions need not be limited to those that contain them.

Telmah, I too have reservations about Tolkein's writing style, but agree that as a mythmaker he is quite impressive. I've only read parts of "The Silmarillion" (the creation myth is one of the best of its type IMHO) and "Lord of the Rings" but maybe I'll watch the films one day (yes, I know I'm one of the rare people on this earth who have not watched them!).
Tolkien was a linguist first and foremost--his perspective on Beowulf were very ground breaking. Personally though...the long songs got very old and his descriptions were lacking--there's all of one line about the Balrog.

It is such an important book to read though, because most of what we consider of modern fantasy starts with it--the idea that elves were elves and dwarves weren't evil spirits...most works have departed from this into series like The Wheel of Time or The Sword of Truth or the Shannara. Basically whether its Robert Jordan or David Eddings or anyone else, they'll cover where magic came from. Even somewhat humerous books The Magic of Xanth series, cover this. At the end of the day though, it starts with Tolkien and that's the best place to begin.
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Old 2009-06-01, 03:32   Link #15
mitsuganae
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I just remembered another work that deals with the theme: Sheri S. Tepper's "Beauty." It's a fascinating fantasy/science fiction take on the Sleeping Beauty tale that leads to the departure of magic. It's actually quite poignant in the end.

Has anyone here read "Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell" by Susanna Clarke? I haven't read it myself, but I've found out that it is in part about the return of magic to England, which suggests that magic departs and returns in cycles. That might be an interesting angle to explore.
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Old 2009-06-01, 14:07   Link #16
Luthien
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I didn't particularly like it but there is that "banned & bannished" series of books by James Clemens. Its a dark fantasy, and quite, er explicit adult content at parts... Thats why I am warning you now...
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Old 2009-06-02, 13:12   Link #17
Saleh
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Tears of Artamon, a trilogy by Sarah Ash has departure mythical beings and magic as a conclusion. Its reviews can be found here and on amazon. But Ash's writting isn't on the same level as Tolkien, E. Feist, Pratchett, etc.


Also, Farthest shore by Ursula K Leguin has failing magic as a theme. Its review can be found here.

Last edited by Saleh; 2009-06-02 at 20:16. Reason: Forgot to add Review for Tears of Artamon
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Old 2009-06-02, 14:29   Link #18
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Hmmm.... most books that I can think of start with magic having disappeared, and the story follows what happens when it returns.

Elantris by Brandon Sanderson might interest you, as the first 2/3 of the book follow from the aftermath of a disaster that causes magic in Elantris to stop working.

The Hallowed Hunt by Bujold deals with a form of "magic" that is now banned and outlawed, leaving almost no practitioners alive.

In fact the whole Sharing Knife series by Bujold deals with a world where magic has withered and has retreated. Of course, you'll have to put up with an extensive amount of romance.

A Song Of Fire and Ice by George RR Martin deals at least somewhat with the disappearance of magic (ie dragons) from the world. Turns out there is a secret society dedicated to doing this. Mainly it focuses on court intrigue and medieval warfare though. Also very dark. Anyone can die.

I know some versions of the King Arthur myth have played around with this...
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Old 2009-06-04, 19:19   Link #19
BladeStone
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Read A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin. It's by far my favorite fantasy series (Ahead of Sword of Truth / Wheel of Time / LotR)
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