[First in a series.] A Warlock discovers the energy source that powers all magic, and is forced to use this secret weapon to battle a jealous villager brandishing the ultimate sword of evil. Hugo Award Nominee, Nebula Award(R) Nominee

[Second in a series that began with "Not Long Before the End"] Twelve thousand years before the birth of Christ, in an age when miracles were somewhat more common, a Warlock used an ancient secret to save his life. In later years he regretted that. He had kept the secret of the Warlock's Wheel for several normal lifetimes. The demon-sword Glirendree and its stupid barbarian captive would have killed him, no question of that. But no mere demon could have been as dangerous as that secret. Now it was out, spreading like ripples on a pond. The battle between Glirendree and the Warlock was too good a tale not to tell. Soon no man would call himself a magician who did not know that magic could be used up. So simple, so dangerous a secret. The wonder was that nobody had noticed it before. A year after the battle with Glirendree, near the end of a summer day, Aran the Peacemonger came to Shayl Village to steal the Warlock's Wheel. Locus Poll Award Nominee

Ace, 1979. Mass market paperback. Cover art by Boris Vallejo, numerous interior illustrations by Esteban Maroto. Niven's engaging foray into fantasy.

Contains: Not Long Before the End What Good is a Glass Dagger? The Magic Goes Away Unfinished Story #1 and: The Magic May Return Notes for a Series of Stories to be Set in the Fantasy World of The Magic Goes Away