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JAN 31 INDEX FEB 02
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from First Things
The weakness of the fantasy genre is its inability to maintain the paradox of goodness and power. In fantasy literature, one of the two has to be dispensed with, and in the end it is always power, in the form of magic, because no author will sanely forsake goodness. But the goodness quickly turns to moralism, as far too many fantasies prove. For the characters, the end of the story means the inauguration of the new, moral way of governance, sentimentally appealing; for the readers, it is a dreary return to the same old thing. The impulse to sacrifice power is true and right—shown most meaningfully in the decision (in The Lord of the Rings) to destroy the Ring instead of using it against Sauron—but its aftermath leaves even the best storyteller at a loss.
from The Spokesman-Review (Spokane, WA)
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