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Thanks Alec. I agree, I think wizards and magic can be a little dull (like "heroes" with ridiculous super powers). I do quite like the idea of black magic though, a Necromancer raising an army of undead, or, a witch putting a hex on someone. Bad things that add drama, rather than good things that make positive outcomes all too convient for the protagonists.

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Magic is def-ly a tricky subject and I find even works that I like tend to struggle with keeping it from overwhelming the story. I love The Witcher series, for instance, but it def-ly suffers from having a lot of nigh-immortal wizards who wield potentially world-breaking powers. Heck, even The Hobbit has that issue, with Gandalf being such a powerful deus ex machina that Tolkien has to contrive ways to keep him out of the action.

On a side note, Alec, what is the source of that Martin quote? I ask as I've been collecting his quotes and interviews about magic but have never seen that specific one before.

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