Very neat story of a magician who is sent to investigate the use of extremely powerful magic in a remote village. Cunning and ruthlessness win out ( )

A wizard is sent out to defeat an untrained magician who may have discovered the secret of a perfect defense. Great magic system and ideas on the use of power. ( )

Interesting setting, either an enlightened medieval setting or a post-Roman society, where scientific rigor is applied to magic(philosophy). The story is interesting although the epilogue, of sorts, is somewhat inconclusive and a bit too "realistic"(not grim, just boring/uneventful). ( )