The Recluce saga has a rather bleak strain running through it of once-great nations becoming corrupt and venal. This happens to Cyador, Fairhaven, Hamor and even Recluce itself. Is this reflective of your view of human history or do you think it an effect of the interaction between magery and politics?

I’d have to say that, while the eventual decline of the great civilizations of the world of Recluce reflects my view of human history, my view also reflects the pattern of human history fairly accurately, with the possible exception/addition of the fact that there are also societies so corrupt that they never become great. Magery, effectively, has the same impact as technology, in that it amplifies both good and bad and increases the pace of change in a society.