acertainrandomguy's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This was without a doubt the best MTG novel released between the Time Spiral cycle (in 2005-2006) and Children of the Nameless (in 2018). Lovable yet flawed characters that are all in their own way in over their heads and trying to make things workout – and usually failing. The only big flaws with it are that:
1- its connections to the MTG multiverse are at once tenuous (considering that it was written in a time of change for the game and a lot of things have changed) and everpresent (there are multiple instances of deliberately calling back to the game that might irk the reader).
2- The structure of the novel itself, starting in media res, might be confusing and pull you out of the narrative.
3- If this had been written some years later, as per the author's own words, Kallist and Jace would have certainly been a couple.
1- its connections to the MTG multiverse are at once tenuous (considering that it was written in a time of change for the game and a lot of things have changed) and everpresent (there are multiple instances of deliberately calling back to the game that might irk the reader).
2- The structure of the novel itself, starting in media res, might be confusing and pull you out of the narrative.
3- If this had been written some years later, as per the author's own words, Kallist and Jace would have certainly been a couple.
fantasy_with_me's review
5.0
The layout of the plot threw me for a loop- it goes B, A, C instead of A, B, C. I got so confused the first time, I put it down for a few months, but when I picked it back up something clicked and I zoomed through it. The story, the characters, the magic - everything combined to make it worth the 5 stars. This basically means I'm buying it asap.
azoriusbarrister's review
4.0
I couldn't give this 5 stars because the writing alternated wildly between cliche and fantastic imagery, but this the best mtg book I've read thus far. I highly recommend this book for any Vorthos who wants to really understand planeswalkers.
leannevisser's review
4.0
When I started reading I was a bit annoyed by the not so subtle references to Magic cards. Marmell obviously had a brief about characters, planes, and other things from the MTG universe he had to incorporate in the story. It felt a bit artificial, almost like fan fiction.
However, once I let this go and just decided to enjoy this as a nice quirk, the story actually became a lot of fun. It's a very decent fantasy novel, that would also be enjoyable for non-MTG players. The characters are sufficiently rounded, the descriptions of the world, buildings and things are quite good.
So yeah, this was a fun and recommendable read!
One small side note: if you can't stand books with loads of small errors and typos, please skip this one. It would have very much benefited from another round of editing and proofreading.
However, once I let this go and just decided to enjoy this as a nice quirk, the story actually became a lot of fun. It's a very decent fantasy novel, that would also be enjoyable for non-MTG players. The characters are sufficiently rounded, the descriptions of the world, buildings and things are quite good.
So yeah, this was a fun and recommendable read!
One small side note: if you can't stand books with loads of small errors and typos, please skip this one. It would have very much benefited from another round of editing and proofreading.
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