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Title: Magic the Gathering: Arena Vol. 1 by William R. Forstchen ISBN: 0-06-105424-0 Publisher: HarperEntertainment Pub. Date: 01 November, 1994 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.72 (65 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: This is the best book in it's genre I have ever read!
Comment: Arena;the story of One-Eye Garth, a seasoned combat mage and tactition.
The timeline of this story covers the time when Garth returned to his city of birth, betting on fights and sleeping in the streets, to when he becomes a planes walker:one of the most powerfull dimensional beings.
In the story,Garth does things that will come as a suprise to the reader to start a "gang war" kind of chaos between thedifferent colored clans of the Magic colors.
I think the best part of this story is that any body can enjoy it if they like the D&D type of midevil fiction, though I will give a word of warning to all Magic:The Gathering players:This book is not at all like Magic the way I thought it would be, because it carys no traits of Magic, other than the different colors, and the mention of a few cards from Beta and Arabian Nights(none of the Urza-Mishra stuff, it is a stand alone storyline).
The book has a great cast of charecters that you will come to love, and hate, over time, and it has a plot so gripping that you will not be able to put it down untill you are done!
Jacob Thornburg, 8th grade, Arcata, California
Rating: 5
Summary: Fantesy Classic
Comment: This book starts out confusing thats what makes it so great. Most others tell you everything about a charecter to start then launch the adventure. With this book learning a bout the main charecter is the adventure! This book came out when magic the gathering came out right at the same time. This book is what set the world for the rest of the series even books like Nemsis have roots in this book so if you plan to read any others in the series this is a must. I have read this book 3 times and still love it. If you play the game and haven't read any of the books don't read this why? Well unless you started in 1993 you won't like the book that much because the book talks about lots of stuff that happened when the first set ALPHA was released. If you have never played magic I would reccomend this VERY HIGHLY. PLease read this every other book fallows in this books wake.
Rating: 1
Summary: Laughably, unbelievably terrible
Comment: I admit, I looked this book up on Amazon mainly to read people's reviews making fun of it. Instead, I was astonished to see so many five star reviews. What planet are these people from? "Arena" is, hands down, the worst fantasy novel I have ever read.
"Arena" is well named. It's a nearly plotless massacre from start to finish. We get scene after scene of two magicians facing each other, pulling spell components off their belts like cards in a Magic: The Gathering card game, and causing monsters to appear. So far as that goes, it would be a novelized episode of "Yu-Gi-Oh!" and the worst that could be said of it is that it might be repetitive and dull.
However, the most striking thing about this novel is that the city in which it is set seems to be populated entirely by lemmings. Every time two spellcasters get together to duke it out, swarms of onlookers gather around to gape, oblivious of the fact that everyone in the area will be stepped on or incinerated as soon as the fight gets going. There are endless scenes of seemingly limitless crowds of commoners being casually and contemptuously slaughtered by hero and villain alike. How bored with life are these serfs? And why doesn't our protagonist Garth give a flip what happens to them? The people don't even seem to care about their own fate, let alone one another.
Against my better judgment, I went on to read "Time Streams," a much later Magic: The Gathering novel by J. Robert King, and was startled by how good it was. While "Time Streams" was also extremely violent, the plot, characters, concepts, and language were all very compelling, and I enjoyed it. By contrast, "Arena" is just violence from cover to cover, with barely a semblence of plot, let alone theme, character, or wordplay to justify it.
The "Planeswaker" concept--that when a mage becomes powerful enough, he can transcend mortality and become a being of vast power--has a lot of potential, but judging by "Time Streams," the later books in the series make far better use of it. The evil Planeswalker here is basically just the boss monster at the end of a video game.
I suppose this is coming off as a rant, and I appologize for that. I just couldn't believe this agonizingly stupid thing has that much of a fanbase.
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Title: Whispering Woods (Magic: The Gathering) by Clayton Emery ISBN: 0061054186 Publisher: HarperEntertainment Pub. Date: 01 January, 1995 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
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Title: Shattered Chains : Shattered Chains (Magic: The Gathering) by Clayton Emery ISBN: 0061054194 Publisher: HarperEntertainment Pub. Date: 01 March, 1995 List Price(USD): $4.99 |
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Title: Final Sacrifice (Magic: The Gathering) by Clayton Emery ISBN: 0061054208 Publisher: HarperEntertainment Pub. Date: 01 May, 1995 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
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Title: The Cursed Land (Magic: The Gathering) by Teri McLaren ISBN: 0061050164 Publisher: Eos Pub. Date: 01 August, 1995 List Price(USD): $4.99 |
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Title: The Prodigal Sorcerer : Prodigal Sorcerer (Magic: The Gathering) by Mark Sumner ISBN: 0061054763 Publisher: HarperEntertainment Pub. Date: 01 November, 1995 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
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