Customer Reviews

Bloodlines (Magic: The Gathering: Artifacts Cycle, Bk. IV)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

While I've been following the series avidly, I was a little disappointed in Bloodlines. The storytelling wasn't up to par on this particular installment - The Brothers' War and Time Streams were both excellent reads, but that should probably be expected when a different author writes each new installment of the series. While Bloodlines did a fairly good job of tying everything together and finishing the detailed history of Urza's struggle against Phyrexia, the events in the book didn't have as much coherence as in the past - they stayed separate, never came together to form an overarching story.

For those who felt the story was left incomplete - it was! The history of the Urza-Phyrexia war has been told, but the battle continues in the novels "Rath and Storm" and "Mercadian Masques." The Artifacts Cycle is a story in itself, but it is also the background for the current events described in these books.

I liked this book, but for it to be the last book in a series the ending disappointed me. The story was good but the book ends with nothing resolved. I guess they just wanted to let this books storyline leave room for other books to branch off from. Personally I wish that this book could have at least had an ending to Urza's fight.

I liked the story for what it was, but the continuity seemed to be a little off from the previous books and the Bloodlines idea seems little stupid. Even if you are a planeswalker with lots of time on your hands, why would you create a weapon based on generations of humans? I just don't get it. But, in the end, we do get many of the characters that populate the MTG universe and turnout good stories. So at the very least it is good back ground info.

Books that span a vast amount of time are always hard to read, and to write, I imagine. Still, its nicely done here, if you keep concentrating. I personally really like the characters, no all good heroes and all out evil bad-guys. I also enjoy character developement, when in a moment of clarity, I can see it. :) Mr. Coleman can put this title on his resume without shame, under a list of other good novels. One thing irks me though. It seems to end out of nowhere, in my opinion, it seems a bit incomplete and void of closure. Like the ending of Monty Python's Search for the Holy Grail. ;)

I don't normally get into MTG novels, but I rather liked this one. Loren does a good job with character development, and I liked the plot--it was a good solid effort and it was overall a very easy and entertaining read.

However, it felt like the book was very incomplete. This really struck me, because (having read Loren's other work, particularly his BattleTech novels) this is so very out of character for him. I was left wondering "wha happen? How does it end?"--which is why I gave it 4 stars instead of 5.

Don't expect this book to finish off Urza's tale, and you won't be disappointed. This is just the story of the development of Urza's final(?) gambit against Phyrexia, as well as the creation of Rath. Multiple story threads remain distinct throughout the book, creating something of a disjointed feel, especially because the book takes place over close to a thousand years. Coleman's writing leaves a lot to be desired. Broken sentence structure and some other aspect of Loren's writing that I can't quite put my finger on make this book rather difficult to follow in many places. All in all, the book is somewhat entertaining while filling in some important gaps of the overall story. You can't really avoid it if you're reading the series, but don't expect too much.

BLOODLINES focuses mainly on the development of Urza's almost Phyrexian-like genetic engineering project to produce the heirs to the Legacy. Many potential 'bloodlines' are produced and spread throughout Dominaria. Also, the artificial plane of Rath is developed here. Meant as a staging ground for Phyrexia's invasion of Dominaria, Rath will play important roles in future novels. Characters that are introduced here and are involved in the rest of the story include Rofellos, Gerrard, and Croag.

To me, the best story thread of this book is the one focusing on Gatha and his rebellious actions to promote his own bloodlines research. His involvement with- and enhancement of- the Keldon warlords and their subsequent battles with Phyrexia are excellent.

Not my favorite book of the Artifacts Cycle, but does tell an important story.

I have read all of the Magic: The Gathering novels, from the start with the tale of The Brothers' War, to the journeys of Gerrard and the Weatherlight in Mercadian Masques. This book is one of my three favorites (the others being Nemesis and Rath and Storm). But this one sticks out in my mind. The plot for the destruction of Urza, his search for an heir to his Legacy, and all of his friends including Barrin, Gatha, Rayne, Multani, and others. This book has an interesting plot that makes you want to forget all other plans for the day and read instead. I strongly recommend this book!

Although it is an important part in the entire story about Urza's Legacy and the Weatherlight stories to follow, it demands a lot of concentration to connect the different story-threads that range over a vast period of time, making huge leaps by decades & centuries

Bloodlines was my favorite MTG book ever. This book started as I have to read this book because I need it for my book report. By the end of the book I was ready to be in MTG world fighting with Urza and Barrin, if your an MTG fan this is a MUST READ.

Within the story line of the ARtifact Cycle, I was expecting something more substantial. I think it's a weak link between this cycle and the Weatherlight's.

But besides this, it's a good story.