Customer Reviews

The Gathering Dark (Magic:the Gathering)

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The story to the history of Magic the Gathering started off in the Artifacts Cycle with "The Brothers War" and has continued into the Weatherlight Cycle with "Rath and Storm." The story between it begins in The Ice Age Cycle with "The Gathering Dark."

A novice mage by the name of Jodah travels the land of Terisiare learning the basics and five different types of magic from his ally, Sima, a well-knowledged blue mage. The story tells of the period of time from The Dark, when magic was more or less not welcome at home, especially by the church.

Read of the true story behind the tale of Lord Ith, Mairsil the Pretender, Master Artificer Barl and Jodah and their pasts in "The Gathering Dark."

I am a MTG fan and i love the books and pesonaly this is the best book since the brothers war.it scores way up there more stars then i can give if you like fantesy or are a MTG fan then read this book it has magic things like wand and maze of ith and rag man.I can't wait for the next book!!!!!!!!

This book is an amazing work of fiction. Not only does is help you to truly understand the world of Magic, but how spells are cast and how the Ice Age and the Dark came into being. Jeff Grubbs wrote a great book! I couldn't put it down! Buy this book right away!

This book is great for fans of MAGIC and fantasy fans. There is a ton of action and you never want to stop reading it. I am a particularly slow reader but I finished this in a week because I never put it down. Get this if you like action, suspense, MAGIC (the card game) or magic (spells).

This is the first "Magic" book I've ever read and couldn't get enough of it. It took me 16 days to finish which is a record for me. When I finished it, I went to the book store to see if the second book was out yet. I'm drooling in impatientness for "...Ice Age Cycle, book II" to come out!

Very good book!! This book is one of those that you just can't put down. It ties in really well with the trading card game. I was afraid that it wouldn't tie in with the game at all but it does very well. You don't need to know the game to love this book. I read this book and #2 in the series before reading "The Brother's War" by the same author. I urge you to read "The Brother's War" first because the characters in "The Gathering Dark" make references to Urza and Mishra and The Devestation all through the book. But you do not NEED to read it first. This book does a very good job of explaining everything. Not hard Vocabulary level or sentence structure. You should buy this book and others by this author. YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.

This should be of particular interest to someone who plays the Magic: The Gathering card game, as it explains in detail how wizards use magic, and unlock the mana inside their sacred lands. It has suspense, action, and even some comedy(The "Magic Crossbow" scene is both funny and twisted). Though it says it is in the "Ice age cycle", it takes place during the "The Dark" expansion set, as it involves characters, creatures, and spells from that set.

Taking place soon after the Devastation at the end of The Brothers' War and way prior to Planeswalker and the Gerrard story arc, THE GATHERING DARK follows a young hero named Jodah through a rollicking adventure through the lands of Terassiare (sp?). This book represents a nice diversion from the ever-expanding saga of Urza and Gerrard that has been going on for at least 12 other books. As the first book in a trilogy, this one introduces Jodah and follows him through his very initial phases of learning about magic and about his role in the world. High adventure and non-stop action make this one a quick and fun read that should please any reader of Magic novels (or fantasy in general).

This book also introduces a new system of magic that is much more faithful to the feel of the card game than any other books in the Magic universe. Now Magicians tap and use the power of the land to cast a large variety of spells, which feels much closer to the way the game plays than the artifact-heavy recent books or the poorly-described early books. I look forward to reading the rest of the trilogy and hope that this same system of magic use will be used in future Magic books. Recommended.

...but not too good either. While I certainly wasn't expecting a literary masterpiece, I did expect it to at least be on par with "The Brothers War" by the same author. That book was excellent (if a little rushed at the end) while this one is a somewhat thin. I think what bothered me the most was that the book was, at times, a very obvious commercial for the card game. I understand that this, to some extent, is the point, but I would have appreciated a little more subtlety in it's execution (again, like in "The Brother's War"). Some of that material felt shoehorned in and a jarring ham-fisted digression from the narrative.

After reading a few books by Jeff Grubb now, I have noticed a running trend. It seems that his imagination is bigger than the page constraints of his books. His premises are good and his delivery is, for the most part, accomplished. However, the books of his that I have read tend to need a bit more in depth development of character and plot. I only say this because the books are generally "almost good" and it is the wasted potential that mars, what could otherwise be, a great story.

Lastly, if you are one who is bothered by poorly proofed manuscripts, then this book is not for you. There are glaring grammar and spelling errors on virtually every page as well as (in a couple of instances) words left in from (what I can only guess) previous drafts. Sadly, this belies a product rushed to print that could have used a bit more time in the oven.

This series is a great read. If you like MTG books in general, this one will not disappoint.