Lorwyn: Lorwyn Cycle, Book I (Magic the Gathering Novel: Lorwyn Cycle) [Mass Market Paperback]

Scott McGough (Author), Cory J. Herndon (Author)

Book Description

Series: Magic the Gathering Novel: Lorwyn Cycle | Publication Date: August 28, 2007

Welcome to the new world of Magic: The Gathering!

Elves live in a world of unforgiving perfection. It is survival of the fittest--and none but the most beautiful and deadly are allowed to survive. So when an elf warrior's horns are shattered and his flawless features lost, he knows it is a death sentence. What he can't remember is how it happened or why he should allow himself to be killed. Powerful and ancient magic is at work, and the elf will need to find friends fast before his fellow elves quiet him--permanently.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

CORY J. HERNDON wrote his first novel, the DUNGEONS & DRAGONS® tale The Living Dead, in the shoes of T.H. Lain. Since then he has written four Magic: The Gathering novels and one short story under his own name, including the Ravnica cycle, The Fifth Dawn, and "Like Spider's Silk" from the Secrets of Magic anthology. By day he writes stories and dialogue for the MMORPG Pirates of the Burning Sea®.

SCOTT MCGOUGH lives in Seattle with a mad dingo and two cute cats. He studied writing at Johns Hopkins and the University of Washington, and has since written ten Magic: The Gathering novels (eight on his own, two with help) and a bunch of short stories.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Wizards of the Coast (August 28, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786942924
• ISBN-13: 978-0786942923
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #629,877 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Cory J. Herndon has written or co-written numerous novels and short stories in the Magic: the Gathering line, including the finale of the Mirrodin books, the entirety of the Ravnica Cycle, and (with Scott McGough) the Lorwyn novels (plus one novella). His first book, The Living Dead, was written under the pseudonym T.H. Lain. He's edited, designed, and written material for pen-and-paper roleplaying games including the original Star Wars D20 RPG book Ultimate Alien Anthology.

Cory spends his daylight hours (and some of the evenings) writing and designing content for WildStar, an upcoming MMORPG from Carbine Studios and NCsoft. Previous day jobs include writer and designer on Guild Wars and Pirates of the Burning Sea.

He lives in Southern California with his wife, author S.P. Miskowski. They are joined by cats Bayliss and Remo, who enjoy food, sleeping, and hanging out.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars For those who like your Elves on the Nazi side, October 23, 2007

By 

C. Bedford Crenshaw "the Rebel Rockhopper" (Indiana) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Lorwyn: Lorwyn Cycle, Book I (Magic the Gathering Novel: Lorwyn Cycle) (Mass Market Paperback)

Most MTG book I find on the boring side. This book was not. In fact, it was hard to put down. More so than most MTG novels, this novel really gives us the feel of Lorwyn, including the attitudes of the various races. The elves come across as Nazis, even so far as their desire to commit genocide on boggarts and total control over all others, not liking even the other green-aligned races. Giants come as singular of thought. Faeries reminded me of the old Corax wereravens of Werewolf: the Apocalypse, with their gregarious and inquisitive nature, although with a slight malevolent twist. The nature of flamekin, as depicted by Ashling, really helps to delineate this new race. The kithkin were the least interesting of the races; their groupthink could have been better shown, although the telepathy depicted was a solid plot device.

Definitely a recommended read. 5 for Magic players, and a mild 4 for others.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An interesting read, October 9, 2007

By 

J. Stockman (Upstate NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lorwyn: Lorwyn Cycle, Book I (Magic the Gathering Novel: Lorwyn Cycle) (Mass Market Paperback)

I have been reading SF&F for 40 years, and although I have gamed a few times this is the first one in the RPG sub-genre that I have read. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. While not up to the standards of McCaffrey, Norton or other greats, Herndon and McGough show definite promise. The story is different enough from the usual ones about elves to keep my interest and even to invest in the next book in the cycle. I definately want to see where they take this. If the authors can maintain their good start, and get a much better editor and proofreafer, they could easily make it into the "mainstream" of SF&F.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Rated 4 for Magic players; rated 3 for other fantasy buffs, March 1, 2008

By 

Steve K. Oliver II - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lorwyn: Lorwyn Cycle, Book I (Magic the Gathering Novel: Lorwyn Cycle) (Mass Market Paperback)

Lorwyn is a very good book if you play Magic the Gathering and have started playing the new block of cards (Lorwyn and Morningtide). The book brings the cards to life because the book explains the background for many of the cards. For example, the faerie and flamekin cards. Also, Syyg the merrow boatsman.

For fantasy readers who are not playing the Magic card game, I consider this simply average overall. The plot moves along nicely enough, a couple of the characters are well-developed (especially the flamekin) but the main character (Rhys the elf) falls very flat and there are many places in the plot where the reader just needs to accept what is happening without much (if any) explanation.

I love playing Magic so I'll read the next book (Morningtide) but if you don't play Magic, you probably want to spend your valuable reading time on something else.