Customer Reviews

The Shattered Alliance (Ice Age S)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This was surely the best book since the Gathering Dark. I loved the end and how they rapped up Jodah's life and how they concluded the Ice Age. It was an amazing book that I will never forget. All three books have been the best books I've ever read, and I can assure you that I've read MANY books.

This one picks up twenty years after the close of The Eternal Ice, with the realm in apparent peace. It doesn't take long, however, to find out that Lim Dul wasn't quite as dead as he was assumed to be, at which point Jodah and his trusty side-kick Jaya set off to discover his whereabouts. The majority of the book is spent following this pair all across Terisiare as they do detective work to track down their old nemesis. One of the most enjoyable aspects of this book is in trying to solve the mystery before the characters, something that most readers will be able to do with the ample clues provided along the way. The actual plot of this one seemed rather weak to me, however. The same-old bad guy comes back to life to threaten the world in the same-old way he had before (almost). Actually, this entire story just seemed somehow less significant than the previous book, without the world-changing battles and no involvement by Planeswalkers. I will say that the end of the book is very dramatic and fun to read, and the conclusion was done very well, leaving the reader satisfied with the story of Jodah and the series as a whole.

This one, like the other two in the series, contains short, but witty, excerpts from the Algarvian historian Arkol at the beginning of each chapter that call to mind the little nuggets of text present on many of the MTG game cards. While these snippets aren't usually directly related to the story being told, they are entertaining, and give the book a 'historical' feel that cements it in its proper place in time.

If you've enjoyed the first two books in the Ice Age Cycle, you'll definitely enjoy this one too. And if you're just looking for something out of the long-running saga of Urza and Gerrard, this one fits the bill. Recommended for fans of the series.

The 3rd book in the Ice Age cycle is quite good. What develops in this novel is two distinct threads of story, the conclusion of Jodah's lifestory and the continuity tale that binds the trilogy's landscape into the greater series of Magic novels. This makes it a very intersting read, especially if you've been reading the Urza series and the Weatherlight Saga. Because of the way the books have been published after the Brothers' War story, we are left to wonder what happened on Terisare(the place where most of the action is) after the Brother's War. The focus has been on the Phyrexians' imminent invasion, but this series has allowed us to finally know what has been heppening to get us to the present. Jodah's story is great for character development, and perhaps moreso than the previous novel, it allows to get a greater understanding of the character's concerns and thoughts. Even others, like Jaya and Gerda, have more focus time than before on who they are. The story this time follows good contiuity, but after a while you realize that the plot is pretty much going to go in a certain direction. The revelations involving Lim-Dul aren't that much of a surprise by the time the story reaches its climax. Also, fans of the card game will know what certain key events involving Soldev and Krov are coming in the story. Rather the story gives us a chance to spotlight notable characters and all this doesn't take away terribly from the dramatic conclusion and resolution that follows. If there is any problem with the novel is that in striving for closure of the Ice Age, it seems to leave more questions for devlopment. Without giving too much away, one does ask what will become of our heroes. Given the ending, you have to wonder what happened to Jodah; when will we see Jaya again; what became of the school of the Unseen; and even how Argive will develop into this all. Some of this has been mentioned by causality in other Magic novels, and the story seems to end on a firm note. But frankly there is room speculation and another story.

Jeff Grubb is the best author in the Magic the Gathering Universe! The Brothers war and this series are so awesome! He really did a wonderfully spectacular job at finishing this series up. congrats should go to him. Needless to say if you liked the other 2 in the series you need this one as well.

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

Man, what a trilogy. Once I started the Gathering Dark, a week later I had finished the entire cycle. This book was great and wrapped everything up quite nicely. The ending sets up the next book as well and makes me want to keep reading the Magic novels.

this was a good book to say the least. while i did not like loosing sima from the dark, jaya was a nice replacement. mr. grubb did not do a very good job on who lim-dul was possessing. =D this book though had one of the best duels i have ever read. lots of detail in the mental mansion idea, the mental mansion idea was one of my favorite idea's in magic. this book though, had a good balance of going to the different parts of the world. going back to tresserhorn to express the darkness, the part of the world that is still frozen. going to the school of the unseen, to show the development of the world, the foremost place of magic development. going to soldev (i think) to show the artifact reliant people. it worked out well. i think the best part in the book, by far is the jodah- lim dul fight. the giant jaya, kinda wierd, but okay. whats nice is that lim dul knew about jodahs mirror, made a strategy around it. im done.
go forth, wreak havoc

I don't want to give away the plot, but be prepared for numerous plot twists. The best since the Gathering Dark.