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acertainrandomguy's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This was without a doubt the best MTG novel released between the Time Spiral cycle (in 2005-2006) and Children of the Nameless (in 2018). Lovable yet flawed characters that are all in their own way in over their heads and trying to make things workout – and usually failing. The only big flaws with it are that:
1- its connections to the MTG multiverse are at once tenuous (considering that it was written in a time of change for the game and a lot of things have changed) and everpresent (there are multiple instances of deliberately calling back to the game that might irk the reader).
2- The structure of the novel itself, starting in media res, might be confusing and pull you out of the narrative.
3- If this had been written some years later, as per the author's own words, Kallist and Jace would have certainly been a couple.
1- its connections to the MTG multiverse are at once tenuous (considering that it was written in a time of change for the game and a lot of things have changed) and everpresent (there are multiple instances of deliberately calling back to the game that might irk the reader).
2- The structure of the novel itself, starting in media res, might be confusing and pull you out of the narrative.
3- If this had been written some years later, as per the author's own words, Kallist and Jace would have certainly been a couple.
fantasy_with_me's review against another edition
5.0
The layout of the plot threw me for a loop- it goes B, A, C instead of A, B, C. I got so confused the first time, I put it down for a few months, but when I picked it back up something clicked and I zoomed through it. The story, the characters, the magic - everything combined to make it worth the 5 stars. This basically means I'm buying it asap.
azoriusbarrister's review against another edition
4.0
I couldn't give this 5 stars because the writing alternated wildly between cliche and fantastic imagery, but this the best mtg book I've read thus far. I highly recommend this book for any Vorthos who wants to really understand planeswalkers.
leannevisser's review against another edition
4.0
When I started reading I was a bit annoyed by the not so subtle references to Magic cards. Marmell obviously had a brief about characters, planes, and other things from the MTG universe he had to incorporate in the story. It felt a bit artificial, almost like fan fiction.
However, once I let this go and just decided to enjoy this as a nice quirk, the story actually became a lot of fun. It's a very decent fantasy novel, that would also be enjoyable for non-MTG players. The characters are sufficiently rounded, the descriptions of the world, buildings and things are quite good.
So yeah, this was a fun and recommendable read!
One small side note: if you can't stand books with loads of small errors and typos, please skip this one. It would have very much benefited from another round of editing and proofreading.
However, once I let this go and just decided to enjoy this as a nice quirk, the story actually became a lot of fun. It's a very decent fantasy novel, that would also be enjoyable for non-MTG players. The characters are sufficiently rounded, the descriptions of the world, buildings and things are quite good.
So yeah, this was a fun and recommendable read!
One small side note: if you can't stand books with loads of small errors and typos, please skip this one. It would have very much benefited from another round of editing and proofreading.
libra17's review against another edition
4.0
Great Introduction
Agents of Artifice is a great introduction to the more recent storylines and characters of Magic: The Gathering. In it, we're introduced to Jace, Liliana, and Tezzeret, all of whom go on to play major roles in subsequent stories.
I really only have one big gripe about this book: there are references to Jace's origin that are (I think?) no longer considered canon by Wizards of the Coast. Everything else I've read regarding Jace's past/origin uses the origin given by Absent Minds (a short story posted to the Magic Story Archive on Wizard's website in 2015) and the follow up given in The Flood (a chapter in the Rivals of Ixalan block posted to the Magic Story in 2018). The origin referenced in Agents of Artifice and the origin given in Absent Minds/The Flood are pretty much opposites, and it is confusing that the noncanon (?) one is referenced in a fair amount of detail in two scenes here. I realize this is on the later authors - Agents of Artifice was published in 2009 - who should have used this book as a starting point, but the fact remains that somebody at Wizards decided rewriting Jace's origin was wanted/necessary and gave it the go-ahead. As an ebook, it wouldn't be that much trouble to update the book to make the lore internally consistent and both of those could be either cut or rewritten to keep their plot-bearing parts intact while excising the noncanon (?) bits, and I don't understand why this wasn't done.
That being said, I otherwise enjoyed the book and I'm looking forward to reading the other Planeswalker books.
Agents of Artifice is a great introduction to the more recent storylines and characters of Magic: The Gathering. In it, we're introduced to Jace, Liliana, and Tezzeret, all of whom go on to play major roles in subsequent stories.
I really only have one big gripe about this book: there are references to Jace's origin that are (I think?) no longer considered canon by Wizards of the Coast. Everything else I've read regarding Jace's past/origin uses the origin given by Absent Minds (a short story posted to the Magic Story Archive on Wizard's website in 2015) and the follow up given in The Flood (a chapter in the Rivals of Ixalan block posted to the Magic Story in 2018). The origin referenced in Agents of Artifice and the origin given in Absent Minds/The Flood are pretty much opposites, and it is confusing that the noncanon (?) one is referenced in a fair amount of detail in two scenes here. I realize this is on the later authors - Agents of Artifice was published in 2009 - who should have used this book as a starting point, but the fact remains that somebody at Wizards decided rewriting Jace's origin was wanted/necessary and gave it the go-ahead. As an ebook, it wouldn't be that much trouble to update the book to make the lore internally consistent and both of those could be either cut or rewritten to keep their plot-bearing parts intact while excising the noncanon (?) bits, and I don't understand why this wasn't done.
That being said, I otherwise enjoyed the book and I'm looking forward to reading the other Planeswalker books.
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