Reviews

The Brothers' War by Jeff Grubb

agenericmirkwoodelf's review

4.0

Such a fun book! It’s age shone through once or twice, and there we’re definitely moments of heavy exposition throughout, but I still enjoyed it! I loved getting to witness the origins of some of the most prevalent story elements in the current lore, like the rediscovery of Mana, and the way Ashnod’s Transmogrants served as a blueprint for the current day Phyrexian!

ubergusterfan's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

acertainrandomguy's review against another edition

dark sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

A decade-long trainwreck of a relationship between two brothers, told through three acts of things getting progressively worse for everyone around them. I am not sure if there is a lot worth reading in this if you aren't specifically looking for MTG lore, since the only characters that are actually fun to read about are Ashnod (who is an unabashed monster) and Loran and Feldon (who are closer to tertiary characters).

drbillbongo's review against another edition

adventurous sad slow-paced

4.0

niseag's review against another edition

adventurous dark slow-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

draiocht's review against another edition

emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

nac1050's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

pureferret's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

manwithanagenda's review

adventurous dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This is one of the few, unequivocally good novels to ever come from a licensed tie-in. 'The Brother's War' is the story of two brothers who are driven apart by their pursuit of power and radically different views of the world. Both are agents of destruction, but one will ultimately be the best architect for the survival of Dominaria.

Jeff Grubb took the 85 cards of the Antiquities card set, their flavor text and a smattering of detail from the Armada comic books and crafted a strong story to tie them all together. From the brother's excavations under Tocasia at Koilos, their first contact with Phyrexia and the mad rush for resources that led to the doom of Argoth, this book was fast paced, epic, and thrilling. Even the minor characters are well drawn and their relationships make sense.

This can be a hard book to find for a realistic price, so I can understand why more people can't read it, but it was so good. I wish Wizards of the Coast/Hasbro would get back to this standard of quality.

Urza Block/Artifacts Cycle

Next: 'Planeswalker'

jaguridi's review against another edition

4.0

Entretenido y muy completo comparado con las novelas de MTG que había leído. Un buen inicio de la saga.