38 of 41 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars
300 Pages of Absolutely Nothing, April 28 2011
By The Chris - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Scars of Mirrodin: The Quest for Karn: Scars of Mirrodin Block (Mass Market Paperback)
There's an epic battle taking place all over the surface of Mirrodin. Karn is somewhere below, trapped by the Phyrexians, half-mad under the influence of their contagious oil. Our heroes Koth, Elspeth Tirel, and Venser are...walking. A lot. There are no details about the actual conflict that forms the backbone of an incredibly intriguing story (all these are found in the card game's promotional material, thanks to the creative team). The "battles" are incredibly repetitive and not remotely exciting, and it's patently obvious that if the three planeswalkers had spent the entire novel on the surface fighting the war rather than walking aimlessly through the poorly described interior of the plane (I think the author mentioned it smelled like rotting meat once or twice...or forty seven times), then the Mirrans might have actually WON the war. There is absolutely no character development whatsoever, the leaders of the Mirran resistance (namely Ezuri) are depicted as slimy, ambitious jerks profiteering for power, and the only significant events of the entire book take place within the last five pages. There is no climax; there aren't even any Phyrexians guarding Karn, the would-be Father of Machines, despite his obvious importance to their cause. I guarantee that the player's guides from Scars of Mirrodin, Mirrodin Besieged, and New Phyrexia Fat Packs are more informative and interesting than this poorly conceived and poorly edited waste of print.
20 of 22 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointment, April 30 2011
By P. Lertudomtana - Published on Amazon.com
first 100 pages are the exact description of what happened in the comic shown in official MTG sites a year ago when Scars of Mirrodin released. This is unacceptable.
after that I skimmed to the end of the book
*SPOILER*
I am really disappointed. This is the second book I read after the birth of new generation of planeswalker. After I read 'Test of Metal' I am so excited for this book since it is really nostalgic to me to come back to Mirrodin and continue the storyline with an old enemy, Phyrexian.
I already know that somehow Karn would be freed but I never expect that it happened during the last 10 pages. The rest tells us how the group of planeswalker travel to there.
It gave nothing in aspect of story and character development.
It is really frustrating that the book didn't mentioned of what happened to the surface of Mirrodin.
The book didn't give us anything except that the group assume that Mirran lose the war when they venture to the core of Mirrodin.
*END OF SPOILER*
I checked another review by this writer and it got a really bad review too.
I suggest to skip this book
and I would avoid reading Magic novel by him in the future.
19 of 22 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars
The quest to finish this book..., May 1 2011
By Vexar - Published on Amazon.com
I've not read a worse book since my attempt to read Twilight.
Poorly written, no climax build up, unexciting in the least, and SPOILER when Venser dies they don't hardly mention a thing.
The last two chapters are the only ones worth reading.
Don't waste your time or money, this author should not be writing for the Magic: The Gathering side of things. I'm very disappointed that it was even published, with them knowing how bad it was.
I will not recommend this book to anyone! Too bad we can't get our time or money back on such a horribly written book. It really took down my level of excitement for New Phyrexia. And, now I'm scared they're going to ruin Liliana Vess in Innistrad.