Customer Reviews

Mercadian Masques: Masquerade Cycle, Book I

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book was very well written and very original. Great plot and great characters.

Francis Lebaron wrote an absolutely magnificant novel! You should read Rath and Storm first because many flashbacks occur from that book. Mercadian Masques never gets boring due to the fact it is additive and has many exciting battles. Francis Lebaron developes Volrath into a more evil character than the ones who did in Rath and Storm. Oh, while you are reading this, prepare for lots of cliffhangers! You will enjoy Mercadian Masques, I have forseen it.

Well, I must say...Mercadian Masques contained the most interesting story I've read since Tempest. In it you have nearly every story element that you could think of. Mystery, suspense, drama, action, adventure, comedy, Masques had it all. I won't ruin any storyline, but I will say this : Be prepared for many plot twists.

One aspect I fear about the Magic storyline is that it may all be going downhill. If you've been paying attention to the new expansion sets and blocks being released, you might realize that all of the storylines in these are based on wars of some kind. Not that is is a horrible thing, but we members of the audience need some variety in the plot, not just (insert Phyrexian bad guy here) invades the good guys. This may just be a rant, but I encourage you to take what I have said into consideration. Thank you.

As most of hte reviews have pointed out, you MUST read Rath and Storm. The language is hard at a certain point and the plot includes way too many fightings.

IT's necessary, though, to understand the unfolding plot of the Weatherlight Saga.

BTW, I wouldn't have called hte Cycle "Mercadian," since the rest of the cycle has nothing to do with Mercadia.

I thought this book was great. It's true that the book is a little slow in parts, but everytime it slows down it speeds up again, so I never lost interest. I think the characters are what really grip you in this book, especially Squee, who learns the meaning of honor and pride. Orim changes a lot too, you'll see her get put through a lot in this book, and have to become a warrior as well as a healer to make it through this adventure. The book is also full of surprises, I was especially surprised when I found out who Takara really was. But for those of you who have not read Rath and Storm, I suggest you read it, as it is the book that leads up to this one, and this one will be extemely confusing for you if you have not read it.

Books based on games are rarely terribly inspiring, and in some ways this is no exception - the writing quality isn't high, and at times too much effort is made to fit the set's cards into the story (constant attacks by lumbering satyrs and horned trolls spring to mind). However, the story is more mature and involving than might be expected for a book based on a card game and does fit the story depicted on the cards without many glaring omissions or contradictions (though it does contradict the text of the Stronghold card Bandage, which suggests Takara is really Takara at the time rather than Volrath). Having followed the crew's adventures on the cards rather than in Rath and Storm, it was nice to see a side to their characters which doesn't come out in the card text. Volrath's self-loathing was also depicted fairly well, though his attempts to corrupt Gerrard with his talk of hatred were both unsubtle and unrealistically effective.

The book kept me on the edge of my seat. I could hardly put it down at times. It was however confusing at times, and i did lose interest in some parts. All things considered it is a must read for any true magic fan.

This book is one of the best books I have ever read. It is in my opinion, this is the best book ever written by a fantasy writer. It has good battle scenes and other stuff.

This book is one of the best books I have ever read. It is in my opinion, this is the best book ever written by a fantasy writer. It has good battle scenes and other stuff.

This book has a really good plot I think the author did really good. The only bad thing about this book is that near the middle everything slows down and starts just being a regular book. The begining and end of this book are really action packed and fun to read. This book doesn't make much sense since it starts where the last book ends so I reccomend reading those first but all in all this book is great.