A Review Of War Of The Spark: Ravnica (Magic: The Gathering) by Greg Weisman

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[@Pilsnerp1c]

Many Magic the Gathering players ask: "Prof, how can I read some of your written work?"

[@haeilsey]

Pilsnerp1c seriously where can I get a PDF or ebook

[@ultimateo621]

Give us the books Prof!

[@ctomsky]

He should sell his books on his store! Thyed be best sellers lol!

[@lifesnap1384]

Kickstarter it we would fund

[@Doctaviod]

He could sell them through amazon's kindle program.

[@ManuYoCom]

There's a planeswalker discord server, that's how all of them know each other already

[@alexday]

That intro was beautiful, Brian. It was great getting a glimpse behind the curtain and seeing how personal this was for you. Thank you for opening up and congratulations on being able to marry your passions in this video. :)

[@Alex-kc7tp]

Hey you stole my name punk

[@elipetrou9308]

Wait his name is Brian?

[@somedudeontheinterwebs45]

@@Alex-kc7tp LMFAOOOOOOOOOO

[@garash2000]

"Teyo is essentially useless throughout the story..." I mean have you seen his card, it's on flavour!!!!

[@foffingCh.]

But he literally saves everyone from kefnet’s massive bitchslap at niv mizzets reincarnation, it’s pretty hyperbolic for him to say that in my opinion

[@drakkenmensch]

This reminds me of my own failed writings as a possible source for this: namely that I once wrote an entire chapter of my mainline story while forgetting one character entirely. Because it was far too late to rewrite the entire thing, I just sprinkled him in every so often reacting to what happened like a D&D character whose player is missing from the weekly game session.

[@charlemagne797]

Who tf is teyo even he practically has no introduction

[@SmugLookingBarrel]

I think this is in the running for the best video you've ever made, perfectly combining the two things you're amazing at.

[@lookassperal9850]

I'm so invested in those

[@JBergmansson]

@LaBass666 Prof is an expert in Magic, but at the same level as a sports journalist is an expert in their sport. His analysis skills are valuable even if he lacks accolades from his own playing.

[@LG-rg4ut]

“At some point failed authors become English teachers...” Epic. You should upload some of these books, I’m sure your community would read them.

[@SpookySkellyman]

I would love to read Prof's novels, but it's more of a question of whether or not he's comfortable with us reading his old writing

[@martyschriver]

Stephen King is proof that the opposite is true: failed English teachers can become famous authors

[@prufrock1977]

Press F to pay respects...?

[@gadguard]

I would.

[@lucasoscar]

But what if the autor doesnt know english?

[@SongOfDeer]

Regular Ugin: Programms a Hedron network that could trap three beasts that gourge on ENTIRE PLANES and outsmarts his brother, who is such a mastermind he could completely nullify a mono-blue Planeswalkers Magic, then manages to come back after being killed by said brother. Twice. War of the Spark Ugin: pOt meEt keTtle

[@damianstepien6830]

Wizards, you were suposed to ban Teferi from Standard not from the novel.

[@justmerepanda7721]

Its been 3 years from this comment but I'm weezing

[@christopherstoeffel4811]

I'm reminded of Ursula le Guin's speech at the National Book Awards in 2014. "Developing written material to suit sales strategies in order to maximise corporate profit and advertising revenue is not the same thing as responsible book publishing or authorship." This certainly doesn't sound like the work of an impassioned writer (or editing team) who loves and wanted to produce quality magic lore. Also, I'll neeeeever get over the way they treated Domri Rade in this storyline. The GRUUL leader SWEARS ALLEGIANCE to a Green-less dictator...tbh i've had issues with how wizards depicts the gruul in general (savages) but this doesn't even fit with that simplistic depiction! Sigh

[@danielbretado7660]

That is a good quote you shared. I'm going to have to remember it.

[@TolarianCommunityCollege]

Fantastic quote.

[@Flickstro]

Domri's arc is disappointing on the face of it. It's like seeing a sibling graduate college, only to flip burgers in order to make ends meet.

[@vicnedel02]

Yeah. Domri was such a moron. I expected him to be with Bolas already and then change his mind and summon the Boar God to fight the Dragon. Instead we got: Oi mate! How bout I swear allegiance to ye---aaaaah! *Wilhelm Scream How about wizards puts THAT quote on a card? Wilhelm scream -Domri Rade

[@nasosstmt1078]

Borborygmos was Gruul leader. Domri is a just a Pride Queen.

[@jamesbourgeois1357]

You should review older MtG books. I'd watch those reviews.

[@haeilsey]

James Bourgeois especially literally my favourite MTG book, the Thran

[@goncaloferreira6429]

must happen

[@drakeconsumerofsoulsandche5761]

Where can I get my hands on them?

[@MrRuff-cc3lg]

Great idea!

[@jamesbourgeois1357]

My personal favorite was the Time Spiral trilogy. It paints a picture of the events that are basically the prologue to the modern MtG story that come together in the War of the Spark story.

[@Jejemoney07]

"Karn smash skull, KARN SMASH SKULL!!!!!" - Karn, supposed scion of Urza

[@Mordra]

Karn confirmed Gruul

[@Sir_Francis]

He's just practicing for the New Phyrexians, haha I'm also quite positive that the chapter Karn has in the Apocalypse novel where he's sad that he has to rip Phyrexian hounds apart (le sigh) is 1000% more thought provoking than this entire novel.

[@jaredbarton6161]

Did shiny boi dirty. He's supposed to be smart!

[@charlemagne797]

Funnily enough he's reading a book in the artwork for Karn, Scion of Urza.

[@atlys258]

Obviously, Karn was a fan of Goblin Chieftain.

[@MrRuff-cc3lg]

Many Magic the Gathering players ask the question, when will WotC hire The Professor to write a Magic novel?

[@cristopholis]

Children of the Nameless was written by one of the best selling current fiction authors.

[@rdnick114]

@@cristopholis Read those stories recently and I love how the portrayed Davriel. Such a lazy, but clever prick he was. I wish this novel had at least half of the creativity and heart that those stories had. Such a waste of paper.

[@danacoleman4007]

THAT WOULD BE AMAZING!

[@jettledesma561]

It is a shame. Greg Weisman is known to be a beloved comic book writer and was responsible for some of the best animated shows of all time like Gargoyles, Spectacular Spiderman, and Young Justice. I wonder what happened.

[@Cole444Train]

Jett Ledesma writing a novel is different than writing a show. This read like a screenplay, and that’s not good.

[@Demolition990]

Sorin and Nahiri characterization was even more underwhelming imo. They fought in the back ground... close to the end of the book. They are fighting together?????? LIKE WHAT HAPPENED GREG I NEED TO KNOW HOW THE HELL DID SORIN GET OUT DID THEY COME TO A COMPROMISE?!

[@connorhamilton5707]

They got a room 😏

[@strifetrinity9507]

It will probably be expanded upon in an mtg Netflix oeiginal spin-off "Nahiri, the vampire slayer"

[@theenglishmentlegen8924]

@@strifetrinity9507 And "Sorin, the pussy slayer"

[@brentsheridan7802]

Also, wasn’t the statue toppled earlier in the story? Didn’t Vitu Ghazi topple it chapters before Gideon noticed them fighting on it?

[@strifetrinity9507]

@@brentsheridan7802 they weren't fighting on top of the statue or Obelisk of whatever it was they're fighting on the random roof even the roof they were fighting on didn't have a plot

[@kevinchen5948]

Actually, Tibalt is in War of the Spark. Page 236: "From the south, Tibalt and the diabolist Davriel Cane led a handful of his demons alongside Izzet weaponsmiths and Orzhov knights, giants and gargoyles into battle." It's only a one-off mention, so I can see how you missed it.

[@bryanskscion2229]

wow what a useless throw in.

[@TheMegamyGamer]

@@bryanskscion2229 lol he is just here for say "hey look magic fan boys we haven't forget you'r favorite planeswalker!" :'c

[@bryanskscion2229]

​@@TheMegamyGamer They should of at least put them into character like he stalked the crumbled buildings looking for refugees to torment and artifacts to steal.

[@SomeFreakingCactus]

I’m surprised Davriel so much as lifted a finger throughout the whole ordeal.

[@pastykake897]

Domri also doesn't have "literally one line"; he has a couple before that when he and his followers save Kaya and Rat and Teyo.

[@jebrooks]

After seeing the trailer, it seems like they wanted to make a movie more than a book, and so wrote their book more like a movie than an actual novel.

[@scday_once8270]

"They had slept together, right?" 😂😂😂

[@wind-flower]

After I read that part I had to take a break, thinking to myself "What am I even reading? Was this written by a middle schooler?"

[@mrchuckmorris]

@@wind-flower It's in Chandra's inner monologue, so in keeping with her characterizations in the online stories, she's an eternally prepubescent hothead (GET IT???). They had her crushing on Gideon until WotC got "woke" enough to drop that and start queerbaiting Chandra/Nissa, even giving that rabbit hole a line or two in the book. I get the feeling Weissman did a marathon readthrough of the Gatewatch stories BFZ-onward, put each characters One Defining Trait on a whiteboard, and turned on the autopilot.

[@captainstrangiato961]

I literally cringed when I heard that line.

[@diegomeringer3953]

@@captainstrangiato961 pot meet kettle bitch

[@UltraWeebMaster]

“Had they? They had? When? I wasn’t paying attention.”

[@WorldofLos]

this book was most likely written in a month. Weisman probably was given a list of things he had to add in the novel, and just chugged along without any real investment in what he was writing

[@Channle3000]

That’s probably what I’m thinking to. It’s not that he didn’t “care” but this project wasn’t his baby. When he can write he can WRITE and make great characters but he’s mostly worked for TV. He, like the book, was probably rushed and not given enough motivation.

[@nibblitman]

Yeah I am pretty sure that the cards were made before the book but that the book was being written before the cards and flavor text was finalized, putting things in a really awkward place. Also feels quite likely that there was a keyword list where items 1-30 must be mentioned.

[@Skullgrin.]

Rated D for Dack. We will never forget you, my red-handed homie.

[@SirHiggalot]

Really disappointing that WotC would let such a mess be published especially for such a momentous chapter of the MTG storyline.

[@LivingThing28]

Girlish Goat exactly... it was a horrible story

[@lach7324]

@@LivingThing28 christ i hope to god wizards comes to its senses, and hires good writers to redo all of this shit

[@_somerandomguyontheinternet_]

“I feel a great swell of pity for the fool who comes to this book looking for a compelling story” - Ugin, probably

[@bryancole8827]

Rat was the actual hero of the book, she was the one reunited the guilds essentially. Maybe you just couldn't see her, Prof.

[@vicnedel02]

I was listening to the Audiobook on the airplane...I fell asleep and missed so much. Then I went back a couple of chapters to listen to it again and fell asleep for the second time. After that I realized that maybe this book ain't so good.

[@Kydrou]

This comment needs more likes. Preferably with a copy to the book's author.

[@lukesdewhurst]

Were did you find the audiobook?

[@sonsysy4195]

Wait til you get one of those sleepless nights

[@RazielNightfall]

So true, what a waste of a credit. Thank God I was able to return it.

[@vicnedel02]

@@lukesdewhurst I bought it on Audible.

[@CallumDark]

You should read the Children on the Nameless novel. It was free and some how seems like it was a real book written by a real author. There is a place for War of the Spark Ravnica style novels, but it sounds like they wanted to cater for a mass market when the mass market isn't going to be reading the book.

[@AgonalRhythm]

WotS would have made a better comic book

[@melrakan]

That's... because it was written by a real author. Brandon Sanderson. Pretty good, not great, but he's one of the most consistent fantasy authors out there.

[@sadee4175]

Yeah it was an enjoyable read

[@Josh_Fredman]

Thanks for this review, Prof! I read this book the morning it came out, and I sent Wizards my own thoughts on Friday, but of course I’m never going to hear back from them. I’m glad that someone with your visibility came out with such an apt review. I have a bunch to say, so let me get started: I knew, going into it, that this would be a book written for roughly a teenage audience. I knew the writing would be simple, but, like you mentioned with the Ixalan stories, doesn’t inherently preclude the novel from being satisfying anyway. I just had to be sure to adjust my expectations accordingly. Much like how Mark Rosewater talks about card complexity, board complexity, and strategic complexity, I knew that the book on its surface would have to be simple enough for general audiences to grok, but that there could still be quite a lot of richness and depth for those who knew how to look for it. I also knew that the story wouldn’t go in the direction I wanted it to. As someone who is perpetually frustrated by this, not just with Magic but with basically everything (it’s one of the reasons I became a writer), I knew going into War of the Spark that I’d have to be prepared for events to unfold differently from what I wished for. So I feel that I went into this novel with expectations that were properly tuned, and I was prepared to be-and hoping to be-singularly impressed by Greg Weisman, whose work I had never read before. The very first scene, with Niv-Mizzet and Ugin, did not inspire confidence. Still, I can forgive that. It was better than the characterization of Ugin that we got during the Core 2019 story articles. Dragons are hard to write. But in the first several chapters, I began to realize three things: 1) Events would “just happen,” with no emotional dimension and no structural set-up ahead of time. The most iconic example of this came late in the book when Nissa gathered the representatives of the ten guilds and cast the spell that brought Niv-Mizzet back to life. It wasn’t set up ahead of time. It wasn’t a goal that anyone was striving for, or making progress toward. It just happened. And it happened with zero emotional fanfare. And that was the whole book. It just happened, with no feeling and no rhyme or reason. 2) Weisman either has no idea how to do characterizations, or he was specifically instructed not to go down that road. The vast majority of the hundred or so named characters are literally not characterized at all. For the handful who do get some characterization, the result is exceedingly poor. We rarely get inside these characters’ heads, even though the POVs are frequently set there. We rarely see them think about much of anything outside the immediate matters at hand or their own personal preoccupations. It’s like all the characters in the book are cardboard cutouts, who are both “there” and “not there” at once. Dack and Rat are the only exceptions I can remember. 3) There is no story here. Like you mentioned, the vast majority of the book is just generic battle scenes against generic monster-type enemies with no personality, no motivations of their own, and no dramatic gravity. Events unfold toward their preordained conclusion, but there is no actual STORY: no dramatic structure, no development of conflicts, no tension, no sense of momentum. I know that teenage-level storytelling tends to make the first act mostly filler, so I gave the book plenty of time to finally start its wheels rolling, but it never happened. Even when the big stuff started happening: Jace’s seven plans (lol), Gideon making his run at Bolas, Nissa resurrecting Niv-Mizzet…even then, it wasn’t interesting and didn’t feel like a story. Let me talk about Nahiri. My favorite character in Magic right now. It was Page 172 when she first appeared. She was, inexplicably, one of the people present when Jace telepathically called out for everyone to gather to come up with a plan. She was described as looking around anxiously for someone. And that was it. No dialogue. (In fact she has no dialogue in the entire book.) She played no further role in this scene, and wasn’t even mentioned again until many chapters later. The reason I’m salty about this is that Nahiri should have played an important role in this story. Magic’s story routinely sets up events to occur in the future. Regarding Nahiri, we’ve been waiting, almost since she was first introduced into Magic as a named character (all the way back in Khans of Tarkir), for her to have a scene with Ugin. That conversation has been years in the making. These are two of the oldest, most clever, and most powerful Planeswalkers alive, who, between the two of them, have played a role-direct or indirect-in every storyline since Khans of Tarkir. I knew Ugin would be in War of the Spark. I didn’t know Nahiri would be there until she showed up on the teaser. But when she did, I knew-I knew!-that the Three would finally have their big conversation, and that it would set in motion the plotline for a future set. Some information about the Eldrazi perhaps. Nope. Didn’t happen at all, not even remotely. Nahiri’s second appearance is another throwaway passing reference, from Gideon’s POV, when he sees Nahiri and Sorin ignoring the battle with Bolas and fighting each other. He considers them idiots, and that’s the last we hear of her for another hundred pages or so. Before I read the book, I was certain that a few things would happen: Ugin would somehow bring Nahiri and Sorin to put aside their squabble and work together. The three of them, working together, would be able to provide some kind of plan, artifact, or power that would contribute to the defeat of Bolas. The plotline of “The Three”-Magic’s longest-running single plot arc, I think-would be given the resolution it so richly deserves. None of that happened. Ugin did turn out to be the architect of Bolas’ defeat, but Nahiri and Sorin had nothing to do with it, and there was no resolution of their story arc. Nahiri’s final appearance came at the end of the book, when she is seen to be working together with Sorin. (WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT TO US, GREG WEISMAN?!?!) I remember throwing up my arms and shouting “There’s a STORY here!” And ABSOLUTELY NONE OF IT occurs onscreen. It isn’t in the cards, and it sure as hell isn’t in the book. In fact, Nahiri got more screen time, more dialogue, and more characterization in the three WAR cards she appeared in than she did in the book. There’s no takesies-backsies on that. This is how the much-anticipated reunion of Nahiri, Ugin, and Sorin went. So, fine. Whatever. Like I said at the beginning, I knew the story wouldn’t go the way I wanted it to. And if Nahiri had been overlooked in this way simply because there were other, more important stories going on that needed the space, I could have made peace with that. But there were no other important stories going on. Every single character was treated with the same dismissive superficiality. You mentioned Domri, Vraska, Teferi, and Karn, but that’s how it was for practically everyone. Very few characters outside the leads had a single meaningful line of dialogue in the whole book. I want to mention Vraska in particular. Going into War of the Spark, there were a number of events that we were directly set up to expect. One of these is that Vraska, whose memories had been erased, would be aiding the side of evil, but would have her memories restored to her by Jace at the pivotal moment. We were explicitly told back in Ixalan to expect this! What did we get instead? Vraska gets her memories back offscreen, not even from Jace. She turns away from Bolas offscreen. She only shows up to participate in the fight late in the story. And then she promptly doesn’t do much of anything. The only satisfying thing about Vraska in this whole story is that she and Jace get back together at the end-which is the other thing we were set up to expect. So at least there’s that. But the whole plotline of her Guild politics, her turning on Bolas…it never really even happened. It’s like Monty Python’s Chekhov’s Gun. “Oh, we’ll absolutely be using this gun later on, yes sir, I assure you, one hundred percent! Very important gun, yes sir, absolutely. We’ll be seeing a lot more of it later on, guarantee it.” All in all, this novel tried to be a Marvel story rather than a Magic story, and it failed even to do that. It was superficial, and it betrayed our expectations. All the events in the story just happened. No real sense of dramatic interconnectedness. Events happen for no reason, with no effort. Going forward, I would really like to see the Creative team bring back the stories in-house. I really like the premise of the weekly stories, and I’m not opposed to laying down $15 for a novel on occasion. But I won’t be buying Weisman’s second Magic novel. I’ll catch the digest afterward. I think the Creative team needs to commit resources to telling Magic’s stories themselves. The story where Avacyn died, or the one where Amonkhet fell, or the tale of Anafenza and Gvar, or, indeed, the history of Nahiri…all of these were well-told, interesting stories that drew me deeper into the game. And they were all written by some of Creative’s best writers. That’s how it needs to be again. I’m not angry at the War of the Spark novel. But I’m very let down. The whole thing is just darn disappointing.

[@TheKingNaesala]

Thank you for this extremely thoughtful and well written review. It helped fill in some of the gaps the professor left. The utter butchering of The Three's plotline, everything else aside, is enough to make me not put money towards this novel. I'll definitely be wary before purchasing anything else that comes out in the next couple years, until we have reason to believe magic is back on track.

[@Josh_Fredman]

@@TheKingNaesala Thanks for saying that! Yeah, I'm glad others feel the same way. I don't want to punish Wizards at all. Quite the opposite: What I really hope is that they revamp the way they write these stories. I won't be buying the next Weisman book, but I'll definitely consider a book by a different author, and I'm definitely not boycotting them or anything. Rather, I have a limited budget for Magic and I want to be purposeful about how I spend it. I don't want the stories to go away; they're part of the heart and soul of Magic for me. It's because I care as much as I do that I felt really let down by this book.

[@hiage66666]

Josh Fredman Know that as a fellow Nahiri fan and friend of a Sorin fanboy, WE KNOW YOUR PAIN :(

[@Shenaldrac]

And this is why you do not make your entire book just one big action scene.

[@Zspear234]

It's sad that right when the Magic Story articles were getting amazing they start doing shallow novels as a cash grab.

[@haeilsey]

Rykzor it would be a bit more acceptable if they put the books in fat packs like they used to

[@Zspear234]

@@haeilsey Yes, definitely!

[@Dracinard]

The Ravnica Allegiance story articles were still really good, even if they weren't main plot. Hopefully the universal negative reaction to this will get WotC to not try this again.

[@podunksarmy]

Or at least to write them well...

[@fernandobanda5734]

@@haeilsey Novels in fat packs are a terrible idea.

[@fergenstin252]

"create a 'traffic jam'"???? out of all the descriptors this guy really chose traffic jam... jesus christ...

[@TolarianCommunityCollege]

Yeah, I cut a minor tirade about that. Jace Beleren the fantasy mage who grew up on and then lived throughout most of his adulthood on, planes of existence that don't have cars is unlikely to think "traffic jam" in such a way. The book is filled with issues like this.

[@drakeconsumerofsoulsandche5761]

@@TolarianCommunityCollege considering they have tanks, subs and flipping UFOS, I'd say that a traffic jam could be possible.

[@jocksmachina7759]

The use of modern language can really be immersion breaking for me. Just feels like traffic jam doesnt fit.

[@StarlightGuardian]

I would've used 'barricade of phantasmal images' or 'entourage of transparent doppelgangers' halting the ongoing advance of the undead horde. Just my 2 cents

[@TheCharlieChitty]

@@TolarianCommunityCollege I actually disagree. Jace lives on Ravnica and look at cards like Gridlock. There are thousands of wagons on Ravnica and traffic doesn't necessitate cars.

[@altromonte15]

"Cairne, Teferi, what do you think of my plan? Does it seem a viable strategy?" 'ok" "great see you next block"

[@admanios]

I wished I'd seen this review before I bought the book and rushed through it... Chalk that up to a recent hunger for fantasy literature. You said that Tibalt is missing from the story, and that isn't true... there's a passage that mentions him fighting side-by-side with Davriel Cane. However, like many of the characters you mentioned, it's a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment. I would say, however, that it wasn't so much like the climax of Justice League stretched out into a novel as it was akin to a novelization of Battle of The Five Armies. Not The Hobbit. The reprehensible Peter Jackson film. Complete with plot cul-de-sacs, vague and inconsistent characterization, and an ending that feels unearned.

[@Asuka2077]

Professor: Teyo did nothing. Teyo *saving the new guildpact*: am I a joke to you?

[@blakechan-sitprasert6033]

CKM.Asuka.msi Teyo is my boy, I agree with everything prof said other than Teyo showing up just to do nothing. I grew to love that kid. Then I went to war of the spark prerelease and opened him as my promo lol.

[@RandyG1975]

I was disappointed in the novel for all the reasons you presented and more. I’m pleased to support WotC’s IP development but not if this is the standard they will maintain. This arc ought to have been covered in at least a trilogy and at least as good as Brothers War.

[@Zspear234]

They shouldn't have tried to force it into one, less than 400 pages book.

[@gadguard]

@@Zspear234 I agree some of the best fantasy I read is always 600+ to 1k in pages.

[@MtPleasantHSdrumline]

@@rylancromer184 sounds like that may be a more interesting read

[@MikeAsbestos]

@@rylancromer184 Is it too late to get someone new to do it? >.>

[@JeffThomas35]

I feel like the story telling of the chronologically released preview cards was more moving than the book. I was hoping the book would delve deeper into all the aspects of story shown in the cards: the triumph cycle, the bond cycle, the finale cycle, Nahiri & Sorin's battle, mobilized district, etc. Very disappointed.

[@florianw116]

shown in the *cards

[@davideleidi9361]

WE LITERALLY MISS GUILDS OF RAVNICA AND RAVNICA ALLEGIANCE STORY. In the book only Lavinia does a little recap in TWO pages.

[@joacovo1]

lol young professor looks exactly how I imagined, not to be mean or anything like that, he just has that same smile

[@Necroskull388]

He looks hot.

[@aceprofessor7053]

He kind of looks like Jim Carrey in his younger pictures lol

[@cibor07]

His smile is always sunny.

[@GreyA1]

He actually looks like a chad

[@ernestlam5632]

He was sexy

[@damiankerneltt9051]

I like the part where Gideon strikes Bolas's shoulder and he says "you should have aimed to the head" and then he activates the elder spell

[@DarthHao]

You mean he activates fraying omnipotence right?

[@sertaki]

Well, Bolas is inevitable.

[@Silrian777]

"I am Karn!" actually sounds like it fits in this debacle of a book.

[@Katerspacedopwater]

"Behold my Karnstruct!" - Karn

[@pantheratigris4777]

Love it when youtubers go in depth with their life stories. It's a really good way to know your watching a genuine person

[@DebugOctopus]

"Pot meet kettle" -Ugin jfc....

[@ShiningSpear]

Y I K E S

[@AgonalRhythm]

There were sooooo many mannerisms that just shouldn't be in a fantasy novel, and many characters had them.

[@tonionitoklan4872]

Didn’t oketra say yeet?

[@nfiniteme2996]

ffs

[@Jetsetradio]

Still not nearly as egregious or disgusting as anything from Test of Metal

[@phoenix-walker]

Tayo is getting a premium placement because he will probably replace Gideon as the "white mana" Planeswalker in future sets. It sounds like this book was heavily influenced by the marketing department of WotC.

[@mateusviegas4553]

Bah...

[@fernandobanda5734]

As far as they've told us, Teyo along with the new uncommon walkers were filler. The author wanted to use him and that's it.

[@huntressskyfire]

I hope not ugh

[@bird9230]

No. It sounds rushed. Marketing can still work (think Marvel and star wars). This book sounds like the author didnt have the time to get to know the characters

[@Cole444Train]

Levi Kowalski yeah.... so the marketing department rushed it. Why do you think he didn’t have time to get to know the characters?

[@andrealbano1364]

Professor, these bits of autobiography that you throw at us from time to time are a great part of why your channel is so lovable. You look like a teenager I would like to have as a good friend. Hope your work (published or not) goes on for a long time. thank you so much.

[@Channle3000]

I just wanted to continue from my reply on Worldoflos’s comment. Greg is such a good writer and storyteller to me. He’s been an inspiration for my own storytelling and I hope I can make characters as half as good as he can. This should’ve been his wheelhouse because he’s very, VERY good at working with ensemble casts. I have just gotten into Magic and have really been enjoying the storyline and seeing one of my favorite writers was attached to the “Infinity War” of MTG just felt perfect to me. That whole Justice League comparison isn’t unfounded as his most praised work is his “Young Justice” animated series. But he’s better when he’s in control, he has the master plan. And obviously he wasn’t given the big picture nor did it seem to be his interest as far as I know. Wizards must have hired him for the exact praise I’ve given him for ensemble cast writing and characters. But it didn’t have that same “spark” that his other stuff had. It just feels like there’s missed opportunity after missed opportunity that he normally would have never let happen in his other projects. He’s smarter than that. But he probably did have enough time or didn’t have enough information to work his own magic. So please know that yes it feels like a bit of a cash grab, but please trust me that Greg Weismann is a better writer than this. They should’ve turned it into a trilogy and either given him enough time or found someone on their own team to make a name for themselves. I just hope I’ve convinced you how much I love this writer and hope he can make a better product that he’s given enough time and interest he can capture your heart as much as any highbrow scholarly novelist. P.S. is there anywhere I can PM to ask for other writing advice myself. My story idea isn’t original either but nothing truly is. I just hope you could help me be able to give it my own “fresh spin” on it if you can?

[@ArixOdragc]

This is pretty much how I feel. In all honesty I'm not particularly attached to Weisman's work (although I did like Gargoyles), but I always had a feeling the 'quality' of this book was more due to WotC than Weisman himself. As I've said before, he didn't butcher a good story, he just failed to make the best out of an already bad one. You can't blame a chef for cooking a bad meal when all they're given is moldy vegetables and spoiled meat.

[@sgtfeelgood9229]

If you did reviews on all the mtg novels that would be dope, idk where to start or which ones to not bother with but I really want to give them a go

[@Alexander68570]

same

[@magicjackson2887]

There is so many of them though.

[@sgtfeelgood9229]

@@magicjackson2887 Guess he just won't run out of content for a while then ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[@JasperJanssen]

I would love to know even broad strokes like the good old “you really want the Thrawn novels by Timothy Zahn” for the SWEU.

[@VcarGekko]

He should totally do that as well. He background is suited for it.

[@ThePhiRexian]

There was such a good book that could have been written about this set. I'm so deeply dissapointed about this, but glad I dont have to waste my time or money.

[@nexusgiga]

Wizards is too busy being woke to hire good writers

[@sylviealexandra4218]

Many magic the gathering players ask the question: professor, can we read your novels? Also I love hearing about your life. Awesome.

[@brendonrichey]

I am delighted I found your channel. I had a similar experience when reading and found myself skim reading the interwebs to make sure I had not missed a novel.

[@CoKroop]

Ixalan was amazing, Alison Luhrs is a creative genius and her charactizations being completely disregarded in this novel was one of the most disappointing parts.

[@RazorRX750]

I agree, Ixalan is one of the best Magic stories I had read. That's why I was thrown off while reading Dominaria. Jace arrived at the Weatherlight, then suddenly he's a different Jace.

[@Necroskull388]

I was promised a date between Jace and Vraska, and now I am vengeful.

[@josephg3462]

@@Necroskull388 I just want a card set called 'Resolution' where each major planeswalker character gets a nice picture to show what happened next. Jace on a date, lilianna looking at ravens, Nissa hanging out with Selesnya, Ral studying Lazotep, the new planeswalkers meeting each others, or Tibalt meeting with Rakdos. Just like that, you have a fun minor set and resolution to this.

[@podunksarmy]

Ugh, I couldn't agree more. I also felt like Jace reverted as soon as the author changed.

[@danielbretado7660]

@@josephg3462 Could make for the plot of a summer set or core set.

[@matthewaguilarschnitzer6518]

But in all seriousness, great review prof. Thank-you!

[@Drecon84]

Thank you for this well thought-out and honest review. A few points: 1: I think Greg Weisman was given a pretty impossible task. The stories that led up to this one were somehow scrapped so he had to incorporate those as well. He had to write both an introduction to the multiverse and still just the conclusion of the story and most of all: he was literally given a checklist to run through. 2: I agree with most of your points but I think the writer did a nice job on fleshing out some characters like Ral and Kaya, even though everything was really messy overall. Rat was also a great addition, although I agree that the novel would have been better if it wasn't written as an introductory work without characters like Rat and Teyo and just focused on the main characters and their motivations. 3: I think you misunderstood what happened at the end between Liliana and Jace (or maybe I did). They didn't end up loving each other, they saw that they have an emotional codependency that isn't healthy. Jace ends up pitying Liliana, which is a far cry from love. Where Liliana ends up on that exactly is pretty unclear though... As I said, I agree with almost the entire video, but I think you're also judging it on what you want it to be rather than what it is.

[@japprecielesfruitsausirop6911]

I said to my friends about the book " this is garbage ", you made a 30 mins (extremely enjoyable) video explaining why it is garbage and now, with you help, I can explain it to them. Thanks 🐣 Also I think this is bad advertising for future books or E-books to come... Now I know, I'll have to watch The Professor's review before buying any MTG products 🧐

[@davsr7789]

Tibalt didn't appear becuase he fought the Scarab, Scorpion and Locust God like a BOSS so they couldn't go to Ravnica ...yeah...

[@BRNO99]

Prof : makes a book review Watchers : gib your bööks

[@mrchuckmorris]

buks or gtfo

[@tommyrojas1571]

I am glad to say that i was introduced to the magic lore by the best man ever, the prof. His audio book of under the silver moon made me love Arlin and all of the mtg lore. I hope you do more of these videos Professor because i have an unquenchable thirst for good story telling of the great world that is Magic the gathering.

[@vicentesulbaran307]

26:26 Strong words that I would have loved to read. All of that sentence brought afloat the feeling of playing my new planeswalkers deck on the pre-release event from last night. Choosing of having them in any way to evoke the feeling of being there with them fighting. You are awesome professor.

[@sunkingpoet]

I agree with the overall assessment of the novel, but a few things to correct: SPOILERS Domri does actually have more than one line in the story. The problem is they're all terrible lines. Chandra does not blind Dovin. Lazav, does after he reveals he was disguised as Chandra. What a phenomenal waste of a great idea and a horrible ending to an epic story line.

[@strifetrinity9507]

I also believe Tibalt was mentioned that one time.... but who cares.

[@halfpintrr]

Also Jace and Vraska do kiss.

[@ShyGuyTye]

How does bolas die? Does he?

[@strifetrinity9507]

@@ShyGuyTye he doesn't he's made Mortal and held prisoner in the meditation room which ugin had taken over (which is revealed to have been his all along considering the Soul Stone Nicole carried is a part of ugin)

[@strifetrinity9507]

@@ShyGuyTye Nicol doesn't die he's held prisoner as a mortal dragon in the meditation realm by Ugin

[@gregoryjames6655]

Django Wexler has written some prequel chapters that will be published through Random House's Magic: the Gathering newsletter. I think they will cover at least Bolas's infiltration of the guilds and the rising tension.

[@lukesdewhurst]

The extra bits are from the view of a rat that is wandering around Ravnica while this novel is taking place... cant really see that being any good either

[@theturtwig50]

I really hope so. I adore Ral, and I really do hope the prequel stories explain why his character did a complete 180.

[@L3131L]

@@theturtwig50 I think that was the part that hurt me the most about the novel. I think about Ral a lot every day and half of his characterization was just ruined by the wet blanket of Tomik.

[@stephenklien]

@@lukesdewhurst It might be great, though -- I'm thinking about the Nicky Drayden GRN and RNA stories by Nicky Drayden that developed broader narratives about Ravnica from the POV of unknown minor characters, or the Dominaria story episode by Martha Wells told from the observational perspective of Slimefoot. The creative take on the narrator's perspective feels more original than what we got in this novel.

[@lukesdewhurst]

@@stephenklien I was thinking more along the lines that if its occurring at the same time as the book then there cant be much substance. I honestly hope im wrong

[@a.velderrain8849]

I came expecting the novel to suck. My god, I was not prepared for this.

[@tulius123]

Dear Professor, I never saw the video about Inistrad, and I would like to thank you for bring it up on this video...the “audio book” is amazing!

[@JV-lq3tx]

Damn! I was hoping that this would be a good book! Oh well. I wish Wizards would do a highly detailed novel for each block or plane that we travel to.

[@Geallach83]

What boggles my mind is why WotC signed off on this bag of mediocrity. Did they really not care enough about the marquee culminating event of years-long storyline to make it EVEN good? We aren't asking Tolkien or Rowling-level prose here (even though it should be), but THIS?

[@kopakanuva566]

@Justin Schaefer Rowling might not be a good person, but she did write some really good books back in the day

[@JasperJanssen]

Justin Schaefer “neither Rowling nor Tolkien are particularly good writers”. Yeah no, they definitely belong in the same sentence. And now the trolly sentence is out of the way: Tolkien was an amazing linguist, and a stunning world builder. He’s also really good at the style and structure of Icelandic sagas. But for modern sensibilities? He’s not as good as many of the newer doorstop fantasy authors. That doesn’t change the fact he was way ahead of his time and influenced whole generations... but these days he’s hard to swallow for an adult and there are now better options, that we simply did t yet have in the 80s when we were growing up. Rowling, of course, isn’t a particularly great worldbuilder or plotter or writer (or at least, not to the extent that she was momentarily rewarded) - but she combined several genres and used their tropes in all the right ways to speak to the imagination of the 2000s era children in exactly the right way. *and* she grew the story right along with the age of her readers. And let’s face it, those books (particularly in the later ones) are not nearly as “written version of a D&D campaign writeup” as a DragonLance (to take a random example) was. PS: she’s a far better person than she is a writer. People who randomly hate on Rowling are typically just terrible people.

[@kopakanuva566]

@@JasperJanssen It is kinda hard to take you seriously when you in the same sentence day that Tolkien inspired and influenced basically all fantasy that followed after him and still call him a bad writer. You do not judge his writing on modern standards because he did not write in our modern times. Tolkien was probably the single most important writer of nonfiction ever to exist, or at least he is up there with people like Shakespeare and Aesop. As for Rowling, you do not create such a huge franchise without some skill in the act of writing. However my point about her not exactly being a good person was moreso aimed towards the fact that she tries so hard to modernize a story she also did not write in our modern times. All those recent claims of everyone being gay, Hermione being black and so on.

[@kopakanuva566]

@@rylancromer184 Of course there is going to be things that are easier to read but that does not lessen the original texts in any capacity.

[@PiroMunkie]

Rowling-level prose? I can see the author's twitter feed now: "Domri was a furry."

[@DTreatz]

Just wanted to show my appreciation to The Professor. I just started getting into Magic: The Gathering after having quit Yu-Gi-Oh some years ago, because I wanted to scratch that card/social itch, and you have made it overwhelmingly easy to transition with you great product reviews with everything from the best purchases for cards themselves, to the hidden cost of sleeves, deck boxes, playmats and the like. To start my collection I purchased last year and this year's challenger decks and all ten guild kits for discounted price, great boxes and sleeves to keep them in too. I need to get some commander decks now (unfortunately those are pretty much over 3 times MSRP, save for this year's which by his review is the weakest), and I also attended my first War of the Spark pre-release at my LGS going 2 wins and 2 losses, which was really fun. Just wanted to say thank for all the help Professor!

[@danacoleman4007]

I'm so glad and very impressed that you are always willing to share your true opinion about the game you love and anything ancillary to it. Definitely takes some balls!

[@mihailohranjec7518]

"they slept together" Oh boy, I knew that Jace and Liliana were in a relationship, but they did the dirty? Damn Greg, think of the children.

[@CosmicErrata]

And then you remember, she's chronologically much older.

[@elijahdavila3684]

Not to mention how cringe-inducing that line was written.

[@drakeconsumerofsoulsandche5761]

Hey, we don't judge you for who you sleep with.

[@theturtwig50]

Same XD I was like "omg did he really add that?"

[@sugmael]

pretty sure wiki used the word "torrid" to describe their relationship, go figure

[@mystique3645]

Wizards messed up when they proved the story could be as good as Ixalan was. Unless they can get writers to be on par with that, I’m going to be let down. And Ixalan wasn’t perfect either, but it felt natural and was so satisfying to read. So many great opportunities made with it and they just squashed almost all of them. Don’t undermine the great work a previous writer did. Don’t rip away the growth we made because all you are going to do is make everyone frustrated at empty promises.

[@thyetyeyryeretyery]

Ixalan was the peak, I almost cried in the chapters of Jace’s memory flooding back

[@mystique3645]

M Kristoffersen they were very good. That entire “block” was mostly written by one woman and the quality shows it. Shame she doesn’t work on magic anymore and Ixalan was her last work.

[@YourTamedLion]

I started with MTG last year when MTGA was released. And since then I kept thinking: I want a book about this Story and its characters. So I read the novel. I liked it very much because it was my first magic the gathering book and it did a good job of introducing me to its current story and characters. I also LOVE how I can now look differently at so many cards and have fond memories of their personality and what role they played in the battle against bolas. I didnt look for a the finest literature when I bought the book. I just wanted to know about the war of the Spark and how it would play out. How Bolas would be stopped. And of course I wanted to learn more about the characters of the gatewatch and the important guild representatives. I also liked the many different perspectives that we get to experience in the book. Details I liked: The epic awakening of Vitu-Ghazi, its march towards the Plaza. Followed by the arrival of the God-eternals as Bolas strongest minions. I also liked how Gideon was the one to make the most meaningful sacrifice and put his faith in Liliana. Details I didnt like: How Niv-mizzet was only 2 times in the fight and we never actually saw the "my word is law" power used in this battle. Niv-mizzet just sneaked up on Bolas like "nothing personsl kid" and stabbed him from behind with Bolas own spear. I would have also like a few sentences on Teyo's return to Gobakhan (even if he just doesnt stay for long ). I mainly got what I wanted from the book. And for introducing such a complex fantasy world I thought it did a good job.

[@vernmcfarland3058]

ty, prof for giving the lore a voice. I enjoyed your office hours work, although it was a comic production, it did a good job of showing some short comings or depth of the characters involved. I may give this a read. if for no other reason then to pass a day or two.

[@vicnedel02]

Professor, can you do more book reviews? I've been interested in the rest of MTG's novels but I don't wanna collect books knowing that I'll start and never finish them because they suck.

[@stevenobal4087]

I liked your unbiased review; however, I did enjoy the novel. I think Dack’s death in a random fight was fine because in war the heroes don’t always go out in a blaze of glory or meaningful sacrifice. I don’t know much lore-wise about Dack, so I wasn’t as attached to him as say Karn or Chandra, but I think his death had more impact because of how it played out. He just committed to “doing the right thing” and then whoops, random eternal takes him out, and this made me miss him more. I was finally rooting for a character I hardly knew and then lost him.

[@TheKingNaesala]

@@TheWashableBomb The purpose of a reviewer is to provide opinions on things. A good review develops clout, then followers by having insightful, well delivered opinions. When someone has as much clout and following as the professor, people are more willing to trust his individual opinion, especially when he has a degree in the subject material, has taught the subject material, and has a history of accurately reviewing other items in the past. This is why critics exist. Smart consumers will take in a variety of critiques, but all the same. Additionally... Why are you emphasizing nerd when we're talking about a book based on a card game about fantasy tropes? Anyone with any interest here qualifies as a nerd by most definitions. Seriously.

[@TheRealPDizzle]

@@TheWashableBomb Its become abundantly clear how trash this novel is based on the numerous 1-star Amazon reviews there are, which detail the extensive grammatical errors, plot flaws, misinterpretations of well-established characters, and the insufferable SJW pandering. Seriously, why the fuck does it matter how many gay, trans, and non-white characters your book has? Why do you need to constantly wave Ral's coming out of the closet in our faces, unless you're being paid to push an agenda? Why does Ral Zarek need to be gay in the first place?! Why does there need to be any sexuality in a fucking MtG book about a war to end all wars?! It's downright fucking insulting to anyone out of middle school. No, I won't give this piece of shit with its run on sentences that go on for an entire paragraph, spelling errors, and SJW nonsense, because enough has already been said about it. Maybe you should stick to childrens' books?

[@MMKMoore1]

It's crazy to see a bookshelf that looks to similar to my own, from the same time period, in a video. A strong hit in the nostalgia! I need to pull those books back out for another reread soon.

[@nickmurray2390]

As a returning player who was curious if this could get me started on the lore I found this review very helpful, and a proud new sub of this great channel. I am with the rest of these people though I want to read some of your books, the elemental of time sounded interesting!

[@ZentaurFTW]

So disappointed but thanks for review, you saved me some money and much heartache. Cheers!

[@michaelclark2097]

The second book comes out later this year, so I guess in some way it will answer some questions this book won't

[@adden5679]

michael clark There is a second book? Same or different author?

[@michaelclark2097]

@@adden5679 I think the second book drops this fall, I don't know if it's the same author or not

[@Senyuno]

"I mean you don't do Avengers: Endgame and introduce a Marvel hero we've literally never seen previously and then give them a leading role in the film. I mean I don't know I haven't seen the film." My insides hurt xD

[@h2ojr1]

professor i...

[@gcervantes47]

Captain Marvel wasn't even in the movie for 10 minutes, so I would say she never had a leading role in it

[@FatesxofxthexDead]

@@gcervantes47 no, it's 15 minutes or screen time. I'm glad that even though she's "the most powerful hero" they shrunk her role and airtime down, especially after all her stupid remarks

[@mj1mj3]

@@gcervantes47 They basically gave her the superman treatment by leaving her out till the end. Because if she would have been there in the beginning it would have made things to easy in some situations.

[@JasperJanssen]

... captain marvel literally just had a whole movie “before”. If you haven’t seen her before in the MCU it’s about like if you make that complaint about Iron Man: it’s you that hasn’t been paying attention.

[@soarel325]

WotC did Dack dirty. His comic run was excellent and he should’ve been the focus of the overarching story instead of the Gatewatch. Instead he dies in a trailer and doesn’t appear in the set. Also, god the payoff for the Jace/Vraska pairing is insulting.

[@TheOliver353]

@@darthkoo6158 This isn't FRIENDS. One of the main plot point of the Ixalan block was going to be Vraska having her memories returned at a strategic moment to turn the tide against Bolas. None of that happened.

[@the-reclining-roleplayer]

I didn't want to believe that was him. I was in complete denial the entire time. My friends had to coax me back to reality because I could not and would not believe they would kill off a guy with his own comic series in a trailer and not even give him a card in the block. I was so stricken I refused to purchase any decks in the block at all, instead opting to piecemeal buy the cards I wanted from second-hand shops LOL.

[@drmcfarnobyp1386]

I think it would be great if the Professor set up a literature channel, reviewing and recommending books, talking about authors, that kinda stuff

[@radradder]

To be honest tho, if Jace had died, I would honestly miss having him to hate.. not enough to want him back however. Hopefully Jace having a girlfriend to keep him busy, means we won't see much of him anymore.. Thanks Liliana for taking one for the team.. your greatest sacrifice so far.

[@gronklevlonkle1717]

Wait is Jace dating Liliana? What about Vraska?

[@radradder]

@@gronklevlonkle1717 It's mentioned in the video

[@JivanPal]

With regards to the Shadows of Innistrad "audiobook", I encourage everyone to check out Gen Doukeshi's "Voice of All" audio drama series for the Magic storyline. Very well done stuff, new releases almost every week. It's on KZbin and available as a podcast.

[@bradyseigfried2395]

As a graduating student, I have to say, I am certain I would have thoroughly enjoyed having you as my professor. Your passion for language and narrative is contagious, and it is very clear how your love for gaming has leaked into your love of critical analysis.

[@toob1226]

I haven't watched the rest of the vid yet, but this was the greatest intro you've made. Nice!

[@emmey8865]

wait the wanderer is in the book. Tibalt isnt... Tibalt is the wanderer. It must be

[@AgonalRhythm]

Gonna go ahead and be That Guy™ and mention that Tibalt is in exactly one sentence, mentioned summoning devils as if everyone knows who he is.

[@cristinwoody2047]

@@AgonalRhythm That sounds like ma boi right there

[@ZakanaHachihaCBC]

You know who isn’t in the book at all but has a card? Ashiok. Ashiok never once shows up.

[@androkguz]

Well, he seems to be rocking that skirt then

[@werst9]

tibalt is referenced in one line

[@xxcrono]

Prof, you are way too precious. What an amazing work, I can only imagine the amount of preparation you had to do a video like this. Thanks a lot! It was a great video!

[@glennwith2ns]

I listened to the audiobook on drives to work and while it didn't give outstanding detail it still gave enough to be a fun listen. I hope they do more in the audiobook format as that's my main means of ingesting fiction!

[@BuddhaJames08]

I read the book and I liked it for a couple of reasons. 1st I think I am in the middle category that a lot of people fall into with magic getting really popular again (I started playing in August of 2018) I had read Wikis and watched videos of basic plot line elements. Between that and the spoilers for WotS, I had enough information to know what was going on but still enjoyed the backstory element as it placed into words what I had only read summed up. 2nd Teyo was absolutely a "hey I am new here what is this." character for those of us who are newer and I think they are setting him up to be a recurring character, maybe a member of gatewatch in the future. Also, I know this is really laughed at but the idea that, thematically at least, that you the player are a planeswalker is why Teyo was made. How many "Teyos" are downloading Magic Arena? How many are buying their first deck or going to prerelease? How many players are being dropped into this new world (errr series of worlds/planes) with as much backstory information as Teyo has? So I really liked it. It was not a hard read by any stretch but at the end of the day it is a book about the lore of a card game (a really good card game but a card game nonetheless) and i was not expecting a work of grand literature. I was looking to have a fun book to read and it met my standard for fun. Thanks for reading,

[@laurencebrown3822]

Same here for me. It was a nice 'summer movie' of a book. It had its flaws, but I got enjoyment out of it.

[@pastykake897]

I agree with most of your points and disagree with some points. The disagreements are: Teyo wasn't useless; he pulled his weight by playing tank while others played DPS. Not killing the enemies doesn't mean one's efforts don't matter. Jace and Liliana aren't portrayed to be in love in the present. It's acknowledged on both sides that Liliana emotionally manipulated the hell out of Jace, which Jace thinks is the source of his lingering care for her, and Liliana's PoV reads, "Maybe way, way, _waaay_ down, she actually cared about him in some way." On the other side of your argument there, Vraska's and Jace's PoVs read as more than, "They almost had something, once." Half of Vraska's PoV scenes include her lamenting that she expects Jace will want nothing to do with her. Jace gets defensive of her in conversation. They discuss the status of their relationship when they finally meet up. Domri Rade has more than literally one line: he has a couple when his group save Teyo and Rat and Kaya. Tibalt does get mentioned, albeit briefly and in passing. Someone else mentioned that one. You claim Karn fighting is against his characterization of "I will never take a life," but the eternals aren't alive-he's not killing anyone by crushing zombies-so I don't think it's contradictory unless his vow was more broadly, "I will not commit violence." I think you slightly overstate the level of "everyone knows everyone else." The only instance I recall of planeswalkers already knowing each other when they arrive that doesn't involve a member of the Gatewatch and/or previous stories is The Wanderer and (I think) Ob Nixilis. Huatli met Saheeli at the end of the Ixalan storyline. Aurelia, not being a planeswalker, recognizes Dack because he's spent time on Ravnica. The scene of people mingling in the Azorius senate hall is just that: mingling, whether they know each other or not. Angrath and Arlinn Kord have just met; they simply have hit it off.

[@colecarmichael5724]

I follow you on Twitter and saw you were going to review this and I waited to read it and boy am I glad I waited.

[@wolfscrescent7216]

Thank you for helping me save my money, prof. I was really looking forward to this and I would have been crushed going through it.

[@TabooX1984]

I wouldn't waste my money on a hard bound book with less than 800 pages. This story should have been 3 paperback books of at least 500 pages each. That would be the minimum space for properly telling a story of this magnitude.

[@s4dpolarbear336]

Bolas: I WILL KILL EVERYONE Ugin: *pot, meet kettle*

[@pieterthys515]

Professor, thank you. I read the book the same week it released, finished it in the same day I got it, and afterwards found I had, still have, the same opinions about it as you here so aptly put into words. I was, am, dissapointed in the novel, especially considering how much I was looking forward to reading it. I am happy that someone like you, who can reach out to so many people, has given a voice to my own thoughts about this novel. And I am sad that this voice had to be negative about it, because I really wanted this to be a succesful step forward when it comes to sharing the wider story of Magic the Gathering. Instead, I find the cards to be better and more engaging medium to share teh story. Again, thank you for giving your honest review of this novel.

[@rel1ik347]

There was one thing I loved about the book: Rat. Her character is great, and I found her chapters always leaving me with a desire to learn more about her "condition" or "ability", whatever you want to call it. I really hope she reappears in future stories (or a card!)

[@Saninsince992]

Kaya being anywhere near the position of Orzhov guild leader, let alone proclaimed the "true" one is absolutely digusting.

[@TheControlBlue]

That's what you get with Identity Politics.

[@TheControlBlue]

@@darthkoo6158 """"decent"""" An assassin that has problems with killing people and has a streak of not liking exploitation becomes the guild leader of a guild that is all about death and exploitation.... We all know she only got there because WotC wanted a black female guild leader, the reasons don't really matter at all.

[@Bluecho4]

I'm not as mad at her being there, but I think it's a missed opportunity...as well as a disservice to the Orzhov as villains. The Ozbat were _deliciously vile,_ a council of ancient ghost one percenters who sat at the top of an organization that combines three of the most disgustingly corrupt institutions imaginable: Banks, Organized Crime, and Prosperity Gospel Mega Churchs. (For the record, it's BECAUSE I'm religious that corrupt religious institutions disgust me). They make for wonderfully hate-able antagonists, or as a chance for those on the inside of the organization to fight it from within. Indeed, as a DnD fan who loves _Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica,_ this sort of thing is why I love-hate the Orzhov so much. As DnD fodder, the Orzhov are GREAT. So when Kaya runs in and assassinates the Ozbat in the space of one card, and then in the space of another card works to reform the organization, I'm just kind of...disappointed. This is the kind of thing some DnD adventuring party should be doing, as the climax of a whole campaign! And Kaya just does it for you! Now the Orzhov are less evil, which takes a great deal of drama away. Yes, I know that sticking it to the evil one percenters is very "woke" - I perfectly understand the impulse, don't get me wrong - but leave some thunder for actual players, right?

[@TheControlBlue]

@@Bluecho4 Really good point. You only need to realize that they are A LOT more interested in the story of a black female becoming a Guild leader than they are interested in your own story (or even about making a good story). Theirs has a "virtuous" message, while yours could be full of bigotry, privilege, and unconscious biases. Something really epic, sophisticated, and that makes everyone learn something about the world and themselves had the space to exist here in the story of the Orzhov guild, instead of yet another platform for SJWs to pretend they are helping those poor black people.

[@jaketorbeck]

This is, quite predictably, the kind of book that gets written when you hire a comic book author to write a high fantasy fantasy novel.

[@gernodgayk8683]

Because comic book authors are worse writers than high fantasy fantasy novel authors?!

[@jaketorbeck]

No, because comic book writing, children's writing, and novel writing are different genres with very different needs, and while working in one genre, one is not honing one's skills in another.

[@gernodgayk8683]

@@jaketorbeck Ok, now I've looked at what Greg Weisman has written so far and understand. You are referring not to comic book authors in general but to his previous work for an other audience.

[@jaketorbeck]

I am indeed referring to comic book writers in general, and Greg Weisman in specific, insofar as the kind of writing one does for comic books is not the same as and does not encourage success in novel writing. This is not a knock on comic book writing, just a note about how these are different genres that require and hone different skills.

[@sambaker1121]

I and Neil Gaiman would like to respectfully disagree.

[@mikechua4893]

You never failed, you were placed exactly where you were supposed to be. Your medium (KZbin) maybe different from books Prof, but you are a pillar of the magic community and you have probably reached out to many more people as a content creator rather than a "professional author".

[@christiansassmannshausen5495]

Nice Bookshelf though. I also have that Whispering Woods novel, and friends of mine have the same artbooks. I liked the times when you still got novels with your fatpacks, well, good old days.

[@adrianpadalhin854]

Thanks Prof for saving me the bother. I was seriously considering purchasing the book. I have been disappointed with some of the MtG books before, it's heart-breaking. Some of the short stories are more well-written.

[@ionga]

I agree with most of what you said, except by the part about Teyo Verada. Since I'll be showing things from the story here in my comment, I'll put a SPOILER WARNING and drop a few lines before going on. Ok, you said that Teyo does nothing important over the course of the story, except that he does. He helps Kaya gather the guilds of Ravnica to bring back Niv-Mizzet, which was pretty important already, and even if he didn't do much to actually convince the leaders, he protects his group to the best of his abilities. And when they start the ritual to turn Niv into the Living Guildpact, the God-Eternal Kefnet storms into the ritual and tries to kill everyone, only to be stopped by Teyo's shield. This is very significant since we are talking about a god here, one that couldn't be easily killed. Just as a reminder, each of these gods had to be killed either by an extremely powerful magical weapon (Gideon killing Ronas with the Blackblade) or by considerably powerful beings, like Niv-Mizzet killing Kefnet after being reborn and Nicol Bolas when he tried to defend himself from Liliana's betrayal. And the guildmasters and Nissa could only finish the ritual because Teyo stopped Kefnet from murdering them all during the ritual. His shield stops several blows from Kefnet before Niv can come back and defeat the god. And later Nicol Bolas is defeated because that very same Niv-Mizzet Reborn manages to strike him with an enchanted spear and let the Elder Dragon's spark be taken. Overall, I think Teyo had a very significant role. And the part about having no stakes, he does have them alright. I mean, at first he doesn't want to die since the Eternals were coming for his life, but he ends up befriending a Ravnican girl nicknamed Rat (can't remember her name). He gets pretty close to her, so even after he could simply leave when he could, he stays to protect both her and Kaya, whom he also managed to befriend greatly. Again, I agree with you in almost all the rest: most characters make no difference and are very out of character for the most part. Really enjoyed the video and I'm not sure you'll ever read this, but thanks for doing these videos anyway. Keep doing it.

[@florianw116]

Rat is Araithia Shokta

[@alexanderfortier5488]

While this is an MTG Channel, I really would love to hear more about the Prof's time as a professor and his experience as an English major; and also his becoming one. To the video, this really was something spectacular. Well done, Prof.

[@legodragon1999]

I think part of the short descriptions may be part of the fact that Weissman has most of his experience in television and comic scripting; what he would lack in descriptions he could make up for in visuals. Based on the descriptions the Professor gives, the story sounds more script-like than a novel. That is not even considering the fact that Weissman likely needed to understand over a decade’s worth of lore and characters in the span of a few years, depending on how long the novel was in production.

[@clevestinson7996]

I’d like to see prof do a complete rewrite giving the full depth to all of the characters

[@hellooperator6639]

Just finished the book and couldn't agree more, but I found myself liking Teyo. I liked watching his skill grow with his shields and look forward to his development. The book is so uninspiring. I'd love for a Magic book to be made by the same author as the Ixalan stories

[@adamblackwelder9202]

Thank you for reviewing this. I adore fantasy novels and I love the lore of MTG and I feel like, after hearing this review, had I read this, it would have broken my heart.

[@RobertR3843]

Please do more reviews and critiques of other novels. Personally I'd love to see some recommendations, etc of books that have inspired you throughout your development. Love your work Professor!

[@LizardKing1470]

Shannara. "aw, I see you're a man of culture as well"