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4th out of 71 books
—
36 voters
Arena (Magic: The Gathering #1)
WHERE MAGIC AND MAYHEM MEET
Festival will never be the same again.
For even as the fighter-mages of the four great Houses prepare for their annual battle in the Arena, a stranger arrives for Festival. Who is Garth One-eye, and where did he get his powerful spells? What is his interest in the fifth House, destroyed a generation ago? And why is the Grand Master of the Arena so...more
Festival will never be the same again.
For even as the fighter-mages of the four great Houses prepare for their annual battle in the Arena, a stranger arrives for Festival. Who is Garth One-eye, and where did he get his powerful spells? What is his interest in the fifth House, destroyed a generation ago? And why is the Grand Master of the Arena so...more
Paperback, 304 pages
Published
October 16th 1994
by HarperEntertainment
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As mentioned elsewhere, this story is something like Yojimbo or the more recent Last Man Standing. I found this in my parents attic the other day, and I read the reviews here so I decided to read it. I had never read it, even though I bought it when it came out (copyrighted 1994). The last page was cut where the coupon for the two free cards was, but I think I got the last line of the book.
This book was written not necessarily before Magic had a story line associated with it, but before they put...more
This book was written not necessarily before Magic had a story line associated with it, but before they put...more
Based on the popular card game of the same name, this was the first book written using the MtG world as a backdrop.
The main character is a mysterious, one-eyed magic user by the name of Garth One-Eye. He has to come to an annual festival where magic users of many different houses compete for honor, glory, and the right to walk alongside a powerful Walker who promises that all will be revealed to the winner of the tournament.
While some people who have never played the card game before might scoff...more
The main character is a mysterious, one-eyed magic user by the name of Garth One-Eye. He has to come to an annual festival where magic users of many different houses compete for honor, glory, and the right to walk alongside a powerful Walker who promises that all will be revealed to the winner of the tournament.
While some people who have never played the card game before might scoff...more
Take Akira Kurosawa's Yojimbo (one man plays two rival groups against each other), now put it in a fantasy setting based off the Magic: The Gathering cards, turn the two rival groups into four (or five), and you've got Arena. It's a clever tale of one man's revenge against an entire city run by magical guilds that fight each other once a year in a spectacle called "Festival". I don't want to give away anything, but the treachery and twists make this a fun read. It's a guilty pleasure of mine.
It's... readable.
The melodramatic emotional fireworks are very annoying, but fortunately the author partitioned most of them off into small one- to two-page segments. Hammen somehow manages to be both out-of-character and cliched at the same time (what was with him unconsciously transferring to calling Garth "Master"?), the background characters (and women, too) are cardboard, Garth (hero/main character) is hypocritical but mercifully bland in this respect, the villains are annoying stereotypes...more
The melodramatic emotional fireworks are very annoying, but fortunately the author partitioned most of them off into small one- to two-page segments. Hammen somehow manages to be both out-of-character and cliched at the same time (what was with him unconsciously transferring to calling Garth "Master"?), the background characters (and women, too) are cardboard, Garth (hero/main character) is hypocritical but mercifully bland in this respect, the villains are annoying stereotypes...more
The writing style of this book is not really very good but the story itself is interesting. At the time the book came out, there is still a lack of deep lore regarding the world of Magic: the Gathering so this author pulls through and managed to realise an entire city. At times, it does try a little too hard to tie the magic back to the game system and comes across as unrealistic. If you're a fan of the game, this book is a good read.
Jun 11, 2008
Luke Sonnier
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
any fan of fantasy and/or Magic: The Gathering
No extensive review or anything, but this is one of my all time favorite books. I'm not sure that there is anything all that great about it, but being a fan of both fantasy and Magic: The Gathering, the story of Garth One-Eye blew me away.
I read this for the first time as a freshman in high school back in 1994 and have re-read it so many times since that I've lost count.
I read this for the first time as a freshman in high school back in 1994 and have re-read it so many times since that I've lost count.
I had a few other books based on Magic: The Gathering, but this is the only one I kept after my big move. For whatever reason, the story in this one is really fantastic and always makes me read it in one sitting.
Believe it or not but this is one of my favorite books! Pure entertainment and I have re-read it atleast 4 times, a crazy world with tons of fantastic beasts and cool battles!
I wouldn't recommend it to many people but for me it doesn't get any better than this entertainment!
I wouldn't recommend it to many people but for me it doesn't get any better than this entertainment!
This is a great fantasy book.. When you start reading it, you may find yourself hard to put it down. Like the magic itself, it'll consume you.
One of my absolute favorite books, to the point where I wore it out and had to order it again!
Follows the story of Garth One-Eye, a mysterious mage that seems to have much more powerful spells than a houseless mage ever should. Right from the very start, his arrival in the city leads to chaos, death, and suffering to everyone. As Garth plays the four major houses of mages against each other, and against the Grand Master himself, more of Garth's dark past comes to light.
An amazing read, very fast...more
Follows the story of Garth One-Eye, a mysterious mage that seems to have much more powerful spells than a houseless mage ever should. Right from the very start, his arrival in the city leads to chaos, death, and suffering to everyone. As Garth plays the four major houses of mages against each other, and against the Grand Master himself, more of Garth's dark past comes to light.
An amazing read, very fast...more
At first, I loved the book. A one-eyed stranger with skill and prowess known only to those in the four houses...I was in love. But after awhile, I began to wonder what his motives were, creating pandemonium in the streets, needlessly killing thousands of innocent people for his own personal motives. And it was gory. It was a great thriller and great for people who like bursting intestines and fountains of blood, but I for one am not one of them.
There were a lot of things I liked about the book,...more
There were a lot of things I liked about the book,...more
I know this book is far from awesome, however, I still enjoy reading it. I get such a kick out of when a spell is cast, and I know what card they are referring to. I really think that the MtG novels got the short end of the stick, when thinking about how people view them. They are entertaining. And for me, the wife of a (former) avid Magic player, they offered me a way to be involved in the game, as I did not play that often, insight into the characters and places that were being battled over on...more
The pacing and the simple plot operate like greased pistons in Arena and there's lots and lots of gory, liquifying, burning death and PG winks towards that thing that mommys and daddys do when they love each other very very much. A very American sense of priorities. I'd expect no less from an author who collaborates with Newt Gingrich in a series of at least seven historical novels. I want to put scare quotes on that historical but...must...resist. I'm sure they're great. Arena is not a great no...more
In my experience, early books from the Magic: The Gathering Collectible Card Game series of novels fell into one of two categories: those that were so entrenched in the game aspects of the CCG that their worlds suffered, and those that used the idiom of the CCG to build up a complete world from the flimsy structure presented by the cards themselves.
This book falls into the latter category. The author created a relatively complete world, replete with customs and a mythos to support it. Even thoug...more
This book falls into the latter category. The author created a relatively complete world, replete with customs and a mythos to support it. Even thoug...more
I probably should only give it three stars, but I'm tacking on one more for nostalgia. Not bad, but not great either.
On the plus side, I finally finally FINALLY figured out that this is where I must have first heard/read the phrase "Do it and be damned". Have had the phrase floating around in my head for years, but could never nail down just where it came from.
On the plus side, I finally finally FINALLY figured out that this is where I must have first heard/read the phrase "Do it and be damned". Have had the phrase floating around in my head for years, but could never nail down just where it came from.
I read this book a long, long time ago (more than 15 years or so)in that time i was an avid Magic: The Gathering player so this but i didn't have much hope for this book.
I don't remember the argument very well, but i remember that i loved this book. I think it's one of the main causes for me to enjoy fantasy so much.
That well deserves 5 stars :D
I don't remember the argument very well, but i remember that i loved this book. I think it's one of the main causes for me to enjoy fantasy so much.
That well deserves 5 stars :D
This is fast-moving action and thrilling detail. I have started a few other Magic: The Gathering books, and finished even fewer, because they were just so lame. This was the first i read and i have given up hope in another great one. I read this as a tween, so my opinion might be outdated, but this is how i remember it.
Overall, the writing itself is simplistic and on point. It's also good for the nostalgia factor, as it does get the feel of the game's progression flowing accurately. There's just something about it though that falls a bit short. It could be the writing style that ended up coming up short.
A magical tale of intrigue and cruel machinations. A mysterious one-eyed stranger with a thieving side-kick and two love interests. Story follows the basic premise of Yojimbo, except instead of playing two sides there are four! A lesson learned from this book: Too much Mana is a bad thing.
The first of many Magic The Gathering books, not interesting enough as a story for me and not enough Magic lore to make reading it seem worth the investment. But there are sone funny lines when the game mechanics are mentioned.
Not bad. A little clunky dealing with incorporating elements of the card game into the story. An easy read with a solid foundation for a story. Probably would only appeal to players of the game though.
Read this when I was really into playing Magic and reading about it. God, that was over 10 years ago. Man I am old. Anyway, this book was a lot of fun and probably the best Magic based book there was.
Magic the Gathering's first move into the literary circles. Somewhat standard fantasy story. The big draw was the coupon in the back of the book, that could be used to send away for free cards.
Five stars for nostalgia if nothing else. I first read this either in late middle school or early high school, and reading it again brought back happy memories of playing Magic as a kid. Frequently predictable (even if I had not read it before) but still enjoyable.
Really good book for the beginnings of the magic realm. The story did seem reconstructed, almost like the author had to work within the confines of a preexisting story.
One of the best stand alone fantasy stories I read when I was a teen. I can't wait to read it again, but am afraid it won't hold up to memory.
Very sparse and minimalist language. Failed to pull me into neither the world nor the characters.
I believe the first and definitely the best of the magic novels. Just a fun read.
one of my all time favrites how ever i dont link most of the other magic books
Story decent, world interesting. Characters so so
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William R. Forstchen (born 1950) is an American author who began publishing in 1983 with the novel Ice Prophet. He is a Professor of History and Faculty Fellow at Montreat College, in Montreat, North Carolina. He received his doctorate from Purdue University with specializations in Military History, the American Civil War and the History of Technology.
Forstchen is the author of more than forty boo...more
More about William R. Forstchen...
Forstchen is the author of more than forty boo...more
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Mar 04, 2013 02:09pm