Lorwyn

Magic: The Gathering: Lorwyn Cycle #1

by Cory J. Herndon, Scott McGough

Welcome to the new world of Magic: The Gathering!

Elves live in a world of unforgiving perfection. It is survival of the fittest--and none but the most beautiful and deadly are allowed to survive. So when an elf warrior's horns are shattered and his flawless features lost, he knows it is a death sentence. What he can't remember is how it happened or why he should allow himself to be killed. Powerful and ancient magic is at work, and the elf will need to find friends fast before his fellow elves quiet him--permanently.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Magic, Science Fiction Fantasy

311 pages, Paperback

First published August 28, 2007

Reviews

[Miloš · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting reading. A bit slow at the beginning but soon it picked pace and made me curious enough to finish it so fast and also already pick the sequel in my hands. 😀

[Vince · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little confusing in the beginning, this book earns it's respect later on. A great story, very easy to connect and relate with the characters. The characters all have different ways of speaking which is good even though it could have been a little more enhanced. It was fun that I could relate to the cards even though it has nothing to do with it.

[Chris Battell · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s been a few months now, since I’ve finished this one, and I still find my mind wandering back to its events and locations. This was my first foray into Magic The Gathering Novelizations or the writing of Herndon, and it won’t be my last.

[thundertail · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing. Way better than I expected.

[Romolo · Rating 3 out of 5]

What I love about this novel (and the Lorwyn plane) is how each race reflects human aspects (but how the humans themselves are completely absent) : we’re dealing with eugenist-nazi elves, charming ludo-anarchist boggarts (goblins), conservative pacifist kithkin (bound by some crypto-telepathy), wandering bohemians (flamekin) looking for the truth, rogue-like foul-mouthed fairies, and much more. (Only the elaboration of the merrow was somehow underwhelming.) Somewhere halfway through, the Lorwyn-novel lost its focus and clarity, as if the dungeon master of a roleplaying game suddenly left the players to figure it out amongst themselves. There was also a shift in style and earnestness. In the first half, the characters of Maralen, Rhys and Ashling all were presented with their inner struggles; in the second half they just behaved like characters in a B-movie, which - of course - also has its charms. I assume one of the writers did the story building, and the second one focused on most of the plot and dialogue. Something urged me to read till the end, but I’m afraid it was more my dedication to Lorwyn’s lore than the actual story. If someone understood tree-folk Colfenor’s chaotic neutral personality (and Brigid’s weird betrayal), please enlighten me in the comments.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is an easy, yet enjoyable read. Perfect for me, during schooltime when I'm too busy with schoolwork to read serious non-fiction books. Lorwyn is a great little escape from the daily routine. I've found that reading it right before bed greatly affects me dreamland. Finally I get to dream of magical forests with elves and the fae! Haha. Read it!

[Christy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a pretty good sci-fi fantasy story. This correlates with a card game known as Magic the Gathering. I started reading the books because my husband is really into the game. The story features lots of mythical creatures. There are several story lines going on at once (before the main characters meet) so it can get confusing at times.

[Derek · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this book when I bought it as part of a set of cards. My wife made me read it. Before this book, I didn't read many books unless they were instructional. This book got me to realize that sometimes reading a book can transport you to another world, and can spark the imagination. In that sense, this book does a fine job.

[Jager · Rating 5 out of 5]

Isn't it odd that a book based off a card game (which I am in love with) could be so good? I have never heard the story of lorwyn so this book kept me interested on the fact that I didn't know what was going to happen next.

[Roguesnek · Rating 3 out of 5]

Terribly written. Some chapters were pretty much unreadable, but overall enjoyable.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

An easy read and much better than I expected. The story was still pretty choppy at times. The first like 4ish chapters should have come later in the book imo. It makes the beginning hard to understand, and not very interesting. The story starts to pick up once there over and carry's on pretty good for a while. Later in the novel it starts getting a bit cheesy though. The story starts to feel way to contrived and a lot of the suspense is killed. It was only at the end once what one could describe as predetermined events had ended that story got me interested again. Could have been better could have been worse. Had some thought provoking ideas in it but at other moments just felt lazy and stupid. Okay not great, if your a hardcore fantasy fan, or vorthos lover its worth the read otherwise not so much.

[T.S.S. Fulk · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

The descriptions bogged down the story a bit, but it was a fun and exciting tales with characters that you sympathize with, although they could have been a bit more development. The world is rich and with interesting twists to traditional fantasy. The absence of humans makes it even more interesting. The story is interesting enough to keep you reading in longer stretches than you planned.

Being a series, of course there are many unanswered questions that will have to wait until another day. Too bad the other books are so hard to locate in Europe today.

[Ben · Rating 3 out of 5]

Isolation is a good time to catch up on books, it seems :)

Not a bad story by itself, but I think it's carried by the novelty of being connected to an actual card game: the majority of characters who appear have corresponding cards in the actual game.

Good fun if you're a fan of the game or setting.

[Matthew Jeffrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sadly this book doesn't live up to the nostalgia. The characters are all unlikable, the plot goes nowhere, and very little of the majesty of the setting's culture is explored.

The Shadowmoor anthology was more upbeat, and a better read.

[Evan Wheeler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Serviceable but nothing spectacular.

[Robert Furlong · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book that gripped me from start to finish and gave me the need to find the next in the series. The most surprising part about it is that MTG actually used to have genuinely good tie in novels.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it

[Parth Mishra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am flamekin seeking my own path

[Alex Blinkhorn]

It’s fine. I wouldn’t recommend it to a non mtg person, and still wouldn’t really recommend it to someone who is.

[Aaron · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had such high hopes...but this book was so disjointed. It was hard to determine what was going on; all the portents and hints at machinations didn't really come together by the end of the novel. Also, there is no sense of distance in this world; characters get from one place to another in the matter of sentences and the whole tale seems to unravel in the course of a day.

[Jesse · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has its ups and downs, and I suppose I should not be surprised considering there were two authors at work here.

I happen to really like Cory J. Herndon's work, and I also happen to really enjoy a number of works by Scott McGough. Having read many (but not nearly all, in fact probably less than half) of Magic: The Gathering novels, you see his name around.

Magic novels are fun because they immerse you in a myriad of settings, and though I can't say Lorwyn is one of my preferred settings, it was a fun ride. I couldn't necessarily recognize who wrote what as I was reading, except for the occasional "Herndon flair" (that is, a subtle dose of humor that I so adore him for). As for the setting, eh, not really my first choice, but I figured I'd give it a shot since I admired both writers.

The result was something that wasn't bad, but I really feel like could've been done better. If you want a quick adventure into a pastoral world told with little detail into the characters or their respective cultures (save the stinking elves), then you'll like this. I liked it enough to order Book II, though I think I'll read it some other time after another something else.

[Richard · Rating 2 out of 5]

If it wasn't for the fact that I am interested in the Magic the Gathering worlds, this book wouldn't be on the top. I think the reason why it wasn't very good is probably because I already had a preconceived idea of what the world would be and what the characters would do.

Also, I think the characters were not developed very well. Probably also because I had an idea of what I think should happen. but the second book was definitely better. but I am getting ahead of myself here.

[Kailey (Luminous Libro) · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was okay, but not great. There was far too much superfluous description of unnecessary details, and the bigger picture (motives, backgrounds, loyalties) was left largely unexplained. The end left me completely confused. The world is imaginative, and the characters interesting, so it did have some good points.

[Josh Liller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice fantasy paperback from a duo of authors experianced in writing them (between Herndon and McGough, they have written the last 3 cycles/trilogies of MTG paperback novels). Not their best work IMO, but still a fine read if you enjoy their stuff.

[Tshjortile · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although I'm not a huge fan of fantasy, I love the MTG worlds and its plurality. I liked the way the story plays with knowledge, oracles and its protagonists. I've read it in German, and it's a pity how bad the translation is as well as its editing. I've almost drowned in printing mistakes.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this because I play MTG and I like this new cycle of cards. As a player I like having the background for the storyline I am playing in, but that might just be me.

[Kamran Warsi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a bad read but very simple and predictable.

[Bradley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a pure delight. I love pure fantasy with clever plot twists. A very enjoyable read. =)

[Drows · Rating 3 out of 5]

Average book.
I didn't read the following books, but as for this one alone, it was average "quest" book.
"Go to place A, get item B, came back to town"

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, but too much was not explained satisfactorily or at all.