Rating: 
Summary: Unbelievable!
Review: I've been a Magic player since late 1994, around the time when the set Antiquities was released. The game is still a part of my life, as I play against friends and people online. But I wanted to see if a novel written about Magic would actually be worth reading. I started buying "Fat Packs," which came out just after a recent set was released. The "Fat Packs" contain five booster packs of Magic cards, two premium "foil" cards, a life-counter 20-sided die featuring the set expansion as the number 20, a card guide, and the novel for that particular set. I read all three of the Invasion series books by J. Robert King, and was thoroughly disappointed. Still, I wasn't going to give up hope, so I picked up a copy of The Brother's War by Jeff Grubb, and was astounded.The book takes you to the origins of the two most dreaded personalities in Magic history; Urza and his younger brother Mishra. Several cards have been named in their honor, as well as the entire Antiquities set being devoted to their battles against each other. Any Magic player will instantly tell you who both are, but they probably don't know much about them. This book does a good job explaining how they became the people they are (or were). Also featured in the book are Tawnos, an apprentice toymaker who helps Urza, and Ashnod, a brash young woman who falls for Mishra. I don't want to go into too much detail about the book (since I hate it when people ruin stories for me with spoilers) but many of the cards from the Antiquities set are featured in the book, such as the Amulet of Kroog, the Clay Statue, the Triskelion, and the Clockwork Avian. I figured the storyline may be a bit cheesy and tainted, since it's based on the card game, but the presentation of the artifacts along with the characters blends very well. I enjoyed reading every page of this book. I think it took me three days to finish it, and I couldn't have been happier. An excellent story told by a very good author. Definitely a great title to pick up, even if you're not a Magic player.
Rating: 
Summary: Good for Maqic players.
Review: If you are into Magic the game you will enjoy the book. It adds some understanding to where some of the orginal cards came from. Good plot, with a good twist at the end. Enjoyable, quick read.
Rating:
Summary: beauty
Review: this is my favorite book of all time, i read it in 2000, the description goes on forever, it doesnt just paint a picture, i actually puts you into the story, as though your there, watching the world unravel, develop. words hardly do the book justice, but im trying hard. the whole mystery of the might/weak stones is interesting, the whole mysterious force, standing in the background, manipulating everyone is very intriguing. i reccomend this book to anyone who knows how to read.
Rating:
Summary: Best book i've read!!!!!!!!!!
Review: This book is awesome, I have been a player and collector of magic: the gathering cards for a long time, but when I picked up this book it changed how I saw the game. The story is awesome and I have now read 14 of the Magic books. I still believe this is the best and Jeff Grubb is by far the most enjoyable author. I recommend all of the MTG books, especially the ones written by Jeff Grubb.
Rating:
Summary: The Brothers War
Review: The Brothers War was a badass book. I was handed that book and when I read page 1 I was immeadiatly hooked! Urza and Mishra battaling it out both of their accounts on the story was just incredible it blew me away every page I turned to read about both of the greatest Artificers of all time.
Rating:
Summary: Excellant book
Review: The only reason I read this book is because I stumbled upon it through a friend. However, even if you don't play Magic, which i do not, this is an excellant book, filled with all the best stuff a fantasy lover could enjoy. Although I have read about every Magic book you possibly can read, this one is still the best by far. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: A great book.
Review: This is the best book I have read so far. A definite read for all of you fantasy lovers.
Rating:
Summary: Best book ever!
Review: I just finished this book a few days ago and can't stop talking about it. It is defanitly the best book I have ever read. The plot is absolutely amazing and the drama never stops. It is a constant read. So if you want to buy a book buy this one.
Rating:
Summary: Fantasy at its best
Review: Although I've lost interest in Magic: The Gathering over the last few years, I still find the novels to be some of the best fantasy out there. Whilst some of them (such as Rath and Storm) strain the use of the cards a little, Jeff Grubb's 'The Brothers War' manages to create a fantastic novel which requires little or no knowledge of the Antiquties expansion.
The story details the legendary war between Urza and Mishra, which players are first introduced to in the Antiquities expansion. I always found an expansion detailing a war between artificiers a little hard to believe, but Grubb does an excellent job of displaying not only the war, but also the complex inner workings of these two brilliant but tragic characters. Information from the Arabian Nights set is also used, giving the world a very real and gritty feel. From the feuding 'civilised' empires to the Fallaji, Grubb goes beyond just using cards and introduces a number of unique and exciting places to the world. Whilst we are familiar with places such as Koilos and Kroog, the novel gives us a clear vision of what these places were actually like.
Character depiction is similar well done. We are given vast insight into Urza's growing detachment and Mishra's loss of humanity, but we are also finally given some information about characters such as Ashnod, Tawnos and Feldon. Unlike other novels based on Magic locations, this novel introduces characters such as Kayla and Rusko.
In all, the Brothers War is a faithful depiction of the Antiquties expansion, but goes further and creates a truly unique fantasy world. Worth every cent.
Rating:
Summary: Grubb's Masterpiece.
Review: Though I haven't been interested in the card game: Magic the Gathering, I still couldn't give up on the books. This proves that you don't need to play Magic to read these well-written novels. Anyway, The Brothers' War starts out when Urza and Mishra were kids. The elder, Urza, was born on the first day of the year, Mishra, on the same exact year, was born on the last (pretty cool, huh?). Urza and Mishra never got along very well and argued day in and day out. Over time as they got older, their relationship started get even worse, until they started a devestating war which decimated the continent of Argoth. Mishra, with his help of Ashnod, were both eager to get rid of Urza (big suprise eh?) and his own assistant, Tawnos. But Gix, Yawgmoth's second-in-command, had his own plans of tricking Mishra into becoming a Phyrexian, because Yawgmoth doesn't like to be "used" by others. I don't wanna spoil too much story for you, but I will tell you that the real action starts on the last 100 pages of the 409 paged book. It's the longest Magic book (so far) but it's well worth reading. The Brothers' War is an incredible tale of hatred, madness, curruption, rivalry, everything that makes up a good Fantasy book is in here. So sit down, read The Brothers' War, and take an incredible journey like no other.
|
