Tradition Book: Sons of Ether (Mage)

Rating:
Summary: Last Minute Gem!
Review: As you may know, this iteration of the World of Darkness is slated to cease publication early next year. Thank God for this last minute entry! SoE Revised is, pretty darn good!

The first 21 pages of the book's 100 are, predictably, useless, pointless, and irritating to everyone who bought it as a game book, not a novel. (I hear the fiction's good, though, so the rest of you won't be disappointed.) Which begs the question, how do you get an B+ for the course when you already lost 21%?

Excellent paradigmatic glosses on awakened versus linear magic, and the soft bits of paradigm in general. Cogent explanations of how Sons of Ether used to, and currently, recruit, induct, and gain notoriety-- in a way that really helps the history and politics of the Sons make sense.

Believeable hierarchy with exciting concepts attached, and terms that don't seem dorky. A vivification of the role the Paradigma periodical plays (played) in organizing the tradition.

Major factions in detail, including a reframing of concepts like "Mad Scientist" and the utopian elements in SoE society, which both manage to be *intelligent* and provide a lot of cool hooks for roleplay.

Current events in the metaplot, if you're into that sort of thing.

A good, hard, satisfying look at the real grit of SoEther paradigm, and the framework to make plain how Etherics could possibly consider themselves all part of the same tradition.

A few merits and some interesting glosses for Spheres.

A rationale, finally, for why people would be doing things victorian-style or pulp-style in the 21st friggin' century.

A large, rambling section on breaking fields of research Sons presently persue, incorporating current events and plothooks galore.

The usual personalities and character templates section.

For the first time, I'm convinced there're really "Sons of Ether," rather than, a bunch of fring technomancers who call themselves Sons of Ether.

Rating:
Summary: One of the Best in a series of Great Books
Review: I'll admit it: I'm biased. I've loved the Sons of Ether since the first edition of Mage, back when everything was Mad Science and Pulp Heros. Now, with the revised edition the writers and developer have managed to keep the flavour of the old editions while updating, refreshing, and expanding them to include more current information and a broader view of the group as a whole. While there are a couple of things I would have liked to have seen here(mentions of the old signature characters, mentions of Victoria station and more info on the Gernsback Continuum, and finally stats for Ether Goggles), I'm very happy with the revised edition, the fiction alone makes it worth the purchase.

Rating:
Summary: One of the Best in a series of Great Books
Review: I'll admit it: I'm biased. I've loved the Sons of Ether since the first edition of Mage, back when everything was Mad Science and Pulp Heros. Now, with the revised edition the writers and developer have managed to keep the flavour of the old editions while updating, refreshing, and expanding them to include more current information and a broader view of the group as a whole. While there are a couple of things I would have liked to have seen here(mentions of the old signature characters, mentions of Victoria station and more info on the Gernsback Continuum, and finally stats for Ether Goggles), I'm very happy with the revised edition, the fiction alone makes it worth the purchase.

Rating:
Summary: The power of Dynamic Science
Review: The Sons of Ether Tradition book was one of the best splat books for Mage the Ascension. However, it was still flawed due to the one-dimensional portrayal of the Etherites as mad scientists, and the scatter-shot presentation of the confusing Etherite paradigm.

The Revised Sons of Ether Tradition Book finally addressed the Etherite paradigm and presented it in a way that made sense. There is still some wacky personalities in the book but it was more realistic. The Etherites' have their own protocols to keep their members in line. The book was a really fun read. Dynamic Science, the Book of Ether, Etherite culture, and factions were all explained. Finally, they're not all just crazy scientists.

Some of the things that should have been given more space include the following. Noteworthy Etherites such as Alexis Hastings, Czar Vargo, and Doc Eon should have been given at least a paragraph each, like in the first edition. Important realms such as a Victoria Station, the Gernsback Continuum and other locations should have been discussed more. There is a faction that focuses on unversal and Umbral travel so it would make sense that some more info on those realms be included. The list of Wonders/Devices was very weak (only 2). Extraordinary devices and gadgets such as Ether Goggles were not discussed.

So is this book worth purchasing? If you really like the Sons of Ether than this book is a must. Dynamic Science was thoroghly explained and that in itself is worth the purchase. If you have the first edition book this book is still worth getting. There is a lot of new material. The old book fills in some of the blanks in the new one. If you are looking for cool gadgets and powerful spells than this book is not for you. With this book, the old one, and the Technomancer's Toybox, you will finally get the whole Etherite picture.