Rating: 
Summary: A refreshing view on the game Magic: the Gathering.
Review: This book focuses on the Players and playing of the game not the "storyline" behind the cards because, when it comes down to actual play, the "storylines" "phases" out and all you're left with is two people pitted against each other with a certain amount of mana and spells and the objective of beating your opponent. This book weaves the basics behind Magic: the Gathering and the playing of the game with such an exciting plot that anyone interested in Magic: the Gathering would thuroughly enjoy this book. It's good to know that someone else believes that just because you're using black and red mana, it doesn't mean that you're the bad guy!
Rating:
Summary: Great book starts off a great series!
Review: A great book. Starting off a great series. Read this book! I own a copy, I have read that copy many times. I insist that you get a copy and read it many times too. For Magic: The Gathering players and fantasy novel enjoyers, this book is excellent. Read it, not this review!
Rating:
Summary: Arena: the best Magic: the Gathering book so far!
Review: When I read this book, I could not stop. I read in bed, in the car, at meals..... I think it is one of the best books I have ever read! I just hope that the following books in the series are just as good if not better!
Rating:
Summary: This is the best book in it's genre I have ever read!
Review: Arena;the story of One-Eye Garth, a seasoned combat mage and tactition.
The timeline of this story covers the time when Garth returned to his city of birth, betting on fights and sleeping in the streets, to when he becomes a planes walker:one of the most powerfull dimensional beings.
In the story,Garth does things that will come as a suprise to the reader to start a "gang war" kind of chaos between the different colored clans of the Magic colors.
I think the best part of this story is that any body can enjoy it if they like the D&D type of midevil fiction, though I will give a word of warning to all Magic:The Gathering players:This book is not at all like Magic the way I thought it would be, because it carys no traits of Magic, other than the different colors, and the mention of a few cards from Beta and Arabian Nights(none of the Urza-Mishra stuff, it is a stand alone storyline).
The book has a great cast of charecters that you will come to love, and hate, over time, and it has a plot so gripping that you will not be able to put it down untill you are done! Jacob Thornburg, 8th grade, Arcata, California
Rating:
Summary: One of the greatest Magic novels printed yet.
Review: I would reccommend this book to all people that play Magic the Gathering and all that are interested in getting hooked into a new series of books. Plus the coupon in the back nets you 2 cards you can trade to any Magic Player. The book is about political strife in a town of wizards where they have yearly contests. A one-eyed stranger shows up one year and wants to join the contest. He is also curious about a long-dead secret of the town that could lead
to chaos of a grand sort.
Rating: 
Summary: Laughably, unbelievably terrible
Review: I admit, I looked this book up on Amazon mainly to read people's reviews making fun of it. Instead, I was astonished to see so many five star reviews. What planet are these people from? "Arena" is, hands down, the worst fantasy novel I have ever read. "Arena" is well named. It's a nearly plotless massacre from start to finish. We get scene after scene of two magicians facing each other, pulling spell components off their belts like cards in a Magic: The Gathering card game, and causing monsters to appear. So far as that goes, it would be a novelized episode of "Yu-Gi-Oh!" and the worst that could be said of it is that it might be repetitive and dull. However, the most striking thing about this novel is that the city in which it is set seems to be populated entirely by lemmings. Every time two spellcasters get together to duke it out, swarms of onlookers gather around to gape, oblivious of the fact that everyone in the area will be stepped on or incinerated as soon as the fight gets going. There are endless scenes of seemingly limitless crowds of commoners being casually and contemptuously slaughtered by hero and villain alike. How bored with life are these serfs? And why doesn't our protagonist Garth give a flip what happens to them? The people don't even seem to care about their own fate, let alone one another. Against my better judgment, I went on to read "Time Streams," a much later Magic: The Gathering novel by J. Robert King, and was startled by how good it was. While "Time Streams" was also extremely violent, the plot, characters, concepts, and language were all very compelling, and I enjoyed it. By contrast, "Arena" is just violence from cover to cover, with barely a semblence of plot, let alone theme, character, or wordplay to justify it. The "Planeswaker" concept--that when a mage becomes powerful enough, he can transcend mortality and become a being of vast power--has a lot of potential, but judging by "Time Streams," the later books in the series make far better use of it. The evil Planeswalker here is basically just the boss monster at the end of a video game. I suppose this is coming off as a rant, and I appologize for that. I just couldn't believe this agonizingly stupid thing has that much of a fanbase.
Rating:
Summary: How it would be if you were actually a Planeswalker
Review: In the early days of Magic, WotC pushed the idea that the players were opponents in duels. This novel is the best illustration of this concept. The saga of Garth using the four houses to restore his house is well done, with everything fitting the original concept of Magic. I can not think of a novel I would recommend more to a fellow Magic players besides "The Brother's War".
Rating:
Summary: Best MTG book....
Review: I read this book several years ago when it first came out, and I have to admit that it is truely one of the absolute best books I've ever read. It has nothing to do with the 'Magic: The Gathering' card games, nor does it deal with anything "pokemon-ish;" Arena is an outstanding piece of literature and, thankfully, not ploy to draw people into playing the card game. A *HIGHLY* recommended book for anyone who enjoys sci-fi or novels such as J.R.R. Tolkien's 'Lord of the Rings.' Even Harry Potter fans will enjoy the intense magical atmosphere of this novel.
Rating:
Summary: You don't have to like Magic :the gathering to love this boo
Review: I first borrowed this book from a friend of mine, because I was bored and wanted something to read. I could barely put it down, and then only because I had to. The story of Garth One-Eye and his companions is an enthralling read. Once I finished my friend's copy, I tracked down the book at my favorite bookstore, and got a copy of my own. Anyone who is a fan of fantasy should read this book.
Rating:
Summary: A nice start to the Magic Series
Review: This was (I think) the first MTG novel published. It is also one of the strongest novels of the entire line. Centered around a mysterious one-eyed magicker, the reader sees the opulence and greed that has taken over the annual Wizard's Duel. The main characher, Garth One-Eye, comes to the annual event in order to sow some chaos himself and to exact some revenge. One nice thing about this book was that, originally, you could order away for a MTG card, The Arena. Overall, this is a very well-written novel with a super story and excellent characters (we do meet Garth again later on in the series). While this book is sometimes hard to find, it is well worth the effort. I'd rank it as one of the top two or three Magic books along with The Thran and Tapestries.
| 
