Journey Into Nyx: Godsend, Part II

Magic: The Gathering

by Jenna Helland

Elspeth’s trials in Theros continue in this second Godsend adventure inspired by the myths of ancient Greece
 
In a realm where fickle gods fight for the devotion of mortals, the planeswalker Elspeth has risen to become the champion of the sun god Heliod, who transformed her legendary sword into a spear named “Godsend.”
 
As Elspeth defends the city Akros from minotaur hordes, she uncovers a horrible If the machinations of the satyr planeswalker Xenagos come to fruition, he’ll ascend to godhood and threaten the entire realm of Theros. Made a pariah by Xenagos, an exiled and hated Elspeth fights for her life. As she hunts Xenagos, Elspeth must attempt to breach Nyx, the realm of night—and the home of the gods.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction

186 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 13, 2014

About the author

Jenna Helland is a writer and editor for Wizards of the Coast in Renton, Washington. Before moving to the Northwest, she was a journalist in Missouri, Virginia, and California. She has a history degree from Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, and a journalism degree from the Missouri School of Journalism in Columbia, Missouri. She enjoys playing Magic: The Gathering, reading books with pictures, and running.

Reviews

[Chip Hunter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one actually took me by surprise. The willingness to kill off central characters is not something I am used to in these MTG fluff pieces, but I appreciate the unpredictability that it adds. I thought Jenna Helland delivered a satisfying conclusion to the mini series here, cramming in a ton of story into a very limited space. I'm not sure why they opted for a 2-book series instead of 3, as there definitely seemed to be enough material for another book. Parts of this one felt rushed or abbreviated, but I'll chalk that up to restrictions on the author. One thing is for sure, there is no wasted space in this book, as the action keeps coming and the story rushes towards its conclusion at break-neck speed. One way to improve future efforts may be to relax the requirements for forcing in ALL of the expected cameos from the expansion set. Brimaz, Kiora, and even Ajani felt tacked on without really adding to the central story. Tightening up this sort of thing in the future might help. Still a solid effort. I will read future Helland pieces if they are made.

[R.j. Triveri · Rating 2 out of 5]

The entire first half of the book had the same quality as the first, but soon things began to degrade. It seems as though the author was told they'd have three books to work in, but was suddenly cut off after the rise of King Stranger. The ending felt rushed and anti-climatic. With less than a few sentences said between King Stranger and the Hero, I didn't feel the same sense of victory that I felt after many other epic magic duels. It felt too easy.

When I got to the very end, I felt a weight of disappointment. I've had emotion investment before and have dealt with the loss of major characters before, but it just wasn't justified this time. With what had occurred at the end, there was another way it could have been done. The knife twist in the last part... it was just too much.

With so many loose ends in this novel, I just didn't feel it did the character's justice. I feel it couldn't have ended any other way for the Hero, but this way wasn't the best option.

[Jorge Rosas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loyal to the Greek mythology, the characters are not entirely good or bad, but human even those who are not human at all. Quoting Ollivander Xenagos “did great things – terrible, yes, but great”, here we face his ascension and the chaos that brings to the pantheon and Nyx, of course get an epic journey and some very tragic events, we have active roles of two extra plainswalkers and the thing about Gods that not everyone is willing to accept. An excellent explanation of the events in the Theros plane and Elspeth’s fate.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whereas Theros is mostly setup, Journey Into Nyx is the payoff. Almost nonstop action, here Xenagos makes his attempt to ascend to godhood, thus throwing the pantheon of Theros into chaos. Elspeth is blamed and that - among other reasons - is why she is determined to kill the would-be God of Revels even if she has to travel to the realm of the gods to do it. I think one of the most shocking parts of this little two part story is the ending: in the immediate aftermath of Elspeth killing Xenogas, thus restoring order to the pantheon, Heliod murders his own champion in cold blood.
“Even if you hadn’t given yourself to Erebos [in exchange for the life of her lover], I wouldn’t have permitted you to live,” Heliod said. “You are too much like the satyr. Your eyes have seen things I can’t fathom. And a champion cannot know more than her god. I am lord of the pantheon. I am the greatest of these.”
Heliod doesn't really know that Elspeth is a planeswalker (as Xenogos was, though different in all the ways that matter), but is just canny enough to realize that what she knows things that don't make sense for just Theros. And, in fitting with his character, he asserts his dominance by violence and control, thus reinforcing for readers that white (Heliod is the God of the Sun and a monowhite character in the context of the Magic: The Gathering card game) is not necessarily the color of goodness. I thought this was a really bold move, though one that makes sense. Theros is a plane with an afterlife, so Elspeth dying doesn't preclude her from returning (and she eventually does; this storyline was revisited in the Theros: Beyond Death) and seeing MTG's characters win all the time would eventually get boring. As much as this specific ending is a downer, it is a breath of fresh air for a longrunning series with a very wide and colorful cast of characters.

I very much liked the Godsend duology. I liked the beautiful writing and detailed attention to worldbuilding, the pacing of the story was ok, and I like how this story fits into the wider stories of Magic: The Gathering. This is definitely one of the pieces of lore I would recommend.

[MajesticalLion · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is going up there in the ranks of "Favorite MTG stories" for sure. Elspeth is really such a fleshed out character. Even knowing that she died in the end and that Beyond Death never got a book written for it, I hope that I'll get to see her in story again at some point. I'm a little lost as to why she had to trade her life for Daxos. Theoretically, couldn't she have just asked for Daxos' life as the reward for her ordeal? It seems like the implication was that she just wanted to give up on life, like she was tired of the endless suffering she had met on every plane she went to. But Heliod was gonna kill her anyway. Well. I guess all I can hope for is that Beyond Death will actually get released at some point. Until then, I'm going back to the Gatewatch for a couple stories. Kaladesh, is next on the docket.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first book was a set up for this one. I was less intrigued by the first one, a story of monsters and heroes and yada yada yada.

This one was able to breathe because we now know that Elspeth is brave and relentless and all the qualities of a Knight of Bant (she kicks much ass in Quest for Karn). But here we see her soul.

I read this years after it was written in preparation for the release of the latest Theros MTG set to come out. So many of the gripes about this book, in hindsight, are null.

The ending of this book was a thing of beauty. As that last paragraph rolled out, it all clicked into place.

Thank you Jenna for writing this.

[Scott · Rating 2 out of 5]

As is often the case with these blocks, the follow-up drops off significantly from the beginning. This got really muddled and boring; there was no clear plot for a while until about 60% in when Xenagos suddenly becomes a god.

I knew Elspeth died, but I imagined it was a heroic sacrifice to kill Xenagos....not just asking to trade her life for Daxos who already died. It doesn't feel like something she would do, there's no clear motivation for it, and it comes out of nowhere in the last 10 pages.

[Camilo Navarrete - D-Propósito Humano · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sin desconocer que es una historia interesante, no refleja lo que se esperaría de una tragedia épica de corte griego. El avance del personaje cae en lo predecible y la autora abrevia demasiado una historia que daba para mucho más.

[Lukas Stejskal · Rating 2 out of 5]

Better than the first part, it has some good twists and generally more stuff is happening, but it has the same problem nevertheless: great world-building, mediocre writing.

[Tom the Guvnor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cracking follow up sequel. Very well written for a tie-in.

[Sherwin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Continuing on from my review of the previous Theros block novella, I must say that, although I enjoyed certain bits, Jenna Helland's work really suffered from essentially having to cram lore/arcana from both the Born of Gods expansion and the eponymous Journey into Nyx. I commend her for a valiant effort, but the end result was very much a rushed and somewhat odd turn of events that would change the lives of our beloved Planeswalkers forever.

I've always enjoyed the accompanying lore/books that were released alongside each MtG block, but I really feel like having only 2-ebook-novellas this time around did a diservice to both the epic tale that Theros as a plane ostensibly embodies and to Jenna Helland. Doug Beyer had the benefit of 3 ebooks to fully flesh out the growing disquiet on the plane of Ravnica and here, Jenna Helland has to split the revels of Xenagos' ascension into the first part and a quick jaunt into Nyx and deicide as a climax (quick jaunt being key here).

Although minor legendary characters are quickly introduced and then set aside (what happened to Nikka after "joining the Nyxborn"? Anthousa? Anax? Cymede going to Keranos?), Planeswalkers are the star of the Multiverse and it is no different here. I enjoyed reading about this journey Elpseth has undergone and the effect that the New Phyrexia had on her. Ajani's return only further establishes him as a wise, zen-like leonin buddah amongst the ranks of our beloved Planeswalkers. Kiora's brief appearance was perhaps the most intriguing of all. Moreover, Jenna Helland managed to name drop certain planes that Wizards has yet to take us to (I made sure to highlight them on my Kindle), and that is perhaps the most exciting prospect of all.

In the end, I would say that the Theros Block ebooks were a valiant effort on Jenna Helland's part. Although her creativity and narrative pacing suffered by virtue of the condensed format, what she did write was at times heartfelt, heartbreaking, and brilliant. I've enjoyed Theros and do hope that, as Jenna Helland hints, "This is not the end of the story." I very much hope that Wizards will continue with this kind of supplementary material and look forward to (hopefully) reading Doug Beyer's work on the forthcoming Khans of Tarkir block.

[Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fitting conclusion to Elspeth's adventure in Theros and my introduction to Magic novels.

[Alan Gilfoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Being available only as an eBook didn't bother me. I ended up reading it on the Kindle iPhone app. That was good for something to do on my phone, something more substantial than playing simple games, rather than being an annoyance.

Overall, Part 2 seemed to pick up the pace.

After all the mentions of "between the pillars", I was glad to hear the process explained with the Anax-Rageblood duel.

I had seen romantic potential between Elspeth and Daxos - as such, I was glad to see Cymede mention it. It seems obvious that they did it after the Akros battle. I understand WOTC doesn't want to go there, but bringing it up without going into details is almost more awkward than not mentioning it at all. I've noticed that problem when writing PG-13 versions of my own R rated stories.

There were great twists in both the Akros battle and Nyx conclusion sequences. It had a well done bittersweet ending, while still being open ended. Being a Game of Thrones fan as well, I'm used to bad things happening to good characters, so maybe that's why this didn't sting me as much as it could have. I wodner if Daxos had alreayd beocme a Returned, or if that was Erebos wormign his way out of his end of the deal.

"Not all deaths are etched with mythic meaning and iconic glory" - Quicksand flavor text

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this part of the Godsend story much more than the first. Of course, the book suffers at times from not-the-best-writing, especially at the end when things start to feel rushed, but it is an extremely entertaining book. There is a lot of action that drives the story along. I really felt that some of the mechanical things from the actual card set showed through in the book, like toward the end where an archon "bestows" itself onto Elspeth. I was really impressed at how the interplay between Ajani and Elspeth was written, especially when it came to them casting spells that bolstered or helped each other. Those scenes flowed very seamlessly and felt very natural, which isn't something I've really experienced in another Magic story. It just felt very...well...Magic-y.

Can't say I was thrilled with the ending. But that's mostly cause it was super-depressing. But I won't spoil things here...

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

This sequel seems much more rushed than the first in series. With so much new information and the introduction of additional characters, I actually got lost a few times. It almost seemed like the author was forced to cut out some important details in order to keep within the guidelines of the short format. There were also a handful of mistakes that the editor somehow missed. Most readers probably wouldn't notice, but that is one of my pet peeves when reading a finished product. If this was an e-galley, I wouldn't even mention it. However, I paid for this e-book and expect more from Wizards of the Coast. With that being said, I still gave this read three stars as Elspeth's story is certainly worth reading.

Full review: http://casualreadersbookclub.blogspot...

[Ken · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite a good start to the Godsend series, the ending of this second book felt rushed. There was a great build up between an all out war with the Gods but sadly nothing materialised. New character like Kiora was added at the last minute without making much of an impact to the overall story. Theros is a very promising world with a wealth of mythology to play with. I hope someone can get the go ahead to write a full novel set in this world.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted so much to give this four stars but due to the rushed feel (especially the last half) I ended up feeling a little disappointed when I finished. I do think there should have been three novellas instead of two to reflect each part of the Theros block to really give the depth of the story credit. Still very enjoyable for magic fans!

[Sergio Poo · Rating 2 out of 5]

The problems from the first book are still present in this book, the story feels disjointed and not well developed, we go from a set piece to the next without much of a transition. The characters are paper thin and make decisions out of character. Theros as a concept is interesting and has the potential to be home to good stories but this wasn't one.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Suffered quite a bit from packing all the events of two sets into one book. the ending seemed rushed and nearly cost it the weight it deserved, and the grim note it all ended on seemed to twist the knife for the reader a bit much.

[( Display Error ) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great contribution to the magic series. Very we'll written with lots of character development and depth. It treats an important part of a very major character in the series very well. I only gave this 4 stars because I wish it was longer.

[Adam · Rating 2 out of 5]

The pacing is completely off. The book is too short to delve into real world-building, but too long (with part one) to hold a brisk storytelling pace.

Something went wrong.

[Kirsty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everything hurts.

[Ben · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this series up until the final chapters of this book when the plot takes a drastically tragic twist.

[Linsay Powell · Rating 1 out of 5]

Shite. Not reading anymore.