Shadowmoor: Shadowmoor Cycle Anthology, Book I

Magic: The Gathering #1

by Philip Athans (Editor), Susan J. Morris (Editor)

Unleash the Magic!

Established authors and exciting new writers collaborate on this anthology of Magic: The Gathering stories, all set in the lush world of Lorwyn. Included within its pages is a novella by well-loved authors Scott McGough and Cory J. Herndon. As with previous Magic titles, Shadowmoor gives readers a sneak peak at what will be coming out in the next Magic: The Gathering set.

Genres: Fantasy, Magic, Fiction, Anthologies, Science Fiction Fantasy, Short Stories

352 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published April 1, 2008

About the author

I 100% support AUTHORS AGAINST BOOK BANS
https://www.authorsagainstbookbans.com

I give every book 5 stars in protest against the concept of star ratings in general and the ever-unfolding algorithm dystopia!

Philip Athans, an anti-AI, anti-book bans liberal, is the founding partner of Athans & Associates Creative Consulting (www.athansassociates.com), and the New York Times best-selling author of Annihilation and more than a dozen other fantasy and horror books including The Best of Fantasy Authors Handbook Vol. I 2009-2013, The Guide to Writing Fantasy & Science Fiction, and Writing Monsters. Born in Rochester, New York he grew up in suburban Chicago, where he published the literary magazine Alternative Fiction & Poetry. His blog, Fantasy Author’s Handbook, is updated every Tuesday (https://fantasyhandbook.wordpress.com), less regularly on the FAH YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/@FantasyAutho...), and you can follow him on Twitter @PhilAthans. He makes his home in the foothills of the Washington Cascades, east of Seattle.

Reviews

[J Crouse · Rating 4 out of 5]

A shame the opening and closing stories are so mediocre, much of the stories within (especially those involving Cinders) are really well executed and contribute well to the flavor of the plane

[Bradley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent read. Short stories okay.

[Parker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun and short. Not a lot of depth but ok read.

[Alex Blinkhorn · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the better mtg books.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book at a value village when I was just starting high school, being a fan of the Magic: The Gathering card game I picked it up and gave it a read. At the time I thought it was a pretty good MtG story and went searching for more about the world of Lorwyn. Having re-read it recently I can say that this anthology is more than that. Not only does it do a really good job of building up the world, but it also does so at a very brisk pace so nothing ever feels like wasted time. Most of the stories are pretty high quality with one being only ok.

Overall I'd recommend this to anybody who's a fan of Magic: The Gathering, as well as to people who enjoy short fantasy.

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Better than the other two previous books. This is just a collection of short stories. So, the idea is to show an idea more than the development of the characters. Some of the stories were kind of shallow (probably just trying to show the world of Shadowmoor.) But others touched on a bit of human/creature nature too.

After reading about what shadowmoor was about, I was thinking that the stories were going to be more grim and "sad"? however, it seemed to have some gloom and doom plus some hope.

[Audrey Buchman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was a little bit disappointed in this book. I have loved every Magic book I've read so far but this one fell short. None of the stories tied into each other or the Lorwyn books, only the first story had any of the characters from Lorwyn and they only had fleeting appearances, and most if the stories just had something about them that didn't quite make sense to me. I'm hoping Eventide makes up for it.

[Aaron · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the approach of introducing the new world of Shadowmoor via short stories. The first story by the authors of the first two books in this series was by far the weakest, serving as a quick link and "catchup" with all of the main characters from the previous stories. It also makes sure there is plenty of mystery to serve as the fourth and final book in this series.

Other than that, the stories are well written and do a good job of introducing the "dark Lorwyn" - Shadowmoor.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book started out where the previous series ended, which led me to believe there would a new set of heroes to follow, but this was just a series of short stories about the land of Shadowmoor after the cataclysm of the previous series. It was a struggle to finish, and don't even know if I will finish the second book in the series with the prospect of being disappointed.

[Kerri Simpson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Apparently no one has written good books on this which sucks because i love the game. Or i have yet to find any of the good books. There is soo much to work with and this is what they come up with. Im sorry really disapointed. At least in all the books with ideas based off the game. That ive read so far.

[Ashleigh Furry · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was good over all and I am aware that Magic the Gathering is based on fights, clans, and battles but I would have liked at least one good ending to one of the short stories. They were extremely depressing and with fights there is always a loosing side and a winning side so a couple of positive endings would not have been too difficult.

[Leo Niehorster-cook · Rating 5 out of 5]

Comes after Morningtide. A bunch of short stories relating all to the storyline. I loved all of them and that each one had a couple different characters. 5/5. It is important to read it to read other books because it continues the storyline in the next book

[Carolyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the short stories were really interesting, others not, which I think averages out to this 3 star rating.

[David Dutton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nigh perfect if you are a serious player of the game.

Great hooks.