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Magic: The Gathering: Ice Age Cycle #3
The Shattered Alliance
After the ice comes the peril
The Ice Age has come to an abrupt end, but the world's troubles have not. Legions of undead still plague the living. The temporary peace in Kjeldor has come to an end, and an evil far more treacherous than Lim Dûl has been unleashed upon the land.
The ice has gone, but the evil remains.
The Ice Age has come to an abrupt end, but the world's troubles have not. Legions of undead still plague the living. The temporary peace in Kjeldor has come to an end, and an evil far more treacherous than Lim Dûl has been unleashed upon the land.
The ice has gone, but the evil remains.
320 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published December 1, 2000
9 people are currently reading
513 people want to read
About the author
Jeff Grubb
199 books193 followersHe is an author and game designer.
See more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Grubb
See more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Grubb
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
January 23, 2024
I forgot to write a review of this when I actually finished it about four days ago, so we're gonna fix that now.
The Ice Age was a sleeper hit for me. The more I read, the more I appreciated what came before. This cycle was so expertly crafted to build upon its themes with each new book, each new character, each new plot point. The essence of magic is change. While not said outright until the second book, the entire cycle is built on this one line of dialogue. This one line gives us a peak into the world of magic, and more importantly, into the character of Jodah. The time skip between the first and second book felt jarring at first, but it illustrates this idea of change so perfectly, to see the Jodah we know as a young boy suddenly become a 2000 year old archmage, and then, in this book, to see that 2000 year old Jodah change once again, letting go of his "eternal" title in favor of a new archmage. We see Gerda change from the conniving traitor to the strong, caring successor to Jodah. Jaya is no longer the quipy young thief, and even the very continent of Terisiare is unrecognizable by the end of the cycle. This cycle represents change, a transition between eras of Dominarian history. And with this transition behind, we step into a new age. An age in which Dominaria has been opened back up to the Phyrexians. By the time I'm reading this, I've already finished Planeswalker, the second book in the Artifact Cycle. Go check out my review there.
The Ice Age was a sleeper hit for me. The more I read, the more I appreciated what came before. This cycle was so expertly crafted to build upon its themes with each new book, each new character, each new plot point. The essence of magic is change. While not said outright until the second book, the entire cycle is built on this one line of dialogue. This one line gives us a peak into the world of magic, and more importantly, into the character of Jodah. The time skip between the first and second book felt jarring at first, but it illustrates this idea of change so perfectly, to see the Jodah we know as a young boy suddenly become a 2000 year old archmage, and then, in this book, to see that 2000 year old Jodah change once again, letting go of his "eternal" title in favor of a new archmage. We see Gerda change from the conniving traitor to the strong, caring successor to Jodah. Jaya is no longer the quipy young thief, and even the very continent of Terisiare is unrecognizable by the end of the cycle. This cycle represents change, a transition between eras of Dominarian history. And with this transition behind, we step into a new age. An age in which Dominaria has been opened back up to the Phyrexians. By the time I'm reading this, I've already finished Planeswalker, the second book in the Artifact Cycle. Go check out my review there.
October 22, 2018
Just gonna dive into this one and save some time. This is so far my favorite magic 'block' series and it is well written. The general idea is solid and the final conclusion, while the lag prominent in book 2 carries over, it is a worthy conclusion.
Characters - Jodah and Jaya are the main focus, and they are so well written and I love their interactions with eachother. While some characters receive interesting plot twists, it is generally still 'good', the only two characters that explictibly stand out are these two.
Mairsil is also here, and he is still a great vilain.
Setting - Dominaria. Talked about it twice, so I will just leave this one be and just write it off as 'good'.
Plot - With twists and turns, the small 'hiccups' in the middle was not noticable and I can say it is well written with no second thoughts. There is a major plot twist that I personally was 'aware' of but it still felt rewarding.
Time to read - A day. Similar to the Brothers War, I think it is a quick and fun read. I dont expect anyone to finish no later then a few days.
Overall, I think it is a good book and I look forward to seeing more of Jodah and Jaya later on in the story (especially considering the Epilogue has a twist.)
Characters - Jodah and Jaya are the main focus, and they are so well written and I love their interactions with eachother. While some characters receive interesting plot twists, it is generally still 'good', the only two characters that explictibly stand out are these two.
Mairsil is also here, and he is still a great vilain.
Setting - Dominaria. Talked about it twice, so I will just leave this one be and just write it off as 'good'.
Plot - With twists and turns, the small 'hiccups' in the middle was not noticable and I can say it is well written with no second thoughts. There is a major plot twist that I personally was 'aware' of but it still felt rewarding.
Time to read - A day. Similar to the Brothers War, I think it is a quick and fun read. I dont expect anyone to finish no later then a few days.
Overall, I think it is a good book and I look forward to seeing more of Jodah and Jaya later on in the story (especially considering the Epilogue has a twist.)
July 25, 2018
It seems to be a theme with these books that the middle book of each trilogy is the strongest. This wasn't bad, but it wasn't nearly as good as the last.
The big mystery of who took the ring I guessed on like page 20. Also, the big twist at the end was spoiled for me by the current Dominaria set since I know that Jaya's spark has to ignite.
The big mystery of who took the ring I guessed on like page 20. Also, the big twist at the end was spoiled for me by the current Dominaria set since I know that Jaya's spark has to ignite.
March 23, 2024
Though this book is not as good as the first two of the cycle, if you can get to the last 60-70 pages is when it really gets good. There are some surprising twists and turns and the ending was a bit of a surprise as well. For more in depth reviews check out https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC82t...
July 7, 2018
A fantastic end to the Grubb's trilogy. I can't say exactly what he's done right here. It's just a solid, workman-like effort, that hits the bases. A good book/series for Fantasy fans, and a classic for fans of Magic the Gathering novelizations.
July 20, 2021
It would be very okay to just read the first 2 books of this trilogy or maybe just read the first 50 pages and last 50 pages of this book because there's nothing much going on for me in the middle. The Eternal Ice had a bit of mystery to it but this book was very predictable yet forgettable.
January 5, 2025
Good start. Boring middle. Great ending.
December 29, 2016
This one picks up twenty years after the close of The Eternal Ice, with the realm in apparent peace. It doesn't take long, however, to find out that Lim Dul wasn't quite as dead as he was assumed to be, at which point Jodah and his trusty side-kick Jaya set off to discover his whereabouts. The majority of the book is spent following this pair all across Terisiare as they do detective work to track down their old nemesis. One of the most enjoyable aspects of this book is in trying to solve the mystery before the characters, something that most readers will be able to do with the ample clues provided along the way. The actual plot of this one seemed rather weak to me, however. The same-old bad guy comes back to life to threaten the world in the same-old way he had before (almost). Actually, this entire story just seemed somehow less significant than the previous book, without the world-changing battles and no involvement by Planeswalkers. I will say that the end of the book is very dramatic and fun to read, and the conclusion was done very well, leaving the reader satisfied with the story of Jodah and the series as a whole.
This one, like the other two in the series, contains short, but witty, excerpts from the Algarvian historian Arkol at the beginning of each chapter that call to mind the little nuggets of text present on many of the MTG game cards. While these snippets aren't usually directly related to the story being told, they are entertaining, and give the book a 'historical' feel that cements it in its proper place in time.
If you've enjoyed the first two books in the Ice Age Cycle, you'll definitely enjoy this one too. And if you're just looking for something out of the long-running saga of Urza and Gerrard, this one fits the bill. Recommended for fans of the series.
This one, like the other two in the series, contains short, but witty, excerpts from the Algarvian historian Arkol at the beginning of each chapter that call to mind the little nuggets of text present on many of the MTG game cards. While these snippets aren't usually directly related to the story being told, they are entertaining, and give the book a 'historical' feel that cements it in its proper place in time.
If you've enjoyed the first two books in the Ice Age Cycle, you'll definitely enjoy this one too. And if you're just looking for something out of the long-running saga of Urza and Gerrard, this one fits the bill. Recommended for fans of the series.
June 17, 2016
Sadly a really lackluster end to this trilogy, which I liked a lot at the beginning. We're still focusing on Jodah, but here's the thing: The first chapter is about Lim-Dum, the necromancer from book two (and also ... Marisil? from book one) in his current state (being contained in a ring on his dead hand) and how he's going to rise again. Then someone picks him up. After that the "main" book kicks in, and it's PAINFULLY obvious who's being controlled by the necromancer. I skipped ahead to where that reveal is b/c I didn't want to bother plodding through everything else, and ... it's on page 250. Of 300. I read the last 50 pages, and it felt like I'd missed nothing. :/
Oh, well, they can't all be winners. I believe Jodah has a later book all to his own, so I'll be curious to see what happens there.
Oh, well, they can't all be winners. I believe Jodah has a later book all to his own, so I'll be curious to see what happens there.
July 17, 2012
While pleasant, it really fealt like this book was mostly about tying up the loose ends from Eternal Ice. Things fealt a little disjointed as we travelled to all the previously important locations to learn what everyone had been up to in the lapsed twenty years.
That being said, I enjoyed the character dynamic between Jaya and Jodah. Jodah has so much that he's had to deal with over the years, but during this book it feels like he gains a renewed sense of purpose. It's a shame that he plays such a smaller part in the future stories.
That being said, I enjoyed the character dynamic between Jaya and Jodah. Jodah has so much that he's had to deal with over the years, but during this book it feels like he gains a renewed sense of purpose. It's a shame that he plays such a smaller part in the future stories.
August 18, 2018
This was definitely the weakest of the Ice Age trilogy. Even if I didn’t know how it was going to end from previous knowledge of the story, the foreshadowing was about as subtle as a bazooka. Not that it wasn’t enjoyable, just obviously plotted.
November 21, 2016
A great story to end a trilogy.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews