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Hour of Devestation
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 25, 2018
The second collection of Magic The Gathering short stories from the Amonkhet block concludes with 'Hour Of Devastation'.
As the title suggests, this isn't a storyline where it ends happily ever after. Far from it! When the Gates to the Afterlife are finally opened, instead of the God-Pharoah that was supposed to welcome them to paradise, there is death, destruction and Nicol Bolas, the Elder Dragon Planeswalker, waiting for them.
The majority of the stories don't feature the Gatewatch - Gideon Jura, Jace Beleren, Liliana Vess, Chandra Nalaar and Nissa Revane - but focus on the inhabitants of the city of Naktamun, in their battle against the invasion of evil and struggle to survive the destruction of their world. I liked some of these stories. The way some of the characters struggle to come to terms with the false prophecies and continue to fight for their lives were well written, exciting and enthralling stuff! It's only in a couple of the stories do the Gatewatch come to the fore, first battling the Demon Razaketh and then facing down the powerful Nicol Bolas. But they were equally good too.
Its definitely a lot more darker and intense than some of the previous Magic stories, and considering the events of this story block, it's no surprise. It made for an engrossing and great read. One of the best Magic Story collections yet.
Looking forward to seeing how the story continues with the next collection of stories.
As the title suggests, this isn't a storyline where it ends happily ever after. Far from it! When the Gates to the Afterlife are finally opened, instead of the God-Pharoah that was supposed to welcome them to paradise, there is death, destruction and Nicol Bolas, the Elder Dragon Planeswalker, waiting for them.
The majority of the stories don't feature the Gatewatch - Gideon Jura, Jace Beleren, Liliana Vess, Chandra Nalaar and Nissa Revane - but focus on the inhabitants of the city of Naktamun, in their battle against the invasion of evil and struggle to survive the destruction of their world. I liked some of these stories. The way some of the characters struggle to come to terms with the false prophecies and continue to fight for their lives were well written, exciting and enthralling stuff! It's only in a couple of the stories do the Gatewatch come to the fore, first battling the Demon Razaketh and then facing down the powerful Nicol Bolas. But they were equally good too.
Its definitely a lot more darker and intense than some of the previous Magic stories, and considering the events of this story block, it's no surprise. It made for an engrossing and great read. One of the best Magic Story collections yet.
Looking forward to seeing how the story continues with the next collection of stories.
January 10, 2019
On the whole, the Amonkhet block of stories is one of the strongest to come out of Magic in quite some time.
It's a wholly new setting for the series, and they succeed with a lot of worldbuilding in not a lot of space. Amonkhet is very quickly established as a living world, its lore well-developed and, more importantly, not entirely exposition-dumped upon the reader.
It's a bit of a climax for our larger story arc, but the Gatewatch take a relatively minor role. They're kept maybe a bit too sidelined overall, but considering how heavy the focus was on them recently it does not feel unwarranted. Thankfully, the local storyline holds its own.
The writers feel a bit less inclined to pull their punches this time around, and setting aside the lack of real lasting consequence or death among the main characters (something I imagine/hope is coming in the finale of the Nicol Bolas arc) the story feels appropriately grim.
The story ends with the Gatewatch scattered to the winds of the Blind Eternities, and where it seems to go next appears to be an interesting diversion from the main arc.
It's a wholly new setting for the series, and they succeed with a lot of worldbuilding in not a lot of space. Amonkhet is very quickly established as a living world, its lore well-developed and, more importantly, not entirely exposition-dumped upon the reader.
It's a bit of a climax for our larger story arc, but the Gatewatch take a relatively minor role. They're kept maybe a bit too sidelined overall, but considering how heavy the focus was on them recently it does not feel unwarranted. Thankfully, the local storyline holds its own.
The writers feel a bit less inclined to pull their punches this time around, and setting aside the lack of real lasting consequence or death among the main characters (something I imagine/hope is coming in the finale of the Nicol Bolas arc) the story feels appropriately grim.
The story ends with the Gatewatch scattered to the winds of the Blind Eternities, and where it seems to go next appears to be an interesting diversion from the main arc.
March 15, 2018
I found this collection of stories to be better then the last few collections. The story has an "Empire Strikes Back" feel to it. The title clues one in to what to expect, just like the movie Empire does. I found that I was able to read through all the stories pretty quickly, and to appreciate the characters and their choices.
I really like and identify with Hazoret, Oketra, and Gideon, and I was pleased to be a bit happier with how Chandra's character was portrayed.
I am looking forward to reading more of these stories. The biggest flaw in not just this, but all of the Magic collections is the never ending conflict, which is the nature of the game that supports the stories.
I really like and identify with Hazoret, Oketra, and Gideon, and I was pleased to be a bit happier with how Chandra's character was portrayed.
I am looking forward to reading more of these stories. The biggest flaw in not just this, but all of the Magic collections is the never ending conflict, which is the nature of the game that supports the stories.
April 3, 2018
Excelente cierre, aunque breve.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews