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Before the Brothers' War. Before the five colors of magic.
Before history itself, the plane of Dominaira was ruled by the Thran. They built machines and artifacts, the likes of which have never since been seen. But amid this civilization, a shadow took root, one that would stretch its arms across space and time.
The hideous evil of Phyrexia was born.
Before history itself, the plane of Dominaira was ruled by the Thran. They built machines and artifacts, the likes of which have never since been seen. But amid this civilization, a shadow took root, one that would stretch its arms across space and time.
The hideous evil of Phyrexia was born.
317 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 1, 1999
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 72 reviews
February 26, 2017
I read "The Thran" a few years ago. I have read many Magic: the Gathering novels, going from "The Brothers' War" up to around Kamigawa. "The Thran" is a horror story. It's the most disturbing book in the series I've read. It's also the best book. If you can stomach the violence and the disgust, it's a must read for fans of the game.
April 9, 2008
Being a Magic: the Gathering nerd I have read a few of the books, but this stands out as my favorite. I would almost say it is the creation story of MtG, it makes everything else that happens in all the other books seem more significant and adds a layer of humanity to the devil of the MtG multiverse, the source of all evil in all planes in all the mythology.
Of all the MtG writers I think J. Robert King is the best, which is not to say that any of the others are bad, but his I feel like his writing transcends what may people may consider a gimmick to make a quick buck. It seems after reading this, which was written at least 10 years after the card game was released, that the story was always there and they always intended to tell it, but had never been able.
Anyone who is interested in MtG and would like to get into the books I think should read this one, as it precedes all the other books as far as I know. In general I would say the books are worth reading. The story behind the cards is pretty interesting, though not always the most original, and it's cool to read about the Thran power stones or some other reference to one of the cards.
I also recommend this book to any fan of fantasy, as it is a good digestible size and is interesting, even if you are not familiar with the card game.
Of all the MtG writers I think J. Robert King is the best, which is not to say that any of the others are bad, but his I feel like his writing transcends what may people may consider a gimmick to make a quick buck. It seems after reading this, which was written at least 10 years after the card game was released, that the story was always there and they always intended to tell it, but had never been able.
Anyone who is interested in MtG and would like to get into the books I think should read this one, as it precedes all the other books as far as I know. In general I would say the books are worth reading. The story behind the cards is pretty interesting, though not always the most original, and it's cool to read about the Thran power stones or some other reference to one of the cards.
I also recommend this book to any fan of fantasy, as it is a good digestible size and is interesting, even if you are not familiar with the card game.
December 30, 2016
This may be the most important (if you can call any MTG fluff important) book to date as far as understanding the background for the MTG universe. Chronicling events that shape the story behind at least 20 other books that I know of, THE THRAN finally provides the back story on which nearly everything else is based on. Millennia before the Brothers' War and the Ice Age, this book reveals the mysteries of Yawgmoth, Gix, Phyrexia, Mercadia, the Meekstone, the Mightstone, artifice, and the Thran.
King is perhaps the best writer to contribute to the MTG saga, and his skill is on fine display here. Staying within the limits of the already well-established sequence of events, King is still able to produce a fun and interesting read that has all the suspense and mystery you could ask for. Even though you know that the Thran will be decimated and Yawgmoth will live, the book isn't completely predictable and nothing seems inevitable. Quite an accomplishment when you consider that most of the story had been set out ahead of time.
The book does, however, take away a lot of the mystery that had previously made the Thran and the rest of the MTG universe so intriguing. While I love to learn more about the history of the multiverse and hear the secrets of its past, I think the reality presented here takes away from the glamour that the Thran had before. We find that they really aren't some super-advanced god-like race, but mere humans with all the troubles and faults of everyone else. Nonetheless, this is an excellent book that should please any fan of fantasy, especially those that have already been exposed to the MTG fluff. Highly recommended.
King is perhaps the best writer to contribute to the MTG saga, and his skill is on fine display here. Staying within the limits of the already well-established sequence of events, King is still able to produce a fun and interesting read that has all the suspense and mystery you could ask for. Even though you know that the Thran will be decimated and Yawgmoth will live, the book isn't completely predictable and nothing seems inevitable. Quite an accomplishment when you consider that most of the story had been set out ahead of time.
The book does, however, take away a lot of the mystery that had previously made the Thran and the rest of the MTG universe so intriguing. While I love to learn more about the history of the multiverse and hear the secrets of its past, I think the reality presented here takes away from the glamour that the Thran had before. We find that they really aren't some super-advanced god-like race, but mere humans with all the troubles and faults of everyone else. Nonetheless, this is an excellent book that should please any fan of fantasy, especially those that have already been exposed to the MTG fluff. Highly recommended.
April 5, 2023
I thoroughly enjoyed The Thran, and it's probably as good as a tie-in novel to a trading card game could reasonably be. It helps that it wasn't written to advertise any particular expansion set, but purely for the lore. The author also shows a better sense of style than most hack writers of such books. At the same time, I have too much MTG nostalgia floating in my bloodstream to be objective about it, and it's not without flaws. I'm curious about the opinion of someone not knee-deep in MTG lore. I think this book would actually be accessible to such a person, since it doesn't contain much jargon not explained in the book, and being the chronologically first event in the long-ass Urza saga it doesn't require knowledge of any previous lore to make sense of.
An unrepentantly villainous protagonist makes this book stand out. The main text tries to play coy with the reader, but the in media res intro makes no bones about it, and it should be clear early on that Yawgmoth is power hungry and egomaniacal at best. He's a combination of Caesar and Mengele, which is an untapped well for villainous archetypes. Our culture worships physicians, but they're a perfect fit for a villain with a god complex. The profession has a long history of thinking too highly of themselves (resistance to hand washing in the 19th century), and partaking in highly unethical experimentation for curiosity or sadism. I don't mean to say all doctors are evil, but a medical license is no guarantee of morality. This is in part a medical horror story, as we watch the degeneration of Yawgmoth's patient zero Glacian, and see the horrific conditions of his quarantine system.
Yawgmoth's rise to power is completely plausible. He starts from a small foothold with an invaluable terminal patient, and works his way up step by step, using fear of disease to acquire more power, and using that power to exacerbate the conditions of fear. He's capable of hiding his sadism and psychopathy when he needs to. He doesn't mastermind everything, but is able to use the flow of random events to his favour. Some readers might find the actions of those around him stupid or unbelievable, but they don't even have the somewhat limited access to his mind that we do. They see a man who is arrogant because he is a legitimate genius, and don't have a 21st century awareness of the paths that dictators take to power. The part where the former rulers of Halcyon expect Yawgmoth to give up his emergency military powers after the end of a crisis can only be a deliberate portrayal of such naivete. The point of no return, where Rebbec prevents the one thing that could have removed Yawgmoth from power is almost as disturbing as any of the gory medical or battle scenes.
As much as I found it plausible, the storyline isn't perfect. The single biggest problem is that it's supposedly a decade-long rise to power, but it's a 300 page book, nearly a quarter of which depicts a couple of days in a civil war. Events happen so quickly, I had no time to digest some development before some new disruption started. Normally I would consider wanting more to be a positive point, but I was actually confused about the passage of time more than once. It felt like events were taking place over weeks rather than years, which is a failure of characterization.
More problems emerge when Yawgmoth moves from a mere god complex to approaching actual godhood.
A complaint of other readers that didn't bother me at all was supposed narrator unreliability. Toward the end we find out that A lot of readers take this as the narrator lying to the reader, because at times we hear Yawgmoth's thoughts. The new information doesn't outright contradict what was told before, it just adds in an omission that readers would never suspect had been omitted. Just because we hear some of Yawgmoth's thoughts doesn't mean we always do, or hear all of them. The narration in the air ship only describes Yawgmoth's actions, not his thoughts. For the other omission, I don't think we can conclude that he knew from the very beginning, and the times we do see into his mind, there would be no point to him reflecting on his knowledge. He is a man who is always looking to the future, not thinking about his past.
This book forms a sort of pair with The Brothers' War, which is the second best MTG novel I've read. It's been more than a decade since I read it, so I have no idea if it holds up at all. As for the rest, the Ravnica books were fun for the weird setting, even if they devolved into kaiju fights and barely functioned as a connected series. The Mirrodin books were completely forgettable, even though the setting should've been at least as weird as Ravnica. The Time Spiral books had some good time-bending post-apocalypse stuff but they were way too convoluted and "the Mending" was the beginning of the end for MTG lore. I read the first Ice Age and Lorwyn books and found both uninteresting. I told myself this would be the last MTG book I would touch, but I see that Robert King wrote several others. I almost want to check them out.
An unrepentantly villainous protagonist makes this book stand out. The main text tries to play coy with the reader, but the in media res intro makes no bones about it, and it should be clear early on that Yawgmoth is power hungry and egomaniacal at best. He's a combination of Caesar and Mengele, which is an untapped well for villainous archetypes. Our culture worships physicians, but they're a perfect fit for a villain with a god complex. The profession has a long history of thinking too highly of themselves (resistance to hand washing in the 19th century), and partaking in highly unethical experimentation for curiosity or sadism. I don't mean to say all doctors are evil, but a medical license is no guarantee of morality. This is in part a medical horror story, as we watch the degeneration of Yawgmoth's patient zero Glacian, and see the horrific conditions of his quarantine system.
Yawgmoth's rise to power is completely plausible. He starts from a small foothold with an invaluable terminal patient, and works his way up step by step, using fear of disease to acquire more power, and using that power to exacerbate the conditions of fear. He's capable of hiding his sadism and psychopathy when he needs to. He doesn't mastermind everything, but is able to use the flow of random events to his favour. Some readers might find the actions of those around him stupid or unbelievable, but they don't even have the somewhat limited access to his mind that we do. They see a man who is arrogant because he is a legitimate genius, and don't have a 21st century awareness of the paths that dictators take to power. The part where the former rulers of Halcyon expect Yawgmoth to give up his emergency military powers after the end of a crisis can only be a deliberate portrayal of such naivete. The point of no return, where Rebbec prevents the one thing that could have removed Yawgmoth from power is almost as disturbing as any of the gory medical or battle scenes.
As much as I found it plausible, the storyline isn't perfect. The single biggest problem is that it's supposedly a decade-long rise to power, but it's a 300 page book, nearly a quarter of which depicts a couple of days in a civil war. Events happen so quickly, I had no time to digest some development before some new disruption started. Normally I would consider wanting more to be a positive point, but I was actually confused about the passage of time more than once. It felt like events were taking place over weeks rather than years, which is a failure of characterization.
More problems emerge when Yawgmoth moves from a mere god complex to approaching actual godhood.
A complaint of other readers that didn't bother me at all was supposed narrator unreliability. Toward the end we find out that A lot of readers take this as the narrator lying to the reader, because at times we hear Yawgmoth's thoughts. The new information doesn't outright contradict what was told before, it just adds in an omission that readers would never suspect had been omitted. Just because we hear some of Yawgmoth's thoughts doesn't mean we always do, or hear all of them. The narration in the air ship only describes Yawgmoth's actions, not his thoughts. For the other omission, I don't think we can conclude that he knew from the very beginning, and the times we do see into his mind, there would be no point to him reflecting on his knowledge. He is a man who is always looking to the future, not thinking about his past.
This book forms a sort of pair with The Brothers' War, which is the second best MTG novel I've read. It's been more than a decade since I read it, so I have no idea if it holds up at all. As for the rest, the Ravnica books were fun for the weird setting, even if they devolved into kaiju fights and barely functioned as a connected series. The Mirrodin books were completely forgettable, even though the setting should've been at least as weird as Ravnica. The Time Spiral books had some good time-bending post-apocalypse stuff but they were way too convoluted and "the Mending" was the beginning of the end for MTG lore. I read the first Ice Age and Lorwyn books and found both uninteresting. I told myself this would be the last MTG book I would touch, but I see that Robert King wrote several others. I almost want to check them out.
January 25, 2021
Si bien no deja de ser un libro escrito para vendernos cartas es un libro que disfrute un montón. Hace años que quiero conocer bien el lore de Magic y disfrute mucho este librito.
Muy recomendado para quien quiera conocer más de la historia de Domaria!
Muy recomendado para quien quiera conocer más de la historia de Domaria!
November 11, 2013
I read this book as a teenager, and recently revisited it. It is a very good read.
As a Magic the Gathering player and reader of other MTG novels, this story has a specific appeal because if you put the MTG universe on a timeline, Thran would precede them all.
The characters in this book were developed well. The main characters are complex with decent back-stories. What I don't like about the characters is that none of them ever really grip onto you as someone who you really care strongly for. But Yawgmoth, you definitely come to dislike him. You feel bad for Galacian even though he frustrates you, come to dislike and distrust Yawgmoth, and aren't really sure how to feel about Rebbec.
The story is told well, beginning the reading with the latter part of the story, jumping back to the beginning, and progressing from there. The end was a bit abrupt. I'd like to know how the known world went about putting itself back together after the chaos is all over.
Overall, a very enjoyable read to the fantasy and MTG fan alike.
As a Magic the Gathering player and reader of other MTG novels, this story has a specific appeal because if you put the MTG universe on a timeline, Thran would precede them all.
The characters in this book were developed well. The main characters are complex with decent back-stories. What I don't like about the characters is that none of them ever really grip onto you as someone who you really care strongly for. But Yawgmoth, you definitely come to dislike him. You feel bad for Galacian even though he frustrates you, come to dislike and distrust Yawgmoth, and aren't really sure how to feel about Rebbec.
The story is told well, beginning the reading with the latter part of the story, jumping back to the beginning, and progressing from there. The end was a bit abrupt. I'd like to know how the known world went about putting itself back together after the chaos is all over.
Overall, a very enjoyable read to the fantasy and MTG fan alike.
August 9, 2019
Usually, books written as supplementary content for games tend not to be very good. The Thran stands out as an absolutely phenomenal exception. The story is thrilling and engaging, even for people who have no prior knowledge of MtG. I love the characterization of pre-Phyrexian Yawgmoth-- he is as charming as he is sadistic, as devious as he is brilliant. I highly recommend this book for any fan of MtG, and even for fantasy fans in general.
May 4, 2019
Excellent pacing and writing. Great plot for a fantasy novel and I enjoy that anyone can enjoy it, even those not familiar with magic the gathering. The plot has great pacing and twists and the main character is developed in an admirable way. Great author.
February 7, 2023
Everybody likes the megalomaniac. Bad stuff happens.
Plot: unbelievable
Style: fun
Setting: early M:tG
Characters: awful
Plot: unbelievable
Style: fun
Setting: early M:tG
Characters: awful
July 12, 2023
I have two main issues with this book. Firstly, the female characters have absolutely no agency within the story and all their actions are either motivated by a man, done for a man, or just put in there with the purpose of furthering a man’s plot. Even when it would make sense for the character to behave differently, she goes out of her character to do man’s bidding. The two female characters that exist, Rebbec and Dyfed, are both wildly intelligent or powerful, but at the mere sight of Yawgmoth’s male muscly masculine arms they are reduced to having the integrity of a piece of gelatine on a sunny day.
Additionally, the description of Dyfed’s death made me physically sick for the first time ever while reading a book, and the amount of times Yawgmoth scoops Rebbec up like “lost lamb” would be comedic, if it wasn’t so painfully sexist.
Second, this book glorifies and misrepresents eugenics, which could have horrible consequences for an average reader with little knowledge about history.
We are first exposed to this book’s version of eugenics through Yawgmoth’s internal monologue, where he describes it more like the basics of microbiology and medicine rather than the appalling practice eugenics has been historically. Additionally, Yawgmoth describes himself as an ally to the people, not the aristocrats or higher classes, which again gives the wrong impression of eugenics which has famously been the tool of the high classes to control the lower classes. While Yawgmoth’s glorification in the first half of the book makes sense narratively, his actions in the second half should not be defended by the author, which they definitely are, by continuously having him described as noble, strong, beautiful etc.
The book does a horrible job of separating the real world concept of eugenics from its Halcyan counterpart, which leads to a confusing and disturbing read, even for a person familiar with the history of eugenics. It is grotesque to have it portrayed as a positive thing.
Additionally, the description of Dyfed’s death made me physically sick for the first time ever while reading a book, and the amount of times Yawgmoth scoops Rebbec up like “lost lamb” would be comedic, if it wasn’t so painfully sexist.
Second, this book glorifies and misrepresents eugenics, which could have horrible consequences for an average reader with little knowledge about history.
We are first exposed to this book’s version of eugenics through Yawgmoth’s internal monologue, where he describes it more like the basics of microbiology and medicine rather than the appalling practice eugenics has been historically. Additionally, Yawgmoth describes himself as an ally to the people, not the aristocrats or higher classes, which again gives the wrong impression of eugenics which has famously been the tool of the high classes to control the lower classes. While Yawgmoth’s glorification in the first half of the book makes sense narratively, his actions in the second half should not be defended by the author, which they definitely are, by continuously having him described as noble, strong, beautiful etc.
The book does a horrible job of separating the real world concept of eugenics from its Halcyan counterpart, which leads to a confusing and disturbing read, even for a person familiar with the history of eugenics. It is grotesque to have it portrayed as a positive thing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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March 4, 2024Ultimately a fairly long-winded prequel, considering this story has one antagonist mostly just being terrible to people and ascending to godhood. Kind of surprised that it's one of the more highly rated MtG books. Yikes, what am I in for next?
October 28, 2020
Very well written, the author transports you into the universe with his writing so that rather than feeling that you're reading a narrative, you experience the strategy and emotions firsthand. Robert King does this so exceptionally however that you feel the disgust and horror at Yawgmoth's machinations and creations, rage at the injustice against Glacian, exasperation and disappointment with Rebbec, and pity for Gix. I experienced this world and the emotions so intimately to the point that I was horrified when I resurfaced from Halcyon, I felt that this offsets how well-written this work was. Perhaps I'm wrong to write off The Thran just because I came away from the novel rattled... I concede, I'm giving this a higher rating
August 8, 2025
Was stunned at how well-written the prose is for a 90s novel based off a children’s card game (which I play myself, not targeting anyone here). The plot may leave a bit to be desired for a reader completely unfamiliar with the IP; the biggest issue for me, at least, was that the character dynamics and relationships seemed to get sidelined as the story progressed to being more about Yawgmoth’s creation and influence over Phyrexia and becoming a bit of a generic, body-horror story.
Yawgmoth’s character reads like a critique of scientific practice without ethical constraint, an argument against the ends justify the means. His methods are, from a technical perspective, correct; allusions to control groups, trials, and repetition are spread throughout, making it clear that whatever else he may be, the man is a scientist obsessed with discovering natural truth. However, the story makes a clear distinction: unlike others who seek knowledge and the truth for its own sake, Yawgmoth seeks the truth because only the truth will grant him power. Once he discovers the truth of the phthisis, he actively keeps it from everyone else and leverages misinformation about the disease to gain political power - a bit of a classic parable or moral lesson to temper/guide scientific curiosity with ethics. However, the exploration of this theme starts to get a bit muddled once Dyfed is introduced, with the more fantastical worldbuilding elements starting to take center stage.
Rebbec and Gix are highlights of the story, although Rebbec becomes less and less believable as a character as the novel goes on, the low point probably being when the other nations accuse Yawgmoth of war crimes and she abjectly refuses to leave his side despite mounting evidence pointing to his evil nature. It’s not that this is necessarily a bad idea - I just don’t think the novel offered enough insight into Rebbec’s mind to fully justify this decision. A few more passages from her POV describing her contemplations at these revelations, only to suppress them and effectively “choose” to “believe” a lie would have been, in my opinion, a great addition.
Gix’s transformation from idealistic freedom fighter to herald of Phyrexia was also very well done; in fact, I thought Gix was the most intriguing character in the whole book. He cares about his people, he risks his life to help them, but ultimately at the end of the day his self-preservation instincts are very strong and drive him to make selfish decisions - and the fact that it is this relatable, introspective, human drive that ironically results in Gix’s loss of his humanity is a great bit of narrative writing. I just wish we’d spent more time with his character after he was converted into a Phyrexian; instead, we get him for about half a chapter, and then the rest of the book is mostly about Yawgmoth’s takeover of Halcyon.
Overall, certainly not a perfect book but I say this in the best possible way. Way better than it had any right to be; The Thran is a must-read for fans of the game interested in Magic lore, and may even have something to appreciate for fans of fantasy literature in general.
Yawgmoth’s character reads like a critique of scientific practice without ethical constraint, an argument against the ends justify the means. His methods are, from a technical perspective, correct; allusions to control groups, trials, and repetition are spread throughout, making it clear that whatever else he may be, the man is a scientist obsessed with discovering natural truth. However, the story makes a clear distinction: unlike others who seek knowledge and the truth for its own sake, Yawgmoth seeks the truth because only the truth will grant him power. Once he discovers the truth of the phthisis, he actively keeps it from everyone else and leverages misinformation about the disease to gain political power - a bit of a classic parable or moral lesson to temper/guide scientific curiosity with ethics. However, the exploration of this theme starts to get a bit muddled once Dyfed is introduced, with the more fantastical worldbuilding elements starting to take center stage.
Rebbec and Gix are highlights of the story, although Rebbec becomes less and less believable as a character as the novel goes on, the low point probably being when the other nations accuse Yawgmoth of war crimes and she abjectly refuses to leave his side despite mounting evidence pointing to his evil nature. It’s not that this is necessarily a bad idea - I just don’t think the novel offered enough insight into Rebbec’s mind to fully justify this decision. A few more passages from her POV describing her contemplations at these revelations, only to suppress them and effectively “choose” to “believe” a lie would have been, in my opinion, a great addition.
Gix’s transformation from idealistic freedom fighter to herald of Phyrexia was also very well done; in fact, I thought Gix was the most intriguing character in the whole book. He cares about his people, he risks his life to help them, but ultimately at the end of the day his self-preservation instincts are very strong and drive him to make selfish decisions - and the fact that it is this relatable, introspective, human drive that ironically results in Gix’s loss of his humanity is a great bit of narrative writing. I just wish we’d spent more time with his character after he was converted into a Phyrexian; instead, we get him for about half a chapter, and then the rest of the book is mostly about Yawgmoth’s takeover of Halcyon.
Overall, certainly not a perfect book but I say this in the best possible way. Way better than it had any right to be; The Thran is a must-read for fans of the game interested in Magic lore, and may even have something to appreciate for fans of fantasy literature in general.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 19, 2017
This book is an awesome piece of fantasy story-telling. I can't remember having read a story like this where the main character is the antagonist... I hesitate to call Yawgmoth an anti-hero because he is deliberately manipulative. Of course, the accusations by Dyfed are never substantiated but still, you're led to believe that there's no reason she wouldn't know the truth.
If I have to give one criticism, it's that things move a bit too quickly for my taste. Perhaps I'm spoiled by current day fantasy that always seems to be extremely long and engrossing, but there just seems like there was so much story crammed into too few pages. Fortunately there's plenty more of Yawgmoth to come in the books ahead so I can't be too disappointed.
Also, I don't think this book passes the Bechdel test which is a let down, especially coming of the previous novels. This novel serves as the bridge into the revisionist MtG storytelling but I see no reason why the author would move away from the well written female characters I've come to expect.
Absolutely worth a read, even for those with only an ancillary interest in the game. It is just that good.
If I have to give one criticism, it's that things move a bit too quickly for my taste. Perhaps I'm spoiled by current day fantasy that always seems to be extremely long and engrossing, but there just seems like there was so much story crammed into too few pages. Fortunately there's plenty more of Yawgmoth to come in the books ahead so I can't be too disappointed.
Also, I don't think this book passes the Bechdel test which is a let down, especially coming of the previous novels. This novel serves as the bridge into the revisionist MtG storytelling but I see no reason why the author would move away from the well written female characters I've come to expect.
Absolutely worth a read, even for those with only an ancillary interest in the game. It is just that good.
January 23, 2023
This is - so far, at least - one of the few MTG books I've read where I'm pretty much completely unfamiliar with the characters. The Cursed Land was so-so leaning towards bad and the Secrets of Magic anthology was hit and miss. But this - THIS! - this was awesome.
The Thran is set in ancient Dominaria. It tells the story of Yawgmoth, an exiled healer mocked and feared for his theories about 'little beasties' that cause disease and reliance on nonmagical healing techniques, who is grudgingly invited back to the city of Halcyon to care for Glacian, the city's most valuable powerstone engineer who is suffering from an incurable wasting illness, and Rebbec, Glacian's wife and a politically powerful powerstone architect (she is the one who pushed for Yawgmoth's healing techniques to be tried as a last ditch effort over the objections of the City Council and Glacian himself). The story is segregated into four main parts - called The City, The Nation, The World, and The Multiverse - each of which (aside from the very last) has a first chapter that tells of a battle against Yawgmoth as a tyrant that is going on currently, and the rest of which tells the story of how Yawgmoth manipulated and bullied his way into that position of power. The main plot is a slow burn political intrigue as Yawgmoth manipulates the populace into believing he's saved them from an inherent poison, does away with dissenters by forcing them into quarantine, accumulates a corps of healers who become a trained fighting force, and eventually demands the formal submission of the cities where he is already the de facto king. While this is happening on Dominaria, a planeswalker - originally come to speak with Glacian, a potential walker - also gets caught up in the web of honeyed lies and gifts Yawgmoth with an artificially created plane. When the plane bonds to him, he effectively becomes a god so long as he is on it and uses that power to "fix" all the things "wrong" with sentient races with the intent of making them strong and resilient and primarily perfectly obedient. Above all, Yawgmoth seeks power and a way to spread his power. The sections of the text encompass his takeover of first Halcyon, then the Thran nation, then the civil war as he tries to assert control over Dominaria as a whole, and his ultimately failed bid but still fervent desire to become a planeswalker to the multiverse could potentially be in his grasp.
Just in terms of storytelling, divorced from the context of the Magic: The Gathering game, The Thran is amazing. The story doesn't reference any other material (probably because it was meant to be a prequel to other stories), so a reader can come to the book not knowing anything about MTG - the setting, the characters, the rules of the universe; nothing - and still understand what's going on. The plot is riveting and well paced, with a good mix of realistic and fantasy elements. The characters themselves - particularly Yawgmoth, Glacian, and Rebbec - are well fleshed out, with clearly defined characterization and behavior that makes sense in the context of that characterization. They come across on the page as people, which is always a hallmark of truly excellent writing. I was sort of worried going into the book that it would just be another so-so book that I needed background knowledge to know what was happening (as with the War of the Spark duology) or have characters I just couldn't connect with because I hadn't seen them in the game before (as with The Cursed Land) or suffer from terrible authorship (as with the War of the Spark or Test of Metal). Happily, The Thran is none of these things. It achieves the most basic goal of a fiction novel - to entertain - in spades.
However, The Thran is not just a standalone book; it is part of a long set of lore for the Magic: The Gathering card game meant to tell the stories of their planes and their characters. On this front, I'd say it also achieves the goal. The characters are representative of their respective colors of mana - black for Yawgmoth, blue for Glacian, white for Rebbec - and their characterization fits well into what would be expected of mages for those colors. Yawgmoth is defined by an all-consuming quest for power, culminating in a (failed, thankfully) attempt to become a planeswalker so he can set himself up as a god to the multiverse. Glacian is defined by the desire to create and know, to discover and prove, culminating in the (successful, thankfully) use of power to close the portal to Dominaria and seal Yawgmoth away. Rebbec is defined by a desire to improve herself and the society in which she lives by providing new ways of seeing and hope for things to come, culminating in her refusal to cooperate with Yawgmoth and her successes at destroying or stealing valuable resources before she fled. I can't really speak for how well the story meshes with the rest of canon from that era as I'm still in the process of reading it (and might not ever be finished, considering how hard to find some of the books are), but as far I know nothing needed to be retconned in more recent stories. (Except those couple scenes where the planeswalker takes various non-walkers with her through the Blind Eternities to other worlds. This is different in more recent MTG lore - only planeswalkers can survive the metaphysical space between worlds - but I will chalk it up to a combination of early installment weirdness - this book was published about six years after the game debuted, meaning it was written earlier than that - and the fact this story is set in the preMending era when planeswalkers were basically interplanar gods rather than just powerful mages who had a extremely rare ability to move between worlds. But that was a retcon for MTG on a whole - hence the Mending - because planeswalkers who were interplanar gods was problematic, storywise, so it's not a strike against this book.)
Overall, I loved this book. It is a piece of Magic lore that I would happily recommend, both as Magic lore and as a really good fantasy novel.
The Thran is set in ancient Dominaria. It tells the story of Yawgmoth, an exiled healer mocked and feared for his theories about 'little beasties' that cause disease and reliance on nonmagical healing techniques, who is grudgingly invited back to the city of Halcyon to care for Glacian, the city's most valuable powerstone engineer who is suffering from an incurable wasting illness, and Rebbec, Glacian's wife and a politically powerful powerstone architect (she is the one who pushed for Yawgmoth's healing techniques to be tried as a last ditch effort over the objections of the City Council and Glacian himself). The story is segregated into four main parts - called The City, The Nation, The World, and The Multiverse - each of which (aside from the very last) has a first chapter that tells of a battle against Yawgmoth as a tyrant that is going on currently, and the rest of which tells the story of how Yawgmoth manipulated and bullied his way into that position of power. The main plot is a slow burn political intrigue as Yawgmoth manipulates the populace into believing he's saved them from an inherent poison, does away with dissenters by forcing them into quarantine, accumulates a corps of healers who become a trained fighting force, and eventually demands the formal submission of the cities where he is already the de facto king. While this is happening on Dominaria, a planeswalker - originally come to speak with Glacian, a potential walker - also gets caught up in the web of honeyed lies and gifts Yawgmoth with an artificially created plane. When the plane bonds to him, he effectively becomes a god so long as he is on it and uses that power to "fix" all the things "wrong" with sentient races with the intent of making them strong and resilient and primarily perfectly obedient. Above all, Yawgmoth seeks power and a way to spread his power. The sections of the text encompass his takeover of first Halcyon, then the Thran nation, then the civil war as he tries to assert control over Dominaria as a whole, and his ultimately failed bid but still fervent desire to become a planeswalker to the multiverse could potentially be in his grasp.
Just in terms of storytelling, divorced from the context of the Magic: The Gathering game, The Thran is amazing. The story doesn't reference any other material (probably because it was meant to be a prequel to other stories), so a reader can come to the book not knowing anything about MTG - the setting, the characters, the rules of the universe; nothing - and still understand what's going on. The plot is riveting and well paced, with a good mix of realistic and fantasy elements. The characters themselves - particularly Yawgmoth, Glacian, and Rebbec - are well fleshed out, with clearly defined characterization and behavior that makes sense in the context of that characterization. They come across on the page as people, which is always a hallmark of truly excellent writing. I was sort of worried going into the book that it would just be another so-so book that I needed background knowledge to know what was happening (as with the War of the Spark duology) or have characters I just couldn't connect with because I hadn't seen them in the game before (as with The Cursed Land) or suffer from terrible authorship (as with the War of the Spark or Test of Metal). Happily, The Thran is none of these things. It achieves the most basic goal of a fiction novel - to entertain - in spades.
However, The Thran is not just a standalone book; it is part of a long set of lore for the Magic: The Gathering card game meant to tell the stories of their planes and their characters. On this front, I'd say it also achieves the goal. The characters are representative of their respective colors of mana - black for Yawgmoth, blue for Glacian, white for Rebbec - and their characterization fits well into what would be expected of mages for those colors. Yawgmoth is defined by an all-consuming quest for power, culminating in a (failed, thankfully) attempt to become a planeswalker so he can set himself up as a god to the multiverse. Glacian is defined by the desire to create and know, to discover and prove, culminating in the (successful, thankfully) use of power to close the portal to Dominaria and seal Yawgmoth away. Rebbec is defined by a desire to improve herself and the society in which she lives by providing new ways of seeing and hope for things to come, culminating in her refusal to cooperate with Yawgmoth and her successes at destroying or stealing valuable resources before she fled. I can't really speak for how well the story meshes with the rest of canon from that era as I'm still in the process of reading it (and might not ever be finished, considering how hard to find some of the books are), but as far I know nothing needed to be retconned in more recent stories. (Except those couple scenes where the planeswalker takes various non-walkers with her through the Blind Eternities to other worlds. This is different in more recent MTG lore - only planeswalkers can survive the metaphysical space between worlds - but I will chalk it up to a combination of early installment weirdness - this book was published about six years after the game debuted, meaning it was written earlier than that - and the fact this story is set in the preMending era when planeswalkers were basically interplanar gods rather than just powerful mages who had a extremely rare ability to move between worlds. But that was a retcon for MTG on a whole - hence the Mending - because planeswalkers who were interplanar gods was problematic, storywise, so it's not a strike against this book.)
Overall, I loved this book. It is a piece of Magic lore that I would happily recommend, both as Magic lore and as a really good fantasy novel.
October 19, 2023
A genius undone by his pride and fate.
A woman torn by her virtue of seeking the best in everyone and betrayed by her own love.
A man with faults led by his ambition to become a tyrant with little remnant of humanity left.
Just based on the premise, this book should be a masterpiece in tragedy. The story is not just one of the best MtG stories, but one of the best fantasy stories. But what is supposed to be an exploration of the fantastic lore is severely tempered by an average prose by J Robert King. The prose is passable at best and just plain bad at worst, especially when it comes to writing Rebbec. In fact, every other scene with Rebbec is befit of the honor of being posted on r/menwritingwomen. And yet, despite the writing ability, this still remains an incredibly compelling story with multidimensional characters and a world with layers of depth.
A woman torn by her virtue of seeking the best in everyone and betrayed by her own love.
A man with faults led by his ambition to become a tyrant with little remnant of humanity left.
Just based on the premise, this book should be a masterpiece in tragedy. The story is not just one of the best MtG stories, but one of the best fantasy stories. But what is supposed to be an exploration of the fantastic lore is severely tempered by an average prose by J Robert King. The prose is passable at best and just plain bad at worst, especially when it comes to writing Rebbec. In fact, every other scene with Rebbec is befit of the honor of being posted on r/menwritingwomen. And yet, despite the writing ability, this still remains an incredibly compelling story with multidimensional characters and a world with layers of depth.
November 1, 2025
Although The Thran by J. Robert King ambitiously mines the depths of Magic: The Gathering lore—detailing the rise of Yawgmoth and the fall of the Thran civilization—the result ultimately feels thin and unsatisfying. The world-building shows flashes of promise (particularly in portraying a high-tech empire built on mana-stones and the moral decay that accompanies it) but the narrative rushes through major events without giving characters or plot beats the space to resonate. Key figures like Rebbec and Glacian have potential, yet their arcs are overshadowed by a dominant villain whose motivations, while clearly malevolent, never quite transcend stereotype.
Fans deeply invested in every nook of MTG mythos may find morsels to enjoy, but for casual readers this novel lacks the depth and polish expected—even by genre standards.
Fans deeply invested in every nook of MTG mythos may find morsels to enjoy, but for casual readers this novel lacks the depth and polish expected—even by genre standards.
June 16, 2021
Great lore but very poorly written
I have been a Magic the Gathering player since day 1, but recently betrayed looking into the lore. Yaw both and Lifted is has always had a mystique. I always wondered what it was about looking at the strange looking Priests of Yaw mouth, Gates to Phyrexia, and reading the flavor next on Dark Ritual. The Titan tells the tale of a plague and their all to the exiled healer Yawgmoth, his alternative healing arts, what he would do for the love of a woman, and to rule over not just one world, but all of them.
I thoroughly enjoyed the lore in The Thran. However, the writing style was severely lacking. I could have written it better in eight grade. I hope the other MtG novels are written better.
I have been a Magic the Gathering player since day 1, but recently betrayed looking into the lore. Yaw both and Lifted is has always had a mystique. I always wondered what it was about looking at the strange looking Priests of Yaw mouth, Gates to Phyrexia, and reading the flavor next on Dark Ritual. The Titan tells the tale of a plague and their all to the exiled healer Yawgmoth, his alternative healing arts, what he would do for the love of a woman, and to rule over not just one world, but all of them.
I thoroughly enjoyed the lore in The Thran. However, the writing style was severely lacking. I could have written it better in eight grade. I hope the other MtG novels are written better.
August 11, 2023
I was told I was supposed to read this before Brothers War, but I'm glad that I didn't. The experience of Brothers War was heightened a lot by the mystery of the Thran and what happened to them, and the reveal of Gix in this book was really cool having read Brothers War previously. Yawgmoth is a 10/10 villain, and it's made especially better knowing this isn't a fall from grace. This isn't the corruption of a good man. Yawgmoth was evil incarnate from the first moment he walked into Glacian's infirmary. He lied and manipulated everyone around him, and even knowing he's the villain, he tricks you into thinking "maybe he isn't evil yet". An incredibly charismatic villain. I hope to see him again in the future.
February 17, 2024
it was fine
I am going back and reading mtg lore from the beginning. I have played for many years but never bothered with the story. The story itself I think is worth the read. Rebecc I felt was a little to gullible for my taste and we spend quite a bit of the book with her. Same with the Helcyites themselves. Yawgmoth is an obvious villain from the beginning and no one in their right mind should have been fooled by him. I guess love is blind and I guess fear is too. Maybe that was the point?
Good start to my mtg lore journey. Hopefully the rest of the series can hold up to at least this standard.
I am going back and reading mtg lore from the beginning. I have played for many years but never bothered with the story. The story itself I think is worth the read. Rebecc I felt was a little to gullible for my taste and we spend quite a bit of the book with her. Same with the Helcyites themselves. Yawgmoth is an obvious villain from the beginning and no one in their right mind should have been fooled by him. I guess love is blind and I guess fear is too. Maybe that was the point?
Good start to my mtg lore journey. Hopefully the rest of the series can hold up to at least this standard.
December 21, 2019
This was a big surprise to me, considering most books which were inspired by games tend to be pretty bad (at least from my experience). For those who don't know, this book is based on a card game (which is really fascinating to learn about). But, honestly, this book stands on its own, giving the backstory of a certain villain. I loved it, watching the descent into fear and evil of a civilization, all led by one man who swears to heal them from a plague. It makes me crave reading more of these books, or just read more fantasy in general.
October 27, 2023
A good background to the Brothers' War and introduces several main characters that previously only seen working behind the scenes. Some aspects of character choices are disappointing and some aspects take too long while other aspects are rushed. While pacing and character development leave a lot to be desired, the background to the universe that is presented makes it worthwhile and overall good. There are also some trinket bits of fan service that are just enough to make connections without seeming forced.
November 29, 2025
So far this is probably the best book in the entire series (I started from the first a few months ago). It is a weird mix of sci-fantasy, body horror, politics and a very small tinge of romance.
I think this book truly gets to benefit from the fact it gets to tell a story with characters it can develop slowly over time - without giant time gaps - and from having a writer skilled enough to make you wonder and wanting to see things to its end. While I appreciated the touch, I felt like the “interlude” chapters at the start of each section took a bit away from the narrative since it was detracting from me seeing what happened next.
I’d even say that if you are gonna start reading this entire series, you might as well start with this one. Will it answer some questions asked in previous books ahead of time? Yes. Will it steal a bit of the magic of wondering who the Thran are? Yes. But it’s such a much better hook into the world of Dominaria.
I think this book truly gets to benefit from the fact it gets to tell a story with characters it can develop slowly over time - without giant time gaps - and from having a writer skilled enough to make you wonder and wanting to see things to its end. While I appreciated the touch, I felt like the “interlude” chapters at the start of each section took a bit away from the narrative since it was detracting from me seeing what happened next.
I’d even say that if you are gonna start reading this entire series, you might as well start with this one. Will it answer some questions asked in previous books ahead of time? Yes. Will it steal a bit of the magic of wondering who the Thran are? Yes. But it’s such a much better hook into the world of Dominaria.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 4, 2018
This was a vast improvement over the baffling early novels before WOTC established a consistent canon.
I think this was supposed to seem like it was large in scope, but it was really simplistic. Yawgmoth was surprisingly sympathetic for most of this, he was a dick but he was right in a lot of cases (until you find out he started the plague himself). It's interesting to see that this is the origin of Phyrexia.
Not much else to say. It was better than you'd expect for something like this.
I think this was supposed to seem like it was large in scope, but it was really simplistic. Yawgmoth was surprisingly sympathetic for most of this, he was a dick but he was right in a lot of cases (until you find out he started the plague himself). It's interesting to see that this is the origin of Phyrexia.
Not much else to say. It was better than you'd expect for something like this.
January 14, 2019
Quick fun read. Nothing too deep, but it was entertaining. I don't think I would have enjoyed it at all without knowing the characters beforehand.
Spoiler:
One thing that surprised me was that, while you might be suspicious throughout the book, you don't find out until later on how unreliable the narrator is. Things presented as "facts" (not just by characters, but by the third person narrator) early in the book turn out to be lies.
Spoiler:
One thing that surprised me was that, while you might be suspicious throughout the book, you don't find out until later on how unreliable the narrator is. Things presented as "facts" (not just by characters, but by the third person narrator) early in the book turn out to be lies.
March 18, 2023
Required reading for anyone who wants to better understand the lore of Magic: the Gathering. Even without the MtG tie-in, it is just a plain good book. I wish I could say great, but for all its excellence in the first 3/4 of the book (and I did think it was frequently excellent), the closer we got to the conclusion, the less satisfactory I found it. Still definitely worth reading; I just wish I was able to give it a 5 like The Brothers' War.
April 5, 2023
pretty mid, all told. the prose flows like a sack of bricks, akin to reading a wikipedia article as opposed to a novel. the characters -- with the exception of Glacian -- come across as cardboard shells or plot devices. why is Dyfed so stupid? aren't planeswalkers supposed to be basically gods?
it's a decent read if you really want to know more Deep Wizard Poker Lore. otherwise, you can pass on it.
it's a decent read if you really want to know more Deep Wizard Poker Lore. otherwise, you can pass on it.
April 30, 2023
Yawgamoth es un personaje interesante, pero el resto de los personajes son poco profundos y se mueven por la trama (no al revés).
Por lo que a ratos el libro se siente que profundiza demasiado en cosas poco importantes y pasa demasiado rápido en otras que hubiera sido más interesante conocer.
Me invita a no leer la saga completa, pero me deja curiosidad sobre el siguiente libro... Quizá ese cambie el resultado.
Por lo que a ratos el libro se siente que profundiza demasiado en cosas poco importantes y pasa demasiado rápido en otras que hubiera sido más interesante conocer.
Me invita a no leer la saga completa, pero me deja curiosidad sobre el siguiente libro... Quizá ese cambie el resultado.
June 3, 2017
One of my favorite MTG books of all time, The Thran is one of the few titles that does not require any knowledge of other characters or concepts from the Magic: The Gathering plot to enjoy. I first read this book when I was 14, and almost two decades later it still reads like the fantastic scifi I remember. It might be nostalgia, but it might just be good writing.
April 22, 2018
A great introduction to the history of Dominaria
The Thran is a great introduction to one of the first main planes of Magic: The Gathering. It's also a great history of Dominaria, cataloging the first war and cataclysm suffered by the multiverse shaping the conflict in multiple different cycles.
The Thran is a great introduction to one of the first main planes of Magic: The Gathering. It's also a great history of Dominaria, cataloging the first war and cataclysm suffered by the multiverse shaping the conflict in multiple different cycles.
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