Throne of Eldraine: The Wildered Quest

Magic: The Gathering

by Kate Elliott

In the exciting new story of Magic's latest release, Throne of Eldraine, the young warrior-mage twins Rowan and Will Kenrith quest for their missing father, High King Kenrith. Venturing far from the safety of the Realm, their search takes them deep into the Wilds—a hostile land of faeries, monsters, and untamed magic. A chance encounter with the wily and inscrutable shapeshifter Oko seems somehow connected, but memory of the Fey trickster flits away with a wink. Beleaguered by unclear recollections and pursued relentlessly by Garruk, a cursed hunter stalking Planeswalkers across the Multiverse, can the royal scions unravel the mystery of their father's disappearance and restore him to his rightful throne before his absence shatters the peace of their home?

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Magic, Science Fiction Fantasy

174 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 4, 2019

About the author

As a child in rural Oregon, Kate Elliott made up stories because she longed to escape to a world of lurid adventure fiction. She now writes fantasy, steampunk, and science fiction, often with a romantic edge. She currently lives in Hawaii, where she paddles outrigger canoes and spoils her schnauzer.

Reviews

[Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just to level-set: I've played Magic: The Gathering, but not since Bill Clinton was president, and I know nothing about the lore or the world or the larger story.

So, with that out of the way, I did enjoy Throne of Eldraine, a novella-length quest/coming of age story with a couple of generally likeable protagonists, and plenty of glimpses into the much larger, planes-spanning universe of the game.

[wishforagiraffe · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Kate Elliott's books. Turns out, I don't love Magic the Gathering books.

There were definitely some parts where Kate's influence shone through the worldbuilding that was pretty obviously required (the high fantasy setting and creatures that were there as backstory for MtG players), such as the elven society being matriarchal and the excellence of Queen Linden.

Overall though, I didn't love this and wouldn't read it again. I'm not the target audience, and that's ok. The conclusion was good, and I loved the character growth of the twins.

[Trent · Rating 2 out of 5]

What an okay book. I’ll say this much, Wilderd Quest is leagues better than War of the Spark -but that isn’t exactly a high bar to jump (more like a shriveled twig someone dropped on the ground and left in place after throwing up their hands in disgust).

The character perspectives are both limited in number and consistent, and I won’t shy away from saying that it feels good not to see the Gatewatch for what is probably the first time since Oath of the Gatewatch. I actually like Will and Rowan. They may not be particularly deep characters, but at this point the novelty of them and the setting of Eldraine at large wins a not inconsiderable portion of my good graces. Also, the nod to Will probably being bisexual was a nice touch that didn’t cause the entire narrative to devolve into romantic drama (not that I would have minded).

I particularly liked Garruk in this story. His healing from the Chain Veil’s curse is absolutely an example deus ex machina -the means to do so was never a macguffin, it comes out of nowhere, and it leaves the story just as quickly. Regardless, considering that I started playing Magic and following its lore around the time of Innistrad and his initial curse, Wildered Quest was the first time I really felt for the guy and saw him as a human. Seeing the way he ultimately saw himself in the Kenrith’s grief and the way he chose to aide the family post-healing endeared me to him more than ever. Additionally, the way Will and the narration describe Garruk at the end as being nobel and at peace with the order of “solitary” life in the wild felt so indicative of who his character was meant to be.

Setting-wise, I enjoy Eldraine. King Arthur-meets-fairy tales works surprisingly well. The courtly valor of the Realm is a beautiful juxtaposition against the mystical uncertainty of the Wilds, and the concept of questing in general is the perfect narrative vehicle for navigating between the worlds of order and chaos.

As far as the plot goes, Wildered Quest isn’t anything special or particularly groundbreaking. It’s a Magic story hindered by corporate necessity, convenience, and format. Will and Rowen need to spark and be in the place they have to be in Battlebond; so, the emotions of the reunion with their father are strained, warped, and rushed. Garruk needs to be healed; so, the Cauldron of Eternity just shows up without ever being explicitly sought after and does the deed.

The pacing of the plot hasn’t at all benefited from the official novel treatment. I might even argue that it’s suffered. Abrupt transitions and leaps in time are a lot more forgivable in serialized form than continuous narrative. So much of Will and Rowan’s story feels like it jumps around time and place: one year into the future, to the sites of four of five different castles/courts, intermittently rushing in some places while dragging at others.

I never really had the chance to get to know anyone in the story because there isn’t much opportunity to sit down and actually reflect on what is happening and how characters feel. As a result, some characters like Elowen are just creatures of pure narrative convenience -she just so happens to know the exact location of the stag from the vision, she conveniently knows the appropriate configuration of stones for the Great Henge to open a portal, apparently magic doesn’t stick to her so she isn’t a permanent victim of Oko’s curse, and of course she obnoxiously knows pretty much everything (a fact she is certain not to let us forget).

On the whole, this is just such a hard book to rate. It doesn’t shine, but it’s nowhere near as bad as some previous Magic books. Ultimately, it’s just… fine, and maybe that’s all we can ask for.

[Lloyd Mackenzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yas Queen (Linden)!

While the writing was suspect, I did enjoy being in one of the many worlds of Magic: The Gathering.

For those who don’t know, this is Will and Rowan Kenrith’s origin story. The troublesome twins. One with the power of lightning and bradh decisions while the other holds the power of ice and has a calm demeanour.

You will meet the new planeswalker Oko as well as learn of Garruk’s fate.

I MAY have shed a tear when reading of Queen Linden’s sacrifice. She is boss. All hail the Queen!

[Ed · Rating 2 out of 5]

A perfunctory fantasy adventure that, whilst not outright bad, is certainly lacklustre and fails at what should probably be its primary goal.
Media tie-ins are always going to be hard to get right, and often leave you with the feeling that the story has been written by comittee. That's certainly the case here, I had the distinct impression that Elliot was ticking off boxes that she'd been given, rather than being allowed to craft an engaging and original story. Which is a shame, as this book is not without its charm when it does get going; unfortunately most of the book just follows "oh yeah, and we need to visit this other castle so the players have a good idea what the locations are like for the cards".
Bringing me on to me next point and main problem with the book- we don't even really get that much of an impression about the plane we're visiting. Again, as we're doing our best to run from one locale to another, there is not nearly enough time devoted to fleshing out the locations and characters that we do encounter, again a real shame as there is such strong potential in this fairytale-inspired land.
There's a distinct lack of characters as well- Oko as the antagonist is just kind of there and being evil for reasons. Garruk gets a real rough deal, in addition to a very convenient wrapping up of his long-term arc. The main characters don't really have much between them to recommend them, and the supporting characters mostly just dispense exposition. Except Elowen, who stands out by being purely infuriating in her exposition dispensation and bizarre ping-ponging characterisation.
Sidenote- for reasons I really can't fathom, there are descriptions of Will (one of the main characters) that literally just go "poor stupid Will, what a total idiot he is". Is he? He's one of the more levelheaded characters in this narrative! It's so bizarre and out of the tone and flow of the book it really confused me.
Not much to say regarding the plot as it's very thin on the ground, serving as a minor coming-of-age tale for our heroes, but it's full of tropes and very predictable and again serves mainly to show us around the new world of Eldraine.
Overall this feels like a lot of wasted potential, a real shame.

[Adelas · Rating 1 out of 5]

0/5 DNF

I picked up this book for a fantasy bingo (movie or game tie-in category) because it was written by Kate Elliott and she is a fantastic writer. I have read literally dozens of her books and recommended them to others.

**I do not believe that she actually wrote this.** It has some of the most immature writing I have ever encountered in a published book, including self-published books. Information and adjectives are shoehorned in, sentences are ordered strangely so that information you need in one isn't given until the next.... It is written on a high school level, at best.

There is no way I will believe such an accomplished, articulate author could have produced such amateurish slop.

Do not waste your time on it.

[Jonathan Lee B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Wildered Quest is extra frosting and decorations on a cake.

[Fuzzy Cow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Throne of Eldraine is a story about the plane of Eldraine, a fantasy land full of chivalrous knights, witches and elves. In the society of the Realm, the five civilized kingdoms, fend of the Wild (magic forces that emerge from the dangerous and mysterious forest that encompasses this plane). The five kingdoms work together only as long as they are supporting the chosen High King, ascended through accomplishing deadly tasks in each of the kingdoms. The High King is supported by his wife, and his children, chief of which are Will and Rowan (a lighting and ice, twin combo). But when the High King disappears, and the Wild starts to creep into the Realm, Will and Rowan must go on a quest to find him. Along the way they learn about the world, their family and even themselves.

Does that sound like a paint by the numbers plot? It should. Throne of Eldraine: The Wildered Quest is a compact action adventure story, with a very tight focus. It's not trying to explore the world, but introduce it to us and intrigue us, while telling a cohesive story. It wants us to be curious, excited and have some sense of resolution, without being the feeling that we have seen all that this world has to offer. You see, it isn't a stand alone book. It is a companion to the Throne of Eldraine block in Magic the Gathering, a popular trading card game. A strange combination, where the book tries to flesh out the "events" of the card game played largely without narrative.

How does this work? Fairly well. The card game has imaginative art in a cohesive theme, creating a hint of a possible world the events displayed take place in. This book focuses on some of the main characters of the block (characters that have shown up before or are expected to show up in future blocks, or sometimes legendary entities in that world), and outlines their stories. Kate Elliot takes the two dimensional drawings and breath life, ambitions and desires into these characters, and show the audience how they arrived at the scene you see framed in the art on the cards.

With that conceit, what do I think of the book? It's better than I thought it would be. It's a pretty good action adventure, with constant motion from set piece to set piece. The world of Eldraine is pretty intriguing. I love fairy tales, and this book is written in such a way that it implies the tale, but includes it in a way that extends the story. The lore of the book is superb. It plays with the Magic Color Wheel pretty effectively, including the characters of the colors into the world.

The world isn't the only thing this book introduces us to. The main characters are Rowan and Will, and though I originally though this would turn into the Rowan show, Kate made sure to balance the characters. I can't say the I found it completely balanced, but both Rowan and Will contribute to the story with both positive and negative traits.

This books was pretty fun to read. However, it is not a complicated book. The focus on action and set pieces forces the author to move things through and a near incomprehensible pace. There are time skips in the story with very little foreshadowing or connective tissue. There is Deux Ex Machina in the story. It plays fairly close to the tropes. However, if you roll with it, the book is fun and interesting though jarring.

I'm pleasantly surprised by this book. It scratches the itch I had pretty well. It gave me a fairly clean story, introduced me to the world of Eldraine and the main characters in it. It's not high literature, but it's fun and easy to get through. I think it was a pretty effective commercial for the up coming block, and I'd be happy to read more.

[Skip · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fine fairy tale story. It's also the story behind the Magic: The Gathering set Throne of Eldraine. Good stories and game lore don't always go together, but here they meet up nicely.

The plane (Magic's name for worlds in a multiverse) where this novel takes place feels very familiar to anyone who has ever read a fairy tale...castles held by noble knights against the wild monster-filled forests encroaching on their domain. There's magic swords and mirrors, witches and mages, elves and ogres and fairies. This familiarity is intentional, as the theme of the game's cards calls to mind all sorts of fairy tales, from Hansel and Gretel to Arthurian legend to Rapunzel.

The story starts with a mysterious trickster, sowing confusion and disorder across the realm. That prompts the twin son and daughter of the High King to undertake a quest to find their missing father and maintain order in the realm. It's both a coming-of-age story for the twins and an epic quest, with mystery, political intrigue, and plenty of magic along the way. And they meet a plethora of interesting minor characters as well, from giant kings to elvish nobles to knowledgeable mages.

Elliot is an experienced writer of fantasy and her skills are on display here as she weaves an engrossing tale. This story could have easily felt flat and generic, given the way that the setting borrows from so many familiar legends. Instead, each of the characters is unique and interesting and the plot is entertaining, despite there being little surprise. Some predictable storylines are boring, others make the journey interesting despite the obvious direction - this book is definitely the latter.

Fans of the Magic multiverse will find a few references to the larger Magic story here, but not many. For me, at least, this is a welcome change from the last Magic novel I read, War of the Spark: Ravnica. That novel was the conclusion of a long story arc and felt like coming in at the end of a story...this one feels exactly the opposite, beginning a new chapter. Unlike the previous book, this one needs no previous knowledge of the Magic multiverse to be enjoyable.

The Wildered Quest is an enjoyable read for any fan of either fairy-tale-style fantasy, or the Magic storyline. Doubly so if you happen to be both.

[Dimitris · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book. Maybe even great. The story is solid if predictable, but the area where the book shines is the characters, especially the antagonists. We have seen many villains in magic who act how they act to increase their own power or to conquer or destroy to benefit themselves. But rarely do we see a genuine agent of chaos, and moreover one who is such an agent because of truly held convictions and not a desire to simply see the world burn.

That's not to say the protagonists don't give a good show. Both Will and Rowan are fully three dimensional characters with very valid understandable and realised flaws, something rarely seen in magic stories. This book also does an excellent job of developing Garruk more than him simply being a stoic hunter or a crazed madman. But most of all this book finally managed, at least for me, portray Garruk as a genuine threat. Before that I felt all the promotional materials were simple posturing, saying something about a character without making sure that is reflected in that characters behaviour and poise. But this book makes Garruk into a real threat. Perhaps it is simply the shift of perspective, from established planeswalkers to people who aren't yet planeswalkers. But Garruk seemed more menacing and threatening than ever.

This book also does a great job setting up the world. However this is only in conjunction with the cards. Many readers will find some descriptions incomplete, some plot threats or imagery mystifying. However people who have seen the cards will connect the dots and get the whole picture. And in my opinion, this is as it should be. The book is supplemental material not the main thing. I don't need to have a super detailed description of all the castles when I can see the cards. This might turn of some readers but that is ok. This is a magic book and those work best when approached as such, not as indipendent works of fiction, because that's not what they are.

While some aspects of the ending might turn some people off, I hold that they both hold true to the themes of the book, and that they had been foreshadowed in the start of the book.

[Tzu-Mainn Chen · Rating 4 out of 5]

There’s nothing all *that* special about “Throne of Eldraine: The Wildered Quest”. It’s a well-done high fantasy story that tropes all over the place, with a story that isn’t all that surprising or original. And yet I liked it quite a bit. It’s... well-done, especially for a “Magic: the Gathering” tie-in novel, and that extra flavor makes it something a little special for me.

What if you’re not a “Magic: the Gathering” fan? The novel itself is fairly standalone, with occasional odd references to other planes and stories that are easily ignorable. In that sense, it’s perfectly readable with little interest or knowledge of the greater Magic universe. On the other hand, I suspect such a reader would walk away unimpressed; this book may not be for readers like them. Thankfully, it was perfect for a reader like me!

[Nick Reno · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely head and shoulders above War of the Spark as a tie-in novel. The whole plane of Eldraine is great, a really nice balance of Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Anderson, and Arthurian legend, and that mix really carries through to this novel.
Will and Rowan are both pretty relatable rebellious teenage hero types, although Queen Linden kinda stole the show in the end; her story is extremely compelling. I'm also more than happy to get Garruk back from being a mindless monster. He was one of my original favorite planeswalkers so it's nice to see him back to himself.
Oko was deliciously evil, and although he seems far more black-aligned than his card mechanics, that's only fitting for the villain in story. Never has a villain caused such wailing and gnashing of teeth both in the story and on the tournament floor.

[Jorge Rosas · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had troubles keeping on with the pace of this book, there’s some characters that I couldn’t follow and were not appealing, the story could have been a little bit faster, and it leaves a lot of doubts about why, but at least Garruk is back and he finally finds some peace. The story follows the quest of two high born twins trying to find the king and avoid the chaos and possible war between the wilderness and the human realm.

[Kaitlyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perfectly serviceable Magic novel. I feel like this setting is a mashup of Bant and Lorwyn, but I enjoyed Will and Rowan as planeswalkers, and Oko is a delightful villain. The novel would have benefited from one more editing pass as there are several typos and straight-up missing words. The ending is rife with deus ex machina that has absolutely no setup - perhaps apropos of its fairy tale inspiration but not satisfying in a story for an adult.

[Erik Levin · Rating 1 out of 5]

A literary masterpiece next to the War of the Spark books. This actually has both plot, characterization, and description!

But unfortunately, this was also a bit of a chore to get through, the prime obstacle this time being the writing style. There's unnecessary adjectives, unusual and unrelatable descriptions, flip-floppy points of view, and orphaned pronouns abound. I'll give an illustrative example:

"A bulb of yellow light popped into view to his left, illuminating the loremage as she peered around, discovering the two girls close by her. The bulb expanded until it shone like a full moon over the scene. Will found himself at the edge of the clearing he'd seen in his vision. At their backs rose a wall of tangled forest and the gleam of portal half hidden on the verge, its shape and light so faint he might easily have mistaken it for a magically shimmering spider's web suspended in mid-air."

Who discovered whom close by whomst? At whose backs rose a wall of tangled forest? Sure, it can be surmised with a bit of effort (except who discovered the two girls, which is truly ambiguous...), but there's no through line in the paragraph, instead pronouns and viewpoints feel haphazardly thrown together. Then, "a wall of tangled forest and the gleam of portal half hidden on the verge" is surely a mistake with half its words and punctuation missing...? Followed by another non sequitur in the idea of seeing a portal but confusing it for a magical spider web... What? Why is that the simile? What is the word "magically" adding here? Non-magical spider webs already shimmer!

I'm in the nitty gritty now picking apart a single paragraph, but the thing is, this problem suffuses much of the book, writing that whether by conscious style or time-pressured lack of quality, adds needless friction to the reading.

Apart from that, the character and plot are alright, but not interesting or well-developed enough to warrant the trouble. And the denoument is very rushed and out of nowhere, like they suddenly ran out of page space.

[Hammer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una aventura artúrica de la mano de los hermanos bisexuales, buenísima mierda.

El mundo de Eldraine es una maravilla, un mundo de leyenda, repleto de monstruos, brujas, maldiciones, y caballeros. En este mundo veremos la primera aventura de Rowan y Will Kenrith, dos jóvenes con mucho que demostrar, y un legado que mantener. La búsqueda de su padre perdido los lleva a descubrir lo poco preparados que están, además de un secreto sobre su nacimiento para el que jamás habrían estado listos.

Pero eso es la trama y el trasfondo, lo importante son los personajes, y la manera en la que el libro logra encariñarte con su elenco de personajes con una velocidad y eficiencia loable. Rowan y Will funcionan tan bien juntos como por separado, y sus diferencias los vuelven un dúo muy divertido de seguir. Elowen, Cado, Titus, y Cerise completan su grupo con personalidades variadas y perspectivas más maduras que vuelven sus interacciones un deleite de leer. Oko es un manipulador carismático como él solo, una rata de dos patas de tal nivel que no podés esperar a que algo le salga mal. Y los monarcas, Algenus y Linden Kenrith, tienen esa aura mítica más grande que la vida, a la vez que tienen destellos de padres preocupados por sus hijos que los humanizan muchísimo. Junto con Garruk, el cazador maldito, forman un elenco espectacular.

Realmente mi única queja es que es demasiado corto, me habrían entrado perfectamente otras 200 páginas más para desarrollarlo todo con menos prisa. Pero supongo que eso solo habla de lo bien que me lo pasé con el libro.

[Jasmine Lawrence · Rating 4 out of 5]

This tie-in novella for the Magic: The Gathering expansion of the same name explores the story of the royal twins Will and Rowan Kenrith as they quest to find their missing father, the king. Unbeknownst to our protagonists (and the rest of the kingdom), King Kenrith has been transformed into a stag by the mischievous shapeshifting planeswalker Oko, AKA "Puck meets David Bowie." Also, Garruk Wildspeaker is there as a fan-favorite recurring character; he spends most of the book being mind-controlled by Oko.

Kate Elliott has written for Magic: The Gathering before, and her previous contribution ("Chronicle of Bolas," available for free online) was very good. That story was definitely heavy on the continuity. This one is not. The Wildered Quest is the first piece of the Magic story that takes place in the world of Eldraine, and the cast of characters is all new faces except for Garruk, so you don't have to know any of the existing lore to enjoy this book (although knowing Garruk's backstory will enhance it).

Anyway, this book is good, and it has helped restore some of my faith in the Magic Story after the debacle that was War of the Spark.

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

First off I have to admit I read this in sections over 2 years which may affect my opinion of it. That being said I like this book, I like how it plays around with fantasy tropes and I particularly like the bizarre world of Eldraine and how there are tensions constantly brewing between the different factions. Full credit to this book that although it has a lot of exposition, which is necessary for this eclectic world, it always makes the exposition interesting by having it told through characters who insert a lot of themselves into the exposition thereby keeping it from becoming overwhelming and boring. I respect that we see a nice stepmother that's a good spin on the trope. I think the stand out of the book however is Garruk, who is amazing. It is a shame we don't see much from his perspective but he's great in the way he interacts with those around him and hides his emotions while still being true to himself it's incredibly interesting. In conclusion, this is a good book there is a lot of fun and interesting stuff here.

[Matthew Townsend-Farr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great ebook to read for Magic fans.

As a Magic the Gathering fan, Eldraine is one of my favorite planes (behind Kaladesh). This story was thrilling for me to read from start to finish. The plane was fleshed out, and the characters were very engaging. The one problem I did have was seeing more of the other castles in the Realm, like Embereth, and Lochthwain in the story, but I'll let it slide for now. This story is something I reccomend for fans of fantasy, King Arthur, and a little bit of Brothers Grimm, and of course, Magic the Gathering players who want to learn more about Eldraine.

[Jeremiah · Rating 4 out of 5]

First off, you don't need to know anything about Magic: the Gathering to enjoy this wonderful fairy tale of a story. The book contains only one character previously featured in the Magic storyline, and his placement here and his relevant background is well explained by the author. In fact, this story highlights enough of his character that I find him more relatable and fully formed than from previous other stories.
The author deftly uses the large amounts of world building of the game's designers to weave an engaging and enjoyable tale of questing nights, magic, and family. I really enjoyed this work and will be recommending it to friends.

[Owen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure why, but I expected this to be more of a high adventure fantasy action story and less of a mildly obnoxious, Disneyesque (I'm not a CHILD, father!!) coming of age romp through the wilds in pursuit of the villain. Shame on me for getting fooled, I suppose. That said, the story itself is not bad, it just reads like a young adult novel in which, the children are ultimately responsible for saving the day before they have a (questionably warranted) tantrum and storm off. If you regularly enjoy young adult fiction with a subtle flavor of Magic the Gathering, this is probably the book for you!

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

This at least moved along and had a clear plot, unlike some previous entries. Nothing exciting or astounding, but definitely better than it's been for a while.

Seriously, though....Will? We have Rowan and Oko and Garruk and Linden and.....Will? Just really stands out as unusually bland compared to everyone else. You don't have to make everyone> have an unnecessarily flowery fantasy name, but you can't have just one character have a "normal" name like that. You either need to have a fairly even distribution or stick to one style.

[Stephanie (BookishVampirateLycan) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite a pleasant read, especially as I know next to nothing about mtg, however the upcoming Wilds of Eldraine set has sparked my interest so I thought I would check out his tie in to the previous Eldraine set.

It was interesting and not too difficult to understand, especially with some fairytale and folklore knowledge. Probably with some better mtg knowledge, I'd have picked up more.

Couldn't stand Rowan sadly. She got on my nerves. But Will is a sweetheart.

I do, however, now have more questions. XD

[MajesticalLion · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love how this book stops being a story for like 6 chapters in the middle, choosing instead to be a world guide for Eldraine. Why would we care about things like a narrative or character development when we can have Jack Black from the Minecraft movie (Elowen) point at things and go "that's an ender pearl". All that being said, the beginning and end of the book is pretty alright. The writing is a little amateurish, but compared to Greg Weissman, it's Shakespeare, so I'll take what I can get. Oko was the highlight.

Ikoria, Lair of Behemoths: Sundered Bond is my next dip into MTG story.

[Craig Delaune · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Wildered Quest is a lovely story that harkens back to my love of Dragonlance novels. Kate Elliott flexes her aptitude for world building as we dive into the world of Eldraine. Im looking forward to the next time we get to come back here because we have some really great characters with tons of flavor. Some of the lines can come off a bit, tropy, but they fit well in thr fairy tale world. Things shoild be tropy as the entire theme of this set is a trope. It loses one point because I wish we could have seen more of the individual kingdoms, and it felt a bit rushed as we get to the setting for Act 3. Other than that, great novel and I recommend this to anyone, not just MTG fans!

[Andre Luiz Franca Bomtempo Fontes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poor world and character building. The whole story is interesting but not very well executed. You don't feel connected to the characters and things just happen without much explanation.
It could have been a very interesting story but it feels like was written fast and only for commercial purposes. If you are a fan of MTG is it interesting to read to familiarise with the cards in the Eldraine collection, but don't expect a high level fantasy story.

[Clay Robertson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the best story I have ever read but it does expand a lot on one of my favorite planes in MtG. I picked this up because I love knowing the lord behind the games I play and I wanted to know more about Oko and Garruk. This story provide exactly what I was looking for in that regard. I hope that we see more from both of these characters in upcoming sets. Especially Garruk. I have always thought him a big dumb hunter but he is much more insightful than he appears.

[Chelsea K · Rating 1 out of 5]

Couldn't finish. Might make an attempt to finish it later, but this book reeks of first-draft. Lots of good ideas that fail to coalesce into anything substantial, lots of pointless digressions. The dialogue contains strange non sequiturs. This had the pieces to be an enjoyable story, but it failed to utilize them.

[Uudenkuun Emilia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I occasionally play Magic, but I really read this just because it's by Kate Elliott. Not my usual kind of story (novella, I guess?), since it was so much about fighting monsters - but I was expecting that because again, have played Magic :D

But this was a fine adventure story, even if I didn't care too much for anyone's fate. Far less engaging than Elliott's own worlds, for sure.

[Dakeyras · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it and would happily read more from Elliott in the MTG universe.
The characters were interesting and likable, the plot moves along. A redemption arc isn't there.

My only complaint was it felt like the ending dragged a little too long due to a lot of exposition.