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Magic: The Gathering: Planeswalker #1
Agents of Artifice: A Planeswalker Novel
In this struggle for influence and power, for the keys to magical knowledge, everything you knew about novels based on Magic: The Gathering ® is changing . . .
Jace Beleren is a planeswalker who has taken the path of least resistance. He is gifted and powerful, but chooses not to push himself. Part of an inter-planar consortium that deals in magical artifacts, Jace has some power and influence. He also has a certain amount of security. That’s all about to change.
When Liliana, a dark temptress with demons of her own (quite literally), comes into his life, she brings with her more possibilities, but also more problems.
Under attack from external interests, a friend dies because of decisions Jace made. Upset with himself and fearing for his life, Jace sets out to find who is behind this new threat. What he uncovers along the way, an inter-planar chase filled with peril, will alter everything he knows.
Jace Beleren is a planeswalker who has taken the path of least resistance. He is gifted and powerful, but chooses not to push himself. Part of an inter-planar consortium that deals in magical artifacts, Jace has some power and influence. He also has a certain amount of security. That’s all about to change.
When Liliana, a dark temptress with demons of her own (quite literally), comes into his life, she brings with her more possibilities, but also more problems.
Under attack from external interests, a friend dies because of decisions Jace made. Upset with himself and fearing for his life, Jace sets out to find who is behind this new threat. What he uncovers along the way, an inter-planar chase filled with peril, will alter everything he knows.
400 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2008
141 people are currently reading
1290 people want to read
About the author
Ari Marmell
101 books436 followersWhen Ari Marmell has free time left over between feeding cats and posting on social media, he writes a little bit. His work includes novels, short stories, role-playing games, and video games, all of which he enjoyed in lieu of school work when growing up. He’s the author of the Mick Oberon gangland/urban fantasy series, the Widdershins YA fantasy series, and many others, with publishers such as Del Rey, Titan Books, Pyr Books, Wizards of the Coast, and now Omnium Gatherum.
Ari currently resides in Austin, Texas. He lives in a clutter that has a moderate amount of apartment in it, along with George—his wife—and the aforementioned cats, who probably want something.
Ari currently resides in Austin, Texas. He lives in a clutter that has a moderate amount of apartment in it, along with George—his wife—and the aforementioned cats, who probably want something.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews
February 12, 2009
Agents of Artifice is a book made of win and awesome and you should all go buy it.
I’ll elaborate. I’m not a big Magic: The Gathering player, so I am not immediately familiar with the famous figures and places of the M:TG universe. Agents of Artifice is an excellent introduction to the Magic universe without drowning you in needless detail.
Author Ari Marmell, curse his hide, comes up with dazzlingly brilliant ideas that make me want to download his brain for game design purposes. The story centers on a group of mercenary planeswalkers and their new recruit. The characterizations do a nice job of avoiding fantasy stereotypes, creating, for the most part, fully realized people with a variety of motivations, both good and ill. If the story sometimes skimps on details to the point of sparseness (the organization that is at the heart of the book remains very nebulous throughout the story), that becomes a plus in my mind as it presents the very real dilemmas inherent in taking on such shadowy organizations. Too often the big bad guys in fantasy stories are so obvious and monolithic, you expect them to have office space on main street. Here such problems are artfully avoided and used to make the organization more troublesome without making the antagonists overly powerful in the process. He also makes excellent use of a few key plot swerves, some coming upon the reader and the protagonist simultaneously, some used to help build tension.
It also helps that his writing is just fun to read. Ari makes better use of the English language than a great many fantasy authors, both in description and in dialogue. His descriptions are evocative and paint excellent pictures of the fantastic buildings and cities of his setting. His description of an artificer’s lair is enough to make me declare that he’s taken far more than his fair share of creativity and needs to return some for the rest of us. He depicts the magical battles between planeswalkers in a way that makes me want to go out and play Magic, building decks around his principal characters. His writing of martial combat is quick and evocative without endless descriptions of this maneuver or that, which makes it read more like an actual fight would look.
If I were to quibble over anything, it would be the use of the story’s protagonist, Jace Beleren. Jace comes across to me as Luke Skywalker if Luke had first encountered Palpatine rather than Obi-Wan. While the plot does keep moving, it moves using the same formula repeatedly:
1) Jace resists making a decision or taking an action, bemoaning his fate
2) A crisis erupts
3) Jace takes said action or makes said decision
While I understand the need for crisis moments to help ratchet up the tension, I got the sense through the book that Jace was not going to ever do much of anything without a crisis moment to force his hand. He reminded me of an RPG protagonist – spending most of his time reacting rather than acting and very rarely planning for anything other than subsistence.
In attempting to make the hero of the story an atypical sort of non-hero, I think the author goes a bit too far, making him unsympathetic. By the time the book was about half over, I found that I didn’t really care whether Jace met a grisly fate for his actions or not and I cared more about fairly incidental characters than anyone who spent a great deal of time "on screen." I kept reading because Ari’s ideas are clever and the writing is fun, but I just found that I didn’t care that much what happened to the main characters, especially as their behavior seemed to do the most damage to those in their proximity.
But those are really minor points in what is an excellent book. It’s a nice quick read that I finished in a single day (mostly thanks to a flight I had to take) and beats the hell out of much of the fantasy fiction that comes out in support of this game or that. So go get your own!
I’ll elaborate. I’m not a big Magic: The Gathering player, so I am not immediately familiar with the famous figures and places of the M:TG universe. Agents of Artifice is an excellent introduction to the Magic universe without drowning you in needless detail.
Author Ari Marmell, curse his hide, comes up with dazzlingly brilliant ideas that make me want to download his brain for game design purposes. The story centers on a group of mercenary planeswalkers and their new recruit. The characterizations do a nice job of avoiding fantasy stereotypes, creating, for the most part, fully realized people with a variety of motivations, both good and ill. If the story sometimes skimps on details to the point of sparseness (the organization that is at the heart of the book remains very nebulous throughout the story), that becomes a plus in my mind as it presents the very real dilemmas inherent in taking on such shadowy organizations. Too often the big bad guys in fantasy stories are so obvious and monolithic, you expect them to have office space on main street. Here such problems are artfully avoided and used to make the organization more troublesome without making the antagonists overly powerful in the process. He also makes excellent use of a few key plot swerves, some coming upon the reader and the protagonist simultaneously, some used to help build tension.
It also helps that his writing is just fun to read. Ari makes better use of the English language than a great many fantasy authors, both in description and in dialogue. His descriptions are evocative and paint excellent pictures of the fantastic buildings and cities of his setting. His description of an artificer’s lair is enough to make me declare that he’s taken far more than his fair share of creativity and needs to return some for the rest of us. He depicts the magical battles between planeswalkers in a way that makes me want to go out and play Magic, building decks around his principal characters. His writing of martial combat is quick and evocative without endless descriptions of this maneuver or that, which makes it read more like an actual fight would look.
If I were to quibble over anything, it would be the use of the story’s protagonist, Jace Beleren. Jace comes across to me as Luke Skywalker if Luke had first encountered Palpatine rather than Obi-Wan. While the plot does keep moving, it moves using the same formula repeatedly:
1) Jace resists making a decision or taking an action, bemoaning his fate
2) A crisis erupts
3) Jace takes said action or makes said decision
While I understand the need for crisis moments to help ratchet up the tension, I got the sense through the book that Jace was not going to ever do much of anything without a crisis moment to force his hand. He reminded me of an RPG protagonist – spending most of his time reacting rather than acting and very rarely planning for anything other than subsistence.
In attempting to make the hero of the story an atypical sort of non-hero, I think the author goes a bit too far, making him unsympathetic. By the time the book was about half over, I found that I didn’t really care whether Jace met a grisly fate for his actions or not and I cared more about fairly incidental characters than anyone who spent a great deal of time "on screen." I kept reading because Ari’s ideas are clever and the writing is fun, but I just found that I didn’t care that much what happened to the main characters, especially as their behavior seemed to do the most damage to those in their proximity.
But those are really minor points in what is an excellent book. It’s a nice quick read that I finished in a single day (mostly thanks to a flight I had to take) and beats the hell out of much of the fantasy fiction that comes out in support of this game or that. So go get your own!
August 21, 2013
I have never played Magic The Gathering, nor do I care to in the future. That does not matter when it comes to this book. Everything you need for a very interesting Sci/Fi adventure is packed in this book. What makes this book is Ari Marmell. He has a way of bringing the story to life for you.
**Semi Spoiler:** Since the main character does a good deal of mind reading and thought invasion, I appreciate how Marmell brought that to me the reader and displayed everything perfectly.
**
I just wish that he could right more along the story line that is in this book and make it a series all it's own.
Very good book in my opinion. Has all the things I love about Sci/Fi.
**Semi Spoiler:** Since the main character does a good deal of mind reading and thought invasion, I appreciate how Marmell brought that to me the reader and displayed everything perfectly.
**
I just wish that he could right more along the story line that is in this book and make it a series all it's own.
Very good book in my opinion. Has all the things I love about Sci/Fi.
August 25, 2015
Agents of Artifice is not great fantasy literature, but there are several reasons this may not be the author’s fault. The most obvious is that he’s working within predefined boundaries. I don’t know what the exact relationship between an author of a Magic: The Gathering book and Wizards of the Coast is, but needless to say the author does not have free reign. First of all, characters such as Jace and Liliana are trademarked – the author didn’t create them and he doesn’t control their fate in the Magic multiverse. Secondly, the WotC design team sketches the outline of a story when each new expansion of the card game comes out. An author, probably contracted by WotC, fills in the details months after the cards and general background story of the expansion have been made public. In many ways a Magic novel is glorified fan fiction, but that doesn’t mean it has to be amateurish or not entertaining.
The question then is how should Agents of Artifice be evaluated? Clearly it’s not fair to compare it to great works of literature like War and Peace. For the reasons mentioned above it’s not fair to compare it to other works of fantasy such The Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones. The only option left is to compare the work to other Magic novels. The gold standard in the genre is undoubtedly Arena. Arena is one of the rare Magic novels that stands on its own as a solid work of fantasy without the card game. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for Agents of Artifice. Unless you’re already interested in Magic this book is mediocre at best when compared to other fantasy works.
Overall the book does a good job of handling Jace and Liliana’s characters. The author successfully adds layers of complexity to their characters without violating the characters’ temperaments. For example, we see Liliana conflicted by her love for Jace and her own selfishness. In the end, she remains consistent and selfishness wins out. Another interesting aspect of the novel is how the narrative moves around in time. This is a standard practice in modern and postmodern fiction, but not one widely employed in fantasy works.
The major flaw in the novel though is the dialogue. It seems the author is pandering to a teen and preteen audience. For the most part the language is mild – only mild swear words and no graphic sex scenes – this is not Game of Thrones! But there are a few crude innuendoes and awkward conversations between Liliana and Jace that seem targeted directly to a juvenile audience.
I recommend this book to anyone interested in Magic: The Gathering or other Magic novels. If you have no interest in these though you can certainly find better fantasy literature to spend your time on.
The question then is how should Agents of Artifice be evaluated? Clearly it’s not fair to compare it to great works of literature like War and Peace. For the reasons mentioned above it’s not fair to compare it to other works of fantasy such The Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones. The only option left is to compare the work to other Magic novels. The gold standard in the genre is undoubtedly Arena. Arena is one of the rare Magic novels that stands on its own as a solid work of fantasy without the card game. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for Agents of Artifice. Unless you’re already interested in Magic this book is mediocre at best when compared to other fantasy works.
Overall the book does a good job of handling Jace and Liliana’s characters. The author successfully adds layers of complexity to their characters without violating the characters’ temperaments. For example, we see Liliana conflicted by her love for Jace and her own selfishness. In the end, she remains consistent and selfishness wins out. Another interesting aspect of the novel is how the narrative moves around in time. This is a standard practice in modern and postmodern fiction, but not one widely employed in fantasy works.
The major flaw in the novel though is the dialogue. It seems the author is pandering to a teen and preteen audience. For the most part the language is mild – only mild swear words and no graphic sex scenes – this is not Game of Thrones! But there are a few crude innuendoes and awkward conversations between Liliana and Jace that seem targeted directly to a juvenile audience.
I recommend this book to anyone interested in Magic: The Gathering or other Magic novels. If you have no interest in these though you can certainly find better fantasy literature to spend your time on.
December 27, 2023
I had hoped this would be entertainingly bad. It was bad.
March 21, 2018
Magic the Gathering: Planeswalker: Agents of Artifice, by Ari Marmell
I'm a little up in the air about "Agents of Artifice." I had never read a Magic the Gathering book before, but have played it and have read other Wizards' product lines, such as Forgotten Realms. So I wasn't sure what to expect, but I think the surprise was a good one.
The author is capable, and his characters are definitely interesting. Jace is a planeswalker, a magic user who can travel between worlds with the power of his mind. After being recruited by an all-powerful and evil organization, his abilities increase while his heart dies from the acts he is forced to commit. Jace finds a friend in Kallist, a fellow Consortium recruit, but his skills are with a blade. The two eventually meet Liliana, a powerful necromancer with an agenda of her own, one that will keep you guessing.
The first quarter or so of the book is confusing, until you realize that it's a type of flashback. There were a few other points where action jumped around a bit, but I just had to reread a section or two to figure out what was going on. This book is best if you can sit down with it for a while and take some time to get into it.
I wasn't overly impressed, but I also wasn't disappointed with the plot of "Agents of Artifice." The story is interesting enough, with a lot of soul searching for each of the main characters, and each make some surprising decisions. The villains are just as intriguing, and Marmell makes his bad guys extremely bad - they think nothing of repeatedly torturing their victims, or of mind-raping someone. It's a bit chilling, really.
You don't have to be familiar with Magic the Gathering to read this book; I hadn't played in 10 years or more and understood the magic system easily, thanks to the author's descriptions.
I would say this book is average, but it's a good average. It's a decent romp in a magic universe with some good characters.
3/5.
I'm a little up in the air about "Agents of Artifice." I had never read a Magic the Gathering book before, but have played it and have read other Wizards' product lines, such as Forgotten Realms. So I wasn't sure what to expect, but I think the surprise was a good one.
The author is capable, and his characters are definitely interesting. Jace is a planeswalker, a magic user who can travel between worlds with the power of his mind. After being recruited by an all-powerful and evil organization, his abilities increase while his heart dies from the acts he is forced to commit. Jace finds a friend in Kallist, a fellow Consortium recruit, but his skills are with a blade. The two eventually meet Liliana, a powerful necromancer with an agenda of her own, one that will keep you guessing.
The first quarter or so of the book is confusing, until you realize that it's a type of flashback. There were a few other points where action jumped around a bit, but I just had to reread a section or two to figure out what was going on. This book is best if you can sit down with it for a while and take some time to get into it.
I wasn't overly impressed, but I also wasn't disappointed with the plot of "Agents of Artifice." The story is interesting enough, with a lot of soul searching for each of the main characters, and each make some surprising decisions. The villains are just as intriguing, and Marmell makes his bad guys extremely bad - they think nothing of repeatedly torturing their victims, or of mind-raping someone. It's a bit chilling, really.
You don't have to be familiar with Magic the Gathering to read this book; I hadn't played in 10 years or more and understood the magic system easily, thanks to the author's descriptions.
I would say this book is average, but it's a good average. It's a decent romp in a magic universe with some good characters.
3/5.
June 28, 2018
As far as franchise novels go, this one was actually pretty good. The characters are well developed and the plot does its job of pulling you along. The language and general sense of narration were a bit uneven, which was quite distracting sometimes, but it didn't take away from the overall fun.
Arguably the best idea of the book is the Infinite Consortium itself, and it's a shame that we didn't get some more fun interplanar heists before it all turns sour for Jace.
Arguably the best idea of the book is the Infinite Consortium itself, and it's a shame that we didn't get some more fun interplanar heists before it all turns sour for Jace.
July 22, 2025
My favorite piece of MTG fiction so far. This book is wonderfully paced, with many twists and turns. It holds up on its own even for people not familiar with Magic: The Gathering, and for the fans, it is phenomenal.
July 16, 2025
A truly amazing, well-written, well-thought-out fantasy story with a homosexual love affair for Magic: The Gathering's Jace Beleren for those with the eyes to see it.
July 28, 2010
"Agents of Artifice" tells the story of the Planeswalker Jace Beleren, a powerful mage capable of traveling between the many worlds of the Multiverse, and his adventures and misadventures with the Infinite Consortium. From the beginning the reader will discover that not everything is as it seems.
The story has a little something for everyone: lots of action and adventure, a large dose of magic, and a diverse set of characters. In addition to Jace, we are introduced to Khallist, a skilled fighter, Liliana Vess, a powerful necromancer, Emmara, the Elven healer, and Tezzeret, the leader of the Infinite Consortium. I found the characters interesting and well thought-out.
Overall the plot/story was interesting and well written. While a few of the plot `twists' were not really a surprise, the story more than made up for it. I found the story exciting and well paced. But as mentioned above, it was really the characters that made the book for me. One of the more interesting aspects of the book for me was the development of Jace's character over the course of the story and the emotions he experiences due to situations that were often beyond his control.
I enjoyed this book very much and would recommend it to readers looking for character-driven fantasy, especially if they like their fantasy heavy with magic. I'd also recommend the book to fans of the Magic the Gathering novel line.
I should note that it is not necessary to have any knowledge of Magic the Gathering to enjoy this novel. I had never played the game or read a Magic the Gathering novel before reading "Agents of Artifice" and I was able to follow everything. In fact, I enjoyed the novel so much I plan to pick up some more novels in the line.
The story has a little something for everyone: lots of action and adventure, a large dose of magic, and a diverse set of characters. In addition to Jace, we are introduced to Khallist, a skilled fighter, Liliana Vess, a powerful necromancer, Emmara, the Elven healer, and Tezzeret, the leader of the Infinite Consortium. I found the characters interesting and well thought-out.
Overall the plot/story was interesting and well written. While a few of the plot `twists' were not really a surprise, the story more than made up for it. I found the story exciting and well paced. But as mentioned above, it was really the characters that made the book for me. One of the more interesting aspects of the book for me was the development of Jace's character over the course of the story and the emotions he experiences due to situations that were often beyond his control.
I enjoyed this book very much and would recommend it to readers looking for character-driven fantasy, especially if they like their fantasy heavy with magic. I'd also recommend the book to fans of the Magic the Gathering novel line.
I should note that it is not necessary to have any knowledge of Magic the Gathering to enjoy this novel. I had never played the game or read a Magic the Gathering novel before reading "Agents of Artifice" and I was able to follow everything. In fact, I enjoyed the novel so much I plan to pick up some more novels in the line.
February 11, 2013
Interesting beginning. Agents of Artifice has a slow start for me: I was promised a fantasy-mystery-adventure involving Jace and Liliana, and felt disappointed when a no-name gets first dibs. I held in, though, and didn't regret it.
Characters are slowly developed as secret after secret is slowly revealed; I really enjoyed reading about the Infinite Consortium. I personally enjoyed Jace's realizations and descent, as he slowly discovers just what he has gotten into. Everyone really stuck in my mind, though Tezzeret wasn't as constant as I wanted him to be (comes from not being there all the time). I really liked Paldor, a non-mage controller in a group run by them. It was a unique perspective to the story that I could identify with.
The book builds well into a cliffhanger-like ending - a surprise twist here, an epic battle there. Random thoughts and aside comments are dropped here and there like Chehov's armory, and it clicks together in the last third of the book.
For the non-MTG fan, this book does a good job explaining how magic works and what kind of world the characters inhabit. MTG-philes will enjoy the exotic locations and creatures summoned.
Characters are slowly developed as secret after secret is slowly revealed; I really enjoyed reading about the Infinite Consortium. I personally enjoyed Jace's realizations and descent, as he slowly discovers just what he has gotten into. Everyone really stuck in my mind, though Tezzeret wasn't as constant as I wanted him to be (comes from not being there all the time). I really liked Paldor, a non-mage controller in a group run by them. It was a unique perspective to the story that I could identify with.
The book builds well into a cliffhanger-like ending - a surprise twist here, an epic battle there. Random thoughts and aside comments are dropped here and there like Chehov's armory, and it clicks together in the last third of the book.
For the non-MTG fan, this book does a good job explaining how magic works and what kind of world the characters inhabit. MTG-philes will enjoy the exotic locations and creatures summoned.
May 31, 2012
Más allá de lo entretenido, no está escrito para neófitos: todo el tiempo sentí estar perdiéndome de algo que no estuvo explicado en ningún rincón del relato ¡Y es el primer número de una colección! ¿Dónde está toda la información que me faltó y se da por sabida de antemano?
Por el otro lado sentí un poco de incongruencia entre el tono terriblemente épico de los mundos enteros envueltos en una aura de muerte y decadencia con el tono terriblemente vulgar del departamento sucio con dos universitarios peleándose por una minita. No digo que esté mal mezclar las cosas, nomas que en este libro parecen dos cosas inconexas.
Por el otro lado sentí un poco de incongruencia entre el tono terriblemente épico de los mundos enteros envueltos en una aura de muerte y decadencia con el tono terriblemente vulgar del departamento sucio con dos universitarios peleándose por una minita. No digo que esté mal mezclar las cosas, nomas que en este libro parecen dos cosas inconexas.
July 5, 2012
Absolutely fantastic! By far the BEST Planeswalker novel I've read to date and one of the best books EVER! I love the twists and turns. Just when you think you have the story figured out, it proves you wrong and takes you on another wild ride of intrigue. The characters are remarkably well written, believeable and relateable. There's even humor, which only adds to the enjoyment and never detracts from it. I can't say enough about this book! Brilliantly written!
I definitely plan on checking out more of Ari Marmell's books.
I definitely plan on checking out more of Ari Marmell's books.
August 17, 2013
Ari Marmell is not a strong writer, or at least he needed a stronger editor to eliminate most of his adverbs and clarify some of his more confusing sentences. Indeed, this book read more like a penultimate galley for all the sentences that had missing or repeated words. Sloppy, which shouldn't be the case since Agents of Artifice was published by a company with at least as many resources as the Big Six Publishers: Hasbro. Is the story entertaining for Magic the Gathering fans? Certainly, but only in the way that a Michael Bay film is mindless popcorn fare for cinephiles.
January 19, 2015
It took almost 2/3 of the book for it to finally get my interest. After that it was fabulous, but it was almost painful how boring I found the beginning. I did not care for the main character and while I understand why he did some of the things he did I still think he could have thought it out better.
Read
March 9, 2009nothing yet lol
November 26, 2022
Reading this book completely changed my perspective on Jace Beleren. Reading Zendikar and Innistrad, it was clear that he was no hero, but I never expected him to have this horrible of an origin. The things he goes through in this book, and even worse, the things he does to others, show just how broken and confused a character he is. His moral compass was long since shattered to the wind and right now he's just being blown along by what he believes is right. And in this book, that lead to the death and torture of countless innocents. He's quite easily shot up my character rankings to sit comfortably in second place behind Nahiri. However, there is another character I'd never seen before in this book that was a sleeper hit at first and eventually turned into a new all time favorite character. Tezzeret is one of the most menacing and presence commanding characters I've ever read in a book. When you first meet him, he could be anyone. He feels like the obvious morally grey mentor trope. You see it all the time. Stick in Daredevil, Beckett in Solo. A character who's willing to cross a line the protagonist isn't for the greater good, and that puts them at odds. Little did I know Tezzeret was actually a full blown mad dictator. Every scene that he's in from the moment the penny drops is filled with a tension that can only come from the most powerful and intimidating villains in fiction. His struggle with Jace is the highlight of this book, in my opinion. But that aside, I think exploring the dynamics between Jace and Lilliana, Jace and Kallist, and Nicol Bolas and everyone are also a bit of a carry when it comes to enjoyment. The struggle of knowing Jace and Lilliana would never work out. Knowing that Kallist would face a horrible end. Knowing that Nicol Bolas would somehow find a mcguffin by the end of the book because that's what he does. Kallist in particular was heart wrenching for one specific reason. The book lulls you into a sense of security, because it tells you what happens to Kallist almost immediately, and it leaves you wondering why it didn't leave this information for an ending twist. And it's because the twist never was that Jace and Kallist switched minds. The twist is that Jace didn't do it on purpose. And THAT'S what's heartbreaking here. It leads you to believe that Jace betrayed his friend to save his own skin. It refers to "the rape of Kallist's mind" and spends a considerable amount of time showing Jace become complacent towards the idea of tampering with the mind, reshaping the mind. It even spends several chapters putting Jace and Kallist at odds with each other. Everything points to Jace performing an awful deed to save his own skin. But the moment the thoughts of planeswalking with Kallist's mind enter Jace's head, all the pieces fall into place, and you barely have enough time to scream "NO" before the Jace and Kallist we all know are both gone and replaced with something else. It's one of many moments that had my jaw dropped with the risks this book was taking and landing over and over. I haven't enjoyed a proper novel this much in a long time, and it's certainly my favorite of the Magic Story I've read.
Last time I reviewed MTG, I had said I'd be going back to Old Magic. That was half true. I did go back to Old Magic. I just didn't start with Brother's War. Instead, I'm reading through some content relevant to Alara, including the Planeswalker trilogy, Alara Unbroken, Scars of Mirrodin, and Theros: Godsend. Then, once I've read a little more post Origins, specifically Kaladesh and Amonkhet, I'll go and read the old old Dominaria story starting with Brother's War. But until then, we're off to see Chandra in The Purifying Fire!
Last time I reviewed MTG, I had said I'd be going back to Old Magic. That was half true. I did go back to Old Magic. I just didn't start with Brother's War. Instead, I'm reading through some content relevant to Alara, including the Planeswalker trilogy, Alara Unbroken, Scars of Mirrodin, and Theros: Godsend. Then, once I've read a little more post Origins, specifically Kaladesh and Amonkhet, I'll go and read the old old Dominaria story starting with Brother's War. But until then, we're off to see Chandra in The Purifying Fire!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 28, 2019
This is not a good book. Period. It is also not the worst book, especially if you like literary descriptions that resemble Magic: The Gathering flavor text expanded into a novel. If Ari Marmell manages something, it's to describe these fantasy landscapes and obviously the book is an easy read.
However, it fails in pretty much every other aspect. Its characters are all unlikable, ranging from "pretty much" to "God-awful horribly". Also, they are complete idiots. Brilliant artificer (Tezzeret) who "stole" an entire multiplanar mercantile guild from a 25,000 year old Dragon? An idiot. Ultra powerful Necromancer (Liliana Vess) with wheels within wheels of plans including every sort of lie and betrayal? Still an idiot. Massively gifted mind-reading / telepath etc. Mary Sue main character (Jace Belleren)? THE MOST UNBELIEVABLY IDIOTIC of them all.
I don't really want to get into details, in order to avoid spoilers, but it seems as though every background plan of these characters is extremely clever, while anything they do in the current narrative is mindless. It's like giving a bunch of juvenile, noob (and not terribly bright) RPG players these super planned-out characters and they make the most idiotic decisions ever, over the course of a campaign. Also, emphasis on juvenile: from assassin to archmage to artificer, everyone behaves as if this were Beverly Hills 90210.
I don't know if Marmell had very specific constraints when it came to the characters' behavior, but quite early on, you just wait to see them do the next stupid thing and from the middle onward, hope to see them crushed.
The only one true to (the Planewalker version) form is Nicol Bolas.
However, it fails in pretty much every other aspect. Its characters are all unlikable, ranging from "pretty much" to "God-awful horribly". Also, they are complete idiots. Brilliant artificer (Tezzeret) who "stole" an entire multiplanar mercantile guild from a 25,000 year old Dragon? An idiot. Ultra powerful Necromancer (Liliana Vess) with wheels within wheels of plans including every sort of lie and betrayal? Still an idiot. Massively gifted mind-reading / telepath etc. Mary Sue main character (Jace Belleren)? THE MOST UNBELIEVABLY IDIOTIC of them all.
I don't really want to get into details, in order to avoid spoilers, but it seems as though every background plan of these characters is extremely clever, while anything they do in the current narrative is mindless. It's like giving a bunch of juvenile, noob (and not terribly bright) RPG players these super planned-out characters and they make the most idiotic decisions ever, over the course of a campaign. Also, emphasis on juvenile: from assassin to archmage to artificer, everyone behaves as if this were Beverly Hills 90210.
I don't know if Marmell had very specific constraints when it came to the characters' behavior, but quite early on, you just wait to see them do the next stupid thing and from the middle onward, hope to see them crushed.
The only one true to (the Planewalker version) form is Nicol Bolas.
November 1, 2019
Positive: I was actually really pleased to just jump right into the action at the start (or so I thought, more on that later). It's a nice step back in the other direction from Alara where my complaint was that they tried to shove so much in a short book and it felt rushed; this got into a lot more character detail and backstory and such. It's nice to focus on characters I know from the game again.
Negative: To quote Morty, "Do you want me to cut to three weeks earlier, when you were alive?!" Seriously, fuck the cliched opening with an exciting scene from the end of the book only to then abruptly cut back to the actual beginning of the story.
Jace is utterly insufferable and I hate him. Liliana was also really broadly drawn and not good. I couldn't help but laugh at Emmara because my first introduction to her was as the most laughably bad "guild champion" in Dragon's Maze. Tezzeret was a cartoon who made no sense, and Bolas' involvement did not follow from his actions in Alara (not sure exactly which of these two came first, since these books were pretty much released at the same time, but it is irrelevant, it doesn't make sense in either ordering).
The writing was so cliched and amateurish at times. I don't have high standards for books like these, I thoroughly enjoyed many Star Wars EU novels that were just as bad, but when the story and characters aren't carrying the book on their own, the bad writing starts to buckle worse than usual.
Negative: To quote Morty, "Do you want me to cut to three weeks earlier, when you were alive?!" Seriously, fuck the cliched opening with an exciting scene from the end of the book only to then abruptly cut back to the actual beginning of the story.
Jace is utterly insufferable and I hate him. Liliana was also really broadly drawn and not good. I couldn't help but laugh at Emmara because my first introduction to her was as the most laughably bad "guild champion" in Dragon's Maze. Tezzeret was a cartoon who made no sense, and Bolas' involvement did not follow from his actions in Alara (not sure exactly which of these two came first, since these books were pretty much released at the same time, but it is irrelevant, it doesn't make sense in either ordering).
The writing was so cliched and amateurish at times. I don't have high standards for books like these, I thoroughly enjoyed many Star Wars EU novels that were just as bad, but when the story and characters aren't carrying the book on their own, the bad writing starts to buckle worse than usual.
August 14, 2018
When I started reading I was a bit annoyed by the not so subtle references to Magic cards. Marmell obviously had a brief about characters, planes, and other things from the MTG universe he had to incorporate in the story. It felt a bit artificial, almost like fan fiction.
However, once I let this go and just decided to enjoy this as a nice quirk, the story actually became a lot of fun. It's a very decent fantasy novel, that would also be enjoyable for non-MTG players. The characters are sufficiently rounded, the descriptions of the world, buildings and things are quite good.
So yeah, this was a fun and recommendable read!
One small side note: if you can't stand books with loads of small errors and typos, please skip this one. It would have very much benefited from another round of editing and proofreading.
However, once I let this go and just decided to enjoy this as a nice quirk, the story actually became a lot of fun. It's a very decent fantasy novel, that would also be enjoyable for non-MTG players. The characters are sufficiently rounded, the descriptions of the world, buildings and things are quite good.
So yeah, this was a fun and recommendable read!
One small side note: if you can't stand books with loads of small errors and typos, please skip this one. It would have very much benefited from another round of editing and proofreading.
March 14, 2018
If you like supernatural thrillers mixed with espionage and magic, then this book is for you. The author’s description of setting and magic is phenomonally written, almost like prose.
Although I enjoyed this book, my major complaint is the plot’s continuity. It starts off at point B, switches to point A, and then goes to point C. With no separation of chapters, I think this could be a bit confusing for readers unfamilar with Magic the Gathering’s plot.
Although I enjoyed this book, my major complaint is the plot’s continuity. It starts off at point B, switches to point A, and then goes to point C. With no separation of chapters, I think this could be a bit confusing for readers unfamilar with Magic the Gathering’s plot.
Read
July 11, 2024note 2024 july 12: i can't leave a star rating or a proper review of this book because it's been nearly three years since i read it, but i thought about magic the gathering lore for the first time in ages today which made me remember this book and how much the jace-kallist relationship devastated me. as someone who often forgets the contents of what i read, it says a lot that i still remember bits of this book and its impact on me
January 19, 2021
I couldn't give this 5 stars because the writing alternated wildly between cliche and fantastic imagery, but this the best mtg book I've read thus far. I highly recommend this book for any Vorthos who wants to really understand planeswalkers.
November 4, 2022
Its a decent book, but takes along time to get into and the I don’t really like the main character and some parts of the books are confusing. If you play MTG you will enjoy the lore of the multiverse and even if you aren’t it is a pretty good story in general.
September 22, 2017
Very enticing start of a series, I must say. Some spots and descriptions were rather confusing, but mostly good plots, all the twists and turns left me wanting for more.
September 8, 2020
A fun, light fantasy read for with plenty of action and spellcasting. Anyone interested in Magic: The Gathering's story and the Planeswalker Jace's past should read this book.
February 3, 2021
Great foundation before reading Test of Metal
Read
July 16, 2023Good enough to save. Don't recall specifics now though.
February 23, 2015
You can read the full review over at my blog:
https://sonsofcorax.wordpress.com/201...
A new year means a new reading challenge of the “25 Series I Want To Read” variety. You can find a list of authors and series (the original post for the challenge that is) over here. In the past two years that I’ve been doing this, I kinda-sorta completed the challenge in 2013, and I definitely completed it last year. It is a really fun challenge to do, and allows me to pick and choose from a wide variety of genre greats and genre debuts (relatively speaking), which is one of the many reasons that I do it all. Plus, as a consequence, it also exposes me to a wider variety of fiction out there and gets me to connect with it all on a very different level, even series that I’ve read before becoming a blogger.
One of the first books I’ve read this year is the first Planeswalker novel for the Magic the Gathering setting from Wizards of the Coast, Agents of Artifice. This is pretty much an intro novel to the setting, and it definitely has a lot of typical Ari Marmell flavour, which I’ve experienced before in his Widdershins novels from Pyr Books, as well as his Darksiders novel from Del Rey. Following the Planeswalkers Jace Beleren and Liliana Vess, this novel explores the wonderful plane of Ravnica and is a fairly good read, though not without its flaws.
I’ve only recently taken the dip into Magic the Gathering CCG, starting last year in October with the current expansion Khans of Tarkir. The game is really fun to play, and is also just as addicting as I’d thought that it would be. But then that’s me. I love addicting games like that and playing Magic the Gathering something else to do other than just spend my days in the endless grind of reading comics and books, doing all my blogging stuff and all that. A welcome… distraction if you will. I’ve even been to some of the events, casual and competitive both, and they are even more fun, though I get my ass kicked in the games some 95% of the time, owing to inexperience and lack of powerful cards.
Which brings me to this novel. One of the big reasons I put the Planeswalker series on my list for the challenge is that I want to explore the history of the Planeswalkers. Jace Beleren and Liliana Vess do have their own cards in the current game-format, and that’s why I picked this novel, since I find both of them to be really enigmatic characters from all I’ve heard about them, especially Liliana. And Ari Marmell does a great job of exploring their past and the present (relatively speaking since the novels are from some six years ago or so), set in a world that is alien and yet so familiar.
In Magic the Gathering, we have the familiar Multiverse concept of fantasy novels (primarily in tie-in fiction though it does pop in now and then in original books) and Agents of Artifice is set on one of these worlds of the Multiverse, specifically called a Plane, and thus giving rise to the term Planeswalkers, those powerful mages and sorcerers and the like who are able to traverse the different planes at will. So we have here a story about Jace and Liliana and their former employer Tezzeret, the leader of the planes-spanning criminal organization that the two of them used to work for.
Ari Marmell gives us a lot of lowdown on who each of the characters are, and he entwines their stories very closely. Agents of Artifice is, as the name suggests, a novel about manipulation, betrayal and falsehoods. That’s the foundation of the story here and once the story gets going about seventy pages in or so, it really starts running and you are totally pulled in as we get two separate narratives, one set in the present with Jace and Liliana having abandoned all connections to Tezzeret and the other in the past where we see how they came into his employment in the first place.
https://sonsofcorax.wordpress.com/201...
A new year means a new reading challenge of the “25 Series I Want To Read” variety. You can find a list of authors and series (the original post for the challenge that is) over here. In the past two years that I’ve been doing this, I kinda-sorta completed the challenge in 2013, and I definitely completed it last year. It is a really fun challenge to do, and allows me to pick and choose from a wide variety of genre greats and genre debuts (relatively speaking), which is one of the many reasons that I do it all. Plus, as a consequence, it also exposes me to a wider variety of fiction out there and gets me to connect with it all on a very different level, even series that I’ve read before becoming a blogger.
One of the first books I’ve read this year is the first Planeswalker novel for the Magic the Gathering setting from Wizards of the Coast, Agents of Artifice. This is pretty much an intro novel to the setting, and it definitely has a lot of typical Ari Marmell flavour, which I’ve experienced before in his Widdershins novels from Pyr Books, as well as his Darksiders novel from Del Rey. Following the Planeswalkers Jace Beleren and Liliana Vess, this novel explores the wonderful plane of Ravnica and is a fairly good read, though not without its flaws.
I’ve only recently taken the dip into Magic the Gathering CCG, starting last year in October with the current expansion Khans of Tarkir. The game is really fun to play, and is also just as addicting as I’d thought that it would be. But then that’s me. I love addicting games like that and playing Magic the Gathering something else to do other than just spend my days in the endless grind of reading comics and books, doing all my blogging stuff and all that. A welcome… distraction if you will. I’ve even been to some of the events, casual and competitive both, and they are even more fun, though I get my ass kicked in the games some 95% of the time, owing to inexperience and lack of powerful cards.
Which brings me to this novel. One of the big reasons I put the Planeswalker series on my list for the challenge is that I want to explore the history of the Planeswalkers. Jace Beleren and Liliana Vess do have their own cards in the current game-format, and that’s why I picked this novel, since I find both of them to be really enigmatic characters from all I’ve heard about them, especially Liliana. And Ari Marmell does a great job of exploring their past and the present (relatively speaking since the novels are from some six years ago or so), set in a world that is alien and yet so familiar.
In Magic the Gathering, we have the familiar Multiverse concept of fantasy novels (primarily in tie-in fiction though it does pop in now and then in original books) and Agents of Artifice is set on one of these worlds of the Multiverse, specifically called a Plane, and thus giving rise to the term Planeswalkers, those powerful mages and sorcerers and the like who are able to traverse the different planes at will. So we have here a story about Jace and Liliana and their former employer Tezzeret, the leader of the planes-spanning criminal organization that the two of them used to work for.
Ari Marmell gives us a lot of lowdown on who each of the characters are, and he entwines their stories very closely. Agents of Artifice is, as the name suggests, a novel about manipulation, betrayal and falsehoods. That’s the foundation of the story here and once the story gets going about seventy pages in or so, it really starts running and you are totally pulled in as we get two separate narratives, one set in the present with Jace and Liliana having abandoned all connections to Tezzeret and the other in the past where we see how they came into his employment in the first place.
May 12, 2023
It was a really nice break away from the last few ‘horror’ novels and read a fantasy book. It’s not even just because it was fantasy, this was actually an impressive read. I have been told by multiple people that the MtG books aren’t to curl a lip at – they’re written really well. So, I put this theory to the test not just to read one of the current books [which were given as a gift] but also to see if these newer novels are still just as good.
Since this is a Magic: The Gathering in-universe book, I do want to point out that while I suppose someone not familiar with the series COULD read it… I don't know if I would suggest it? While you are introduced to a few of the current-standing Planeswalkers in the series [Jace, Liliana, Tezzeret, and Nicol Bolas] in a manner that describes them and gives you an idea of their characters… they’re still described in a familiar manner, you are given mentions of events that are described in some of the cards, and even references to some of the other current Planeswalkers in the current card release-arches. There are also references to creatures that you aren’t really given clues to what kind of species are, unless you’ve played that kind of card in the game.
As an actual fantasy novel, however, I really enjoyed this book as well. The author is amazing at painting scenes, character descriptions, even if you have the image of the character already in your head, their writing very nicely compliments it. I was emotionally connected to each character, whether feeling sorry for them, hating them, or even feeling their wariness for dangerous situations. Also the magic and fight scenes were impressive. I was left not wanting to put the book down until I finished the current ‘issue’ that I was reading over because I wanted to know what happened before I could set the book down and rest. There was one night I tried to stop in the middle of a said scene and rolled around in bed wondering what was going to happen before finally saying ‘fuck it’ and got up to finish the chapter.
There’s a pretty good array of stuff going on in the book despite thinking it’s all magical/fantasy stuff. There’s love interests [and even a love triangle ooooOOoooo], good vs evil, evil vs evil, all kinds of torture and generally well-described scenes depicting death. There’s the death of an important character that honestly was really hard to swallow, since I quickly really liked the character. Overall, all the good stuff in a book.
In an interesting side note, I and others who are aware of when the Planeswalkers were few and far between [IE back in the day MtG Planeswalkers], and far more potent… in the newer story arches and cards, Planeswalkers are now really common and often seem like just over-glorified magic users. But there’s a character that straight up explains that Planeswalkers were once Gods, and much more powerful, but that all these new Planeswalkers… not so much. I really liked that they actually made mention of that. [Though in a sense that’s a bit of a stab at players of MtG… since when you play, you’re technically supposed to be a Planeswalker…]
Also, it just solidifies my suspicions of some of the current Planeswalkers:
Jace: Whiney emo kid
Liliana: Sexy Necromancer, who is the back-stabbiest of back-stabby
Tezz: Arrogant asshole
Nicol Bolas: Super hilarious asshole
Overall, I was impressed with the book, really enjoyed reading it, and am pretty stoked to read the other Planeswalker novels, possibly even try to read some of the really old MtG novels.
I give Agents of Artifice 5/5 Blue Mana
“I’ve never cared for that expression. It makes me sound so pompous. I despise other people making me sound pompous. I prefer… to do it myself.”
Since this is a Magic: The Gathering in-universe book, I do want to point out that while I suppose someone not familiar with the series COULD read it… I don't know if I would suggest it? While you are introduced to a few of the current-standing Planeswalkers in the series [Jace, Liliana, Tezzeret, and Nicol Bolas] in a manner that describes them and gives you an idea of their characters… they’re still described in a familiar manner, you are given mentions of events that are described in some of the cards, and even references to some of the other current Planeswalkers in the current card release-arches. There are also references to creatures that you aren’t really given clues to what kind of species are, unless you’ve played that kind of card in the game.
As an actual fantasy novel, however, I really enjoyed this book as well. The author is amazing at painting scenes, character descriptions, even if you have the image of the character already in your head, their writing very nicely compliments it. I was emotionally connected to each character, whether feeling sorry for them, hating them, or even feeling their wariness for dangerous situations. Also the magic and fight scenes were impressive. I was left not wanting to put the book down until I finished the current ‘issue’ that I was reading over because I wanted to know what happened before I could set the book down and rest. There was one night I tried to stop in the middle of a said scene and rolled around in bed wondering what was going to happen before finally saying ‘fuck it’ and got up to finish the chapter.
There’s a pretty good array of stuff going on in the book despite thinking it’s all magical/fantasy stuff. There’s love interests [and even a love triangle ooooOOoooo], good vs evil, evil vs evil, all kinds of torture and generally well-described scenes depicting death. There’s the death of an important character that honestly was really hard to swallow, since I quickly really liked the character. Overall, all the good stuff in a book.
In an interesting side note, I and others who are aware of when the Planeswalkers were few and far between [IE back in the day MtG Planeswalkers], and far more potent… in the newer story arches and cards, Planeswalkers are now really common and often seem like just over-glorified magic users. But there’s a character that straight up explains that Planeswalkers were once Gods, and much more powerful, but that all these new Planeswalkers… not so much. I really liked that they actually made mention of that. [Though in a sense that’s a bit of a stab at players of MtG… since when you play, you’re technically supposed to be a Planeswalker…]
Also, it just solidifies my suspicions of some of the current Planeswalkers:
Jace: Whiney emo kid
Liliana: Sexy Necromancer, who is the back-stabbiest of back-stabby
Tezz: Arrogant asshole
Nicol Bolas: Super hilarious asshole
Overall, I was impressed with the book, really enjoyed reading it, and am pretty stoked to read the other Planeswalker novels, possibly even try to read some of the really old MtG novels.
I give Agents of Artifice 5/5 Blue Mana
“I’ve never cared for that expression. It makes me sound so pompous. I despise other people making me sound pompous. I prefer… to do it myself.”
November 7, 2013
In my continuing series of writing reviews of books based on popular geek-friendly board/card games, I give you "Agents of Artifice" by Ari Marmell.
"Agents of Artifice" is set in the Magic: the Gathering collectible card game universe and follows the adventures of four of the playable Planeswalkers in the card game.
Confused yet? Allow me to explain. A Planeswalker is someone who can not only cast powerful spells but can walk between worlds (or dimensions, if you prefer).
If you've never heard of the Magic card game (well, what rock have you been hiding under?) you can still follow the action in this story. It's about spell casters doing magical type things, but the core story is very relatable and not at all like an average game of Magic: The Gathering.
In broad terms, "Agents of Artifice" is the story of how Jace Beleren, the Blue mind/memory mage Planeswalker, got together with Lilliana Vess, the Black necromancer Planeswalker, and had a bit of a romance while they were on the run from Tezzeret, the Blue-Black artificer Planeswalker, who ran the multi-dimensional criminal enterprise they both worked for. Turns out that Tezzeret stole control of the "Infinite Consortium" from the Blue-Black-Red Planeswalker Nicol Bolas--also known as the "Forever Serpent"--a very old and very evil dragon who holds a monumental grudge.
The story is split roughly in half, but with a timeline that moves from the present to the past and then back. Jace Beleren is the main character of the story. He is able to use "mind magics" (similar to psychic powers) and this is a rare skill. So he attracts the notice of Tezzeret, who recruits him for the Infinite Consortium. Working for the bad guys gives Jace a lot of coin but slowly peels away his humanity, as Tezzeret asks him do to more and more violent and evil things. Once Jace breaks away from Tezzeret, only to be hounded by him, he meets up with Lilliana Vess, another former consortium agent. They hide in relative peace together, until Tezzeret catches up with them. After that, things get messy in a hurry. Can Jace trust Lilliana? Is Tezzeret looking to kill them or just break their rebellion and use them? And what part does Nicol Bolas play in all their schemes?
I had no problems with the writing in this novel--other than the way, way over the top depictions of the hellscape of Grixis--or any of the characterizations. Jace is powerful, but conflicted. Lilliana is scheming yet vulnerable. Tezzeret is consumed by his lust for power and innovation. And Nicol Bolas is suitably "above it all" with his plots that span centuries.
There are plenty of nifty references in "Agents of Artifice" for dedicated Magic players, other than the obvious details about the Planeswalkers themselves. Most of the book takes place on Ravnica, a world Magic players know well, but also features the planes of Alara and Kamigawa. We also meet the Elven healer Emmara Tandris on Ravnica, who plays a larger role in future Jace adventures.
"Agents of Artifice" is a good fantasy novel with a lot of Magic: the Gathering elements and characters. Nothing feels forced or thrown in for just the sake of adding flavor, though. I would recommend the book to both Magic players and those who enjoy tales of wizardry and fantasy adventure.
"Agents of Artifice" is set in the Magic: the Gathering collectible card game universe and follows the adventures of four of the playable Planeswalkers in the card game.
Confused yet? Allow me to explain. A Planeswalker is someone who can not only cast powerful spells but can walk between worlds (or dimensions, if you prefer).
If you've never heard of the Magic card game (well, what rock have you been hiding under?) you can still follow the action in this story. It's about spell casters doing magical type things, but the core story is very relatable and not at all like an average game of Magic: The Gathering.
In broad terms, "Agents of Artifice" is the story of how Jace Beleren, the Blue mind/memory mage Planeswalker, got together with Lilliana Vess, the Black necromancer Planeswalker, and had a bit of a romance while they were on the run from Tezzeret, the Blue-Black artificer Planeswalker, who ran the multi-dimensional criminal enterprise they both worked for. Turns out that Tezzeret stole control of the "Infinite Consortium" from the Blue-Black-Red Planeswalker Nicol Bolas--also known as the "Forever Serpent"--a very old and very evil dragon who holds a monumental grudge.
The story is split roughly in half, but with a timeline that moves from the present to the past and then back. Jace Beleren is the main character of the story. He is able to use "mind magics" (similar to psychic powers) and this is a rare skill. So he attracts the notice of Tezzeret, who recruits him for the Infinite Consortium. Working for the bad guys gives Jace a lot of coin but slowly peels away his humanity, as Tezzeret asks him do to more and more violent and evil things. Once Jace breaks away from Tezzeret, only to be hounded by him, he meets up with Lilliana Vess, another former consortium agent. They hide in relative peace together, until Tezzeret catches up with them. After that, things get messy in a hurry. Can Jace trust Lilliana? Is Tezzeret looking to kill them or just break their rebellion and use them? And what part does Nicol Bolas play in all their schemes?
I had no problems with the writing in this novel--other than the way, way over the top depictions of the hellscape of Grixis--or any of the characterizations. Jace is powerful, but conflicted. Lilliana is scheming yet vulnerable. Tezzeret is consumed by his lust for power and innovation. And Nicol Bolas is suitably "above it all" with his plots that span centuries.
There are plenty of nifty references in "Agents of Artifice" for dedicated Magic players, other than the obvious details about the Planeswalkers themselves. Most of the book takes place on Ravnica, a world Magic players know well, but also features the planes of Alara and Kamigawa. We also meet the Elven healer Emmara Tandris on Ravnica, who plays a larger role in future Jace adventures.
"Agents of Artifice" is a good fantasy novel with a lot of Magic: the Gathering elements and characters. Nothing feels forced or thrown in for just the sake of adding flavor, though. I would recommend the book to both Magic players and those who enjoy tales of wizardry and fantasy adventure.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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