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Magic: The Gathering: Ravnica Cycle #3
Dissension
The streets of Ravnica run red with blood. Guild fights guild and horrifying monsters ravage the city, destroying all who stand in their way.
But as Ravnica crumbles, a method emerges from the madness, and it becomes clear that the city's chaos was calculated.
Something must be done. And unfortunately for Kos, being dead doesn't mean you don't have a job to do.
Dissension brings to a close the adventure and further explores the radically new and intriguing area of Magic: The Gathering® first introduced in Ravnica. This novel previews the newest trading card game expansion set to be released in June.
But as Ravnica crumbles, a method emerges from the madness, and it becomes clear that the city's chaos was calculated.
Something must be done. And unfortunately for Kos, being dead doesn't mean you don't have a job to do.
Dissension brings to a close the adventure and further explores the radically new and intriguing area of Magic: The Gathering® first introduced in Ravnica. This novel previews the newest trading card game expansion set to be released in June.
313 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published May 9, 2006
33 people are currently reading
632 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
July 2, 2009
If you want a real review, then read the bottom paragraph. This book was a great read as a kid. I had never read any MTG books before and was not expecting much, but this type of book really intrigued me. (Almost a decade later) I went on a 2 week search for this book without the knowledge of the author or title and only the cover picture of the book. It has been eight years since I've read this book and yet I find myself recalling everything that happened... . Even after first reading it I would have vivid dreams for months. It was also the first time I saw a book series (and not fully understanding that I was about to read a book the had two preceding it).
In the Magic the Gathering series, this is the first time that the story is told in the perspective of a dead character. Well, he’s not exactly dead, he’s just undead. The main character, who’s the undead hero, Kos was summoned to the streets of Ravnica because he had to save the city from all of the frightening creatures.
However, there is a strange consequence for saving the city for Kos. How could he choose between his duty and his freedom? It would be a very hard decision to make for anyone. If he chooses to deny his master, Kos will stay in hell and that means that he only gets to traverse the world of the underground. If he follows the orders that he receives, he will be able to roam both worlds as he pleases. Which path will he choose?
In the Magic the Gathering series, this is the first time that the story is told in the perspective of a dead character. Well, he’s not exactly dead, he’s just undead. The main character, who’s the undead hero, Kos was summoned to the streets of Ravnica because he had to save the city from all of the frightening creatures.
However, there is a strange consequence for saving the city for Kos. How could he choose between his duty and his freedom? It would be a very hard decision to make for anyone. If he chooses to deny his master, Kos will stay in hell and that means that he only gets to traverse the world of the underground. If he follows the orders that he receives, he will be able to roam both worlds as he pleases. Which path will he choose?
June 15, 2020
Interesting twists. Glad it left off correctly to explain some prime characters in the 'Return to Ravnica' expansion.
September 10, 2014
It was the best one of the whole trilogy but once again the ending felt too rushed and left me with so many questions.
September 18, 2020
A solid ending to the trilogy, though it's easily the weakest of the three novels.
Dissension follows about two years after the prior novel left off. Agrus Kos is dead. Fonn and Jarad have married, had a child together, and separated. Pivlic is now Teysa Karlov's right-hand-imp. Crix is now Crixisix, and communes directly with Niv-Mizzet the Firemind (who is, of course, the guildmaster of the Izzet). Svadek, Hauc, and all the rest of those villains are all supposed to be long-gone, their plans conscripted to dust. All of these are things that you as the reader need to pay attention to, because they are all relevant to this novel, and you'll be looking through the lens of many of these characters as you go chapter by chapter.
The main plot is as follows: in the aftermath of the events of Guildpact, there are nephilim (giant, malevolent, and strange beings) attacking the remains of the dragon eggs beneath the Cradle. They are primed to come up from Utvara and Old Ravnica as a whole to attack the surface, where most of our cast of characters reside. Jarad, the guildmaster of the Golgari, however, remains underground with his son Myc, who is taken with Fonn at the head of the story to join her and other ledev trainees. Simultaneously, Feather the Boros angel has turned herself into custody and is interviewed by Teysa Karlov. Agrus Kos's ghost, unceremoniously stuck as a ghost that guards the Azorious courts, sees Feather as she is dragged past him for her court date.
While Fonn and her scouts encounter a group of Rakdos cultists amid some rolling fog, Kos is ripped out of his new miserable situation to get an even newer one: anchored to a lawmage, stuck in one body with the lawmage's conscience. Feather has revealed that Ravnica's 'Heaven' is real, she has been there, and all of the other angels are dead. Szadek is still around in a malevolent, ghostly form, and Kos has been called upon to help once more.
All in all, this is a fun and unexpected way to bring Kos back into the action after his death in a way that doesn't feel cheap. After all, we were constantly exposed to the fact that death doesn't really work the way it does for us on Ravnica through both of the prior novels, and Kos is easily the most fun and engaging character in this ensemble. Which, unfortunately, is the reason that this novel's flaws really show through at all.
The thing is, while Herndon is clearly a capable writer, it almost feels as though he were overwhelmed with the amount of characters he had saddled himself with. We constantly jump from perspective to perspective, making the chronology of things somewhat muddled and forcing the reader to reset their mindset every couple of pages. While the Kos chapters and paragraphs are easily the strongest of the whole book, we also get a couple weaker bits: for example, a portion from the perspective of miscellaneous Azorius senators. Regardless, the writing is still well-paced and cleverly snarky in ways that other Magic writers I've seen can't manage nearly so well.
I recommend Dissension to anybody who enjoys Magic, likes Ravnica, or just enjoyed the prior two novels.
Dissension follows about two years after the prior novel left off. Agrus Kos is dead. Fonn and Jarad have married, had a child together, and separated. Pivlic is now Teysa Karlov's right-hand-imp. Crix is now Crixisix, and communes directly with Niv-Mizzet the Firemind (who is, of course, the guildmaster of the Izzet). Svadek, Hauc, and all the rest of those villains are all supposed to be long-gone, their plans conscripted to dust. All of these are things that you as the reader need to pay attention to, because they are all relevant to this novel, and you'll be looking through the lens of many of these characters as you go chapter by chapter.
The main plot is as follows: in the aftermath of the events of Guildpact, there are nephilim (giant, malevolent, and strange beings) attacking the remains of the dragon eggs beneath the Cradle. They are primed to come up from Utvara and Old Ravnica as a whole to attack the surface, where most of our cast of characters reside. Jarad, the guildmaster of the Golgari, however, remains underground with his son Myc, who is taken with Fonn at the head of the story to join her and other ledev trainees. Simultaneously, Feather the Boros angel has turned herself into custody and is interviewed by Teysa Karlov. Agrus Kos's ghost, unceremoniously stuck as a ghost that guards the Azorious courts, sees Feather as she is dragged past him for her court date.
While Fonn and her scouts encounter a group of Rakdos cultists amid some rolling fog, Kos is ripped out of his new miserable situation to get an even newer one: anchored to a lawmage, stuck in one body with the lawmage's conscience. Feather has revealed that Ravnica's 'Heaven' is real, she has been there, and all of the other angels are dead. Szadek is still around in a malevolent, ghostly form, and Kos has been called upon to help once more.
All in all, this is a fun and unexpected way to bring Kos back into the action after his death in a way that doesn't feel cheap. After all, we were constantly exposed to the fact that death doesn't really work the way it does for us on Ravnica through both of the prior novels, and Kos is easily the most fun and engaging character in this ensemble. Which, unfortunately, is the reason that this novel's flaws really show through at all.
The thing is, while Herndon is clearly a capable writer, it almost feels as though he were overwhelmed with the amount of characters he had saddled himself with. We constantly jump from perspective to perspective, making the chronology of things somewhat muddled and forcing the reader to reset their mindset every couple of pages. While the Kos chapters and paragraphs are easily the strongest of the whole book, we also get a couple weaker bits: for example, a portion from the perspective of miscellaneous Azorius senators. Regardless, the writing is still well-paced and cleverly snarky in ways that other Magic writers I've seen can't manage nearly so well.
I recommend Dissension to anybody who enjoys Magic, likes Ravnica, or just enjoyed the prior two novels.
July 10, 2019
This was one of the higher quality third entries in a block, where stories have traditionally struggled.
That still happened, but less than, say, a Fifth Dawn scenario.
I feel like the characters were much, much better than previous blocks, and that's what saved this from being godawful, but the plot was all over the place. There seemed to be no overarching plot that made sense, it was like 4 competing villains all trying to do....something? Their endgame didn't seem really well-defined, if at all.
People died but that....didn't matter? The rules of this universe needed to be better defined ahead of time so you understand the stakes.
The upside is this is where digital editions start appearing, so I can read this on my kindle, which greatly helps both motivation and speed. I can read longer each night when I don't have to be in just one position to use my lamp on a physical book.
I'm not anti-book, I do enjoy holding a book in hand every once in a while, but overall I'm much more of a Kindle convert.
That still happened, but less than, say, a Fifth Dawn scenario.
I feel like the characters were much, much better than previous blocks, and that's what saved this from being godawful, but the plot was all over the place. There seemed to be no overarching plot that made sense, it was like 4 competing villains all trying to do....something? Their endgame didn't seem really well-defined, if at all.
People died but that....didn't matter? The rules of this universe needed to be better defined ahead of time so you understand the stakes.
The upside is this is where digital editions start appearing, so I can read this on my kindle, which greatly helps both motivation and speed. I can read longer each night when I don't have to be in just one position to use my lamp on a physical book.
I'm not anti-book, I do enjoy holding a book in hand every once in a while, but overall I'm much more of a Kindle convert.
August 27, 2019
I read this to get familiar with the world of Ravnica and it's lore in order to better DM a D&D campaign I'm running.
The author does a great job of describing the world and gradually over 3 books making the reader more familiar with the 10 guilds that occupy Ravnica.
However he doesn't excel at building story arcs nor describing in prose what is happening in a way that makes the reader feel like they understand everything that is going on.
I ended up reading the whole trilogy, which did help understand the world, but at times it was a bit of a struggle to get through some chapters.
The 3rd book was by the best of the trilogy.
The author does a great job of describing the world and gradually over 3 books making the reader more familiar with the 10 guilds that occupy Ravnica.
However he doesn't excel at building story arcs nor describing in prose what is happening in a way that makes the reader feel like they understand everything that is going on.
I ended up reading the whole trilogy, which did help understand the world, but at times it was a bit of a struggle to get through some chapters.
The 3rd book was by the best of the trilogy.
March 18, 2024
I'd use the word interesting over good to describe this book and the trilogy as a whole. You play magic and you get a sense of Ravnica that boils down to 'a planet sized city with ten competing guilds' but the trilogy really fleshes out the world.
And this book is a surprisingly good ending to the trilogy, pulling together the pretty disparate plot elements of Ravnica and Guildpact into a big climatic story. Between Niv Mizzet, Rakdos, the Parhelion, the Nephilim and the Kraj it gives a feeling of an endgame D&D campaign.
And this book is a surprisingly good ending to the trilogy, pulling together the pretty disparate plot elements of Ravnica and Guildpact into a big climatic story. Between Niv Mizzet, Rakdos, the Parhelion, the Nephilim and the Kraj it gives a feeling of an endgame D&D campaign.
July 7, 2025
My god there was so much happening in this one. I think I'd probably say it isn't as good as the first two, although it's still quite good. There are a lot of twists and turns. Crix (now Crixizix) and Teysa take a backseat, only appearing for a few scenes, while most of the story follows Kos, now dead and then summoned back as a ghost, and Fonn and Jarad, with their son Myc.
The ending is rushed, as I've accepted is typical of these books, but seeing the climax come to fruition was entertaining at least.
The ending is rushed, as I've accepted is typical of these books, but seeing the climax come to fruition was entertaining at least.
April 12, 2024
Sad that Jared and Fonn didn't work out in the end
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 18, 2025
Que caos de novela, pero estuvo entretenida
December 28, 2014
I'm sure people will be wanting to read this book now that Return to Ravnica is upon is. So here's a review that will hopefully suffice for everyone. There will be a spoiler section at the bottom for those that just want a recap of the story and what happens at the end of the Rav cycle.
So the story starts off with some trouble in the Utvara region. Some nephilim, giant monsters, are rampaging and a thief is there to retrieve an item - a dragon's egg. The last of the three is still there, and someone has paid handsomely to obtain it. That someone is a guildmaster, and it doesn't entail good things.
Kos is back as a ghost in this book, bound to Ravnica like many ghosts. He has some unfinished business to finish, because Kos had almost destroyed the Guildpact.
The book has Niv-Mizzet make an appearance, a favourite among many. We also see some other important guild people, such as Teysa, Jarad (now the guildmaster), and Grand Arbiter Augustin IV. And nobody would expect not to see the guild leaders of the Dissension guilds, so we've got Rakdos and Momir-Vig making debuts as well, as well as their important places and people, including Novijen and Izolda.
The story isn't half bad, but it isn't anything to write home about. The writing is average, it's not terrible or anything like that, but I mean, you don't really feel like there's anything special. I'm glad to see Herndon finish the story, and I mean, the story does indeed end off right. I'm not entirely sure what a return to Ravnica will entail, but there's definitely room.
The book's not worth reading, nothing special. It wasn't horrible like most newer books, but it's also a Magic book, they were nothing special to begin with, lest a few gems.
So the story starts off with some trouble in the Utvara region. Some nephilim, giant monsters, are rampaging and a thief is there to retrieve an item - a dragon's egg. The last of the three is still there, and someone has paid handsomely to obtain it. That someone is a guildmaster, and it doesn't entail good things.
Kos is back as a ghost in this book, bound to Ravnica like many ghosts. He has some unfinished business to finish, because Kos had almost destroyed the Guildpact.
The book has Niv-Mizzet make an appearance, a favourite among many. We also see some other important guild people, such as Teysa, Jarad (now the guildmaster), and Grand Arbiter Augustin IV. And nobody would expect not to see the guild leaders of the Dissension guilds, so we've got Rakdos and Momir-Vig making debuts as well, as well as their important places and people, including Novijen and Izolda.
The story isn't half bad, but it isn't anything to write home about. The writing is average, it's not terrible or anything like that, but I mean, you don't really feel like there's anything special. I'm glad to see Herndon finish the story, and I mean, the story does indeed end off right. I'm not entirely sure what a return to Ravnica will entail, but there's definitely room.
The book's not worth reading, nothing special. It wasn't horrible like most newer books, but it's also a Magic book, they were nothing special to begin with, lest a few gems.
September 25, 2012
I red this book twice - the first time when Dissension came out, and a few years later, when Wizards announced Return to Ravnica. And although the book is relatively short and I'm familiar with the world, it still took me a lot to finish it. Both times, and I don't really know why. Maybe because the story was so hectic or maybe because this was the third book and I didn't read the first two, I don't know.
The writing is good, nothing special. There are a lot of characters running around, jumping from one location to another, forging alliances and fighting each other. I found the story a little confusing. It seems there isn't a main villain, but instead there are various villains in the form of guildmasters, and their motives aren't always clear.
All in all, if you are familiar with Magic and Ravnica, you will probably like this book, if not, there are other better fantasy novels out there.
The writing is good, nothing special. There are a lot of characters running around, jumping from one location to another, forging alliances and fighting each other. I found the story a little confusing. It seems there isn't a main villain, but instead there are various villains in the form of guildmasters, and their motives aren't always clear.
All in all, if you are familiar with Magic and Ravnica, you will probably like this book, if not, there are other better fantasy novels out there.
April 28, 2014
Dissension was a fabulous book that wrapped up the series nicely while creating a new and engaging tale fitting all of our favorite characters.
This book successfully incorporates the previously separate storylines of the first and second books and weaves a tale in which our characters must work hard and try new things. I loved how the author threw twists and turns though there were a few times (e.g. with the guardians) where I wish they had explained more about the aftermath of them. I understand this may be asking for too much but while I got closure from the characters I felt there was more about the world of Ravnica that I was still curious about and had wanted more answers for.
Overall though, Cory Herndon is successful in his conclusion to the Ravnica block, with wonderful and complex new characters and environments. By far, this was the best book in the Ravnica Cycle.
This book successfully incorporates the previously separate storylines of the first and second books and weaves a tale in which our characters must work hard and try new things. I loved how the author threw twists and turns though there were a few times (e.g. with the guardians) where I wish they had explained more about the aftermath of them. I understand this may be asking for too much but while I got closure from the characters I felt there was more about the world of Ravnica that I was still curious about and had wanted more answers for.
Overall though, Cory Herndon is successful in his conclusion to the Ravnica block, with wonderful and complex new characters and environments. By far, this was the best book in the Ravnica Cycle.
April 13, 2009
In the Magic the Gathering series, this is the first time that the story is told in the perspective of a dead character. Well, he’s not exactly dead, he’s just undead. The main character, who’s the undead hero, Kos was summoned to the streets of Ravnica because he had to save the city from all of the frightening creatures.
However, there is a strange consequence for saving the city for Kos. How could he choose between his duty and his freedom? It would be a very hard decision to make for anyone. If he chooses to deny his master, Kos will stay in hell and that means that he only gets to traverse the world of the underground. If he follows the orders that he receives, he will be able to roam both worlds as he pleases. Which path will he choose?
However, there is a strange consequence for saving the city for Kos. How could he choose between his duty and his freedom? It would be a very hard decision to make for anyone. If he chooses to deny his master, Kos will stay in hell and that means that he only gets to traverse the world of the underground. If he follows the orders that he receives, he will be able to roam both worlds as he pleases. Which path will he choose?
April 22, 2020
This third and final book of the trilogy is the most entertaining. All thanks to tired old soldier Kos returning to the foreground and peppering the dialogues with some welcome comedy.
The story's climatic conclusion forces the writer to step up the pace compared to the previous books and it serves everybody well. It follows the paths of more characters than before that in some cases never cross. But that's fine, This book is sometimes less about the people and more about the city. And about final chapter kaiju battles.
The story's climatic conclusion forces the writer to step up the pace compared to the previous books and it serves everybody well. It follows the paths of more characters than before that in some cases never cross. But that's fine, This book is sometimes less about the people and more about the city. And about final chapter kaiju battles.
January 29, 2012
This was actually the first book of the trilogy that I read, so it was a bit out of order, but it was well worth it. The storyline is very encompassing and well thought out, every detail you can imagine is brought to life through the author's words. Buy the series, and add it to your collection now, because you will never be disappointed to pick it up again and again!
October 3, 2009
An enjoyable read for fans of the Magic: the Gathering Ravnica block setting. It brings together the various characters introduced in the first two books and culminates in an interesting finale, finally explaining the real villains and the real threat that is looming over the plane.
January 14, 2013
El peor de los tres libros del ciclo. se siente forzado y recicla estereotipos. No tiene un momento para estar en paz es "acción" todo él tiempo y sin sentido
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December 26, 2015I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/12438464
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/12438464
January 8, 2015
If you're into Magic the Gathering, it's fun to read. That's it.
February 22, 2015
Very good. Never seen so many ways in which one city is under threat.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews