Chainer's Torment

Magic: The Gathering: Odyssey Cycle #2

by Scott McGough

In the pit-fighting arenas, a Cabal dementia caster unleashes an array of horrific monsters when the dark nightmares of his mind suddenly come to life. Original.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Magic, Collections, Science Fiction Fantasy

320 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Scott McGough lives in Seattle with a pair of cats and an Australian Cattle Dog. He has written or co-written over a dozen novels and short stories for Magic: The Gathering; he also provided random pirate voices for an upcoming computer game and portrayed a shambling, gut-munching zombie extra in a local low-budget film. Based on his acting performances so far, everyone agrees he should keep writing.

Reviews

[K.]

So GR has this weird thing where you can rate MTG Cards for some reason but doesn't show the actual card. So here's the gatherer link for those wondering; https://gatherer.wizards.com/pages/Ca...

Chainer's torment is actually a half decent card in a draft and cube. In other formats it's passable but definitely not worth mentioning as a build around.

Being a saga, and benefiting from mechanics such as proliferate and counter manipulation, you can repeat the first (and second effect) many times in one turn.
Rushing this saga to 3 is the best way to play this card however. As you have the potential for a 10+/10+ as early as turn 4 (provided you play turn 2 dark ritual, sol ring, or similar ramp effects) without counter manipulation.

Overall, 4/5.

[Chip Hunter]

In CHAINER'S TORMENT, we finally get a character with some depth, as we follow the young dementia-caster-in-training. Chainer is perhaps the most well-developed character in all of MTG fluff up to this point. Despite being mostly selfish, often reckless, and sometimes evil, you'll still find yourself rooting for Chainer in his escapades to gain power and prestige within the Cabal. Him being so much more like-able and knowable than the stern and taciturn Kahmal, make this book far better than its predecessor. Interestingly, CHAINER'S TORMENT has a largely overlapping timeline with Odyssey, and even shows some of the same scenes from that book, just from a different perspective. This approach actually worked quite well here, and allowed Scott McGough to develop his character in some important ways that would have been impossible if this book had to pick up the story right where the previous one left off. The majority of this one is all new though, and continues to focus on the Mirari and all the various parties vying for its control. Laquatus and the Mer empire continue to play a role, as well as the Order and the Cabal. Major events in the world scene unfold here, but the primary focus is still on the fantastic character of Chainer. This fast-paced book takes you through a wild ride following this previously little-known character. One of the best MTG books I've read.

[Scott]

Much better than Odyssey in that it focused on just a few, more fleshed-out characters and had something resembling a plot. The first 1/3-1/2 felt a bit rushed as it was mostly a hasty retelling of the previous book from a different character's POV; the series would be much improved by deleting Odyssey and expanding the first half of this book a little more to fill in the gaps of what little is lost.

[Harrison Delahunty]

Chainer's Torment is an improvement upon its predecessor in every single way, and one of the most engaging pulp fantasy novels I've read.

Whereas Odyssey droned on and on about extremely dull Mer politics, that storyline takes a backseat to a precise and engaging focus on Chainer, a young Cabalist who is in training to be a Dementist Master: a black-mana-using mage who can summon Nightmares to combat others. In this case, Chainer is a young man who has a passion for pit fighting and a fierce loyalty to the Cabal and its leader, the First. Chainer is extremely fun to follow as we begin the story preceding the events of Odyssey, and make our way through that story from the perspective of Chainer. The novel ends in a pulse-pounding conflict over the Mirari--this narrative's McGuffin--between Chainer and Kamahl (the protagonist of this Cycle of novels), which is poignant and exciting.

Chainer's perspective is an absolute joy to read from as he proves to be sardonic, an idealist for a Cabalist, and talented. We get to watch him grow from inexperienced Dementist to skilled mage to disillusioned, cruel, and corrupted powerhouse. McGough expertly crafts a middle chapter that feels like an entire story on its own due to the powerful arc that Chainer begins and ends in this novel alone. Additionally, though Kamahl isn't the main focus in this book, McGough still manages to add to his characterisation and make him feel like a more fleshed-out character than Vance Moore (Odyssey's scribe) ever managed.

Maybe it's because McGough stopped the focus on the insipid mermaid politics.

[Richard Magnelli]

Powerfully written novel that takes place as a both a side-story and sequel to the previous novel by Vance Moore. Chainer's Torment is GOOD though. This would be a great novel even if you know nothing about Magic: the Gathering. It's a dark, horror fantasy crime novel similar to something by Steven Brust.

McGough has some slip-ups with names, and there are some small editorial errors. But this is well-written. The language when things get really weird, when the Dementia casters and Dementists call upon the things from their darkest imaginations, when they visit their own nightmare abodes, things get impressively surreal and creepy. Chainer as a character is brilliant, and McGough made me care about Laquatus, who I hated in the first novel. Even brave Kamahl comes off more human and more heroic in this one, with character development notched up for each fight he takes place in, questioning his actions as he goes along with certain schemes that, just maybe, weren't really in alignment with what he wants to see in the world. And can't we all see ourselves in that role at some point in our lives? Hopefully we grew like Kamahl.

Here's hoping the third novel is this good! I'll be on the lookout for more of Scott McGough's books, because this is one of my favorite fantasy novels ever.

[Adam]

I had this book when I was a kid when I was first getting into Magic and I love it. My copy had disappeared ages ago, and I just happened across another. Still very fun, Chainer was always my favorite character.
It's not the most high-brow, but it adds so much life to the world of magic that can't come across in just the cards. Squid-people's political machinations, religious zealots who are also birds, cultists who manifest their horrific nightmares into flesh to fight for them. A "lavamancer," an earth wizard, kills a vampire who tries to bite his neck because he has literal lava for blood. That, my friends, is dope as fuck.

[Daniel]

This is by far the best re-write of another person's book that I have ever read. After the first book in this series, I thought I was done. Yet, this book put everything into scale and focus which the first book just didnt do. It also does well to stick to a rather small group of characters to actually care about.
I loved the secret name control like faeries do in lots of stories and the brotherhood between two guys journey which I thought I was going to dislike. Lastly, I love that Chainer dies and the theme of his torment is quite correct. All encompassing power always corrupts its holder. I liked this book alot, and I just upped its stars to 5!

[Keenan Calhoun]

I read this book because 1) I've always been interested in checking out some of the Magic: The Gathering licensed novels and 2) because I have a Chainer commander deck and needed to learn more about my favorite legendary creature. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the writing and plotting, and the characters were fun to spend some time with. Chainer's fall was a bit half-baked, it felt like he succumbed to temptation because the book needed him to, but it was still a fun read.

[Iranoctis]

Der Fokus auf Chainer und McGoughs Schreibstil sind die Säulen eines kleinen Höhepunkts der Magic Lore, die leider von den zwei schwächeren Bänden des Zyklus' überschattet werden. Trotzdem ist der Block insgesamt lesenswert.

[Robert Frank]

This book was much better than Odyssey. Much less confusing. Though this book covers a more lengthy period of time, it feels like this should have been book one. Especially since it was actually the first one written.

[Michael Wilson]

Pulpy. Decent.

[Yolanda Casica]

I have not read the first or last of the Odyssey Cycle and so can only make remarks on this particular of the mini series. My overall impression of this book: I loved it! I liked the relationship between Chainer and his Master Skellum, and found myself cheering for Chainer throughout the story.

The climax and ending had me wanting more. The pacing of the plot was fair and it did not overwhelm me with information on the get go. The different life forms and magic presented were interesting and never dull. Each character had their own unique personalities which helped to give the reader a wider view into such a complex world.The author introduced me to the world of Chainer's Cabal City in such an attentive way, that by the end I was sad to leave it.

I will be looking for the other two books in the series. If you happen to come across just this one, however, be assured it can stand on its own.

[Kevin]

I thoroughly enjoyed the dark, majestic world that Scott McGough created within this book. Chainer drew my interests, my desires and those who were his "friends" were never more appealing and interesting than here. This book is one for me that showcases all that I look for in a book. It takes me to another world, in the same way a dementia caster travels to theirs. I would highly recommend this to anyone interested in fantasy, magic and darkness. Focusing on the dark side of Magic: The Gathering (Black Mana), this book is a bit darker in it's subject but perfect for those who want to see what some dream of as their nightmares.

[Tiago Pomella Lobo]

Reeeeeally great book!!!
If you're into Magic, magic and stuff, a must read!
The end is one of the best i've ever read...
In fact, one of the best books i've ever read...
Keeps you into the story almost all the time...
I didn't want to go to college, just to keep reading it in my bedroom!!!
Read it and you won't regret, but read Odissey first, of course...

[Lorand]

I don't usually review books I read but this one was such a hit. I felt as being part of the story in every single action, witnessing and living through each moment of this book. I really suggest others to read if they want to witness an amazing cabal story.

[Lin Bill]

Probably the most memorable book of my preteen years. A story of lust for power, and defiance. Will friends from very different backgrounds find a way to work together?
Also, Laquatus is a slippery devil.

[Shase Lindell]

Wow, Chainer is an incredibly complex and emotional character. This book is extremely well written.