Champion's Trial

by Scott McGough

This title concludes the trilogy written to greater expand the novel reader's understanding of the The Gathering world. These titles specifically expand on characters from previously released Magic card sets.

Evil Triumphant

A dragon sits on the throne of Madara, and his regent rules with knives in the dark. The islands bleed, the mainland shakes, and even the champion has forsaken his office. Does no honor remain in the empire?

Ask Ayesha, who has turned her hands from breaking artifacts to making forests. Ask Wasitora, whose cat-dragon kits fight the armies of evil. Most of all, ask Tetsuo, who must regain his honor by destroying the emperor he once served.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Magic

306 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published November 1, 2003

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

[Chip Hunter · Rating 4 out of 5]

With the huge cast of characters and seemingly un-resolvable plot elements, I had my concerns that McGough would fumble his attempt to close the trilogy. Somehow, he was able to both wrap up all of the individual stories and keep the reader engaged in the limited space he had. He was also able to bring back just about every character we've met during this epic adventure, as each of the Legends meets their fate or comes into their own during this final volume. For most of the book, Tetsuo Umezawa and his allies dominate in every contest, unmercifully decimating the Regent's forces and holdfasts. It wasn't until near the end of the book, with the ultimate showdown between Tetsuo and Lord Dark, that things get really hairy for our Champion. Some nice sequences to finish the book that will come as a surprise. I've enjoyed this romp through the Magic Legends, and would place it a notch above the typical MTG fluff piece. Still, recommended only for fans of light fantasy reading and MTG world building.

[Derp · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.
Okay, this book was pretty badass. Traditional writing advice would say it's not entertaining to have your protagonists overcome all their obstacles with little difficulty, but somehow that works for this book- it was just a lot of fun to read about Overdark and his minions getting positively curb-stomped by Tetsuo and friends. Also surprisingly entertaining was Nicol Bolas mansplaining leadership and otherwise telling Overdark he was a loser the entire book.
I will say it was pretty underwhelming when Tetsuo dropped a meteor on Madara for a second time (okay the second time it was a hammer, but effectively it was a meteor). Perhaps he should've wiped out the kentsu some other way so the meteor drop could be saved for the end (as an aside, when reading this book it's best not to think about how many soldiers who are just doing their jobs Tetsuo and Ayesha brutally murder- just let it pass you by). Also, the descriptions of both meteor drops sounded like their impact was going to ruin Madara's ecosystem for years, and yet in the epilogue it seemed like the land was just fine? I understand that you don't want to end your book with your supposed hero having utterly destroyed his home nation in his quest for revenge, but a quick paragraph or two explaining why everything was back to being fine could've been included- maybe Ayesha convinces Magnus to heal Madara. Or, alternatively, don't stress how the first meteor threw dust into the air that would affect Madara for years to come or that the Bogardan hammer spell would destroy all the mana lines in Madara- Tetsuo can just annihilate the imperial shrine, that's still awesome.
Also twice in this book someone vomits pure darkness out of themselves. I was okay with that repetition though. It's better spaced out for one thing, but also I just thought the image was cool.

[Mathew Ostrander · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun read. It wasn’t thought provoking or a compellingly complex plot, but since I enjoyed the characters and am just that enamored with the world they inhabit I was entertained. The planeswalker Nicol Bolas in particular I have been keen to learn his history and read the stories involving him. Since this took place before the Time Spiral catastrophe it’s hard to get a feel for his power and what his plans are. Other than amassing mana I wasn’t sure what he was about on Dominaria. I guess it ruined a little bit of the surprise reading these books out of order, knowing how Nicol Bolas was trapped and presumed destroyed ahead of time.

[Adam Kokkonen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thrilling conclusion to an already fantastic series. Though it left me wanting more, I consider that a to be a positive thing. Definitely a must read.

[Shase Lindell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bolas's death was a very hard one to pull off, but the author does a good job with it.