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Magic: The Gathering: Artifacts Cycle #3
Time Streams
Urza's Legacy Unfolds.
Urza Planeswalker has enlisted the most brilliant minds from across Dominaria to study at his academy on Tolaria. Together they work to bring to life the greatest artifact weapon Urza has ever devised, hoping to use it to defend their home from an imminent Phyrexian invasion. But treachery and tragedy stalk the tiny island, as Urza and his followers seek to manipulate time itself.
Linked to the Magic: The Gathering expansion Urza's Legacy
Urza Planeswalker has enlisted the most brilliant minds from across Dominaria to study at his academy on Tolaria. Together they work to bring to life the greatest artifact weapon Urza has ever devised, hoping to use it to defend their home from an imminent Phyrexian invasion. But treachery and tragedy stalk the tiny island, as Urza and his followers seek to manipulate time itself.
Linked to the Magic: The Gathering expansion Urza's Legacy
352 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published March 1, 1999
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700 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
June 4, 2025
I read this when I was 14. It's a fantasy book about bubbles of time. Lets say you are having a war with a battalion, and they are stuck in a big bubble of time that is moving 100 times faster than you. Whoah.
I loved this book, until I read more books
I loved this book, until I read more books
March 25, 2020
The farther I read through this series, the gladder I am that it is moving ever closer to modern conventions of Magic: the Gathering storytelling. This book is particularly self-aware, as the author seems to have had a lot of time to cobble together information from both its contemporary cards sets and the book that came before it. It is, for that reason, the first Magic: the Gathering novel that seems to know where it's headed: establishing fan favorite characters and ushering the age of the Weatherlight and long-term Magic continuity.
Its self-awareness also shows in the writing of Urza Planeswalker. The writing of Planeswalkers in the early Magic: the Gathering novels is unfortunately difficult, as authors are expected to characterize infallible superhuman beings who can do near anything with a thought. The previous author accomplished this by omitting Urza from the story almost entirely and giving us a proxy for the audience. Time Streams follows up rather elegantly by giving us a new proxy character in Barrin (and to an extent Jhoira). King elaborates on the solution by acknowledging Urza's real flaws and giving him a comeuppance: the story strangely feels like a struggle to humanize Urza, and King somehow manages to place Urza in situations where even he, in all his godlike glory, has genuine stakes and a chance of death or failure. In the earlier parts of the book, there are also a few humorous moments when the author seems to knowingly lampshade Urza's godliness, making a show of how boring Urza's omnipotence is without actually boring the audience.
This story is especially poignant and impactful because of the characters it introduces. Fans of current (especially post-2017) Magic storylines will instantly recognize Karn, Jhoira, and Teferi. These fan favorites are among the only Dominarian characters who are still in the MtG limelight some 15 years later, and it says a lot that King was the one responsible for bringing them to life for the first time.
This is possibly the first Magic: the Gathering book (in chronological order) that I admire for what it is, not what it represents. In more ways than one, Time Streams is when Magic: the Gathering lore finally starts to get good.
Its self-awareness also shows in the writing of Urza Planeswalker. The writing of Planeswalkers in the early Magic: the Gathering novels is unfortunately difficult, as authors are expected to characterize infallible superhuman beings who can do near anything with a thought. The previous author accomplished this by omitting Urza from the story almost entirely and giving us a proxy for the audience. Time Streams follows up rather elegantly by giving us a new proxy character in Barrin (and to an extent Jhoira). King elaborates on the solution by acknowledging Urza's real flaws and giving him a comeuppance: the story strangely feels like a struggle to humanize Urza, and King somehow manages to place Urza in situations where even he, in all his godlike glory, has genuine stakes and a chance of death or failure. In the earlier parts of the book, there are also a few humorous moments when the author seems to knowingly lampshade Urza's godliness, making a show of how boring Urza's omnipotence is without actually boring the audience.
This story is especially poignant and impactful because of the characters it introduces. Fans of current (especially post-2017) Magic storylines will instantly recognize Karn, Jhoira, and Teferi. These fan favorites are among the only Dominarian characters who are still in the MtG limelight some 15 years later, and it says a lot that King was the one responsible for bringing them to life for the first time.
This is possibly the first Magic: the Gathering book (in chronological order) that I admire for what it is, not what it represents. In more ways than one, Time Streams is when Magic: the Gathering lore finally starts to get good.
January 24, 2024
Now THAT was a book worthy of the Artifacts cycle. I expected to read the first four chapters today, but I ended up reading the whole book instead. We're immediately introduced to a cast of characters even better than The Brothers War, and a premise good enough to rival it. This book isn't merely about time travel, but splinters in time. The way time is used as a plot device in this book is so imaginative. I've said it in the past, but I feel the need to reiterate it; in a time where more and more stories are falling to cliches and blueprints, Magic never ceases to show me things I've never seen before. This book uses time travel and its ramifications, better than any other piece of media I've consumed, rivaling the likes of Steins;Gate in that department. This book felt like a return to the Urza I remember from The Brothers War, in fact, this book felt like a return to everything I remember from The Brothers War. The scale, the century-spanning pace, the intricate characterization of its cast. This is an all time favorite entry in the Magic lore for me. Let's hope that Bloodlines closes out the Artifacts cycle on such a high note.
March 18, 2023
Without giving spoilers, the time orientation and how it worked throughout the book was excellent. A near-threat kept the tension throughout the book. A few key characters in Magic: the Gathering lore are introduced and become memorable. Overall, a strong read.
December 28, 2014
When I picked up this book, I was at a low with the series. Planeswalker was most definitely the worst MTG book I have ever read to date, so I was hoping for something a little better. While this book was definitely better, it still has trouble living up to the original book.
In this book, Urza has founded the Tolarian Academy, a place where he enlists the brightest minds to help him prepare for the fight against the Phyrexians. He also builds one of the greatest weapons against them during the book: Karn, the Silver Golem. During his stay at the academy, some untimely events occur causing turmoil at the academy. What is it that happened? Have Phyrexians invaded? Will Urza be able to fend them off? And what powers does Karn have?
The book doesn't have as much action as the original. I hate to say that a book needs action but it needs to build up to something and what it does build up to is quite weak. The characters constantly build up to an event and then said event lasts only a chapter and is not very exciting. And of course, I still have the gripe that the book cannot carry over some stuff from the previous books. The Phyrexians that plague Urza in this book are brought about during the course of the book, as opposed to bringing them up from a previous book and making a long struggle.
The book does have some highs though. You meat a slew of characters that are great, Karn, Barrin, Jhoira and Teferi, some that will show up in many books to come. And there are some decent parts to the plot. The ending of the book provides a great deal of action, though whether you enjoy it that much is up to you.
If you were put off by the previous book, this book might just salvage the series for you. It's not nearly as good as the original, and it's almost a shame to have to compare it. But it is the same cycle and its nowhere near as good.
In this book, Urza has founded the Tolarian Academy, a place where he enlists the brightest minds to help him prepare for the fight against the Phyrexians. He also builds one of the greatest weapons against them during the book: Karn, the Silver Golem. During his stay at the academy, some untimely events occur causing turmoil at the academy. What is it that happened? Have Phyrexians invaded? Will Urza be able to fend them off? And what powers does Karn have?
The book doesn't have as much action as the original. I hate to say that a book needs action but it needs to build up to something and what it does build up to is quite weak. The characters constantly build up to an event and then said event lasts only a chapter and is not very exciting. And of course, I still have the gripe that the book cannot carry over some stuff from the previous books. The Phyrexians that plague Urza in this book are brought about during the course of the book, as opposed to bringing them up from a previous book and making a long struggle.
The book does have some highs though. You meat a slew of characters that are great, Karn, Barrin, Jhoira and Teferi, some that will show up in many books to come. And there are some decent parts to the plot. The ending of the book provides a great deal of action, though whether you enjoy it that much is up to you.
If you were put off by the previous book, this book might just salvage the series for you. It's not nearly as good as the original, and it's almost a shame to have to compare it. But it is the same cycle and its nowhere near as good.
July 16, 2018
I figured out what the previous novel lacked that this improved upon: There are actual characters to care about and stakes that are clear and feel threatening.
The previous book had just 3 characters, and nothing else mattered. The pacing was bizarre and nothing seemed to matter until the last five pages.
This did the exact opposite. Each character is developed enough to feel real and unique, and all of their motivations make sense. The Phyrexians in the time pit are an omnipresent threat feels like it's actually relevant and threatening.
That's all these tie-in novels need: the bare minimum of competent writing. You get auto-buy-in from your audience like me who plays this game, you just need to write something that isn't tortuously bad to read. It's not a high bar to clear, and yet so often even that cannot be met. Very rarely, you can combine actually talented writers with a compelling story, and these books can actually be objectively good novels in their own right.
This book didn't transcend to that level, but it's one of the most competent and engaging thus far, and Jhoira and Karn are characters I look forward to seeing again.
The previous book had just 3 characters, and nothing else mattered. The pacing was bizarre and nothing seemed to matter until the last five pages.
This did the exact opposite. Each character is developed enough to feel real and unique, and all of their motivations make sense. The Phyrexians in the time pit are an omnipresent threat feels like it's actually relevant and threatening.
That's all these tie-in novels need: the bare minimum of competent writing. You get auto-buy-in from your audience like me who plays this game, you just need to write something that isn't tortuously bad to read. It's not a high bar to clear, and yet so often even that cannot be met. Very rarely, you can combine actually talented writers with a compelling story, and these books can actually be objectively good novels in their own right.
This book didn't transcend to that level, but it's one of the most competent and engaging thus far, and Jhoira and Karn are characters I look forward to seeing again.
March 25, 2021
Decent enough book. It really consisted of an A plot and a B plot that really could have each been their own self contained books. The A plot is Urza rooting out a Phyrexian infestation on his island school of Tolaria. The B plot is him assembling and crewing the Weatherlight.
This is the first book in the universe I've read that specifically made reference to mechanics from the game, such as the graveyard or library, which felt a little janky because I'm pretty sure they're not meant to be taken literally.
I noticed a larger than usual number of spelling and grammatical errors, but even more perplexingly, some words such as "oriatorpic" and "paortings" that are neither fictional words in the universe, nor a misspelling, and googling them turns up nothing.
This is the first book in the universe I've read that specifically made reference to mechanics from the game, such as the graveyard or library, which felt a little janky because I'm pretty sure they're not meant to be taken literally.
I noticed a larger than usual number of spelling and grammatical errors, but even more perplexingly, some words such as "oriatorpic" and "paortings" that are neither fictional words in the universe, nor a misspelling, and googling them turns up nothing.
January 27, 2023
The second best M:TG novel. This one was a bit easier to connect with than the Brother's War, with more likeable characters (i.e., mortals at Urza's school anchor the story) + weird time warping fun.
That being said, in my third re-read, although it mostly holds up, there were two key problems: 1) the pacing in the middle of the novel totally falls apart; and 2) again, like The Brother's War, it takes place over a really long period of time - but this time, it has less space to develop well, so characters pop in and out and aren't always well developed or characterized as the novel continues (Teferi being a prime example - he was great at the start, but had basically no personality later).
That being said, in my third re-read, although it mostly holds up, there were two key problems: 1) the pacing in the middle of the novel totally falls apart; and 2) again, like The Brother's War, it takes place over a really long period of time - but this time, it has less space to develop well, so characters pop in and out and aren't always well developed or characterized as the novel continues (Teferi being a prime example - he was great at the start, but had basically no personality later).
April 13, 2020
Чуть лучше предыдущей части в том аспекте, что в книге хоть что-то иногда происходит (в основном Урза с учениками сидит на острове, курит бамбук триста лет, рассуждает, как же нам спасти мир. Ах ах, три тысячи лет назад у меня погиб брат, теперь я буду плакать. А теперь опять рассуждать. Тем временем остров пришел в негодность, что же делать! Урза уплывает за кадр, через десять лет возвращается на непригодный для жизни остров, опять сидит с учениками и рассуждает, как бы нам спасти мир).
И заметно хуже в силу дикой косноязычности автора. "A hiss of red air roared" (с) Это нормально вообще?
2/5. Читать книги по играм оказалось ожидаемо плохой идеей.
И заметно хуже в силу дикой косноязычности автора. "A hiss of red air roared" (с) Это нормально вообще?
2/5. Читать книги по играм оказалось ожидаемо плохой идеей.
March 31, 2024
After the backward step that was the previous book, I'd call this entry a step forward into the right direction again (though still not quite at the level of the first book).
I appreciate Karn the golem more as a character because of this book. He may have become the character I'm most invested in (some of that may be because of my earlier days actually playing the game and owning some cards highlighting him). Also great to learn the origin of the Weatherlight ship, another aspect of the lore I still had memory of.
Join the RK King readers' list for an exclusive FREE short story, plus inside info, musings, promos and more: RK King Writes
I appreciate Karn the golem more as a character because of this book. He may have become the character I'm most invested in (some of that may be because of my earlier days actually playing the game and owning some cards highlighting him). Also great to learn the origin of the Weatherlight ship, another aspect of the lore I still had memory of.
Join the RK King readers' list for an exclusive FREE short story, plus inside info, musings, promos and more: RK King Writes
July 25, 2018
Desperately trying to find a way to stop the Phyrexian invasion of Dominaria, Urza planeswalker (under the guise of Master Malzra) attempts to alter the past, to prevent Phyrexia from becoming his greatest enemy. An unfortunate and devastating accident rips the island of Tolaria with temporal rifts causing pockets of "fast time" and "slow time". A small contingent of Phyrexian invaders threatens undo all of Urza planeswalkers plans to save his home of Dominaria. The story introduces some of magic: the gatherings first real heroes and better establishes the basics of mana and magic.
October 20, 2017
I enjoyed this book for what it was. On a positive note, the skips in time actually made sense and were well integrated into the plot. Normally they feel forced but not here. The idea of the antagonist left a bit to be desired since it was a little too convenient. But the end sequence was really well written and enjoyable. Par for the course with these novels though - there was little to no wrap up after the finale. Always a bit disappointing but I'm starting to get used to it.
May 10, 2018
This was educational as background for the current Dominaria set. I liked the beginning, but the book's characters quickly get bogged down by plot, heaps and heaps of quite boring plot. Add to that the greek chorus by Barrin that conveniently but boringly does all the work the story apparently can't, and this really isn't a very good novel. But it served its purpose and Jhoira, Karn and Teferi are very much defined by it, at least.
March 25, 2020
This book kinda felt like a scattering of plots thrown together in a jumble mixed with a thesaurus. The descriptions were well written and vivid; they just felt like way too much. But I loved all the characters to pieces and learned so much about Magic: the Gathering lore that I guess these things are forgivable. Besides, I imagine it's hard to write a book with the kind of direction they were giving this author at the time.
June 16, 2018
Good story, odd formatting for the older Kindle copy
Actually, it's more like 3.5 stars. This book has a lot of great things in its story. The formatting of one of the older copies doesn't match up with the paperback. The formatting of the specific copy does lower the quality a bit.
Actually, it's more like 3.5 stars. This book has a lot of great things in its story. The formatting of one of the older copies doesn't match up with the paperback. The formatting of the specific copy does lower the quality a bit.
May 6, 2020
Just about right
It's about what you'd expect from the novelization of a story generated to make a card game coherent. There are battles, spells, and settings from Magic lore. It was fun to see how the characters (cards) fit together. The writing was adequate, but got in its own way sometimes.
It's about what you'd expect from the novelization of a story generated to make a card game coherent. There are battles, spells, and settings from Magic lore. It was fun to see how the characters (cards) fit together. The writing was adequate, but got in its own way sometimes.
July 7, 2017
Engaging enough that it would succeed as a fantasy novel without the MtG tie-in. That said, the book starts very strong, is a bit drawn out through the middle, and returns to form only near the very end. Would have been better without Part IV on Serra's Plane.
July 2, 2019
Excellent
Well written account of Urza’s time on Tolaria. I love these stories of the old MTG sets and the characters they spawned. These are far better, in my opinion, than the current Gate Watch story lines. Great writing and quite enjoyable to read.
Well written account of Urza’s time on Tolaria. I love these stories of the old MTG sets and the characters they spawned. These are far better, in my opinion, than the current Gate Watch story lines. Great writing and quite enjoyable to read.
July 10, 2019
Make way for the Weatherlight
Good pacing, epic battles, and plenty of emotion. Another great backstory in the intricate world of Magic the Gathering. Fleshes our characters that are still being used in the card game today.
Good pacing, epic battles, and plenty of emotion. Another great backstory in the intricate world of Magic the Gathering. Fleshes our characters that are still being used in the card game today.
January 11, 2021
Super fun read, I see what they were aiming for:
Book 1: set up world
Book 2: set up threat
Book 3: develop main character and build more.
I've been super impressed the mtg books so far, this one was fun to read and definitely recommend them.
Book 1: set up world
Book 2: set up threat
Book 3: develop main character and build more.
I've been super impressed the mtg books so far, this one was fun to read and definitely recommend them.
April 3, 2024
This is the first book to mention what the Weatherlight is for the cycle that has been on going. The writing is good, the characters evolve. The temporal gaps make it hard to follow at times. But a good read.
August 4, 2020
Not quite as good as Brothers War, but you do get to follow some major Modern-era MTG characters in Karn, Teferi, and Jhoira! Good story overall and fun to watch these characters grow.
August 8, 2020
This was a great sequel to Planeswalker and it did a good job of worldbuilding for Dominaria and expanding the MTG storyline.
May 29, 2022
Fun read. Ok story.
October 4, 2022
Trying to read more MTG books -- Trisha
October 5, 2023
Infinitely better written than the novel just before it, this is good for what it is. Karn lends a lot of profundity to what would otherwise be a fairly standard story.
February 6, 2025
Karn, my boy ❤️
March 6, 2025
3.5 Jhoira carried this whole book.
April 7, 2025
Chapter 17, enough said.
June 20, 2025
This one was just okay for me. It took me over a year to finish, which probably says more than anything else. While it had its moments, I never fully connected with the story or felt truly invested.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews