Looking back at my youth, I remember two things that I loved, Greek mythology and Magic the Gathering. The stories of divinities and legends fascinated me, and I dove headfirst into those studies. From the Olympian gods to the Titans, I craved more than I ever got in school. Then outside of school, I enjoyed playing Magic with my friends. Though I also relished collecting the cards and the artwork that inked each one. As with everything, these interests began to wane. Fortunately, college allowed me to explore the lore, but my interest in Magic sputtered out.
Well, a couple of years ago, my friend partially pulled me back into the game. While I didn’t have a strong desire to follow his plunge, he captured my attention with one tidbit. He mentioned that one recent series. of cards was heavily inspired by Greek Mythology. Now unlike Rick Riordan’s work that reimagined the myths for a new generation of heroes, Theros, Born of the Gods, and Journey into Nyx made their own pantheon and shoved it into a world they crafted. But Wizard’s of the Coast went a step further in tandem with Jenna Helland brought the set out of the card game and delivered a two-part story.
The first book’s climax, while entertaining and well woven, came all too soon and left way too many dangling threads for my taste. That said, the author admirably filled the characters with such life that they leapt from the page. From the initial scene to the last, each of the characters, including the bickering gods, seemed real. They had clear motivations and desires, and the rotating storytelling did an excellent job keeping me entertained. I will definitely delve into the next tome to hopefully get the sense of closure that I hoped for from this book.
People who are diehard fans of either Greek mythology or Magic the Gathering would enjoy this story.
