(Movie) 君の名は (Your name)

While many people still try to convince others that Ghost in the Shell is a bad movie (it's not! just different), many people went to the cinema to see Kimi no na wa. No matter who saw the movie though, everyone feels like it's the best movie ever. While I can't say this is the best movie I've seen, I can see why and how the movie dazzled so many people...and if I could I'd just go to the cinema to watch the movie again.

Since the release of this movie I saw so many overly positive comments about the movie. I watched a trailer quite some time ago and I marked that movie as one of those I wanted to watch when it would be available. The movie is now in cinemas around the world so I read more and more comments about the movie. Everyone seems to be in love with it. It sparked my interest way more than the trailer and I really wanted to go see it. Our country is not obviously 'the world' though so the movie won't be available in our cinemas.

It is directed by Makoto Shinkai and that is also why I did not expect the movie to be a bad one. I expected something between a very good movie and a masterpiece that will give me something to think about. I wanted to know what people see in the movie so I've done something what one shouldn't and downloaded a Japanese cam version. On one of the days I felt like totally different person (because I felt like a woman unlike my normal self) I decided to watch the movie. We follow a story of two characters. Mitsuha and Taki who in their sleep end up in the body of the other. I actually get dreams like this quite often so this was no surprise to me. But we can see the identity crises of both characters, hear Mitsuha's dialect when being in Taki's body and her struggle with using proper pronouns. We also see the characters behave in a different way being seen as strange and it shows on the animation as well - something I did not expect to be visible. This is not what the movie is about but it shows something many people are afraid to talk, see or accept and seeing this on a screen in the cinema certainly help those people in our society that do not simply fit to binary roles the society set for us. It serves as an awareness movie even if it wasn't meant like it (maybe it was).

The two protagonists are looking for a way how to interact with each other, they leave each other messages, photos and notes and together experience something unique. Their relationship transcends time and space. While we watch these episodes that are light in nature the movie shifts into a more serious and depressive part of the movie. We learn that the comet that is being referenced in the movie is a vital part of the story and what it actually means for the two characters.

Many people say this is a major twist in the movie and unpredictable but it seemed totally obvious to me. I'm not sure if that is because I paid more attention to what was either shown or hidden/not commented in the movie or it just comes more naturally to me - not being new to all kinds of anime/manga, fantasy and science-fiction. This is one of the movies in which I have the impression that every detail counts. There is nothing that would be 'not necessary'. All those little things be it in class, TV screen or poster on the wall are things that add something to the story and give clues while not disrupting the viewer from the overall viewing experience. Some of those 'clues' are very depressive indeed (Itomori pictures in the museum).

Kumohimo braid that represents the time in the movie is also something that caught my interest. For some reason people are fascinated by braiding/weaving and often give it magical powers and often it links to time. Maybe our world/universe is made of threads (strings).

The movie gives us room to think while we see what is in front of us and feel strong emotions. The colors are simply beautiful and even if I haven't seen a good quality of the movie I can tell you that it is awesome and very well done. The animation is awesome and it is not something I usually pay much attention to. But when it is done well or in a way that is unique I notice that too. It's not just about the story and style, the animation is something that can make the movie way more lively or full of emotions.

As for sound and soundtrack. Personally I'm not a fan but I can say that it was done in a way that is not normal in anime and maybe that is why it affected me more. It made me feel more mellow and more distracted at times. Someone tried very hard to achieve something and they did.

The name of the movie is something that you will understand later in the movie. Similarly to Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi title. I won't spoil the story, but you will hear it, feel it and maybe cry. Because it is sad, very sad.

I don't know what to say more because it is very difficult to express what I feel. But one thing is for sure. Go see the movie because it is a masterpiece. I wouldn't say that it is the best Makoto Shinkai's movies or best anime movie to watch, but it certainly is one of the best and is one of the most accessible to those that are not familiar with Japanese anime or Makoto Shinkai's movies. It is very faced paced (not usual) and written with decent humour.

(Movie) Ghost in the Shell

Last week we went to the cinema to see Ghost in the Shell. We saw a trailer few months ago and none of us liked it. Our expectations were very low and that was maybe a good thing. (We weren't fans of Scarlett Johansson). When I was leaving the cinema I felt like I saw a movie that could be considered a breakthrough in cinematography. It certainly felt unique in the sense of 'I've never seen anything like this' but since this is an adaptation of a anime adaptation of a manga from late 80s I can't decide if using 'unique' is the right word. If I were to rate this movie I'd give it 6.5/10 (it would be 3/5 on my scale).

Not knowing that the movie tries to follow Oshii's film I wasn't surprised by what is to come. There were scenes I did not really look forward to and there were scenes I looked forward to. This probably meant that I looked at the movie with different eyes than others. One of the scenes I was looking forward to was the first scene. Also I somehow expected chorus singing. I missed it in the scene. Also the 'tempo' of the scene was different and that is something that troubled me in the whole movie. The scenes often felt rushed for me and there wasn't enough momentum for me in this adaptation. But western cinematography is different than anime and today's people also want something different - action. The movie was more of an action movie for me but it was done with moderation which I appreciated.

As for the soundtrack. The music might be good (I will have to listen to it) but the way it was used in the movie felt wrong for me. But that also has something to do with the fact that I'm used to something different. If you watch an anime scene after a big build-up there is usual silence but in western movies it is also the music that graduates. I find this wrong in other movies but here it felt more wrong because I obviously had some expectations even though I thought I had none.

The storyline was altered which shouldn't surprise anyone. The story changes and dialogues aren't that great. The changes in the storyline are understandable if someone tries to create a main stream movie, something that is easily understandable. It comes with few surprises which makes it different from Oshii's GitS and breathes some life to Sanders's version. This though stripped the whole film of all the existential questions, ponderings a politics. The depth of the anime movie was lost. Some of the scenes are just reproduced, others new. Scenes that recreate the original scene have a different feel. There are scenes in GitS that left in me very strong emotion or a very uneasy feeling but the scenes in the movie for some reason did not. While the anime adaptation itself is thought provoking, this movie does not seem to have that effect much. We just look at something and we don't really know what that something is. Even when staring at Major in the anime it always sent my thoughts in all directions. Because it reminded me of everything that was discussed in the anime. Staring at Scarlett Johansson in this movie did not have the same effect. She seemed too human and full of expression and that is something the director should not have wanted. Major Kusanagi was totally cold with emotion showing from time to time or at least that is what I remember and that is what I expected as well. Major Scuba diving (being a very dangerous thing to do if you are a very heavy cyborg) is also something that can help understand how she feels and what she is trying to figure out. Scarlett Johansson as Major was acting strange for me (it wasn't naturally cold) but I can't say she was bad for this role. It didn't fit the story I remember and sometimes I just wondered what other people think about her strange acting because the way how Kusanagi behaved wasn't explained (if I skip the part about cyborg body and human brain). In general the cast was good though in my opinion. Pilou Asbæk did a great job portraying Batou.

In general dumbing down the storyline is something I wouldn't mind but it was twisted in a way to make it more 'American' and the whole meaning of Project 2051 was gone. The meaning of 'Ghost' in the shell was totally lost from the movie and it was more of a fight of good vs evil centered around Major Kusanagi, finding her past and possibly love. This is a pity from my point of view and I don't understand the need for things like that. Why not just concentrate on wondering if a cyborg can have a soul? Or if a program can become sentient in the digital world and 'propagate'? The Puppet Master is something/someone that was what probably tied me to Ghost in the Shell in the first place. I wasn't really a fan of what Sanders did in this movie but I wouldn't reflect this in the movie's rating. I think that Ghost in the Shell 2017 is a good movie and that it can open some of the people's eyes and be thought provoking. It lacks all the depth of Oshii's Ghost in the Shell though but still people can watch that later if they choose too, or read the manga which is even more complex. I wouldn't say that this movie deserves the name Ghost in the Shell since it has a story based on something else.

The atmosphere of the movie was good and I liked the visuals in general. In general I like Cyberpunk and I wondered if anyone today would produce a Cyperpunk movie. This is the reason why I was looking forward to seeing GitS because this can mean that there will be more movies like this in the future. The portrayal of futuristic Hong Kong was nice. I liked that even though I wasn't really fan of all the commercials and I wondered if companies like KONAMI and Adidas actually paid for being shown in the movie. As for other CGI I'm not entirely sure what to say. The quality was changing quite a lot throughout the whole movie. While many seemed to enjoy the action scenes I didn't. They even perturbed me. Something was off but I couldn't really tell what (of course when it is CGI). It perturbed me more than the dull dialogues, no character development and Puppet Master plot not being present. I think if they tried to recreate the original Puppet Master idea it could have been a total failure but this way it isn't. I'm glad they did not utterly destroy or undermine Ghost in the Shell. In that sense I consider it a 'success'.

What I was very disappointed about was the end (tank scene). When the scene was starting I realized that I forgot about the end of Oshii's movie. I recalled it with ease within milliseconds but it all came to my mind hitting me hard with emotions I felt when I saw the anime. Suddenly I didn't want to see Kusanagi's body destroyed. When the scene went rogue and what I expected didn't happen I was too surprised. I think the drastic end is something that would provoke way more thought (merging with project 2051) and would be more fitting than reuniting Motoko with her mother. I understand this since the whole movie's perspective shifted but than why call it 'Ghost in the Shell?'.

It was a good movie though and I would recommend watching it. You may not like it, but it is worth watching. Imdb shows a rating of 6.9 and I actually think that this is a higher rating it deserves but I wouldn't give it a bad rating because the movie was different or that it disappointed me in many ways. Unfortunately as someone who read the manga and saw the anime my point of view on the movie can be skewed. We are people with different tastes and ways how to rate a film.
Rating: 3/5

So do you wear a cape? An unofficial Magic Story

When I started playing Vintage on Magic Online I sometimes encountered a player with the username 'sodoyouwearacape'. He was a nice guy and was a witness to my deck having some nut draws in some games (which made him talk). When playing the Power Nine Challenge my flatmate made a remark about that username and it made me wonder why would anyone pick that as his username. But then I remembered that I've actually seen that somewhere in relation to Magic already. But I wasn't really sure where but I was too lazy to find out at that time. I was rather stressed during the event.

Some time later when looking up something about what defines modern Legacy format I stumbled on Titus Chalk tumblr blog at the address http://sodoyouwearacape.tumblr.com/. There was an excerpt from the book talking about BoM (Bazaar of Moxen, a series of Eternal tournaments that primarily Vintage players used to go to each year, unfortunately no more Vintage nowadays). I was fascinated by the writing and actually became interested in what the book is about because that is something I did not know at that time.

The tagline on Amazon or any other site offering the book though told me what it is about - it was about Magic (the game) after all. It is an unofficial Magic story and not only that. You probably know the story about how Magic came to be but most probably you never tried to imagine how difficult it was actually to make Magic work. I knew that it had to be a lot of work but I had no idea what that involved and I was curious how Garfield (and others) actually tested the game. This book cleared those things up for me.

And it does not end with the first commercial printing of Magic cards. The struggle continued for quite some time. It goes further through new sets, World Championships, Pro Tour, Magic Online and Magic economy.

What is unique about this book is that we see all this from the perspectives of the players and people behind Magic. We can see the whole picture and we read about personal stories of people involved and what drove them. Even this small peek is something that makes me go WOW. Not only many of us can possibly resonate with Titus's story (I'm not a person who'd be casting Kird Apes...though) but we can see how some Pros actually ended up on the Pro Tour and what it meant to them. We can see how the future-to-be designers tried to come up with a balance between luck and skill in Magic among many other problems Magic faced in its history.

The book also covers all the problems we face as players and topics discussed for years. From format changes, bannings, proxy cards and such and it gives some players the answers why Magic is what it is and why it is more about creatures than powerful spells.

I'm not entirely sure what to write more. Just read the book!. The book is written in a way that the reader does not need to know what Magic actually is, which is a feat in itself. Titus Chalk is a great person and I really appreciate that he took all the time, gathered the information and wrote this book. I believe it was one long but very interesting journey and I'm very glad that through the book I could be part of it. It is nice to know more about how the game we love came to be.

EDIT: There is an updated version of the book. It is named Generation Decks and is available at stores (Amazon in my case) since April 2017.

(Series) Helix

I ask my sister from time to time what series I should watch. She told me that someone else told her that Helix is one of the better series (the other proposed was Blacklist, I should have watched that first). I picked Helix first because it is supposedly a science fiction/horror which I would prefer as a genre. Usually the series my sister tells me to watch are actually good but Helix was a shock.

CDC researchers come to an Arctic base where an outbreak (ok well..just three people infected at the beginning)of unknown virus took place. They are there to stop it and find a cure. That's the general plot line. Well the scientist arrive there and start doing their job. But things get awry and me as a viewer I couldn't believe how silly the characters can be. They never heard of responsibility. They are reckless and they do not seem to have any training at all. They even lack common sense completely for the most part.

One string of the virus turns the infected people into hostile and aggressive 'zombies' whose only need is to infect other people. Knowing this the scientists do not even take guards with them, they do not communicate or check up on each other etc. Security protocols? Contagion protocols? Ever heard of something like that? I wonder what the director or whoever was writing was doing when coming up with a show like this.

There are so many things simply wrong (scientifically) and these 'missteps' happen too often for me to take the show seriously. This is supposed to be drama/horror but all I can do is laugh to the stupidity of the characters/people doing it and asking questions. The story is nothing new even though we might get somewhere 'new'. At the beginning you get the feeling that this is Battlestar Galactica but it isn't. Later you see some Alien, The Thing and other movies/series ideas. Well nothing new, but the story goes on. So far there were too many predictable things so I hope that at least something will be a surprise and not in a bad way. At one point I proclaimed that this series would need Seven of Nine. With that I meant that she would come to the base and talk some sense into all the people on the base...few minutes later Jeri Ryan arrived and well made even a bigger mess there. The fact that you expect something to happen and it happens is not good...this should be a mystery/drama/horror series shouldn't it? (and I WON'T even try to say that this is a science-fiction series, because that would be an insult).

No really is there something good on the series? Acting? No. CGI? Hell no. Drama? Erm.. Love triangle? WTH? Mystery? Hm...no. Soundtrack? Yeah this one is interesting. I could do a better job, at least one that wouldn't struck you that much.

I just cannot express the disgust and disappointment with this series. Really if you want to play a 'what's scientifically wrong' drinking game just watch it. You'll be drunk in no time. How this series can get such a high rating? It's so dumb that even a high school kid has to be scratching his head and wondering how someone can survive at night in -60 degrees celsius. Or just well...how someone can get attacked (approach in the most dumb way)by a monkey and come unscathed. Also it seems that the director wanted as much female characters as he could put on the show... ...

..Um the only thing I wanted to say is. If you actually know something about science, have some common sense and cannot stand something that has no logic at all just don't watch this. I really have NO IDEA how this show managed to get a positive rating.

Blood and Bone by Ian Esselmont

Orb, Scepter, Throne was looking at me from the shelf for quite some time so I decided to finally read it. I was surprised about the place and time where the book took place. Anyway after finishing this book I read the first book of the Kharkanas series and then I wasn't sure what to read next. I wasn't looking particularly for a Malazan Empire book but it ended to be ... Blood and Bone the fifth book by Esselmont.

It seems that in the fourth book Esselmont developed his writing style and figured a bit more something about tension. The book seemed much more solid than the previous ones (but maybe that's also because I don't remember them much).

Blood and Bone is once again...longer (around 560 pages) and much more dense. The story takes place on a continent known as Jacuruku. The western part of the continent is under the power of Thaumaturg mages and the eastern part is a huge and hostile jungle Himatan - the territory of goddess Ardata. The Thaumaturgs decide to invade the Himatan jungle and find and conquer the mysterious and famous 'city' of Jakal Viharn. While Thaumaturgs are on their way to the jungle, desert tribes unite in a unlikely alliance under the leadership of a mysterious foreign warleader (who in the end is not that foreign to this region). The (not so) last are the members of the Crimson Guard both Avowed and Disavowed.

Esselmont managed to well develop the different storylines, the characters are truly alive. The description of the jungle and the life in it is really well done even though it is much more direct than from S. Erikson. But this direct approach is something that really suits the environment of Jacuruku. Esselmont uses many references to something we already know from both his and Erikson's books. The characters in the book make discoveries of such information and that is something really nice to a Malazan Empire fan but can be pretty confusing to a newcomer. As usual there are some parts and information tossed at you that lead nowhere. But maybe one day even those will be used in a book and we might find out more.

The book even though that it is pretty harsh (and really ... some parts are really NASTY and I don't speak about the oppressive, hot, humid atmosphere there) has its own humorous moments and will certainly entertain you for quite some time. The best Esselmont book out there so far (from those I read)

Rating: 4.5/5

Gamers 3: Hands of Fate

Gamers is a 'movie' that shows how an RPG session can go. There are many parodies like this usually in spoken form so seeing it on a screen is a bit different. It is something that you can show at conventions, among gamer friends but is not intended for the general viewer. Gamers 2 is more of a movie but is still rather non-gamer unfriendly. Gamers 3 is an exception. It is still a movie from gamers for gamers but it is done in a way that general public can watch it as well. It gives insight to how a gamer geek community actually looks like...

I did not see a trailer nor read anything about Gamers 3 prior to seeing it so I thought that it would be continuing in the same spirit as the last movie(s) and that it would follow a Dungeons and Dragons (or Pathfinder) players playing their loved game. But that was not it (partly yes). The 'Hands of Fate' already suggested something different (and I thought 'card games') but I couldn't be sure what that would be until...

...I saw the first ten minutes. Natalie, a gamer girl enters a LGS and wants to enter a R9E CCG tournament. Cass wants to master the game so he could ask her for a date.

The story starts pretty simple - Cass wants to date Natalie and for that he can do thing A (master the game, thus prove himself) and get a thing B (have sex as reward). Natalie comes to the tournament so she can change the story in a game she loves - Romance of the Nine Empires. R9E, is a 15 years old game, that tells a story of 9 different "Empires". Each player chooses an Empire and usually sticks with it. The players can change the story in favor of their Empires if they win a storyline tournament (and they also get a card printed). And that is exactly what Natalie tries to do at this tournament where she meets Cass. It is not only about the story but also about what is going on in the metagame. The story aspect lovers want an original play style to be still alive (questing) but a new strategy that avoids the basic principles of the game (starvation) is taking over. That is where Cass comes in. He as a power gamer learns the game becomes pretty good at it and comes to GenCon to win the Worlds for Natalie. But all the storyline lovers count on him to save them from the dreaded starvation decks played by a fearsome cabal named The Legacy. (The Legacy players are a group of players that want the game to be 'another poker, another Magic' - they want a competitive game with cash prizes, they are not interested in the lore)

While all this is going on there is another story in an alternate world ... a fantasy story about princess Myriad that tries to save kingdom of Holden from a war against an army of undead. She can't stop the feeling that the events in Countermay repeat themselves. She finds later that her fate is controlled by something else ... something from outside her reality but she cannot quite grasp what that is.

This film actually has several messages and it shows them well (you'll find them) and I have to say that this movie made me think about more things as well.

As with any other Gamers - the movie is made by gamers for gamers. Everything is there, you can clearly see yourself - the gamer - in the movie. Talking about very very strange things public places (hydra genitalia), not being able to finish a campaign, hating the 'new' stuff that killed the old etc.

Even though you can think this is some kind of a love story it isn't. Both players are ... well ...'players' and gamers. The filmmakers are gamers and they did not spoil the movie with something like that. But watch it yourself.

I'm a girl (if you did not notice that before) and I've been playing these games quite a lot and I was often treated...as someone who does not belong there. When Natalie comes to the tournament and is harassed you may find this awkward but I know that feel. Probably all of us can. Cass also asks her why she cares when all those players are just teasing her and whatnot. We don't hear the answer in the movie I would not give one either. But later we hear Natalie share her frustration about the game. This clearly shows why she bears all that, because she loves the game.

It's been also about half a year from my last RPG session and quite a long time since I played my last game of Legend of the Five Rings. Our RPG group was incapable of meeting at one place at one certain date for a session and that meant the end of playing the game we all love or loved. As for the card game ... the community was divided in two. There were two groups - those who loved the storyline, the characters etc and those who simply played the game and enjoyed the mechanics (those where the 'competitive' players that did not really care about the story). I am part of the second group and always will but after seeing this movie I see it a bit differently too. I was one of the players playing a deck that provoked a very negative player experience making one of the other win conditions rather unplayable and I feel bad for it but I love the game very much and I would love to play it the best way one can.

With Gary's subplot we also get the message 'do not hate'. A fan of something does not necessarily need to hate something else (Chibi-chan destroying the Ninja Dragon Riders series). The same we see from Cass point of view. He always hated LARPers and card game players. But we are all gamers and we all come to conventions to have fun and enjoy what we like, there is no reason to hate.

What I like about Gamers 3 is the fact that it shows the fans and gamers in true light. There is a lot of jokes and hints that only gamers will understand, but general public can watch this. Yes, sure there is hyperbole one can say but it stays true. It shows the problems the communities have and just let's us think about them. The LARPers are shown as LARPers dress up and role play, that is something I would expect from gamers to do unlike showing something in a way that it looks pleasing and makes a point but hardly shows the reality as that is common in other movies (and usually sheds a negative light on gamers or the game itself).

After seeing Gamers 3 I was telling everyone about it. At that time I just told them to see it because it is another Gamers movie (even though being totally different) or because it shows how a Legend of the Five Rings community (and other communities) look like in reality. Nowadays though I recommend this movie for a different reason. It shows the problems there are in the fan community, it speaks to us and it shows us how we should behave and stand together. It also shows how I feel about certain card game now and why I want to quit it. Because I really feel like Natalie. I always kind of felt like this but it was only after truly playing Legend of the Five Rings that I realized that the way I want to play the game is very important for me. Without being able to play the decks I want I simply can't play the game.

If you haven't seen the movie yet go get it. 10USD is certainly worth it. It is something completely different from the previous two Gamers but it is still hilariously fun. It is a drama though (so you should keep that in mind) with a message even though you can just ignore it and enjoy all the comedy and fun (and the drama of course).

BTW the title of the movie also is well chosen and pretty much sums everything up.

The Secretist by Doug Beyer

Disclaimer: the whole story is written in this post...

When I was pre-ordering Duels of the Planeswalkers I could buy a Special Edition that contained a Return to Ravnica block books. I had no idea what it is even though I've seen some advertisement for it in booster packs. Two days ago I decided to actually read it. I put it into my Kindle. At first I did not know that it was written by Doug Beyer. When I found out I wasn't really sure if I want to even read it. After his previous book I did not expect anything good. That was actually good in the end because The Secretist is way better than Alara Unbroken. I read the first few pages and the story hooked me.

It starts pretty quickly...out of a sudden. You'll find Jace Beleren on Ravnica plane researching some kind of ancient mystery. Doug tries to explain Jace's obsession with that (quite difficult for me to understand anyway). Then there is Ral Zarek - a really annoying and arrogant planeswalker who for some reason follows Niv-Mizzet's orders - doing some crazy experiments ... also researching the very same mystery Jace somehow uncovered. And there is Emmara Tandris, Jace's old friend (whom we already know from Agents of Artifice) who is trying to get some help from Jace unifying the guilds and restoring peace after the Guildpact was broken. Mirko Vosk a Dimir spy overhears the dialogue and goes back to his master (Lazav).

When Mirko Vosk was introduced I just couldn't hold back laughing when the author said something about Mirko being bare-chested even when it was cold and the following paragraph was even more fun 'Mirko Vosk stepped of the ledge of the building. Instead of falling, he floated into the night sky with a casual, upright elegance.'

Both Jace and Ral Zarek make progress in uncovering the mystery (of a certain Maze). Jace finds out even more and this knowledge can mean a great danger to him and his assistant Kavin. He decided to erase the memories of everything linked to the research and destroy all evidence of the research as well. For that he uses Ruric Thar. Jace sends a letter to Emmara telling him of his plans. When she gets it she immediately goes to see Jace. He proceeds no matter what with his plan. During working on his own mind Emmara is kidnapped and Kavin rushes out with some scribbled notes he made of the information he possessed. Jace wakes up, finds out what happened and wants to save Emmara. Lavinia of the Tenth stands in a way as she wants to detain him. With Ruric Thar's accidental help Jace escapes the Azorius lawmages and heads for Rakdos territory (as the only lead he got leads him there - a coin left there by the kidnappers). This is more or less where the first 'book' ends.

After the few pages I was wondering if the author is trying to make us feel like idiots but later I got used to the repetitions. The story is actually flowing and the writing style and level is way better than in Alara Unbroken. Some use of words is pretty awkward but well that's Doug Beyer I guess. I have to say that the dialogues are something that break the 'level' of the writing but it's ok. After pressing the 'next button' few times I realized that the book is quite short. More like a 50 pages story. At first I expected a real book of at least 200 pages...What I liked about the book is actually the fact that we can see what's happening from all the ten guilds points of view (character's POV we all know now from the RTR block like Exava, Ruric Thar, Ral Zarek etc.). The description of the guild territories and the people are quite ok actually even though sometimes I don't really need to be reminded that this golgari shaman is an ELF.

In the second book entitled Gatecrash: The Secretist part 2 Jace finds a way to where Emmara was kidnapped. Here he faces Varolz and later Mirko Vosk who wants to steal the information about the mystery (Implicit Maze) from him. He starts drinking Jace's mind and blood but soon finds out that Jace has no memory of the research. In the meantime Rakdos starts rioting, Lavinia is punished for not capturing Jace and Ral Zarek with his assistant recover the information Jace and Kavin found. Thus they know how to go through the Implicit Maze (by following leylines of mana).

In the meantime guilds clash (orchestrated by Lazav) and Jace tries to get back his memories or at least the information he possessed. He remembered that Ruric Thar might have some of the information and heads to find him (Lavinia had to help him a bit with that info). Some really funny scenes go on (oh yeah, ever played Esper control against an opponent who wassiding Ruric Thar?) and later Jace gets the information needed to go through the maze. Later Lazav shows up and imprisons Jace in a place only Dimir mage could enter. Oh yeah the time for Jace to planeswalk actually comes!

Jace escapes the prison and walks through the Blind Eternities to Zendikar. Here he ponders about his relationship to Emmara and his attachment to Ravnica. He also searches for some life forms and finds out that there is a Kor Mystic and her family living there somewhere underground. Jace sees the point of views of the Mystic and her children and he wishes that both sides would know what the other thinks, feels and sees. Thus he tries to make them see it using his mind magic - he links their minds together through his own. He succeeds more or less but it ends up in serious pain. Story goes on... Later on Jace finds out what the Implicit Maze is for. It is a test for the ten guilds unlike what Ral Zarek thinks (as he thinks that winning the race would give him great power bla bla bla). Each guild has to send a champion to run the maze. All of them have to get to the Maze's End which is located before the Forum of Azor. Here the assessment of the guilds would start and would end up in either re-enectment of the Guildpact or Supreme Verdict that would simply destroy everything.

The last book is about the race. Champions are chosen and they all follow the leylines to each guildgate. At the end when all champions are assembled Lazav tries to convince the champions to fight each other. Jace sees that there is no way how to stop this so he tries to do the same as with the Kor family. He links the minds of the ten champions through his own. He almost loses his own personality but achieves what he wanted. The Bailiff's verdict is not a Supreme Verdict but names Jace Beleren the new and Living Guildpact.

After finishing the book I wasn't really sure what to think about it. I'm glad I read it because I finally pieced some things together. I had no idea what the implicit maze is for and why the hell there are cards like Uncovered Clues or Destroy the Evidence. After reading this book I actually come to understand such cards. There are links to many cards from Return to Ravnica block. Also Jace's Archivist seems to be Kavin actually. I don't regret reading the books, I learned something about the story and design of RTR block and the story actually makes sense. There are many things I would question but it was nicely done and we can see that the world of Ravnica is well designed. The ending was quite a surprise. I did not expect Jace becoming the living guildpact.

Rating: 2.5/5

Test of Metal - Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas?

One of the Planeswalker novels is named Test of Metal and is written by Matthew Stover. It hit the stores on 2010. When I wanted to buy it was already sold out to my surprise as I expected no one would want something like.... a Planeswalker Novel? I did not order the book from anywhere because the book could be anywhere between really bad to passing good and I wasn't sure if it would be worth the money.

I received this book as a present two days ago.

Anyway I started reading yesterday night and finished the book few hours ago. And that's something notable. I don't usually read Magic: The Gathering (or any book) book in one go (unless it is The Thran or Brother's War) and this book made me laugh and entertained me for the rest of the night.

In the book we will find out a bit from Tezzeret's past (could have been more there) and about one particular task Bolas sent him to do. There were other Planeswalkers involved and the reader can read the story from their points of view (Jace and Baltrice). This is quite a nice thing to do, but the author of this book could at least use different language for each planeswalker and create the illusion that they are grown up adults not some teenagers with power.

The story involves quite some time travel which makes things a bit chaotic. I did not really appreciate this much but what else could be used as an explanation?

Anyway the book is quite entertaining and written well enough for you to continue reading it. It is the dialogue that makes the book good. The story itself is good but well...it could have been better.

If you haven't read the previous one (Agents of Artifice) you don't really need to read it before this book. If you have read the book and would expect something similar then DON'T. This book is completely different.

Personal Rating: 3.5
The author could have used better language. I'm sure that both Jace and even the red planeswalker can do better and Tezzeret could be more like Yawgmoth and could use terms that are much more Magic: The Gathering-like or Fantasy-like.

(Book) Mazalan Book of the Fallen

After 12 years Erikson wrote and published the last book of the series. It took me some time to read it as I did not have time for it. Anyway I waited long till I could finish the second half the the Dust of Dreams.

The first 3 books where awesome and really grandioze. What followed was good as well but there were two styles and different groups of protagonists in each book. In the end everything started to converge. After I managed to get through the 8th tome I really wanted to know what will happen. This book for me was the worst. I wasn't prepared for a change of tone and more philosophical thoughts, it seemed the whole book was screaming how bad our society and urbanization is. At least I felt like that. Kruppe's words were good though.

The last book was much easier to read and much more paced and we finally found out why everyone was heading for Kolanse. A really good book. I was sad the story ended, but the characters will live on - Esselmont will most probably write more books and stories and maybe even Erikson will. Looking forward to it.

Personal Rating: 4/5

(Book) Songmaster by Orson Scott Card

disclaimer: too personal to be considered a review or something.

Orson S. Card is someone who managed to make me feel completely chilled and made me cry when reading his books. I knew about this for quite some time but I never read it until now...

I entered the city's library and I had about 4 minutes to choose a book. I went through the whole Fantasy and Science Fiction part and choose this book.

I started reading few minutes later and 12 hours later (after doing quite a lot of other things) I finished this story about a boy who became a song master - a person able to relate and change (or make stronger) mood.

I... can't describe how this book impressed me. Don't take me wrong, there are surely better works of this author, but this book was probably something I really needed to read. In the last few weeks I'm trying to figure out what role music has in my life. Since my early childhood I was humming melodies mine and of other composers. According to what I was humming one could easily know what mood I was in. I rarely spoke, but the melody was how I was expressing my feelings. After years and years of passing for a person without emotions (which is not true, but many people hardly see that) I'm trying to find a way how to show them. Maybe this was what I was looking for so long.

I'm not sure if anything will come out of this - of all that I found out and realized. But I start to sing or hum a melody once again, just like that... without a logical reason. But when I do, I feel something.

Personal Rating: 4/5
I wouldn't call this a book^^ It's rather short but still impressive and comprehensible. Some of Card's works are more complex as they require knowledge of history and politics and I'm not really fan of neither of those. Anyway if you like OSC and haven't read this yet, do it. And if you are looking for something short but still very good and unique grab a copy. You won't regret it.

(movie) The Warrior (2011)

I wanted to see this movie for a while now. The movie is highly rated so I had to see it.

Two brothers. The older one, married with children but trying to solve a financial problem (having three jobs and trying as hard as they can but to no avail) and the other one torn apart by events in his past - his mother's death and death of his brother-in-arms. Their father, sad and regretting the period when he was drunk and when he was neglecting his family. He would love be closer with his sons, but he hits a stone wall - none of them wants to have anything with him.

At the very beginning of the movie hearing the background music and seeing Tom and Paddy meet each other after a long time was something that provoked some kind of mood in me. I knew that this would stick with me for the reminder of it. Not so many movies have such an effect on me.

The fighting was really well done and really well shot. The fights really look realistic and the shots are really great. I haven't seen such quality yet. I felt the feeling when you ran at somebody grab him, take him down and lock him and then you wait for him to tap out.

Personally I don't know how to rate this movie. It emotionally moved me, it reminded me of how it feels to fight and I've seen a really well done fights and shots. The mood of the movie seemed perfect to me. The ending could have been more of an ending, but as the emotions are more important than the actually story it is fine.

Personal Rating: 3/5
Even though I think the movie was stunning I just don't feel like giving it a 4. I could find reasons to give it anything between 3-4 but still for that it would have to appeal to me much more I guess.

(TV Series) Homeland

Highly rated series for what reason? I just had to see for myself.

After seeing the pilot I knew that If work and school would not interrupt me I would just watch the whole season in one day/night. We watched it in two sessions first six episodes and then the rest.

Homeland is a tv series based on Israeli series Hatufim (Prisoner of War). It is about a CIA agent (played by Claire Danes) who comes to believe that an american marine, who was held captive by Al-Qaeda as a prisoner of war for 8 years was turned by the enemy and now poses a significant risk to national security.

Ok well I can't describe what this series really is, you really have to watch it.

Claire Danes is my favorite actor and I have to say that there are scenes that had to be seriously hard to do. The acting overally is astonishing and it makes it 'believable'. I don't usually watch a series without thinking how wrong this or that is but it wasn't happening often with this series. It was most of the time 99% perfect.

If you haven't seen this yet, go get it. It really is worth the time.

Personal Rating: 5/5
This counts for Season 1.

(Movie) In Time 2011

My bf downloaded this movie (ok sorry no money to whoever should get it) and it was just there on the HDD waiting to be watched. Some time passed and one day we finally decided to watch it. We didn't know anything about it, so we did not really expected anything. I actually checked IMDB for rating and 6.5 wasn't convincing even though...yeah it's well over 5.

The first few sentences told us in general what the movie is going to be about but even knowing that I couldn't just wonder or think during the movie and lately I don't do that often. I either see a movie based on a book or a comics that I've already read or see something completely stupid (not to be taken seriously, but there's some truth to it). This movie shocked me quite a lot.

The movie is set in our worlds' future where the only currency is time. When one turns 25 five a clock on his hand starts a 1 year countdown. Rich people can live for decades, poor people fight for a minute. The protagnist is from a ghetto where people kill for a week of time. One day though he gets over a century of time and his journey to a different world begins. (go see the movie).

First what you see is the protagonist and his mother (being 25 even that is hardly believable). Anyway this is striking already. One starts to think, how it came all to this. How people could have gotten genetically altered to stop aging at 25? And then in the movie, one has to ask a question...how it is possible that there are kids with time on their hands? How come there are people that look older than 25?

Anyway this movie is not some awesome looking science fiction. Do not expect beautiful special effects and action. This movie is just about time being a currency and what impact this has. It provokes one to think about the current problems (rich vs poor people) and time and money. Without these provoked thoughts I can imagine the viewer not liking the movie much. There things that are hardly logical and need to be discarded in order to be ok with the movie. But still the movie shows a different perspective on life and the questions that might show up in your head are interesting and it is good to stop for a while and think about it. I personally think that this movie is worth watching and I would recommend it to anyone even though that if the movie would be done in a better way it could have been a real bomb, even for those not really wanting to think about the issues the movie is addressing.

Cillian Murphy playing the 'bad guy' was really superb and he made that movie alive. It's a pitty that there wasn't more about his background/past. I wasn't convinced about the main characters played by Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried. Seyfried reminded me of some japanese anime character representing a caucasian character... Olivia Wilde though was good and I couldn't miss Johnny Galecki even though he wasn't there for long. But well..I guess that after watching a series for several years it strikes you that the actor plays someone else in a different movie. Or is it just me? Maybe yes...

I don't know what more to say. It just provoked a real chaos in my mind and I couldn't stop thinking about the movie. Even after few days I just had to think about time, life, money and our society.

Personal Rating: 3/5
After writing this I realize that the movie is not really well done, but the message is there. Thus I give it 3/5. It does not deserve more even though I wish the director would take it to another level and made it better.

A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin

11 years ago readers of fantasy in the Czech Republic could get their hands on a book called A Game of Thrones. My sister brought it home and as usual my sister, me and my mother read the book. That's how it usually goes. Our sister is the initiator and tells us what to read and what she finds good. George R.R. Martin is a name I never heard of before but I already heard that the Song of Ice and Fire is an epic fantasy that no one should miss. It takes usually ages for me to pick up such a book and read it but I usually do. The name of the book already suggested plots, politics and war and that's something I usually don't like much as most of the time, it does not really make sense and is boring to most of the time. In the end I grabbed the not so fantasy looking book and started reading.

This series is 'different' from other fantasy I've read. Many people compare it with The Lord of the Rings and some claim that this series is similar to Wheel of Time. Both groups are true but from my point of view the series is unique. It has the same 'epicness' as The Lord of the Rings )and has similar character's points of view as in Wheel of Time. I would actually compare it more to The Gap Series but that's not a fantasy series.

So what is this series about? Ever heard the name George R.R. Martin or A Game of Thrones? If not then I'll tell you a bit about it. BTW there is a TV miniserie that cost a fortune, so you can check that out as well.

The whole story takes place on a fantasy continent that seems to be like medieval England. On this continent there are seasons that last for years. There's Summer when everything stays calm and Winter which lasts for seven years. The Winter is coming after 10 years of peaceful summer. Up north behind a great wall built both by magic and human work the races of nonhuman creatures wake up. South a big political fight among the great houses has begun. Overseas thousands of miles away a daughter of a former king is married to a leader of a tribe - an army that can serve her purpose and help her claim the throne.

In the kingdom the hand of the king mysteriously dies and King Robert Baratheon asks Eddard Stark of Winterfell to come South to King's Landing to become the new Hand of the King. Eddard Stark leaves the North (Winterfell) and comes to King's Landing to investigate the mysterious death of the Hand and to rule the Kingdom that is not in a good state.

In the meantime an assassin tries to kill Bran Stark, one of Eddard's sons. His mother Catelyn leaves Winterfell to inform Eddard and to find out more information. They find out that the weapon held by the assassin belonged to Tyrion Lannister. Catelyn seized him and brought him to a court. This is what started the events that resulted in a later war.

Viserys Targaryen and his 13 year old sister were invited as guests by a rich magister. Viserys and the magister decided to arrange a marriage between Daenerys and Khal Drogo, war leader of the nomadic Dothraki. Viserys hoped that through this marriage he could use the Dothraki as an army and to conquer Westeros (where the Iron Throne is..that is..and where all the other politacal games take place). Daenerys was shy and afraid of both her brother and her husband. But later she found out that Drogo is not such a barbar (and knows metaphores well) as he seemed to be and fell in love with him. She took on the role of khaleesi (queen) of the Dothraki and she even stood up against her own brother.

Another character who's story is followed is of Jon Snow - Eddard Stark's bastard son. Jon Snow stayed at Winterfell till his adulthood. His presence was not wanted by some and Jon's uncle suggested that the Night Watch would could use a man like him. Jon left Winterfell to join the Night Watch whose vow was to protect the kingdom from what lived beyond the Wall. 8000 years has passed without any real threat and the Night Watch recruited criminals and other people that couldn't deal with their own fate. This coming winter though is different.

Hm I think I should stop at this point, you already know enough.

What else to note? From what I wrote I guess you get the picture what the series might be about. It's mainly about all the plotting how to claim the throne. The setting is highly realistic and something like magic does not seem to happen often. Yes, there are supernatural beings, 'gods', magical powers but it is subtle in a way. The story is narrated via the characters' points of views. Each character has its secrets, point of view, opinions and 'knowledge base' as I would say. There's a lot of symbolism, some is subtle and hard to find but some things are too obvious as you will find out very soon after starting reading the book. There are many plots in the book and many sub-plots. The tension grows and does not break.

And this series is known for one more thing (things). A lot of swearing, violence and sex.

Personal Rating: 3.75/5

Note: I can't rate this too high for several reasons. One is the complexity of plots and the amount of them. As I state above this is not something I like and it is very difficult for me to read through such passages in other books. And here you've got a whole book about that^_~. Well, this proves that this series is good and I like it. But I felt like reading Balzac when reading Martin. (at least the speed of reading through was similar). That's the other reason why I don't go to 4 or higher.

(TV Miniseries) 5ive days to midnight

Some time ago (about two years ago) I've seen an episode of something that caught my eye. There was a professor who was trying to figure out his own murder. This seemed odd and I wanted to find out what series it was but it all ended in vain.

Two years later.

We went to my bf's family house. It seems that the TV there is on for the whole day and night. In the evening there was something called Five Days to Midnight. By accident we've seen the second episode of the miniseries I wanted to watch few years ago. This time we knew the name of the series so I tried to get the rest somewhere.

5ive Days to Midnight
This is a TV miniseries ran by Sci-Fi channel in 2004.

While visiting his wife's grave, his daughter Jesse finds a briefcase. JT Neumeyer later manages to open the case and finds there a file with an unresolved homicide case. JT is shocked because the murdered is himself. His death should happen on Friday (in five days) at 3:55 am. At first he takes it for a hoax done by one of his students - Carl. Later though when some of the things stated in the file happen he's starting to take it seriously. He's got five days to change his destiny.

The series caught my eye because of the plot. It's not ordinary to see a movie or a series about something like this. Time travel though is something that also means logical problems in the movie. This series had plenty of space for philosophy but the director probably did not want to venture there. The series is a mixture of a mystery, drama, thriller and action.

The director should have also avoided the slow motion parts. At first I thought that this was an error in playback of the file I was watching but later found out that this was an intention of the director (or whoever else). This really ruined several moments in the series where real tension or suspense could be developed. This is something that really feels off in the series.

There are relatively funny moments in the series taking in account that you as the viewer know the contents of the file. So you can expect what happens. For example JT's girlfriend giving him a present - what it is going to be? (yes, you are right, something stated in the file...).

What I did not like about the series is the end. I expected that it would have a 'happy ending', but some things needed more explanation. Actually you can see and realize that there is more discrepancy in the series. For example, we could see in later episodes that the contents of the case changes depending on what happened. This means that what JT managed to alter in his present time has impact on the future. But in episode no. 2 (where Mandy was supposed to die) we can see that the contents of the case weren't changed as there is a scene where you can still read the same article about her dying due to fallen tree.

This actually confused me in the beginning because I though that the future cannot be altered and she has to die and thus JT's death is inevitable as well. But later you see that things start to change in the file. What the hell? What happened? So now things are different (oh cool, JT will save his life for sure)

In the end one wonder why saving JT's life was actually important apart from his daughter wanting him to stay alive. You know in most series and movies changing the future is something forbidden blah blah and people are usually trying to keep the timeline as it was.

Anyway, I enjoyed this miniseries.

Personal Rating: 3/5

(Movie) The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

I've just seen the movie. The first half an hour is more or less the introduction that took hundreds of pages. The vast majority of what was 'going on' is skipped and some things are completely changed. Who changed the storyline did a great job on creating a new one that fits. The tid-bits of information given to us are given at the right time.

The story is about Lisbeth Salander the hacker and Mikael Blomkvist the journalist. We don't learn anything about the other characters in the movie. There are flashbacks from Lisbeth's youth which will become relevant in the second part. We don't learn much about the two principal characters either. Probably difficult to do but still...In the end we have no idea what to think about Lisbeth, but we don't know much about the relationship between Mikael and Lisbeth either. (we will see what the director is up to in the second movie)

The film was very well-made and has a really great cinematography. The actors all portray their respective characters well. Especially the principal ones Noomi Rapace (Lisbeth) and Michael Nyqvist (Mikael) and Sven-Bertil Taube (Henrik). The pieces of the puzzle and 'following' of the storyline is well thought out and very well done. The movie is 2,5 hours long but the pace of the story is pretty fast and won't let you get bored or anything. There are scenes that break the rhythm and evoke other emotions in the viewer.

The movie is in a really serious/realistic setting and the music adds the 'seriousness' to it as well.

The movie is harsh (as Scandinavian movies are) so nothing for children.
(includes sexual violence which is hard to digest)
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Personal Rating: 2/5
Simply disappointed...
I haven't seen many Swedish movies, but those I saw were pretty good. This was bad in my opinion even though I have to say that from the technical point of view it was perfect.
It seems that this movie is highly rated otherwise^^. I was just utterly disappointed with it for some reason. So well if you don't know what movie to watch and you are ready for something different and rather difficult to digest you can try this.

EDIT: USA is shooting a remake of this movie...I don't want to see I guess.

Stieg Larsson - Men Who Hate Women (The Girl with a Dragon Tattoo)

Journalist Mikael Blomkvist published an article about industrialist Wennerström. Because of this he was sentenced to three months in prison. He gives up his position and soon after that he is offered an unlikely assignment by Henrik Vanger. Mikael accepts knowing that he does not have that many options in his life anyway.

Vanger hired Blomkvist so he could investigate the disappearance of Harriet Vanger (Henrik's grand niece) who disappeared 36 years ago. She's considered dead yet Vanger receives a pressed flower mimicking a gift Harriet used to give him for his birthday. This present torments Henrik as he thinks that Harriet's killer sends these flowers to mock him.

After some time Blomkvist finds out new evidence and later on teams up with Lisbeth Salander. This girl has been in guardianship since her 13th year of life. She's a skilled hacker, has a photographic memory but she's a society outcast. She works for Dragan Armanskij as a private detective and that is how Mikael's and Lisbeth's paths crossed. She was given a task to create a profile of Mikael for Henrik when he wanted to hire him. Later Lisbeth and Mikael work both on the Harriet's case.
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This books seems to be a best-seller. I seriously never heard of it and I was unaware of this trilogy being turn into a movie (I'm going to watch the first movie in a while). I read many reviews many good and many bad ones. Actually there are things I have to agree with those people giving this book a low rating.

The books all start pretty slowly. You need to get through the first 100 or even more pages to finally find out what's going on. There are many things bugging you and then boom! After a certain point the story is so dense that you just want to continue reading and not to stop reading till you reach the end. Everything is pretty fast then as it ends in another 200-300 pages. There are people who complain that this book should be shorter. Well in a way they are right, but I would say that this book was actually too short for me. So it depends.

The author describes many things like...what the characters buy and what kind of equipment/furniture they have. This actually can give you more information about the characters and I don't find it irrelevant. It's quite nice and special in a way as I never encountered such a way of saying things.

The language is rude sometimes (quite often, but considering it comes from Sweden...). I already wrote why the author is writing about sexual violence ... there's a lot of sexual scenes both 'normal' and violent but again - Sweden (and the fact that the author was pretty disturbed by a girl that was raped in front of his eyes when he was young). Actually what is being discussed and told in great detail (political issues and anything about journalism) is probably pretty realistic as Stieg was a political activist and journalist.

Personal Rating: 3.25/5

The Gap Series by Stephen Donaldson

'The world in which the series is set is one run by, well, a corrupt and virtually commercial police organization. All protagonists become pawns in games played wholly or in part by people in the police organization's highest echelons, and the story is pregnant with betrayal, anger, conspiracy. Every time you think you've got the ulterior motives worked out, when the rug is pulled from under you, other factors get added, and you don't know what the heck is happening. The "Gap" series is a story of enormous complexity with all the bits fitting neatly together - though not until after a lot of mental exercise on the part of the reader. '

The books are pretty harsh. The future is not one with silver linings, people are driven by greed, a need for power and the tendency to corrupt. In this, well, pretty sick world, pretty horrible things happen, morally and physically. It's a harsh science fiction series, but an extremely brilliant one.

I don't know how better to describe this series. The author has to like Japan and their way of thinking. There's a lot of 'things' I would consider Japanese. 'Real Story' seems to be a normal science-fiction book, but from the beginning of the second book you will find out that it holds more than just a story. Characters are realistic, fully aware of what they do. They think, act with or without success. 'Setting' is also well made and prepared (all the politics). Everything makes sense and is logical. Every character has it's own role and his own attitude in this ruthless world (ehm space). It's also fun even in the situations which are so depressive that they would force you to commit a seppuku.
He also uses really interesting and original 'word conjunctions' which makes the description/action etc. richer.
I really love this series.

Personal Rating: 4.5/5

A year in the merde by Stephen Clarke

Few years ago I bought a book called 'A year in the merde'.

The book is about Paul West, an English man who comes to work for a French company establishing English Tea houses in France. That does not sound special right? Well, the book describes all the situations you can get to when trying to work or live in France. Paul is trying to understand the French people, their habits and he tries to become one of them. He finds out that going to a post office or getting his work permit done is not as easy as it seems. Even ordering a cafe is problem!

No matter what, as a person who had to come through many of the described things it was nice to read. I experienced the very same situations in my life and at that time I was just swearing and was incapable of understanding how things can be working this way. But they do. The system works but you need to adapt to it. It was a nice reminder of all the hardships I had undergo.

The book is easy to read, quite short (288) and sometimes rather rude. But still it is loads of fun and even though I don't like stories like this or can't really put myself in Paul's place I would recommend people reading this. It is a series of books but the first one is sufficient to give you quite big insight what problems can arise (while describing the French people as well).

Bloodlines by Loren Coleman

A third book in the Urza Saga cycle. Bloodlines is an genetic engineering project that when completed should produce a heir to the Legacy Weapon. Many bloodlines projects were established all over Dominaria, the strongest being run in Benalian plains. Here in this place Gerrard Capashen is is "bred" and will become the hero of the upcoming novels (glad he dies later on...).

One rogue bloodline project is run by Gatha a rogue Tolarian student. He runs the same project in a Keldon mountains enhancing the Keldons. Phyrexians find out about the project and start to fight the Keldons. This way they know what they should improve.

Also the artificial plane of Rath which will become important in later novels is introduced here and we learn about its development (and development of Phyrexian negators by Davvol).

The book has several problems. One is that the book spans over a thousand years or what which makes it quite difficult to follow (especially when we still have the same characters in the book and they are not even planeswalkers etc...). The second problem is...this book works as a link between Urza's Saga and Weatherlight. That means that the Urza's Saga is not truly finished and this book would not even work well as an introduction for the following cycle.

Still the book holds a lot of important information about the Magic: The Gathering storyline.

Personal Rating: 2.5/5

The book is not really that good. There are storylines that don't really go well together. It is hard to orient in the book and the timeline and the story itself is not concluded. We learn a lot about the MtG storyline and its characters/spells but that does not make it good either. There are many forced things in my opinion and brake the "natural flow" of the book even if there would be one.

I also miss a lot of logic in this book. Especially....about the bloodlines itself o_O.