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Magic: The Gathering: Invasion Cycle #2
Planeshift
As the deadly Phyrexian hordes launch an invasion of Dominaria, Uzra Planeswalker leads a team of powerful spellcasters against the Phyrexians' home world and Rath, an artificial plane, begins to superimpose itself over Dominaria. Original.
311 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published July 11, 2002
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
June 4, 2021
(Spoilers)
The invasion continues. After the Dominarian Coalition defeats the Phyrexians at Koilos, Rath Planeshifts over Dominaria and millions of Phyrexian troops begin to invade Dominaria...again.
The nine Planeswalkers walk different factions of the coalition to strategic parts of Dominaria to defend the planet...again.
However, while the Dominarian forces, with the Rathi allies, defend Dominaria, the Nine Planeswalkers take the battle to Phyrexia, using their Titan suits to invade.
Also, this time, not only do the coalition forces fight against the invaders, but the against the enemy within. There are multiple betrayals.
I found most of this book hard to get through. Urza is the main reason I read these books. He is by far the most compelling character. I don't care about Gerrard, or Eldamarie, or any of the other two dimensional expendables that the book spends most of the time focusing on. I want to see the social inept Planeswalker destroy stuff with his Marvel Superhero powers. Also, a lot of this book felt very similar to the previous one.
I did like the twist of having the good guys have to wrestle with the evils of their own world while also dueling the Phyrexian forces. The Keldons had to face the betrayal of their Legendary warriors, the Dragons were betrayed by the Primevals, and Agnate was betrayed by the Lich Lord. Betrayal was the theme of this book. The worst betrayal of all-Urza! No! I didn't understand it either. How could Urza, who has hated and fought against Phyrexia punk himself out like that. I have to read Apocalypse to see if he redeems himself. That was a good twist though. And it bodes well that the next installment will be different. And will I get to see a one on one duel between Urza and Yawgmoth? That is honestly what I want. It doesn't matter how good the book is, if there is no showdown between those too, that book can't be a five star.
The invasion continues. After the Dominarian Coalition defeats the Phyrexians at Koilos, Rath Planeshifts over Dominaria and millions of Phyrexian troops begin to invade Dominaria...again.
The nine Planeswalkers walk different factions of the coalition to strategic parts of Dominaria to defend the planet...again.
However, while the Dominarian forces, with the Rathi allies, defend Dominaria, the Nine Planeswalkers take the battle to Phyrexia, using their Titan suits to invade.
Also, this time, not only do the coalition forces fight against the invaders, but the against the enemy within. There are multiple betrayals.
I found most of this book hard to get through. Urza is the main reason I read these books. He is by far the most compelling character. I don't care about Gerrard, or Eldamarie, or any of the other two dimensional expendables that the book spends most of the time focusing on. I want to see the social inept Planeswalker destroy stuff with his Marvel Superhero powers. Also, a lot of this book felt very similar to the previous one.
I did like the twist of having the good guys have to wrestle with the evils of their own world while also dueling the Phyrexian forces. The Keldons had to face the betrayal of their Legendary warriors, the Dragons were betrayed by the Primevals, and Agnate was betrayed by the Lich Lord. Betrayal was the theme of this book. The worst betrayal of all-Urza! No! I didn't understand it either. How could Urza, who has hated and fought against Phyrexia punk himself out like that. I have to read Apocalypse to see if he redeems himself. That was a good twist though. And it bodes well that the next installment will be different. And will I get to see a one on one duel between Urza and Yawgmoth? That is honestly what I want. It doesn't matter how good the book is, if there is no showdown between those too, that book can't be a five star.
August 8, 2018
This was more of the same....not a whole lot really happened aside from Phyrexians invading and fighting them, at least until the very end.
Urza's "twist" could have been done well, but it made zero sense. After (as he explicitly says numerous times) over 4 millennia of his entire being being consumed by hatred of Yawgmoth and Phyrexia, regardless of his obsession with artifice, WHY THE FUCK WOULD HE SUDDENLY LOVE THIS PLACE AND WANT TO SERVE YAWGMOTH?!
They try really hard to do an internal monologue to justify it. They take the right track, as that's really the only motivation that could work....but it fails when you're changing 4000 years of character motivation in 5 minutes.
I like when you have a "hero" not necessarily have a positive arc! The problem is this is not that. This is not a natural development over time, it's almost equivalent to revealing a character was really the character you thought died last book in disguise. It takes you out of a story when a character just suddenly changes their entire motivation and beliefs so suddenly, especially if that belief was a major driving force behind many of their previous actions for many, many books.
Urza's "twist" could have been done well, but it made zero sense. After (as he explicitly says numerous times) over 4 millennia of his entire being being consumed by hatred of Yawgmoth and Phyrexia, regardless of his obsession with artifice, WHY THE FUCK WOULD HE SUDDENLY LOVE THIS PLACE AND WANT TO SERVE YAWGMOTH?!
They try really hard to do an internal monologue to justify it. They take the right track, as that's really the only motivation that could work....but it fails when you're changing 4000 years of character motivation in 5 minutes.
I like when you have a "hero" not necessarily have a positive arc! The problem is this is not that. This is not a natural development over time, it's almost equivalent to revealing a character was really the character you thought died last book in disguise. It takes you out of a story when a character just suddenly changes their entire motivation and beliefs so suddenly, especially if that belief was a major driving force behind many of their previous actions for many, many books.
April 11, 2021
So I picked this book up from a Tiny Free Library on a whim, along with Invasion, the first of the trilogy and I hadn’t read any of the previous books from this world. And I’ve gotta say Invasion was pretty mind numbingly entertaining, kind of like an action movie, fun but forgettable. But Planeshift?! Woah hella stepped up the character development. I actually started caring and liking the characters and understanding their motivations. Totally makes the first book worth it. REALLY enjoyed Planeshift and I hope the last book in the series is good too, I’ll have to find a copy!
May 12, 2024
This book kept moving all throughout from page 1. One book to go for the Weatherlight Saga and enough plot twists and turns were thrown in at the end to make the last book interesting at least.
December 29, 2016
This is easily one of the best book I've read from the MTG franchise. While I entered it with trepidation, after being disappointed in J Robert King's first book in the trilogy (INVASION), I soon came to realize that this book was much improved over the first. While maintaining the almost-too-intense and non-stop action, King was also able to introduce some great drama and character growth that was sorely lacking in INVASION. Instead of mind-numbing (and eventually boring) battle after battle that made up that first book, this one inserts the occasional lull in the action that is used for some remarkably well-written insights into what some of the characters are actually thinking. Overall, it makes for a much more enjoyable read than the previous books in the series.
The basic gist of the story is as follows. We pick up right where INVASION leaves off, after the battle of Koilos. As the Planeshift between Rath and Dominaria occurs, there are suddenly far more Phyrexians than the battered warriors could possibly handle. However, with the destruction of the permanent gate at Koilos taken care of (at the end of INVASION), Urza transports all of the old characters to various places around the world to fight the key battles. This book focuses on: (1)Gerrard and the crew of the Weatherlight fighting in Urborg, (2)Eldamri and the elves joining with the Keldons and fighting in Keld, (3)Agnate and the Metathran also fighting in Urborg, (4)Darigaaz and the dragon lords questing to resurrect trapped Primevals, and (5)Urza and his fellow planeswalkers traveling the Phyrexia itself and setting about destroying the root of the invasion. Each of these stories is exciting, and each is unique. All of the major characters go through significant changes that alter the overall direction of the story. A couple of new characters are introduced, including the Lich Lord Dralnu (pictured on the cover).
While this is certainly one of the most well-written and enjoyable MTG books I've read, it is deep into a series, and takes a serious commitment to reach if you're like me and refuse to start a series in the middle. To reach this book in its proper context, you'd need to read the following: The Brothers' War, Planeswalker, Time Streams, Bloodlines, Rath and Storm, The Thran, Mercadian Masques, Nemesis, Prophecy, and Invasion. Most of those books are hardly worth your time, but if you want the whole story, that is what you'll face. I hope that the series comes to a conclusion in the last book of this trilogy, APOCALYPSE, but I have my doubts.
So, overall, this is one of the best MTG books I've ever read, primarily because of the stepped up writing quality of J Robert King and his ability to bring some much needed life to some characters that had really gone flat. Highly recommended.
The basic gist of the story is as follows. We pick up right where INVASION leaves off, after the battle of Koilos. As the Planeshift between Rath and Dominaria occurs, there are suddenly far more Phyrexians than the battered warriors could possibly handle. However, with the destruction of the permanent gate at Koilos taken care of (at the end of INVASION), Urza transports all of the old characters to various places around the world to fight the key battles. This book focuses on: (1)Gerrard and the crew of the Weatherlight fighting in Urborg, (2)Eldamri and the elves joining with the Keldons and fighting in Keld, (3)Agnate and the Metathran also fighting in Urborg, (4)Darigaaz and the dragon lords questing to resurrect trapped Primevals, and (5)Urza and his fellow planeswalkers traveling the Phyrexia itself and setting about destroying the root of the invasion. Each of these stories is exciting, and each is unique. All of the major characters go through significant changes that alter the overall direction of the story. A couple of new characters are introduced, including the Lich Lord Dralnu (pictured on the cover).
While this is certainly one of the most well-written and enjoyable MTG books I've read, it is deep into a series, and takes a serious commitment to reach if you're like me and refuse to start a series in the middle. To reach this book in its proper context, you'd need to read the following: The Brothers' War, Planeswalker, Time Streams, Bloodlines, Rath and Storm, The Thran, Mercadian Masques, Nemesis, Prophecy, and Invasion. Most of those books are hardly worth your time, but if you want the whole story, that is what you'll face. I hope that the series comes to a conclusion in the last book of this trilogy, APOCALYPSE, but I have my doubts.
So, overall, this is one of the best MTG books I've ever read, primarily because of the stepped up writing quality of J Robert King and his ability to bring some much needed life to some characters that had really gone flat. Highly recommended.
August 21, 2010
Okay, definitely too much war and despair. I picked up some awesome tactics and strategies, but damn... the series is a real downer. I don't think I'm going to read any more M:tG for a long time.
January 21, 2016
I've posted a full review of this book on my blog:
http://www.geeky-guide.com/2010/12/bo...
http://www.geeky-guide.com/2010/12/bo...
November 21, 2016
Engaging plot, great character development and a great feeling of utter doom. There really doesn't seem to be much hope in this universe.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews