Brushworm Speaks! - The Art of Magic the Gathering - Zendikar
Brushworm Speaks!
The Art of Magic: The Gathering
Zendikar
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Acquired: Amazon.com
Series: Magic the Gathering (Book 1)
Hardcover: 240 pages
Publisher: Perfect Square; 1st edition (January 5, 2016)
Language: English
Subject: Fantasy
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The Story: In The Art of Magic: The Gathering: Zendikar, you will experience the danger and beauty of Zendikar like never before. This lavishly illustrated, hardcover book features the award-winning art of Magic: The Gathering, and gives you an insider's look at the secrets of Zendikar — its peoples, continents, and creatures.
The Review: Zendikar sets itself apart from many other fantasy settings in a distinct way. It is almost a post-apocalyptic story in a fantasy setting. An unhealthy world that has been broken by a long ago cataclysm that continues to have repercussions to the present day. It has often been remarked that in fiction, the setting can be just as much a character as the protagonists and antagonists. In Zendikar, this sentiment comes through in spade. The plane is a rough and wild place filled with rough and wild people. The ground shakes, winds blow, and the very environment itself heaves and buckles and twists around itself. The very laws of nature are in flux on Zendikar, hence the plethora of floating rocks and trees. It is like a surreal natural disaster catalog. The apocalypse has not ended, it is still going on. Considering what happens in the later half of the expansion, it has only just begun. Truly, this a very active setting.
A good explanation of this can be found within the book itself on page 10:
“But the presence of these Eldrazi within the plane is like a festering infection within a living body. Zendikar isn’t trying to exterminate all the creatures that inhabit the plane - it’s trying in vain to destroy the Eldrazi.”
If Innistrad is a story about the lurking dread of Lovecraftian horror, then Zendikar is the titanic monsters and tentacles of the works of H.P. Lovecraft. The Eldrazi are truly creatures out of nightmares, but what makes them truly frightening is the affect they have on the world around them, particularly Emrakul, the third Eldrazi Titan.
What makes the Eldrazi particularly terrifying is the fact that they are much more than the typical “giant monsters” that if hit with enough will simply. These are otherworldly beings that twist and warp everything they touch. Everywhere they go, they sire terrifying avatars of themselves that overrun all in their path. The Eldrazi as much forces of nature incarnate as they are Lovecraftian horrors.
When viewed together it is easy to see why, Innistrad followed right after Zendikar. Both stories play heavily on the theme of hopelessness. The inhabitants of Zendikar are forever at the mercy of the capricious environment and later the titanic Eldrazi. All they can do is keep on moving and hope they live a decent life before something or someone steps on them and/or eats them alive.
Unfortunately, this tends to work against the story after a while. The core tenement of writing fiction, even in a compendium volume such as this, is to make the reader root for the story. They need to want to see the story to the end. If they don’t, they will set the book aside and not read it again. There are time when this story showcased in this book heads very closely to this point. Defeat, after defeat comes off the pages and gets a little tedious. The need to sprinkle a bit more hope here and there, if nothing else, they will serve as few more breadcrumbs to lead the readers on.
What these books do is make the story of these cards come alive. The skill of the writer’s should not be counted out even though this book is ultimately about showcasing the art. The book is clearly divided into easy to navigate sections.
One of the best sections actually breaks the fourth and takes the reader into the real world for a change. It takes into the the process behind the scenes in how the world of Zendikar was constructed. That is what makes this book the best kind of art book. It is more than just a collection of pretty artwork, although there is plenty of that to be had here. It is a guide to the creation of the world itself and the processes involved. If anyone wishes to embark on a career that involves world building, this book could very be required reading.
Final Verdict: This book almost received three stars due to the fact that out of all of the Art of Magic: The Gathering Books, Zendikar was my least favorite of all of the settings, though he is not sure why. Nonetheless, Brushworm recognizes the immense talent and creativity that went into the art and story.
Rating: Four Zendikar Icons out of Five
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