TL;DR Review: A fully immersive and highly addictive card-battling experience from start to finish!
Synopsis:
Build your deck. Prepare for battle. Change the world.
Born in the slums of Domstadt, City of Cards, Hick has known only poverty. The only way to make life better for himself and his family is to play the magical card game that is the lifeblood of the city; earn new cards, learn how to use them, build deeper bonds with the folkloric monsters contained within.
Hick’s dreams are shattered, however, when he is targetted by the religious fanatics who run the city, and is forced to compete in the secret, high-stakes world of the underground card circuit. Hick must struggle to keep his identity secret as he builds his deck, unlocks the power of the cards, and takes his first steps toward becoming a legendary card player.
Full Review:
I’ll be honest: I’ve never had a chance to play Magic: The Gathering, Hearthstone, or Yu-Gi-Oh. But after reading this book, I REALLY want to start.
Card Mage is a fresh and fun story: card battles played out in grand arenas, where the cards are brought to life by “mana fountains” that make the gaming experience so much more immersive and realistic.
Life in the Slums is difficult but those who own even a single card can still join “deck gangs” and add their card to the requisite 30 needed to join a battle, with the winnings divided between each cardholder.
This is the world into which we’re dropped straightaway, with our protagonist, Hick Durchdenwald, explaining the game to his four-year old brother and cheering for their father, the proud possessor of a low-level card that barely keeps them in food and clothing.
It’s cleverly done, because not only are we instantly treated to a child-level explanation of the rules, we also get to ooh and ahh with the crowd as wildmen and ghouls and ratkin and Jenny-of-the-Lake cards manifest before our eyes. The addition of magic to bring these creatures alive makes everything so much more immersive and adds stakes—after all, creatures can be ripped apart right in front of us, and if the shields protecting the players are damage, they can actually die!
Hick is pretty much exactly the protagonist you’d expect: a loyal, dutiful son who works a dead-end job (gutting fish) in the hopes of saving up enough to buy a card to play his family’s way to better fortune. At his side are best buds Gunne, the strong-armed, well-“connected” sarcastic one, and Pep, the fellow “card nerd” who plays it safe but shares Hick’s love for and fascination with the game.
The setting is pretty grim—the Slums are aptly named, and food is scarce, times are hard, and when tragedy befalls the Durchdenwald family, the situation grows dire. So dire that Hick is willing to risk everything in the hopes of turning matters around.
Which promptly crumbles away, leaving him dead and floating in a swamp. But that’s just the beginning of his journey. There, he’s given a second chance at life and an opportunity to do something greater—just what that is, though, is slowly revealed over the course of the book.
At its core, Card Mage is everything that I’ve loved about every great card and board game ever: a showcase of just how thrilling it can be when the right card comes up or the dice fall in your favor. Every card battle from the very first (failed) one is an absolute blast, with just enough explanation to keep you strategizing along with Hick, but not so much it bogs down the pacing. Through Hick’s wins and losses, you’re right there at his side, cheering him on and feeling his pain.
And yes, Card Mage is exactly as addicting as I could have hoped for. I ripped through this book in short order because it was just so much fun to go from battle to battle, from failure to triumph and back again, and learn more about the cards in this world, the mysterious abilities they both offer in the game and convey on their user, and the ever-rising stakes.
By the time I got to the end, I knew I’d need more of this book—a whole lot more. Thankfully, it’s the first in a series, and I cannot wait to keep ripping through more of these amazing adventures.
I might not be an avid card battler, but this book definitely had me falling in love with the game and seriously thinking about buying my first Magic card pack. 5 out of 5 stars all the way!
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