The Art of Magic: The Gathering - Zendikar

The name is a bit misleading but walk with me.

This is actually a style guide in disguise. Yes, the thing that artists and freelancers get before a set comes out, explaining the high points, locations, creatures and major characters to build a world upon? This is exactly that, except two blocks worth of material, James Wyatt's roleplaying polished writing, fiction writing and double page spreads.

If you even have a passing interest in Magic's art enough to buy a print at a Grand Prix or online from an artist, you will love this book. It's actually rather inexpensive for how utterly enormous it is at 10"x11" and over 200 pages. If you have a coffee table, this begs to be opened.

It's worth the money and considering it's been seventeen years since the last iteration, expectations were high. Buy it, you will like it.

Exactly what I was hoping for. I've always admired the artwork of the TCGs, but I just couldn't pull the trigger to buy them because I am not really interested in playing. So when I found out about this book, I just had to order it.
Some of reviewers gave this book a lower rating because they expect more "The Art of ..." book, and they are correct about that. This book does not contain the art concepts, sketches, or the thinking behind the design. It does however contains a lot of beautiful arts and explanation on/story behind the world, including the races, beasts, creatures, etc.

This book is awesome for all sorts of nerds. Artists get a book packed with art from magic's best settings (ravnica and new phyrexia falling closely behind), writers and rpg lovers get a fantastic guide to the setting (though seriously wizards, you own both mtg and d&d, an mtg role-playing game wouldn't be hard to make, especially with adding the cards. Contact me for my concept), and ccg lovers get to enjoy the whole shebang outside of the cards.
It deserves every star since I am all of those.

These books are very large (physically and with 280+ pages) and filled with awesome background information and amazing artwork. If you are a fan of Magic and don't know a lot of the back story these are a great way to learn some of the lore.

High quality printing. However, since it was called an art book, I would have expected more full page art and just more artwork in general. Most of the book is filed with descriptions of the regions of zendikar and the story is taken word for word from the website.

I've been dreaming for a beautiful collection like this, featuring Magic's award winning art at a much larger size than the tiny versions featured on the cards. Wizards went a step further than just featuring art, in this case featuring in depth details on Zendikar regions, denizens, and of course the Eldrazi terrors that threaten the plane. This book details the story of both the original Zendikar block and the recent Battle for Zendikar sets, providing full context for the major events seen on key cards in those sets.

The only complaint I could see someone having is that it's not strictly an art book, instead having a rather large amount of text similar to the "Planeswalker's guide to the multiverse" features on the MTG website. I don't mind this, as I love both the art and flavor of Magic's worldbuilding and feel they greatly compliment each other in this package.

This book is easily worth MSRP, and is a steal at the Amazon price.

I was hoping for more dedication to the art itself. The book is primarily about the world building and the backstory to Zendikar which is important to the game's story, while the art seems to take more of a backseat.

This was a Christmas gift for my grandson. He's a fan of the game and was delighted with the beautiful artwork. These are HUGE books. For some reason I wasn't quite expecting that.

This book is so much more than I was expecting. The art books I'm used to are filled to the brim with the complete artworks, rough sketches and preliminary designs. This book has all of that, but has also packed in loads of written backstories and detailed descriptions of the characters and lore without taking away too much room for the art. Aside from just flipping through the pictures, it's definitely a book I'd like to sit back and read bits and pieces of. My only complaint is the dustcover feels a bit waxy. I'm not a fan of glossy print in general, and there's no design on the cover underneath (except on the spine).
Whether you're a concept artist like me or you just love the stories and want to learn more about the Magic universe, this book is absolutely perfect. Can't wait for the next one!

I got this as a gift for someone and he really enjoyed looking through it.