The Art of Magic the Gathering: Innistrad

As with other offerings in The Art of Magic the Gathering series (like Ixalan and Dominaria), Innistrad showcases the art and describes the world of the same name, a plane in the Magic: The Gathering multiverse that has (to date) been featured in two blocks/five expansions:

• Innistrad (9/2011)
• Dark Ascension (2/2012)
• Avacyn Restored (5/2012)
• Shadows over Innistrad (4/2016)
• Eldritch Moon (7/2016)

This book was written shortly before Eldritch Moon's release, so it focuses on the first four sets (but does mention events that happen in the fifth).  In a nutshell, Innistrad is "Magic does northern European gothic horror."  It has the creatures (angels, vampires, werewolves, spirits, zombies), locations (medieval-looking townscapes, graveyards, dark forests), and tone (an spooky sense of dread) you'd expect from such a theme . . . and I loved the first three sets, so I was excited to see the book released (the fourth and fifth expansions had Lovecraftian overtones that weren't nearly as appealing).  An idea of the tone is shown in the below pictures (pulled from various websites feature Innistrad art).

I enjoyed the book, though it was repetitive (perhaps it's not meant to be read straight through- maybe information is repeated so the reader can start anywhere).  It also felt rushed and incomplete, perhaps due to its scope- it would have been better focusing on just the original Innistrad block.  In particular, events in Avacyn Restored were glossed over as they rushed to showcase the Shadows over Innistrad set (not surprising, as this book was released right around that time).  But it's nice to get the backstory, impressive to see the thought put into world development, and the art continues to impress.

Rating: A-