Reviews for Mage Astral Realms

The average rating for Mage Astral Realms based on 2 reviews is 2.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2013-06-01 00:00:00 Carol Cervantes The title really fits. Even if you are not a player of Vampire the Requiem I recommend reading this book just to get a climbs of how "macabre" is done right. These vampires are neither savage animals nor brawny brutes, they are truly savage and macabre and as such often have a sharp intelligence that makes them only that more savage. A very good blend of the untamable and rotten inside you, connected with a drive to be free. But also with the constant danger of losing yourself to the monster that lurks inside your soul. That this has such a high rating is deserved in my eyes and many modern "great" authors of vampire stories should take a look at this and tremble. :D This book is good storytelling first and foremost and these vampires... well they are not broody teenagers, that I can quarantee. To give some examples: The book has vampires tell several quite bizarre legends, like humans practicising bestiality and that is where monsters sprang from or several vampires basically becoming one entity. The bloodlines presented are interesting and you can truly see how the main storyteller sinks deeper and deeper into a state where she is controlled by her inner beast. Speaking of that, this book has in my eyes the best handling of the Draugr, vampires losing all humanity and becoming true monsters that can reach plague proportions and therefore are hunted by other vampires. The books special vampires are really something, e.g. that creepy pale "thing" that apparently was once one vampire but due to unusual circumstances was supposedly cut into pieces and these pieces became three vampires. There is also this woman called the Unholy who is somewhat of a legend or better force of nature. She is easily recognizeable by her claws and feathered arms. There is also Baba Yaga, but it is left open whether she is one being or rather several. I just wish the shapeshifting powers of the Gangrel would have been explored more. This is the vampire clan that has an affinity towards this power so I would have wished for that. Also not everybody might enjoy this book since its whole style is basically that of an amateur explorer doing her first steps and collecting what she can get.

Review # 2 was written on 2012-06-11 00:00:00 Francisco Javier Herranz Sanchez Very well done. Bailey managed to give the Gangrel an unexpected depth while staying true to the idea of the clan being the personification of brutal savagery. Again, some editing problems, but it wouldn't be a White Wolf product if it didn't have any.