Magic: The Gathering/Ravnica Cycle



The Ravnica Cycle is a trilogy of tie-in novels by Cory J. Herndon, set on the eponymous City Planet of Ravnica, that corresponds to Magic the Gathering's Ravnica block.

Each of the three novels is mostly self-contained:


 * Ravnica: Agrus Kos, a wojek officer, is investigating the death of his partner, with the help of said partner, who's been Resurrected for A Job. Fonn is a rookie ledev in the Selesnya Conclave, escorting an important dignitary to the capital. Jarad is a devkarin elf who holds a high position in the Golgari Swarm. Their paths collide when they stumble upon a conspiracy that threatens all of Ravnica.
 * Guildpact: Agrus Kos is retired and living a quiet life in the wild, untamed Utvara district, which has recently come under the management of Orzhov heiress and advokist Teysa Karlov, who intends to shake the place up. Meanwhile, the Izzet courier Crix gets lost and is captured by a clan of Gruul barbarians. When a mad scientist threatens to destroy the world, they'll all have to work together to stop him.
 * Dissension: After mysteriously disappearing in the first book, the angels have returned...and they're all dead. Meanwhile, another conspiracy rears its head, and Agrus Kos to investigate it. On top of all this, the city is being destroyed by giant monsters.

Ravnica, Guildpact, and Dissension contain examples of:

 * Abandoned Warehouse: Agrus Kos and Myczil Zunich investigate one at the beginning of the first book.
 * Alternative Calendar: The first chapter takes place on the 17th day of Griev in the year 9943 Z.C.
 * Always Chaotic Evil: The Rakdos Cultists.
 * Always Gets His Man: Kos.
 * Attack of the 50 Foot Whatever: The Nephilim, who grow to Kaiju sizes after eating some dragon brains in the third book.
 * Becoming the Costume: Thanks to a faulty "performance enchantment", a troupe of actors wreaks a little accidental havoc in Chapter 2 of Ravnica when the guy playing a bloodthirsty Gruul chieftain gets a little too in-character.
 * Bigger Bad:
 * In the first book, Szadek, to Savra's Big Bad.
 * becomes this to Szadek in Dissension.
 * Body Surf: does a fair amount of jumping about in Dissension.
 * The Cavalry Arrives Late: In the final battle of the first book, . They don't return until, and we don't find out what really happened until 'Dissension''.
 * Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: Let's just say leadership in the Golgari Swarm has a high turnover rate.
 * City Planet
 * Dark Is Not Evil: While Savra followed Szadek's plan, most of the Golgari were outside of the conflict, and eventually another member of this guild, Jarad, becomes a protagonist.
 * Evil Gloating:
 * Lampshaded with Hauc in Guildpact. When he starts gloating about his master plan, Agrus Kos thinks he sounds like a cliche storybook villain.
 * Momir Vig gets in on the action when he captures Kos in Dissension.
 * Fallen Angel: Well, more like "demoted". Feather has her wings bound and is made to serve as a wojek as a punishment.
 * The Hero Dies:
 * Hive Mind: The Selesnya Conclave. All the members are connected by the song, which they can always hear in their heads.
 * Good Running Evil: Jarad becomes the new Golgari guildmaster and resolves to put a stop to their various pointless acts of evil, like human sacrifices.
 * Knight Templar: Augustin IV.
 * The Man Behind the Man: behind Savra.
 * Minor Crime Reveals Major Plot: Agrus Kos is sent to infiltrate the Simic Combine to discover how Momir Vig is involved with Szadek...so he's somewhat surprised and chagrined when Momir Vig begins Monologuing about his own, completely separate plot to Take Over the World.
 * Moral Sociopathy: The Azorius, who care more about laws and order than about the common people the laws are supposed to protect.
 * My God, What Have I Done?: Myczil Zunich's approximate reaction when he discovers that.
 * Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Dissension takes a chapter, or thereabouts, to explain that the reason why the plane of Ravnica is so horribly screwed up is because . Minor problem with that, though:
 * Only Known By Their Nickname: Feather, aka Pierakor Az Vinrenn D'rav. At least to most people; the other angels and officials like the Azorius tribunal use her real name.
 * Order Versus Chaos: The major conflict that led to the founding of the Guildpact.
 * Rent-A-Zilla: Nephilim, Kraj, and even Rakdos himself get a chance to trample the city in the third book.
 * Resurrected for A Job: Borca, and, later,.
 * Second Hand Storytelling: In the first book, the founding of the Guildpact is told through an in-universe stage performance, complete with narration.
 * Take Over the World
 * Three Lines Some Waiting
 * Visionary Villain: Both Zomaj Hauc, Augustin IV and Momir Vig qualify.
 * When It All Began: We eventually learn that the events of Kos's flashback in the first book were important to almost all of the main characters.
 * The Worm That Walks: Lupul, the shapeshifting Dimir monstrosity.
 * Xanatos Gambit: Szadek's Plan. Plan A: . Plan B: . Either way, the Guildpact is destroyed and Szadek wins.
 * You Can't Thwart Stage One:
 * In the first book, . As a result, they have to stop the bad guys at the very last minute.
 * In the second book, . As a result, they have to