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By Waerloga69 | @ | Wednesday, May 6th, 2026 at 8:00 am |
Strixhaven: Omens Of Chaos
Magic: The Gathering
Hardcover | Kindle | Audiobook
By Seanan McGuire
Publisher: Random House Worlds
Release Date: April 7, 2026
I am late to the party, folks; for that I must apologize. No excuses, but life definitely got in the way of my obligations. That said, I am here to rectify that with a review of Strixhaven: Omens Of Chaos, the newest offering in the Magic: The Gathering books and from author Seanan McGuire. I will confess that I am not an MtG player or fan. I hold no hatred for the game or franchise; it is just not one of my many obsessions (of which there are plenty). No, it is the overlap of Strixhaven into the world of Dungeons & Dragons that piqued my curiosity and led me to commit to reading this novel. So I will try to give you a rundown of my take on it. Let us venture forth, dear readers.
So, yeah, I may have undersold the whole concept of me not being knowledgeable about this game. I am, for all intents and purposes, a complete newb. But I went into it thinking I could figure it out, this would not be the first series I sort of jumped into without a clue. And for the most part, that is true. There are some things I am still curious about, but they did not seem to be a load-bearing piece of the story, if you know what I mean. I am no novice with regard to interplanar travel in the multiverse, but the particulars of this series were previously unknown. But prior to gaining more information about the places, we readers get to meet the main protagonists in fairly quick succession. Eula, who seems to be our true main character, gets the primary backstory, coming from a world that recently suffered the Phyrexian Invasion, which devastated the vast majority of the surface and an apparent large quantity of the denizens, as well. With no real choices in life, other than her innate magical abilities, she found herself slowly being assimilated into the local workforce. Until, that is, a letter arrived and invited her to a magical school on another plane. This begins the chain of events to get our story moving.
Stopping to pick up another student, the carriage carrying Eula gets a bit more crowded when Alandra joins with her emotional support drake. Shortly after, the enigmatic Segante is picked up and the group finds themselves in a bit of trouble. Luckily, the soon-to-be students use their abilities to thwart the robbers in a permanent fashion. There is another meet up to pick up another student, Kequia. The rest of the trip is mostly uneventful, with them arriving on the grounds and meeting up with the final member of their little band of off-worlders, Jamira, a minotaur. I am glossing over a lot of the interactions and all of this does take up probably a quarter of the book. I will admit, I was not as engaged with this as I could have been. The introduction of all of the characters seemed elongated and the dialogue felt a bit juvenile, especially since if I remember correctly, Eula is nineteen or so. I do appreciate, however, the way the author treats the characters and their personas. Anyone willing to travel the planes to go to school will be more willful than the average being.
Once at the school, we witness the group navigating the new social settings, meeting new people, and getting to know the campus. Well, the six campuses, that is. The game Mage Tower gets mentioned and is an obvious foreshadowing of upcoming events. They are made aware that they are moving towards a more diverse and inclusive student body, though not everyone is appreciative of that. But not everything is as it seems. Yes, I actually wrote that and it holds true, just as it does in a lot of other stories. But our students are still newly met and not as trusting or trustworthy as others might like. Being manipulated, one of them acts as a spy of sorts, but something more devious is in play. On the surface, it seems petty, but there is a real threat at the school. You may notice some similarities between this story so far and a few other tales. Let me assure you that there is no wizard named Harry nor a ring to be found and destroyed. In an academic setting, some similarities will exist; try not to get hung up on them.
The Biblioplex is a magical library at a magical university and it might be the most glorious part of this entire book. Knowledge is power and that is shown here in spades, with every student made aware of the potent skills that are derived or expanded with the enticing tomes within. Were this place real, it would be my own personal haven. But the plot twists and turns, even as I want more of the library and the wonders it must hold. Our group falls prey to base emotions, fighting amongst themselves. They are torn in their allegiances to others, but also to one another, an unenviable situation that many people have suffered. But it is the surprising fact that so many are working towards hidden goals, moving in the background with the intention of subverting these new students, that creates a sense of dread. It’s slowly building up as you read, almost unnoticeable, but always present.
The second half of the book seems to blast off in such a sharp contrast to the first half, with riveting chapter after chapter. Unfortunately, if I were to tell you too much about it then it would spoil the storyline. I will say, however, that the ending is explosive, but also a little bit anticlimactic, as we are left wondering when the next book is coming. It is painfully obvious that this is just the beginning of our story. And while I still maintain that I am not a fan of the Magic: The Gathering concepts, the library will always hold a special place in my heart and I would enjoy more of it.
The targeted demographic of this will be the diehard fans of the other books, new recruits to the game, and anyone who fancies a deeper dive into the worlds of MtG. I presume the book is geared towards a younger crowd, as it has a certain Young Adult feel to it, my take on that is from the sentence structuring and vocabulary used. That and the dialogue is a bit on the younger side, honestly. But it was not a terrible read, just not something I will normally pick up. It was fun, but took a while to get into. So stay dedicated and it will pay off, if you choose to add this to your own library. Happy reading, folks!
Strixhaven University welcomes you. Begin your magical studies on a faraway plane, encountering new friends, mysteries, and dangers, in this fantastical dark academia.
Eula Blue was supposed to be a mage. That was before the war came—before the fight for the Multiverse devastated Eula’s home, and with it her hopes for a magical education.
But the destruction of the war also brought something new: the ability to travel to other planes. And when Eula receives an invitation to study magic at a distant school called Strixhaven, she leaps to take it.
Eula’s journey brings her closer than she ever thought possible to her fellow students, including the mysterious Segante, a boy whose secrets Eula longs to share. But not everyone is thrilled by the arrival of the new class, and Eula and her new friends quickly become targets.
To make it through their first semester, they’ll have to fight for their place in this new world—or else they’ll be dead before their final exams.
432 pages; Book Dimensions: 5.7 x 1.4 x 8.5 inches
Grade level: 7 – 9
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English (US) · 