Magic: The Gathering War of The Spark: Forsaken Author Responds to Chandra Controversy

War of the Spark: Forsaken, the latest Magic: The Gathering novel by Greg Weisman, has been receiving many criticisms on how the book depicted Chandra Nalaar, with fans saying that Chandra's bi-sexual/pansexual sexuality and her relationship with Nissa Revane were ruined, and now Weisman has responded to the criticisms.

Weisman shared his response on the Gargoylesforum website, and he admits that the Chandra's depiction in Forsaken has "been understandably negative."

"After reading the materials that preceded my work on Magic: The Gathering, I was particularly intrigued by the burgeoning relationship between Chandra and Nissa," Weisman siad. "I felt that it should culminate in the War of the Spark books. In lieu of bringing them together, as it was not a relationship that WotC planned to pursue, my goal was to write something that honored Chandra's feelings for Nissa and Nissa's feelings for Chandra, something that would give closure to their relationship in a sad but satisfying and understandable way. I believe that if readers had seen my original ideas for the chapter in question, they might have gotten a better sense of what I was trying to accomplish. They might have liked it better. Or maybe they wouldn't have. In any case, through the mutual creative/editorial process with WotC and Del Rey, we ended up with the final product that was published in Forsaken, which clearly didn't meet anyone's expectations or delivers on my intentions. And for that, I am truly sorry."

It sounds like Weisman is taking blame for some of the criticism about the details, but he doesn't seem to have full creative control of the creative decisions, and fans still want to know why Wizards of the Coast made the decision to block their official response to the criticisms in other countries like China, Russia, Singapore, Phiippines, and other affected countries.

WotC has already released an official response to the controversy: "Over the past week, we have seen and heard strong reactions from fans about how we handled the resolution of the Nissa-Chandra romantic relationship in the recent Forsaken novel, and we apologize," the statement reads. "We didn't live up to the expectations we created for Chandra and what she means to our fans."

War of the Spark: Forsaken is now available on Amazon, and the book currently has a one-and-a-half star rating with mostly negative reviews.

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