The Book of Chantries was about a handful of Tradition, Technocracy, Nephandi, and miscellaneous strongholds. This was a very old book that still painted the Technocracy as a repressive and antagonistic group. Over looking this, the chantries detailed were very interesting for all of the factions. The section on how to create your own chantry should be especially useful for players and storytellers. The sample story was not bad but didn't really show how life in a guild house was like. The Book of Chantries may be old and outdated, but it's rules can be easily updated for Mage 2nd Edition and Revised.

The Digital Web (1.0) was another setting book like the Book of Chantries but it was about virtual reality. Considering the fact that this book was released in the early/mid-1990s, it's still quite good for modern games. It introduced an entirely new playing field for technomancers and traditionalists alike. There were rules on formatting sectors and how to use magick in virtual reality. The overall feel of the realm was similar to those described by William Gibson in his cyberpunk novels. Instead of the Internet, cable modems, high-speed network connections, the book talked about BBSs and modem dial-ups. This was understandable considering those were the cutting-edge fascinations of computer users at the time. The information on the Spy's Demise and the two sample stories were interesting. Overall, the Digital Web was a fun read with many neat ideas. It must have been revolutionary for Mage the Ascension back in early days of the game. This book has since been revised and released as the Digital Web 2.0.