The Quest Tarot (Book & Card Pack) [Paperback]

I wanted to love this deck so much, but somehow, someway, it just doesn't "work" for me. I realise of course that choosing a Tarot deck is often a personal choice, and the greater the affinity a reader has with their deck the better their readings tend to be, but try as I might I just can't identify with this deck or even get close to it. I just feel that the whole project is too contrived - the artist has incorporated astrological, kabbalistic, runic, I Ching & gemstone correspondences into the cards. Now that's fine and their inclusion doesn't detract from the cards visual beauty, but then he also includes skin, hair & eye colour as well as "Yes/No" answers!! Many tarot readers are of the opinion that such specifics are almost impossible and it just seems that the whole approach to designing this deck is too calculated or commercial.
Another irk is that a lot of the characters depicted in these cards appear to be made out of shiny metal or glass. This is presumably deliberate in order to keep the characters asexual and present them in a "race-neutral way", but for me it only serves to prevent me from being able to identify with the cards or sense any emotions when doing readings.

Of course, I may be approaching this whole issue too seriously; I have read Tarot for many years and I have tried to use this deck for my readings, when maybe I should just put them on my shelf and admire the pretty pictures? The accompanying book is well written and has a wealth of information, and some of the author's thoughts and ideas are indeed intriguing, but for serious students of the tarot I suggest they look elsewhere.
One for collectors & dilettantes only!

The tarot pictures are highly detailed and brilliant in every way. They helped a lot with my awareness. This deck and book are great for anyone who works with the tarot. A definate must!

Each card is given a full analysis of how to interpret them, unlike the tiny, terse little booklets you get with some packs, and with the Major Arcana cards and the Court cards, you get a full analysis of the pictures as well. I admit this one might be a bit too New Age-y for some tastes, and the only minor criticism for me personally is that I would still have preferred the traditional King, Queen, Princess, Knight etc on the court cards, than Mother, Father, Daughter, Son, which is what we get here. That robs it of some of its mysticism for me, but as I said that's a SMALL criticism. They are also a good size to handle, some packs can be quite clumsy to handle unless you have hands like shovels, but that's not the case with this. I strongly recommend this pack for anyone venturing into and studying the Tarot for the first time.