SJ Reviews: The Novels

In my quest to support the delusion that folks care what I think I've 
decided to start doing a series of quick and dirty reviews of all the 
Spelljammer products. I hope these will be useful to new comers and 
those without all of the products.

Rating System:
*= Mediocre, poorly written product with little usefulness.
**= A bad product for several reasons with one or two useful aspects.
***= An average product with some good and some bad points.
****= An above average product with few bad points.
*****= An excellent product with few if any bad points. An essential 
SJ product.

I'm going to begin with the Cloakmaster series of novels.

Novels (The Cloakmaster Cycle):

Beyond the Moons [1991]
by David Cook
Rating: ***

The novel isn't bad, and is plotted tightly enough. It provides an 
interesting example of how to bring Spelljammer into one's groundling 
campaign and really highlights the evil of the Neogi and the energy 
of Tinker gnome society. Gomja the Giff is a wonderfully drawn 
character who brings that race to life, as well. However, most of the 
novel takes place on Krynn and thus provides little information on 
spelljamming societies.

Into the Void [1991]
by Nigel Findley
Rating: ****

An excellent novel with great characters, especially Aelfred 
Silverhorn and Estriss. The day to day life on a decent sized vessel 
(the hammership PROBE) is well described, and lots of spelljamming 
culture tidbits are scattered throughout the novel. A great look at 
the setting, though the plot has many weak points.

The Maelstrom's Eye [1992]
by Roger E. Moore
Rating: ****

An excellent book with a tight plot and a wonderful look at the 
Second Unhuman War. General Vorr of the Scro and Admiral Cirathorn of 
the IEN are great characters, though I don't enjoy the way so many 
Spelljammer products insist on making elves evil. Excellent 
consistency with the last novel in character development and a great 
description of a visit to the Rock of Bral.

[Personal Note: Obviously one of my favorite Spelljammer products 
since so much of my 'Bralspace' is inspired by it.]

The Radiant Dragon [1992]
by Elaine Cunningham
Rating: ****

Another good novel by TSR/WOTC's best serious author. A nice look at 
Evermeet and the inner workings of the Elven Imperial Fleet 
(including a scene set on Lionheart). Connects well with ideas first 
presented in _Practical Planetology_. Another excellent character 
appears, Hectate Kir, who is an excellent 'sidekick' or 'companion to 
heroes' in the Moorcock/Moonglum tradition.

The Broken Sphere [1993]
by Nigel Findley
Rating: **

The 'Way of the Plain', the Great Archive, and Crescent are well done 
and offer a nice setting. The plot is full of holes and the sudden 
absence of Hectate Kir is completely illogical. The surprising 
consistency of the previous books disappears. The villain is lame, 
and the plot full of holes. Worth having for the first half, however.

The Ultimate Helm [1993]
by Russ T. Howard
Rating: *

Burn it. Seriously. Inconsistent with everything except the _Legend 
of the Spelljammer_ boxed set, the characters are poorly drawn and 
the plot holes immense. The writing style is not bad, if only the 
author had even the first clue about Spelljammer. He seems to have 
have read none of the previous books. Lots of historical tidbits 
which have no connection to any other Spelljammer product. By this 
only if you are a fanatical collector and you can find it for $.50 in 
a used book store.


-- 
"One does not read The Silmarillion; one either abandons it in bored 
disgust, or else one lives in it."
Peter Kreeft, 'Afterword: The Wonder of the Silmarillion',
Shadows of Imagination (1979)
westermeyer@????????.net