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 newcomers 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. |
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.
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.
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 insists 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.]
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 "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.
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. Buy this only if you are a fanatical collector and you can find it for $.50 in a used book store.
This novel pulls off an impressive feat: It links Spelljammer, the Forgotten Realms, and Planescape all into a coherent, interesting story. Much better than most game fiction. The Spelljammer content is small, telling more of Jasmine, one of the more popular characters from the Spelljammer comics. The novel also illustrates how dangerous a spelljammer can be in the hands of evil groundlings, and why spelljammers so often hide their nature from groundlings when in port.
An excellent novel about elves in the Forgotten Realms, it's almost a history told over several thousand years. Evermeet's acquisition of the Starwings is shown, as well as their uses in several battles to save the city. In addition, gold elves from a planet conquered by the scro are duped into being part of an assault on Evermeet. The wonderful spelljammer lore is only upset by Cunningham's misunderstanding of basic spelljammer physics. It's very minor, however. If you like elves in spelljammer, you need to read this novel.
This very short story deals with smokepowder and the Forgotten Realms city of Waterdeep. The story is basically a short character study of a young wizard's apprentice, and the only real spelljammer connection is a giff. Still, it's interesting to see the interaction between groundling and Spelljammer.
Also set in Waterdeep, and also dealing with smokepowder, this story has an actual spelljamming vessel involved, as well as a connection to the II UnHuman War. It's a more interesting read than the earlier Spelljammer story in the anthology, and is basically a police procedural in a fantasy world. Another fascinating take on the interaction between groundlings and Spelljammers, it is an excellent guide for GMs considering how to integrate Spelljammer into established groundling worlds like the Forgotten Realms or Greyhawk.
A very good story that depicts the ongoing connection of Mt. Nevermind gnomes with the spelljamming community, as well as an spelljamming illithid raid on Krynn. Much more directly involved with spelljamming than any of the other short stories.
