I’ve learn a few the brand new D&D novels (which is a sentence I’m nonetheless sort of stunned to be writing), however I haven’t had an opportunity to publish any ideas on these. I believed I’d attempt to shortly summarize these newest D&D fiction choices, despite the fact that it’s at all times just a little tough for me to do ebook opinions, since I actually don’t need to publish any spoilers.
The 2 novels I’m on this publish are Dungeons & Dragons: Spelljammer: Reminiscence’s Wake (sure, that’s how the title seems), and Dragons of Eternity: Dragonlance Destinies, Quantity 3. One thing which may be price maintaining in thoughts. Despite the fact that it was a very long time in the past, earlier than this present spherical of novels started, Chris Perkins indicated that in D&D 5e, nothing is canon till it seems in a D&D 5e hardcover.
Twenty years in the past, I’d be shocked that I’m of this opinion, however I feel that’s the best technique to go. It implies that if a very vital occasion occurs within the novels that the designers simply can’t wait to incorporate within the setting, they’ll, but when they don’t need to let you know that no, your PCs didn’t defeat Demogorgon throughout Out of the Abyss, that was Tremendous Saiyan Drizzt, it’s not mechanically true.
Moreover, we’ve been informed that the Dragonlance novels that Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis are producing from this level on all exist in a separate continuity from no matter WotC does with the setting in official D&D setting books. That implies that should you benefit from the occasions of a ebook, you may embrace occasions in your sport, however WotC isn’t going to be maintaining observe, at the least not more than they’d for maintaining a reign on their very own IP.
Dungeons & Dragons: Spelljammer: Reminiscence’s Wake
Writer: Django Wexler
Writer: Random Home Worlds
Pagecount (Bodily Ebook): 272 pages
Size (Audiobook): 10 hours and 42 minutes
Narrator (Audiobook): Lisa Flanagan
One of many methods wherein I handle to warp time is to hearken to audiobooks whereas I’m doing work that doesn’t require everything of my cognitive processing. Which means I consumed this novel by way of the audiobook.
I used to be truly just a little shocked that there was a Spelljammer novel, of all settings, being launched in 2024. I’ll have been much less shocked if this had come out nearer to 2022, however then once more, seeing how nicely the synergy labored out between Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus and Baldur’s Gate 3, this may increasingly have been deliberate to return out nearer to the discharge of the Spelljammer slipcase.
I used to be very on this ebook, whereas additionally being just a little cautious, for 2 causes. The primary is that I remembered the outdated Cloakmaster Cycle novels. This was a sequence of novels that principally came about in Spelljammer places, however was additionally partially predicated on the necessity to journey to numerous D&D settings of the time to advance the plot, that means that we acquired to see Krynnspace, Realmspace, and so forth. This ties into my different concern as nicely, which is that I beloved Spelljammer in 2nd version, however I felt it shortly misplaced the thread by worrying an excessive amount of about increasing the Forgotten Realms out into Realmspace, extending the Dragonlance story to the worlds in Krynnspace, and so forth. To me, the appeal of Spelljammer was that you could take characters from varied settings, have them be taught each other’s quirks that they bring about with them, however have all of these disparate characters journey to a brand new and distinctive location, enjoying up the bizarre fantasy of Spelljammer.
That is likely one of the causes I used to be pleasantly stunned at this novel. The novel doesn’t begin off in any current D&D setting, however fairly, introduces Shatterspace. That is a type of wild fantasy places that you could have in Spelljammer, because it’s a society with settlements on varied remnants of a world that was destroyed within the historic previous. Completely different asteroids and particles home completely different cities and cultures, who typically rely on Spelljammers shifting from one location to a different for commerce.
This additionally means there are many places for pirate havens, housing pirates that run the gamut from enjoyable however larcenous rogues to notorious Neogi raiders. Whereas everybody lives in worry of the Neogi, even they take part in commerce in addition to homicide, theft, and kidnapping.
Into this setting we see Axia, a lady who has no actual reminiscence of her previous. She lives with the dwarf service provider that adopted her, and he or she spends her days along with her large house hamster, operating errands for her adopted father. That is an journey novel, so this establishment isn’t going to final very lengthy. Axia is attacked by an murderer that has mistaken her for the notorious pirate Blacktongue, and he or she finds that she’s extra competent at fight than she beforehand knew.
Kori and Nia, a Tiefling warlock and a half-elf cleric of the God of Thieves, arrive to supply Axia the chance of a lifetime. Axia appears to be like sufficient like Blacktongue that Koria and Nia, who each served on Blacktongue’s crew, assume they’ll discover a treasure that Blacktongue left behind when she disappeared a number of years in the past. They simply want Axia to fake to be Blacktongue and persuade her outdated crew that she has returned.
This ebook performs on quite a lot of well-worn tropes, nevertheless it’s additionally very enjoyable. Kori and Nia have an exquisite relationship that consists of their fixed snarking at each other, whereas additionally displaying real affection. Axia is a sympathetic and pleasant protagonist and seeing her exploring Blacktongue’s diaries and slowly uncovering the mysteries she left behind, whereas navigating the ins and outs of the asteroid society and the varied fantasy creatures that exist there, may be very satisfying. I actually loved this novel. Whereas all the Forgotten Realms novels which were launched have been stable and enjoyable efforts, that is presently my favourite of the brand new wave of D&D novels.
On prime of enjoyable supporting characters and a likable protagonist in a fast-paced fantasy journey story, this does precisely what I need Spelljammer materials to do. The narrative isn’t pushing us to fly away to Toril or Oerth or Krynn. There may be greater than sufficient occurring in “native” Wildspace. That is what I at all times needed in a Spelljammer novel.
Dragons of Eternity: Dragonlance Destinies, Quantity 3
Authors: Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
Writer: Random Home Worlds
Pagecount (Bodily Ebook): 400 pages
Size (Audiobook): 12 hours and 56 minutes
Narrator (Audiobook): Kristen Potter
Since that is the third ebook of the trilogy, there can be a number of spoilers for the earlier novels within the Dragonlance Destinies sequence. Earlier than we get into this, I want you all to know the way a lot I beloved Dragonlance after I was youthful. I used to reread the Dragonlance Chronicles and Legends each summer time after I was in highschool. I finally threw The Legend of Huma and Kaz the Minotaur into the combination as nicely, since they had been two of my favourite non-Hickman and Weis Dragonlance novels.
I preserve studying Dragonlance novels due to my love of the unique few trilogies, and I’ve been more and more upset. If this had been simply disappointment in Dragonlance novels generally, I’d simply chalk it as much as not being thrilled with the present spherical of Dragonlance authors. The issue is a lot of the novels which were disappointing to me have been the books which have had Hickman and Weis returning to the setting.
Essentially the most direct line I can draw to what didn’t work for me on this novel is to have a look at the Dragonlance Misplaced Chronicles trilogy, novels that had been meant to fill within the gaps between a number of the time jumps within the authentic Chronicles novels. I wasn’t joyful that a number of the characters that skilled character progress felt extra just like the characters they had been on the finish of the story, too early of their historical past. The gods had been far more current, virtually casually discussing occasions with varied heroes and villains. Whereas the Gods of Magic at all times managed the circulate of magic by way of the moons, the Wizards of Excessive Sorcery, partly due to this elevated familiarity of the gods, begin feeling extra like alternate clerics.
A number of these qualities really feel current on this ebook as nicely. We begin with Raistlin and Sturm trapped within the time of Huma, with Huma and the Silver Dragon having died earlier than he might use the Dragonlance to banish Takhisis. Sooner or later, i.e. a number of years after the occasions of the Dragonlance Chronicles, Astinus sends Kas and Tanis again in time to an alternate conflict happening as a substitute of the Warfare of the Lance, to distract Takhisis from maintaining Destina from going again in time and fixing what occurred to Huma and the Silver Dragon, and possibly profitable that model of the conflict, simply in case Destina can’t repair what went unsuitable.
I cried after I learn Dragons of Winter Night time, when Sturm died. I used to be relieved when it was implied that Raistilin’s “reward” for not destroying the stability of the gods for love of his brother was that he wasn’t being tortured by the Darkish Queen for eternity however acquired to get pleasure from an everlasting sleep. I say this as a result of I’m so uninterested in studying about Sturm and Raistlin. If they’d been supporting characters, I feel I’d have been okay with it, however we get a lot of the ebook from their perspective, after they develop into the primary characters once more for some time. In truth, after the primary ebook, this trilogy appears extraordinarily tired of partaking with Destina as a protagonist.
Caramon feels genuinely silly, fairly than simply not sure of his personal intelligence within the shadow of his brother. Tas is meant to be cute whilst he’s unable to keep away from continuously jeopardizing varied vital duties by seemingly each understanding, however being tired of, the significance of what’s going on. Tas looks like he has digressed, he’s much less mature and clever than he was in different tales, and defaults to being the “oops, I made issues worse, till I must by accident make issues higher” character. Kitiara doesn’t look like an incredible chief, and he or she even appears sort of tired of her job, regardless of her repute. The primary purpose Equipment is a greater chief than a number of the different Dragon Highlords is that she’s rather less smug and indifferent than the opposite Highlords. I truly want Bakaris was misplaced in time, and by that, I imply, for actual, like edited out of any Dragonlance ebook the place his title ever appeared.
Of all the returning Heroes of the Lance, the one I’m the least aggravated with on this ebook is Tanis. Fortunately, that is the commonly content material Tanis that isn’t on the heart of some emotional turmoil, and even the slight battle he feels on this novel doesn’t spiral Tanis again into a few of his worst indecisive moments. He’s targeted, he is aware of what must be completed, and is working exhausting to maintain the whole lot collectively for so long as he can. Tanis is likely one of the characters that really does really feel like a pleasant, comforting return to a recognized character, the identical feeling I get from Astinus and Dalamar as nicely.
Now that we’ve been time touring a number of occasions via a number of novels, the principles really feel lots much less easy than they had been again within the Legends days. Someway, time is synched, so there’s a sure period of time earlier than the “current” is affected, nevertheless it has already reached the period of the Warfare of the Lance. The gods seemingly exist exterior of time, and know that a number of timelines exist, however in addition they, within the second, don’t know particulars about what’s going on, and must “focus” on one thing earlier than they perceive particulars. This wouldn’t really feel fairly so disjoined, if the gods weren’t very chatty and chummy with mortals in fashionable Dragonlance novels.
I don’t know if I can suggest this ebook. Even should you’re extraordinarily nostalgic for a specific second in time relating to Dragonlance, I’m undecided that you just gained’t have the identical response that I’ve had. It appears to be like like the following books Hickman and Weis are engaged on are novels set throughout Huma’s time, and that is likely to be just a little higher, shifting away from characters that they’ve written again and again, backwards and forwards via time, to the purpose that it’s exhausting to see them as one thing apart from a fuzzy “common” of what they’ve been throughout many books and plenty of eras. However The Legend of Huma and Kaz the Minotaur had been the books I beloved probably the most after the Chronicles and Legends, and yeah, I ought to know higher, however we already know from the primary ebook on this sequence that Knaack’s model of that point doesn’t exist in Hickman and Weis’ model of the setting.
Closing Ideas
Spelljammer: Reminiscence’s Wake is a enjoyable learn, and should you’ve ever loved a D&D novel, particularly novels that target the extra swashbuckling and adventuresome facet of the sport’s narrative, I feel you’ll get pleasure from it. Dragons of Eternity: Dragons of Future, Quantity 3 left me asking, “why did we do that” by the tip of the novel, and I hope I don’t reflexively choose up the following ebook, realizing what I haven’t been having fun with relating to Hickman and Weis’ novels because the 2000s rolled round, however years of studying and rereading books that I beloved makes it exhausting to withstand the nostalgia.
