Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 gawain_viii May 27, 2006 0:10:01	I've posted this review of the novel "The Black Vessel" by Morris Simon on the Mystara's Product Review Sight. Since that's one of the less-visited sights of the community, I decided to replicate it here. Roger --------------------------------- This book is the first (and only, to-date) Mystara novel I have read. It is set in the Savage Coast. The basic plotline is makes for quite a good adventure--the story of one honorbound on a mission to guard a fabled relic and transport it to a wizard for study. In the course of his duties, the honorbound runs afoul of minions attempting to steal the artifact for themselves. The story begins rather slowly, and is quite dull for the first third of the book. Very few readers will find it easy to get past chapter four without setting the book down--but if you can get that far, it improves greatly and becomes exceptionally well written. It includes good examples of the red curse and legacies, as well as the inter-racial politics of the region. There is a suprise in the end which links the book to the module B10-Night's Dark Terror. The best part of the book, I think, is not the novel itself, but the appendix, which gives the best description/teaser of the campaign world I've ever read. If nothing else, it is worth buying for that and the insight to the region's culture. Better if you can borrow someone else's copy, and save yourself a few bucks.
#2 thorf May 27, 2006 0:38:13	I don't remember if I found the start boring or not - it was years ago that I read The Black Vessel. But what I do remember is thoroughly enjoying it, for all the reasons you gave. So far, I have read the Dragonlord Trilogy, Son of Dawn, and The Black Vessel, and out of them The Black Vessel is far and away the best Mystara novel that was written, in my opinion. It really got me excited about the Savage Coast and the Savage Baronies, which I had previously had problems getting a clear image of. I think the book is an excellent introduction to the sub-setting, and especially to the politics of the Savage Baronies. When it comes right down to it, The Black Vessel did something that for me none of the other books managed to do: it fit into Mystara. :D
#3 vgeisz_dup May 27, 2006 0:51:04	yup had to wade through it but i enjoyed the book overall. Rog if u are done with it can i have my book back please Vern :P
#4 havard May 28, 2006 8:05:19	I agree with Thorf and others in this thread that the Black Vessel probably is the best Mystara novel available. With the fitting into Mystara part, I also think the Dragonlord trilogy did a pretty good job, but Black Vessel is just better written. By the way, I just got my hands on the two first novels of the "Quest Triad" as well as the Keep on the Borderlands Greyhawk novel. I haven't heard much good about any of them, but I'm pretty sure something useful can be extracted from them. The Quest Triad even has Immortals in it, so there definately has to be some Mystara connection here. Håvard
#5 olddawg May 28, 2006 18:02:04	Black Vessel was definitely the most faithful-to-the-region of any of the Mystara novels. One particularly nice touch (blink and you'll miss it) was the discussion of a strange skull fossil of the athach (sp?). My one big ding against the novel was that the two parallel plots (aranean sorcerer, the honorbound) revealed identical plot information. The author realized this himself, and you can sense an apology from him to the readers when the parties are reunited: the sorcerer has to placate the honorbound about the extraneous effort that was his quest by saying to the effect of "It wasn't wasted. Your discoveries verified my theories." -OldDawg
#6 havard May 29, 2006 7:34:35	Has anyone thought about making up some stats (for any ruleset) for any of the characters/items in the novel? Håvard
#7 vgeisz_dup Jun 09, 2006 21:24:53	actually i was thinking about a PrC for the honorbound and beastmasters in the book if i ever get it back. and after we finish our main project Vern