The Radiant Dragon

Spelljammer: The Cloakmaster Cycle #4

by Elaine Cunningham

While on a quest for answers about the mysterious cloak bequeathed to him, Teldin Moore tries to help a dragon take control of the great ship Spelljammer before a major battle is ignited. Original.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Dungeons and Dragons, Science Fiction, Forgotten Realms

312 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published November 1, 1992

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.


Elaine Cunningham is an American fantasy author.

Reviews

[Duane Olds · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel bad for Telidin, always having to look over his shoulder and second guess those that come into his life. But on the other hand, he seems to shove everyone in his life out of it (if he doesn't end up getting them killed) for a good reason or not. But he comes across a pretty face and BOOM he's in love, no 2 ways about it. You're my friend? You're obviously a spy who is out to kill me because I saw you smile at a tree, fell in love with someone I just met an hour ago and you have proof she's an assassin? HOW DARE YOU SUGGEST SUCH A THING!!
Also, I don't see how he hasn't lost it yet, everyone seems to be stabbing him in the back and all the info he's gotten so far has led him absolutely nowhere, how is he still so 'calm'? And with 2 more books to go, what else could possibly go wrong?

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

Full review here:

https://jamesgenrebooks.blogspot.com/...

A bit busy, but it holds together.

[Dustin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was another great book of Teldin Moore's journey to find the Spelljammer. Just when you think you have it figured out it throws you for a loop. I'm definitely enjoying this series.

[R R Evans · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I’ve enjoyed the read and still intending to finish it.

It would be nice to see some of the surrounding characters continue on. The death toll is very high.

[Adam Duclos · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, the 'Cloakmaster Cycle' series continues in this book... and despite being written by a better author, not a whole lot actually happens in this one. Like the previous books, it is a mostly self contained story that tries to start with as clean a slate as possible by ridding itself of side characters from previous books. In this case, the main character Teldin had most of his actual friends either leave or die at the end of the last book, and the rest wandered off. He's got a brand new ship and crew, bought with gems given to him by the giant slug sage, but it gets shot all to hell first thing. That takes care of all the things that the last author said he'd do, and the new author does her own thing.

My review? This book was a fun read, but not a lot really happened! Telden doesn't learn anything new about the Spelljammer, is mocked by elves who think what he has found out is ridiculous, and goes on a random journey to a place that might be a way point to get where he actually wants to go... and barely gets there. He does learn another power his cloak possesses though... the ability to shape change. Until now he thought it was just good for disguises, but he didn't realize it gave him the ability to turn into any creature he wants, powers and all, including a 'radiant dragon'. In the AD&D Spelljammer setting, they are really big dragons that can fly through space, acting as their own spelljammer ships.

He does befriend a radiant dragon, but Telden has been cutting off friendships left and right, and her eventual death doesn't really affect him. Maybe that is the true story arc of the book, having Telden stop caring so much about people. He does make a friend though, a elf that can turn into a monster. Yay!

[Craig · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. Probably the weakest of the series in my view; Teldin Moore wanders around in space, is pursued by the scro, a bunch of stuff happens but our hero lives to fight another day at the end. But this novel is not at all well-constructed; a lot of things just seemingly happen out of nowhere for no reason at all, and the author never ties everything together at the end. Even worse, there are no real plot points of importance resolved in this book, so you can jump straight from “The Maelstrom’s Eye” to “The Broken Sphere”, skipping this one if you want, without your understanding of the story being affected.

[Kevin Zuech · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first I was only reading the Spelljammer books because one of them took place in Toril (Forgotten Realms) and I'm trying to read all the books from that world. Throughout Teldin's journey I started to actually like the books and this one was one of the better stories. This story pretty much has a whole new set of characters. But of course Teldin needs to fall for one of them. His journey has him running into another character with an artifact that can control the great ship and they work together well. I look forward to reading the next book to see how it continues.

[Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love this series. It reminds me of Final Fantasy, Phantasy Star, and Rifts Earth. I still need the last two books in this series. These books just are not long enough because I devour great fantasy like an all you can read buffet. Ahem. I could throw around a lot of flowery words about this book. Basically a cool fantasy story. Bar none. =)

[Ronald Wilcox · Rating 3 out of 5]

Series is beginning to feel very formulaic. Teldin Moore, the protagonist, makes new friends while on his quest to find the living ship Spelljammer. Along the way he loses friends, is betrayed, and battles beasties who pursue him for his magical cape. Good but not any better than earlier ones in the series (book 4).

[Dustin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The adventures of Teldin Moore continue. It's been a few years since I've read this, but I remember liking it.

[AndrewP · Rating 3 out of 5]

An AD&D Apelljammer book. Was surprised that his one was not total garbage. Not spectacular writing but enjoyable story.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed it more for the epic level creatures and characters that Teldin Moore runs into. The unfortunate thing is that most of them die or decide to not stick around. I don't really like having to get used to a new ship and crew in every book. The spelljammer ships just don't have any staying power and can only survive a few encounters before being destroyed.