Beginning Spellbooks is a good product, if somewhat limited. Each book's spell list is thematically consistent with the background story provided, making it simultaneously a decent adventure seed and a reasonable piece of treasure for a low-level prepared arcane caster. The secondary effects, such as skill bonuses, make these books more than just a list of spells.

One of the more tedious parts of GMing, or creating experienced characters, is choosing spells for casters, so a resource like this is much appreciated. The problem is, choosing spells for 1st- and 2nd-level characters is easy, so the value of Beginning Spellbooks is much less than a collection of higher-level books. I wouldn't tell anybody to skip this part of the series, especially since it's a free download, but most people will get more use out of subsequent installments.

From the description I expected to see a replica of an actual spell book. Instead it was just a single column description for each book mentioned and a spell list. You have to have the original books for the actual spells listed. There is a total of 8 pages, including title page, license page and partial descriptions of upcoming senior spell books (that are almost complete in themselves).

This was advertised as a product for bibliophiles and this bibliophile was disappointed.

To a wizard, his spellbook is probably his most treasured possession... if he awoke to find his house on fire, he'd probably grab it first and rush out naked if there wasn't time to find any clothing! Yet they can be strangely neglected by players and GMs alike, being interested merely in the list of spells within their pages.

So here is an attempt to reflect the importance of his spellbook to a wizard character, by reviewing - albeit in a rather jumbled collection of jottings rather than a coherent discourse - some of the core facts about this precious tome. This starts with some physical details that ought to be considered, such as aura (whilst not in themselves magical, all that association with it leaves some trace), weight, appearance and such like. One good point is that this is in effect the wizard's "laboratory notebook" and likely will contain a whole lot more than the actual spells listed. It adds considerably to the flavour if you have some idea about how neat the wizard's handwriting is, and what sort of things he finds worth recording. Perhaps there are doodles or patterns in the margins, maybe he keeps notes about what happened when he cast each spell... each wizard's spellbook should be as individual as he is, after all!

We then get four examples of spellbooks belonging to beginning, that is first-level, wizards. Even then they are not new at the game, although they are more like recent graduates than experienced practitioners of their art. So their own distinctive style will already be developing within their spellbook, perhaps influenced by whoever taught them or deliberately made different.

The first is quite delightful, a tome on Beginning Transmutation that was written by a wizard who spent a lot of time teaching and which indeed serves as a textbook for young wizards wishing to learn this particular aspect of their art. It's full of clear diagrams and explanations of the basics of transmutation as well as four actual cantrips from that school. (And I want a copy...)

Another one is Iskruak's Beginning Evocation, again written as a training manual but for some high-powered school or wealthy student, as it is a beautiful illuminated manuscript with silk bookmarks and wonderful illustrations... that look pretty rather than contribute to one's understanding of evocation! Then there's a dodgy necromantic tome, written rather sloppily in blood by someone with indifferent penmanship but including anatomical diagrams of various races. The final one is written in flowing prose by an aasimar spellcaster and is full of allegory and verbal imagery as he explains the basics of divination to his readers. This makes it quite hard to understand.

As a bonus, there are four more higher-level spellbooks, designed as a taster for future product from Asparagus Jumpsuit - and if this is an example, I shall be looking out for them eagerly! Spellbooks as actual tomes have been a bit neglected and it is good to see them taking on the significance and - if you are a bit of a bibliophile - sheer beauty and fascination that they ought to have in a magical world.