Magnus, Robot Fighter 4000 A.D. Volume 2 (Magnus Robot Fighter (Graphic Novels))

Book Description

Dark Horse delivers another fantastic collection of rare classics from a comics legend! Russ Manning, famous for his spectacular work on the Tarzan newspaper strips of the late sixties, brought fans his "Tarzan of the future" in Magnus, Robot Fighter. While his work on the original comic series lasted only twenty-one issues, Manning's creation has survived generations, influencing countless science-fiction artists and writers to this day. Fans of Alex Raymond, Mac Raboy, or Wally Wood should not miss this beautifully bound hardcover, the second Magnus archival collection and the latest addition to Dark Horse's line of science-fiction classics.

Customer Reviews:

Still a print problem.......2005-09-07

The first volume had printing issues, and so does this one. Not as bad, or am I just used to it now? Still worth it, but I hope Book 3's quality is better.

Sword and Fist: A Guidebook to Fighters and Monks (Dungeon & Dragons d20 3.0 Fantasy Roleplaying)

Average customer rating:

Good book
Mediocre product
The ultimate suppliment
Aspiring to Mediocrity and Failing
Too pricey for a little book like this

Sword and Fist: A Guidebook to Fighters and Monks (Dungeon & Dragons d20 3.0 Fantasy Roleplaying)
Jason Carl
Manufacturer: Wizards of the Coast
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0786918292
Release Date: 2001-01-01

Book Description

Combat isn't everything -- it's the only thing.

The masters of armed and unarmed combat, fighters and monks, come into their own in this book. It's packed with ways to customize fighter and monk characters, including:

New feats, prestige classes, weapons, and equipment

Information about special organizations such as the Red Avengers and the Knight Protectors
Maps of locations that fighters and monks frequent: guard towers, monasteries, and a gladiatorial arena

Indispensable to both players and Dungeons Masters, this book adds excitement to any campaign.

Customer Reviews:

Good book.......2006-02-02

While I don't think you have to run out and get this supplement, I also feel like it adds a lot to the game. Not only are there some new feats, equipment, and prestige classes, but of even greater value are some of the sections which discuss new spins on existing rules. There's a few pages, for example, which go into the ways in which large fighters(or monks... scary), such as giants, can use the class feats and abilities to make the most of their size. For me, just the fact that I took another look at the existing rules would've made it worth the money I spent.

Mediocre product.......2004-07-12

Sword & Fist is a neat book, and for 10 bucks, i would have considered it an excellent buy. But unfortunatly, for 20 bucks, it is highly over priced.

There are some new feats in here that are pretty neat, but most of the feats are geared towards Monks. Some feats also have no value whatsoever, such as "Dirty Fighting" which lets you make a single attack as a full-round action, adding +1d4 to the damage.

The prestige classes are either excellent or horribly worthless. My personal favorites though, is the Weapon Master and Duelist. All the others are generally meant for certain organizations, or as antagonists, such as the Ravagers, the Red Avanger, and the Ninja of the Crescent Moon.

The tactics section is utter garbage. It just gives you the "proper usage" of feats like Cleave and Spring Attack. It also gives out pointers as the hit-ratio percentage of using the monk's 'Flurry of Blows.' Theres also some strategies about using Monstrous Fighters and Monks and mounted opponents and such.

One fine section of the book, which is the new weapons and equipment, was pretty intriguing. They seem more powerful then the weapons in the Player's handbook, but all the ones represented in SaF are exotic weapons, and thus require the Exotic Weapon Proficiency feat. The mercurial swords, Whip Daggers, and the Orc Shotput are some definite winners.

Overall, a useful book, but dont pay 20 dollars for it.

The ultimate suppliment.......2003-12-15

I found that this book contained everything I've been looking for: great new weapons, very useful feats, and lots of new prestige classes (I always wanted to make a Samurai!) "Sword and Fist" also contains various buildings which can be useful for DMs to base, for instance, a guard tower or an elf house on. If there is anything I was dissapointed about was how little information there was on chariots, but then, the book would also be better a thousand pages long. FIVE STARS!

Aspiring to Mediocrity and Failing.......2002-12-13

Sword and Fist is the first book in one of the worst series of supplements to ever be released for D&D.

Sword and Fist has the following significant problems:

1) There are six pages of errata for a 95 page book.

2) An excessive amount of space is wasted in repetitive charts.

3) The feat section is a handful of feats that seem to have been chosen at random for their "cool" factor.

4) Many of the feats are either incredibly useful, or not useful at all. For example, Power Lunge could allow a third level character to inflict 14 extra points of damage with a single attack while on the other hand Dirty Fighting requires that a character forego all his extra attack to get 1d4 extra damage. These benefits are not equal in any way, shape or form.

5) Some of the prestige classes, like the Fist of Hextor and the Ravager, absolutely can not be used by a player character, so why are they present in a player oriented book?

6) Other prestige classes, like the Duelist, Devoted Defender, Ghostwalker, and Gladiator are obviously copies of movie characters without giving any credit to the source of inspiration.

7) Some of the prestige classes, like the Fist of Hextor, Knight Protector of the Great Kingdom, Ninja of the Crescent Moon, Order of the Bow Initiate, Red Avenger and Warmaster are tied to specific organizations and/or locations. It simply makes no sense to put them in what should be a relatively generic source book. For example, the Warmaster and the Knight Protector should be in a supplement for the Kingdom of Furyondy or the Great Kingdom respectively.

8) The organization section takes some of the organizations from the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer and rewrites them, and then adds new organizations that have nothing to do with the World of Greyhawk. Focusing either on Greyhawk material or on generic material would have greatly improved the book.

9) The "Game within the Game" chapter is just a basic tutorial on tactics. Not very interesting and it's recommendations are mediocre at best.

10) The tools of the Trade section is probably the single worst section of the book. The stats for most of the weapons are wrong, and many of the weapons are either bizarre, inappropriate or both. The "cool" mercurial weapons are a joke, because mercury reacts with steel to create a brittle alloy. Thus the weapons are not only impractically difficult to manifacture, they'd be worthless in combat.

11) This is a player oriented book, thus there is no reason for any magic items to be in the book at all.

On the upside:
1) The Cavalier, Duelist, and Weapon Master are among the best prestige classes in this entire series. They are generic enough to be adapted to any campaign world, and useful enough to be worth the costs to a variety of character types.

Overall, I received the impression that the author did not try to write "a good book", but merely one that was "good enough". He failed. I heartily recommend to anyone who is thinking of buying this book:

Save your money and buy something good.

Too pricey for a little book like this.......2002-11-27

Honestly the only reason to buy this book (or any of the Class Guidebooks)is for the new Feats and Prestige Classes. Instead of creating different books for the different Player Classes they should have just created a Feats and Prestige Classes book.... I'll never understand why a flimsy little paperback, black-and white book like this cost as much as the core rulebooks which are hardcover and have color art. So ends my gripe session.
Now the good things about this book are indeed the new feats and prestige classes. They really let you customize your character to get just the Fighter or Monk character that you want. Want to play a Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon style of Monk? No Problem. There is a Prestige Class for it. How about a true blue Cavalier... again, no problem. By adding Prestige Classes that a Monk can freely multiclass with give a little more depth to a terribly limited character class (by the Core Player's Handbook all Monks have pretty much the same abilities).
I'd have rated this product higher if only Wizards of the Coast didn't try to gouge us gamers with the insanely high price.

TIE Fighter: The Official Strategy Guide

Average customer rating:

ZZOOOOOMMMM!!!!
Excellent book, but where is the colour ?
I think this book was very good.
it was very........ helpful, heh heh heh

TIE Fighter: The Official Strategy Guide
Rusel Demaria
Manufacturer: Prima Games
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1559585196
Release Date: 1994-07-18

Amazon.com

In TIE Fighter, Lucasarts's sequel to its popular X-Wing space combat simulator, gamers finally get a chance to give into their dark side and unleash punishment on those unruly Rebels. The TIE Fighter Official Strategy Guide provides detailed descriptions of all of the missions included in the CD-ROM release of the game, with strategies, statistics and behind-the-scenes information.

Like the X-Wing Collector's CD-ROM Official Strategy Guide, most of the information is imparted in a narrative--an unusual style for a game guide and one that only a Star Wars fanatic would love. While the story does weigh things down a bit, it is filled with helpful hints and complete mission overviews. In addition, the detailed appendices feature statistics and scoring reference tables for quick perusal. Aside from the included "novelization," this is an excellent strategy guide.

Customer Reviews:

ZZOOOOOMMMM!!!!.......2001-07-18

"We have seen the end of bad gaming, we will soon see the end of the rebellion." This game is a high strategy game with enough firepower to destroy a computer! Using digital sound and lighting, a 2-D and 3-D effect blend, and amazing controlled colors and handling, this has become one of the hottest games around.

Excellent book, but where is the colour ?.......1999-07-28

An excellent guide to an excellent game. Very detailed analysis of the mission strategy, craft data, weapons, tactics, aso. that may kill you (could have been a bit less though). An innovative idea that makes this book a bedside novel one is the short story that links each after action report (for each mission) to a plot with a lot of characters of acceptable depth, but narration and plot wise this short story lacks (as expected so this is not really a flaw). The problem here, again, is the damn colour. Please we need some, we are not colour blind. All pages in black and white is a bore to the eye for a STAR WARS epic game. It's the same mistake PRIMA did with other strategy guides of superb graphic space combat simulations (see my other reviews). All and all a very good book that guides only for the basic game (up to Campaign Seven), needs its supplyment (Balance of Power guide), offers bedside excitement and bores you to death with black and white pages (I'm not racist but...)

I think this book was very good........1998-11-11

I bought this book after I had already beaten the game. I only bought it because I am a Star Wars collecter, I wouldn't normally have bought a game guide. I was reading through it, and to my surprise it was written basically in the form of a first person novel. I really enjoyed the fresh perspective of a civilian worker (Maarek Stele) on a Star Destroyer, and this book is well worth reading.

it was very........ helpful, heh heh heh.......1998-01-12

i, being a veteran of x-wing the game, think that this is an excelent guite to tie fighter. the game is better than x-wing because there are more ships and more shooting. the guide is the best cause i cheated with it

Magnus, Robot Fighter 4000 A.D. Volume 3 (Magnus Robot Fighter (Graphic Novels))

Average customer rating:

SPECTAULAR 1960'S COMICS!

Magnus, Robot Fighter 4000 A.D. Volume 3 (Magnus Robot Fighter (Graphic Novels))
Russ Manning , Robert Shaefer , and Eric Friewald
Manufacturer: Dark Horse
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1593073399

Book Description

Dark Horse delivers another fantastic collection of rare classics from a comics legend! Russ Manning, famous for his spectacular work on the Tarzan newspaper strips of the late sixties, brought fans his "Tarzan of the future" in Magnus, Robot Fighter. While his work on the original comic series lasted only twenty-one issues, Manning's creation has survived generations, influencing countless science fiction artists and writers to this day. Fans of Alex Raymond, Mac Raboy, or Wally Wood should not miss this beautifully bound hardcover - the third Magnus archival collection and the latest addition to Dark Horse's line of science fiction classics.

Customer Reviews:

SPECTAULAR 1960'S COMICS!.......2007-01-08

I freely admit to never having read many Gold Key comics as a kid, outside of the occasional Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery (I was a monster kid!). Back then their painted covers were a turn off to a young guy like me. It made them look old like Classics Illustrated. I didn't know what to make of them. It's taken thirty years but I've finally come to appreciate Gold Key Comics as well as those covers, which I now deem as fantastic. We really have to thank Dark Horse Comics for grabbing the rights to this great material and reprinting it for new generations to enjoy.

In Magnus Robot Fighter Vol. 3 from the Dark Horse Archives we get issues 15 - 21 of the original Gold Key series, complete with those painted covers by Vic Prezio. Now I'm not sure if it was intentional, but Prezio's rendition of Magnus sure looks a lot like Roger Moore. While Moore had yet to play James Bond, he was quite popular due to his role of Simon Templar in the long-running British TV series "The Saint".

Of course another great selling point to these stories is the interior art of Russ Manning, one of comic's great legendary artists. Manning is perhaps best known for his long association with Tarzan. He not only drew the Tarzan comic for Gold Key but also the Tarzan newspaper strip from 1969 to 1972. Tarzan aside, Magnus may represent Manning's best work, certainly it's his most imaginative. Magnus may not have been the most, umm...masculine looking hero around with his mini-skirt tunic and white boots, but hey, any guy who could kick the bejeezus out of evil robots is ok in my book.

Looking at the stories now, there's no doubt that Manning's art was every bit as good as what you'd see in the average DC or Marvel comic of the same period, in fact, it was better than most. Manning's work had a dynamic that perhaps only a few artists such as Jack Kirby, Neal Adams, or John Buscema could boast.

By the year 4000, humanity has become dependent on robots. As a result, they are oblivious to the rise of Freewills, robots that have achieved a state of self-awareness, and seek to overthrow their human masters.

Magnus was raised by a robot known as 1A, a name which implies that he was the very first robot of his type ever manufactured. 1A seemed to be self-aware and possess emotions. A firm believer in the Three Laws of Robotics, 1A recognized the threat "Freewills" represented. Therefore, 1A trained Magnus as a warrior to protect humans against Freewills. Magnus grew up to be a skilled martial artist who could break steel with his bare hands. In addition, 1A equipped his charge with a device that would allow him to "hear" robot-to-robot radio communications.

In "The Deadly Peril from Sirius" a representative named Zypex from the Planet Sirius comes to earth bearing gift of an advanced robot. Magnus is curious that they would give them such a large, and clumsy looking robot. His suspicions turn out to be true as the large robot was a futuristic version of the Trojan Horse. Soon a swarm of smaller robots spring forth to attack North Am. Making matters worse, the robots have the ability to multiply on their own. North Am will soon be overrun unless Magnus can stop them.

"Bunda the Great" find Magnus traveling to the Himalayas to help Prince Shandor when robots threaten to destroy their weather station and wreak environmental havoc on the world. Magnus soon encounters a massive robot the likes of which he's never seen. Bunda the Great has other robots, and even children worshipping him as a God!

These are really great stories and far different in tone than the Valiant revamp of the 90's. Great art and imaginative storylines!

Reviewed by Tim Janson

Average customer rating:

Familiar Story Line with a Different Twist
Bringing new life to the realms!!!
I was hoping for more too!
Fascinating!
I was hoping for better

Ghostwalker (The Fighters)
Erik Scott de Bie
Manufacturer: Wizards of the Coast
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0786939621
Release Date: 2005-11-24

Book Description

The Fighters series showcases one of the most popular Dungeons & Dragons® character classes.

Each novel in the Fighters series is written as a stand-alone adventure, allowing new readers an easy entry point into the Forgotten Realms world. This novel is a classic revenge story that focuses on a man in black with ghostly powers who seeks vengeance upon those who caused his death many years ago.

Customer Reviews:

Familiar Story Line with a Different Twist.......2007-07-10

Stories about cruelty, death, and revenge are nothing new, particularly in Forgotten Realms novels. It is also not unheard of in the Forgotten Realms for characters that has been gravely wronged and left for dead to return when it is least suspected seeking vengeance.

This title has all of those elements and there is even a decent love story woven in the plot.

For me, what makes this story different is the main character being a Ghostwalker. For those not familiar with Ghostwalkers in the Dungeons & Dragons world, it is a prestige class with very strange yet powerful attributes, particularly their connection to the ethereal realm.

Even though they are not the same thing, the main character reminded me a little of the late Brandon Lee's character in the movie "The Crow".

My only real criticism of this book is that I felt as though the last four or five chapters were rushed. I can't put my finger on exact example to give (probably because it has been over a year since I read it). I just remember getting to the last few chapters having felt like something was left out or there was more to the story that could have been or should have been told. Don't get me wrong, the story wrapped up very well, but as I said, to me it seemed a little rushed at the end.

I would definitely recommend this novel if you are a Forgotten Realms fan and would like to read something a little different.

Bringing new life to the realms!!!.......2007-06-25

Ghostwalker has everything you could want in a book, action scenes that are so clear that you could imagine them on the big screen, love and heartbreak, and a character that you instantly become facinated with and would never become tired of reading about.

This book is equally great for people who love Forgotten Realms or even those who have never read any of the other books that take place in the realms!!!

The first excalmation point is for the scar on Walker's arm, that came from the thin man's sword. The second is for the scars on his chest, that came from the barbarian's gyrspike. And the third for the scar on his shoulder, from the woodsman's axe.

Erik Scott de Bie has risen to the level of the best writers in the realms: R.A. Salvatore, Paul S. Kemp, Elaine Cunningham, and Troy Denning.

I was hoping for more too!.......2007-03-06

After reading all of the other reviews for this book, I had to wonder how many were from the publishing group's offices. I was disappointed with this book on several levels, the first and foremost being that it was too full of last minute saves. I felt like I was playing one of those enchanted modules where no one in the party loses their favorite character (or any of their favorite character's equipment for that matter.) Fun if you're still a kid, but not if you're looking for realistic interactions and plot developments. Another point is that, though Eric put together an interesting story line, the characters needed more development in my opinion. I love action, I wouldn't have bought the whole Fighters series if I didn't, but action is nothing if there isn't some other "stuff" to bring it all together.

All in all, I think this is a good first book on the part of the author, but I'd like to say "shame, shame" on the editors for not helping the author to turn this into a great first book. I hope you keep writing and striving for a mastery of your characteristic style. As an avid reader of fantasy fiction for the last thirty years I see a lot of promise here. I'll check out your next one when it comes along.

Fascinating!.......2007-02-01

I will have to go with the rest of the reviewers, this book is simply breathtaking.

The thing that diminishes almost everything else in this novel is De Bie's storytelling. His writing is beautiful, almost poetic at times, giving the little frontier town of Quervarr a breath of life. His battle scenes are so descriptive that you can almost hear the clash of weapons in your room. Brilliant writing, truly. The protagonists in the book are also very good. They all have believable motivations, emotions and histories. The antagonists are a piece of art. Not only are they memorable, but De Bie "gets in their heads" on a scale experienced only in Salvatore's FR novels. The plot is masterfully conceived, and it is personal and emotional, with a fair number of twists. No saving the world here. And the ending is truly fitting.

I do have a few complaints, but they fade in comparison to De Bie's storytelling. Walker, the main character, is at times too heroic to be believable, considering his past and emotional state. Besides that, there are too many unpredictable rescues from sword-tip for my liking.

But as I said, everything becomes irrelevant once you get lost in this story.
A Forgotten Realms masterpiece.

I will take some time to reflect on the "Fighters" series, as this is my last review from that particular series. Mathematically, they get an average score of 3.75, which is more than good considering that the books were written by four different authors. It features only one poor book (Bladesinger), and the rest range from good (Master of Chains and Son of Thunder) to brilliant (Ghostwalker). You should check out these books. And I almost forgot, the cover art is breathtaking on all of the books.

I was hoping for better.......2006-11-20

Based on all these stellar reviews I was expecting this to be among the best FR books I've read. Maybe my expectations were just too high.

First I was confused about what Walker actually was. Was he a ghost? No. Was he alive? No. And he can change back and forth from corporeal to material, but he chooses odd times not to use this power. In fact, all his powers were confusing since he used them erratically. Maybe I just am not quite up to speed with all the current dnd prestige classes, which I shouldn't have to be to enjoy a novel.

Secondly, his love interest comes on awfully quick. For someone bent on revenge he was easily distracted.

The main villain was not fleshed out well. He did bad things in the past and some bad things during the story, but most of those were not shown. Showing some of those things would have made him more evil and more interesting.

The last 100 pages were especially chaotic and tough to follow. There were several battles, each climactic in its own way, and I kept thinking "this is just like the last 100 pgs of Lord of the Rings" where it just didn't want to end for some reason, even though there was nothing left to do.

It seemed like this author was trying to hard to be RA Salvatore. I realize you're a fencer but I don't need every battle to be 6 - 10 pages of fencing moves.

The characters all did some idiotic things and behaved erratically. Perhaps that is human nature to some degree but it was just too all over the place here.

Finally, the story about Walker's past seemed like it was changed mid-novel by an editor. One guy was his father, then he wasn't, then he was again? Very confusing. The same thing with his mother.

Not a bad book, but certainly not among the best FR books. The idea was really good, just lacked in execution.

Unfortunately, these class books by WoC seemed to really drop off after the first two rogue books.

Average customer rating:

Firemen who are hotter than fire!!!

The Firefighter (Club Fantasy)
Susan Lyons , P.J. Mellor , and Alyssa Brooks
Manufacturer: Aphrodisia
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 075821538X

Customer Reviews:

Firemen who are hotter than fire!!!.......2007-02-06

This review is for All Fired Up by P.J. Mellor which I thoroughly enjoyed.

When Nick Howard transfers from Houston to become Chief of the fire department of a small Texas town, he's looking forward to some peace and quiet. But his first day he meets Tricia "Hurricane" Lundsford, a local girl who has returned to town after 10 years away, and the sparks fly--literally. Tricia's reputation as a Calamity Jane isn't underserved as Nick learns when, in the throes of passion, she sets her apartment on fire. Needless to say, the new Chief makes quite an impression on his men when they appear to put the fire out. Tricia's been the town's primary source of gossip before and now that she's back she's determined to stay under the radar. But she can't resist the sexy Fire Chief, with very public and volatile consequences.

"All Fired Up" is an entertaining and very sexy novella. Nick is handsome, strong and charming, but he doesn't understand the lack of privacy in a small town. Tricia is cute and quirky and well aware the town is watching for her to screw up again. And when she does, the results are laugh-out-loud funny. P. J. Mellor once again balances lots of steamy sex with a hardly dose of humor and a sweet happily-ever-after. A great read for fans of erotic romance.

Average customer rating:

Not Good
Woefully average "pulp"
whiney
Grade: D
Complex & Gritty. Awesome Book,

Bladesinger: The Fighters
Keith Francis Strohm
Manufacturer: Wizards of the Coast
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0786938358
Release Date: 2006-04-11

Book Description

They are the half-bloods, the broken, the unforgiven.
They failed themselves and their people.
They are outcasts.

Then, in the bitter wilds of Rashemen, they receive a desperate plea they alone can answer.

If they succeed, it could mean their redemption. But if they fail, a troubled past will be the least of their problems.

About the Author

Keith Francis Strohm is the current Chief Operating Officer of Paizo Publishing, LLC, and the Publisher of Dragon and Dungeon magazines. Prior to that, he was the Vice President of Pokemon®, the Director of the Roleplaying and Miniatures categories, and the Brand Manager for Dungeons & Dragons®--all at Wizards of the Coast. He is the author of the Greyhawk® novel The Tomb of Horrors, and he has written three short stories for the Forgotten Realms. This is his second novel.

Customer Reviews:

Not Good.......2007-01-17

Bladesinger features a Half-Elven outcast getting pointlessly involved in an internal struggle in the land of Rashemen. The book has two distinct parts, the Rashemen part (75% of the book ) taking place in year 1372 DR, and five flashback chapters dealing with main character's past, taking place earlier.

The protagonists in this book are fairly interesting, especially the main character Taen the Bladesinger. Actually, those five flashback chapters are the only thing I enjoyed in this book. It is an interesting but tragic story of his past. The author does a decent job of describing the land of Rashemen, and that is about it on the good side.

The plot is totally pointless, and the mentioned bladesinger acts as a sidekick for the most of the book. The plot has all elements of pulp fantasy: lots of pointless fighting, a silly romance, weak attempts of comic relief, villains that are evil just for the sake of it, and of course, a cliché ending. What this book does not contain, on the other hand, is a single plot twist, believe it or not. Actually, for the most of the book, I had a feeling of reading a transcript of someone's poorly written D&D dungeon-crawling session. And even the traditionally good WotC editing has disappeared from this book, leaving a number of plot inconsistencies and logical errors.

I still can't believe that this book is written by a single person. The difference between terrible Rashemen chapters and interesting history chapters is enormous. Unfortunately, the good chapters take only about a quarter of this novel.

If not for the main character and his history, this would have been a clear one star book. As it is, it barely gets two stars. Enjoy!

Woefully average "pulp".......2007-01-02

The villains are more suited to one of those Saturday morning kid shows that takes footage from bad Japanese TV shows and splices it with pretty kids in California who can't act. The pacing is so rhythmic and formulae that nothing surprises. Taen's thoughts read like the lyric sheet for an half-elf Emo band and his fellow angsty adventurers are as wholly uninteresting as the book's plot. Finally: Whoever edited this book deserves to be drawn and quartered.

whiney.......2006-12-13

the main character is whiney. the hero is annoying and their attemp at a love story fails. not a good book at all.

Grade: D .......2006-08-24

This is not a terrible book, but it's not great either. Is their a plot and was there and editor? Well, maybe a plot, it was slow, and failed to grab hold, nor did it make much sense, and what there was well used and done before. An editor, I think not, too many logic errors, the pacing was weird, the dialogue disjointed and insipid. Taen's close to the witch when she cast a spell at him, but he has to run across a cavern floor full of stalactites to hit at her? AND WHY IS THE COMBAT TURN BASED, IT'S A BOOK, NOT A COMPUTER GAME!

OVERALL SCORE: (D)
PLOT: (C-), CHARATERS: (D-), DIALOGUE: (D-), SETTING: (C-), ACTION/COMBAT: (F-), ANTAGONISTS: (C-), ROMANCE: (C-), AGE LEVEL: (PG)

Complex & Gritty. Awesome Book,.......2006-06-05

I found this book riveting and full of complex characters. The main characters are not your cliche heroes. They are gritty and rough around the edges. Taen, the main character, has a background that unfolds throughout the story that really makes the book hard to put down. His companions are not portrayed as deeply, because they are side characters, but they are also not your run of the mill happy go lucky heroes.

In addition to the quick moving plot and complex main character, the action in the book is purposeful. Not only that, but Taen's character behaves differently from major battle to major battle as he handles his own inner conflicts. Another thing I liked was that the heroes actually got hurt during battles - I don't think they came out of any fight completely unscathed.

In all, I hope all FR and fantasy readers give this book a chance. It features a main character who is very interesting, and I sincerely hope Wizards writes more about him.

Average customer rating:

Very well written
Good
Great title... not so great book
You do plan to have Chain Masters on your Chain Master Tour?
things that should never happen in Forgotten Realms

Master of Chains (The Fighters)
Jess Lebow
Manufacturer: Wizards of the Coast
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0786938005
Release Date: 2005-08-30

Book Description

A new series focusing on the popular character class Fighters!

The first title in a new Forgotten Realms series focusing on the popular Dungeons & Dragons® game character class of Fighters. Each title will feature characters with a different exotic style of fighting.

Customer Reviews:

Very well written.......2007-07-31

Jess Lebow has written works for the card game of Magic and telling the story of that domain, but in 'Master of Chains' he is diving into the Forgotten Realms, and may I say that he did a WONDERFUL job.

The first question I would give anyone that was about 150 pages into the book would be, want to stop reading? And I say this because the answer and I would give would be NO, this book is amazingly difficult to put down once I started it, and the Characters although, not really shown in detail about themselves, are very enticing.

The plot of the story is great, and is straight foward with non stop action and lives up to the name of the series being Fighters. I would also like to add that if a person came up to me and asked me if i would recommend this novel for a Forgotten Realms casual reader, I would definetly say yes. Although I will admit that the story at the end of the novel felt as if not enough action happened in the end and I just felt that the ending was less then dramatic, but this may not have been at Jess Lebow's fault, maybe his editors, but regardless this novel is great. Have fun reading it if you pick it up!

Good.......2007-01-29

"Master of Chains" is a story of love, betrayal and conflicting loyalties.

This novel deals with emotions much more than other FR titles. It might make it slow at times, but I liked the change. The plot is strong and interesting. It hasn't got a lot of twists in it but it isn't boring or predictable at all. The battle scenes are OK, although the book itself is a bit too battle-heavy in my opinion. At least there aren't any random and unnecessary battles in the novel, as there often are in FR books. And I have to mention the ending. It is hard to comment on it without giving away any spoilers, but I will say it is different from cheesy endings you come to expect from Wizards and their books. I liked it a lot.

On the downside, the characters and especially the villains are crude and uninteresting. This is a book with lot of introspective, but I failed to see any distinguishable characteristics on any of the protagonists. The villains, on the other hand, are terrible. It is true they haven't been given a lot of space in this book, but you really got to have more interesting villains. I see some people complaining about pulpy romance in this book, but there isn't a lot of it in the book, and it isn't particularly pulpy.

All in all, a slightly different FR novel with a strong plot and weak characters. Yeah, and a great ending. A good read.

Great title... not so great book.......2007-01-10

Great title! Fantastic cover! If only the actual story had lived up to the hype. I love the Realms, amd a huge fan of Paul Kemp, R.A. Salvatore and a handful of other authors who breathe life into this world. I honestly went into this title anticipating great things... which NEVER happened. I did finish it, if for no other reason than I knew with a premise that cool it had to get better. It never did.

Do yourself a huge favor and pass on this one. Mr. Kemp or Mr. Salvatore should have a new book out soon...

You do plan to have Chain Masters on your Chain Master Tour?.......2007-01-02

You gotta love a book called "Master of Chains" which deprives you of anything even remotely resembling a Master of Chains until the last 50 pages of text. Oh wait... no you don't. Lebow destroys the nice tapestries he managed to weave with decent dramatic prose by tripping through the worst action writing I've ever seen.

As with most of the D&D novels: the editor assigned to this book is completely incompetent and has no business working in professional publishing.

things that should never happen in Forgotten Realms.......2006-08-01

~In case you pick up this book over the much superior Ghostwalker, SPOILERS follow~

Forgotten Realms, or any fantasy setting purporting to be above pulp should not have 'sex' scenes that are too cheesy even for Harlequin Romance (If you're going to attempt a sex scene, at least try to keep it within believability).
I might have been willing to forgive one awkward sex scene but Lebow decided to have parallel cheesy sex scenes using language like 'she slipped her tunic off and he caught his breath', and 'he knew it was wrong but he couldn't resist.'

To the young readers who enjoyed this book, you owe it to yourself to try "Ghostwalker" (also in The Fighters series), and "Mistress of the Night" from The Priests series.

Average customer rating:

Good
Read something else
Deceit , Intrigue, Murder, Oh My!!!
Average at best...

Son of Thunder: The Fighters
Murray J.D. Leeder
Manufacturer: Wizards of the Coast
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0786939605
Release Date: 2006-01-10

Book Description

It was the best thing that ever happened to him.

It was his god’s blessing.

It was hell.

Vell was content to be a mere warrior in the Thunderbeast tribe, staying behind on the hunt to guard the camp.

But then something alien awakened deep within him, the spirit of a behemoth that he could not control. With it came attacks from the sky, visitors from far lands, and a mysterious command from their ancestral totem: Find the living. And this time, no one was going to let him just stay behind.

Customer Reviews:

Good.......2007-01-23

"Son of Thunder" is a novel about a group of Uthgart barbarians set on a quest by their deity to find their totem animals. The problems start when the Zhentarim take interest in the powerful magic somehow connected to those animals... This short description maybe sounds a bit dull and rehearsed, but this is, after all, an interesting book.

The thing I liked the most in this novel are the antagonists. Since they get almost an equal share of the page count, you can't say it is a small factor. Leeder's villains are rich in character, interesting and believable. They act logically and in accordance with their natures and/or histories. They have all those little quirks and habits that make them unique and memorable. This book even features a hobgoblin with identity crisis.
The plot was well conceived, as well as two other notable subplots. One of the subplots has even a truly unpredictable twist towards the end of the book. The book is also rich with Realms lore, especially concerning the origin and roots of the Uthgart barbarians. The characters gather the lore along the way, which makes it much more interesting than if a wise old guy gave them the whole story in one place (as it often happens in such novels). This book features a whole bunch of characters, and many of them get a page or two for their histories and exploits. I liked that a lot.

On the downside, the protagonists are a bit boring, to be sincere. The leading character is a well rehearsed unlikely-hero-who-doesn't-want-to-be-a-hero type. He is probably the weakest link of this novel. But since this is not one of those novels that center on only one character, it makes this complaint a bit milder. The book also features a totally unnecessary short romance, and that is about it on the things I didn't like.

All in all, a FR novel definitely worth reading.

Read something else.......2006-02-28

This particular Forgotten Realms book set in the Fighter Series is interesting for only one reason; the protagonist gains the ability into a very odd type of animal. As to the story, in order to save their people Vell the Brown and the rest of his barbarian tribe are commanded by the voice of their totem to seek the Thunderbeasts in the High Forest. Along the way this mission is complicated by Zhentil Keep baddies and Vell has to deal with the odd abiltiy he's acquired.

Not a very good FR story and it was hard to sit with a staight face through some of the ridiculous action that takes place. Eventually I just had to put the book down. If you're a Forgotten Realms reader and a fan of the Fighter series Ghostwalker and Bladesinger are both better choices. 2 out of 5 stars.

Deceit , Intrigue, Murder, Oh My!!! .......2006-02-11

It is definitly a must buy. It's jam packed with action, deceit, intrigue and it's share of twists. All the elements to making an excellent read. It's about a Barbarian by the name of Vell who is blessed by the God, Uthgar. If Vell isn't careful, his blessed power can easliy became a forsaken curse because Uthgar gave Vell the power to transform into a dinosaur and crush his enemys. But if he isn't careful he can loose himself while a dinosaur and accidentlly kill all that he loves. Vell and his Barbarian tribe, The Thunderbeasts, are on a holy mission to find the other sacred Behemoths and protect them from the vilest of evil. Will Vell find them in time?...........or will evil pervail....A good book. Check it out!

Average at best..........2006-02-11

Son of Thunder by Murray J.D. Leeder is the 3rd book in a series of stand alone novels focusing on the Fighter class set in the Forgotten Realms. This is Leeder's first full length novel in the realms and I must say it is less than stellar. That is not to say it's not a decent book, but not in the same league with others who have written these stand alones such as Erik de Bie, Jess Lebow, Kameron Franklin et al.

The basic plot behind Son of Thunder (SoT) is a decent enough story. It involves a barbarian tribe, their god, and the Zhentarim. This mix of players creates a story that covers lot of ground, but doesn't `accomplish' a whole lot for the reader. The characters are not very interesting - most I could really care less about. The book may be loaded with Realms Lore, but it is also loaded with cliché after cliché.

The one basic plot line in this book, but it almost seems like Leeder tries to get the reader to believe that there are other plotlines as well. The basic premise is that a small group of barbarians need to trek across a large area for the calling of their god. Then trek all the way back to another area... then all the way back in the end. Lots of walking! Throughout this trekking the small group (12 people) meet up with a few people to `assist' their trek. The entire book, I just felt like I was reading the account of someone playing a video game. Group does this... group does that. Finally, the end of the book, the last 30 pages the author tries to throw in so many twists I literally groaned after the second one. Maybe one or two of them would have been effective, but the ending of the book left a bad taste in my mouth when I was finished. This book just did not resonate with me.

The characters in this book were far from interesting. To me these characters could be found in almost any other fantasy book on the shelves today. There was little to nothing that made the characters memorable, aside from one thing with Vell (main character) but I won't reveal that here as it is a spoiler of sorts. Beyond Vell the characters were simply blah to me. I didn't care about them, they didn't grab me in a way that wanted me to keep reading. They were just there.

This book did have some good points to it. Leeder's writing style is very inviting and allows the reader a fairly uninterrupted flow. I can definitely see that he has talent for writing, maybe this book was pushed on him. It just didn't seem like he was comfortable writing it, almost forced if you will.

If I had to choose between recommending or not recommending this book, sadly I would most likely go with the later of the two choices. It's an ok read at best and I think there are countless other books out there that would offer the reader more satisfaction. However, if the reader is looking for something rather formulaic and need something to satisfy a fantasy urge, they could do worse than this book. This is average at best.

Average customer rating:

Skippy the elf fights for his life
What nobody is mentioning... unless you play AD&D 2e
USEFUL BOOK, BUT NOT THE BEST
Good kits & combat tips
Best Complete Handbook

The Complete Fighter's Handbook
Aaron Allston
Manufacturer: Wizards of the Coast
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0880387793
Release Date: 1989-12-23

Customer Reviews:

Skippy the elf fights for his life.......2006-07-05

This book is a definite must for any AD&D afficianado! I remember this one time, my elf-fighter-mage (12/13/3 level, +3 to hit, +5 reaction roll), assaulted a small hut guarded by a giant three headed goat. Using the combat procedures described in this manual and the +5 helm of brilliance I found in the cave of wonders outside of the swamp of despair, I was able to vanquish the drow queen and her awful minions, including the three-headed goat. An awesome buy! :-))))

What nobody is mentioning... unless you play AD&D 2e.......2005-12-16

This book is outdated. I mistakenly bought one called the Complete Druid. Some of the spells could transfer, some were workable. But for the most part you could not tell what could even be salvaged. If you still play 2e go ahead. But don't fool the rest of us into buying it, as most of the rules not only don't work any more, they were probably changed for a reason.

USEFUL BOOK, BUT NOT THE BEST.......2002-03-22

I enjoyed the kits in this book, and the expanded rules on the proficiencies are good. For example, it has advanced rules on running an armorery or weaponsmithing business.
However, the combat rules and most of the other stuff in the book is pretty [undesirable].

Good kits & combat tips.......2001-01-10

In general, the fighter is the class which suffers most of lack of depth. But this book contains some very good kits to compensate that and to turn the boring hack-'n'-slasher into a real serious character. The gladiatior and samurai are my personal favorites to give characters more depth. It also has a good section about combat as it describes new moves and situations (and this book is therefor interesting for all classes actually)

Best Complete Handbook.......2000-07-13

This is definitely the best all around complete handbook. Well what did I like most about the handbook? It think that would have to be the new combat rules. There is a lot of stuff here! Clear rules for parrying, called shots, shield punches, great new info on punching, wrestling, and martial arts (and specialization in each), insights into hit locations, effects of damage on armor (it doesn't last for ever you know), tournaments (including jousting), combat tactics, and mounted combat. And my favorite, new info on weapon proficiencies. This includes style specialations (two weapon, two hander, weapon and shield, single weapon) which justs rocks and broad groups and tight groups (allows someone to be proficent with like weapons; hey I can use a long bow why can't I use a short bow or a composite long bow.)

Well don't you think that's enough reason to buy the book? If you don't, I will also mention that it has new kits, new info on proficiencies, roleplaying tips, and new types of armor and weapons. The kits are pretty cool (cavalier and beserkers are awesome), and the information on the proficiencies armorer, weaponsmithing, and bowyer/fletcher eliminate the need for lots of house rules that you will definitely forget or lose.

BUY this book; it's worth it.

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