The author brings a excellent sense of place to his writing and is a good new and fresh voice in dectective fiction.Quite in keeping with the Bay Area's reputation for tolerating the eccentric all the characters are disengaged,peripheral,and marching to a hopelessly deranged Buddy Rich.Except for the hard nosed cop who must have spent some time as Jersey State Trooper.Even the fight scene is as strange as it gets and is one of the most memorable I've run across reading murder mysteries.Buy the book and take an engaging trip to the Left Coast.

Caught my attention immediately ~ didn't want to put it down till I finished it. Quick moving, easy reading, SF bay area setting. Fun to follow this P.I. around streets and business I'm familiar with ~ and some I'm not, but think I'll go see if I can find them??!! P.I. is a very interesting fellow that runs into all kinds of far out wierdos. Loved it! Can't wait to see if there will be a sequel.

The Juggler & the Princess is a good read. Max is an
unconventional P.I. who manages to both detect and
juggle for an entertaining and rewarding story........I hardily
recommend reading The Juggler & the Princess.

This book is for dedicated fanatics. It allows the storyteller to function on a scale either much larger (such as the management of whole countries and the building of castles) or much smaller (modifiers on hunting depending on which breed of dog you use, for example) than the standard Pendragon campaigns.
This makes the book a valuable tool for experienced players, but less number and detail - oriented ones (such as myself) should be carefull about getting lost in all that information. Another thing to watch out for is the mood, wich on the surface seems quite generic - maybe this was origionally intended as a stand - alone tactical wargame?. Fortunately, they decided to do a guide to role - playing nobles instead, that allows you to do things like design a proper coat of arms or run the twelve nights of Christmas. It also has a full list of Arthurian British annual tournaments, something quite nice to know!.
The only part of the book i didnt much care for was the hunt adventure: some people should really read their beastiaries better...
But still, details like the pictures of the inside of a medival castle or what mood nobles are in on a hunt more than make up for it.
This is not a vital book, but after you have played the game for a while you will come to value it highly: its the most important Pendragon book after "Mystic Tournaments".

The Lordly Domains book is a self-contained resource for players and GMs on owning land and the responsibilities of being a noble. It includes a simple but extremely effective system for stronghold design and siege warfare and (most fun of all) a system for running your fiefdom with rules for expanding populations, the annual harvest, taxation, raids, the happiness of peasants and the expensive business of visits from your liege. Although the book is a resource for the King Arthur Pendragon system, the rules are comprehensive and essentially self-contained and can be easily slotted into any role-playing system set in a feudal society.

The book is split into a series of chapters, the aforementioned sections on lands and fortifications are concerned mostly with the fundamentals of owning land while additional chapters on grand events (including tournaments, hunts and feasts), heraldry and a description of castle interiors give life to the rules. There is also a full adventure to set PCs on the path of owning land and rebuilding a ravaged society as well as additional adventure seeds to inspire the GM.

Overall I have found that the rules for owning land friendlier and more entertaining than the rules for sieges - and would suggest that GMs do some pre-game preparation before a siege to reduce the amount of time spent rolling dice. However, that is a small criticism of a what is generally a fluid system and a great resource.

Joyce Lohse has written a book impressive for its detailed knowlege of many important events in Colorado History. Included are numerous fascinating maps, documents, and pictures, which she has unearthed in years of exhaustive research. Interesting to anyone who wants to learn more about early Colorado, this book chronicles a formative period which should never be forgotten.