Culinary Artistry is a book some may passover or leaf through in the bookstore for the likes of the Joy of Cooking or a Martha Stewart volume 20 cookbook. But look closer, the charts and the what-goes-well-with-what sections of this book alone are worth the price if only to give the food lover an inspired moment to create a dish with ingredients he or she may love. If you find yourself saying, "gee, I'd really love to have salmon tonight but I don't know what to put with it", pick up this book, find Salmon and refer to the extensive list of items that the interviewed chefs prefer with it and an idea is born. After that, all it takes is a little know-how in the kitchen and you've created your very own gourmet meal. If you choose to read from front to back you'll also discover page after page of insightful information from some of the nation's top chef's. Take your time, it's not a novel but it can be read like one and used as reference even after you've reached the last page. For the money, this is a book that will stay on your shelf for years to come and still manage to provide a new idea each time. So put down the Martha Stewart Haloween cookie issue and give Culinary Artistry a try, "It's a good thing". Sorry about that last one, she's infectious.

"CULINARY ARTISTRY receives Honorable Mention as one of the year's best culinary reference books...[It] offers insights into creative cooking."
--THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE

"Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page go where no culinary writers have gone before, exploring what inspires great chefs to create new flavor combinations, dishes and menus."
--INTERNATIONAL COOKBOOK REVIEW

"CULINARY ARTISTRY chronicles the creative process of culinary composition and explores the architecture of flavors, dishes and menus."
--NATIONAL CULINARY REVIEW

"One of the best culinary books of the year."
--TIME OUT: NEW YORK

"A great achievement."
--Chef Daniel Boulud

"Fascinating...A philosophy book on the culinary arts."
--Arthur Schwartz, "Food Talk" on WOR RADIO

"A wealth of information."
--Lindsey Shere, pastry chef, Chez Panisse

"Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page have set me free...The sequel to 1995's BECOMING A CHEF, this fat volume offers limitless ways to compose dishes using the idea of food matches and menu plans from 30 of America's top chefs."
--Patty Stearns, THE DETROIT FREE PRESS

"I unconditionally recommend the book CULINARY ARTISTRY. One afternoon won't cut it with this book -- this is a definite buy. It tells when different fruits, vegetables, fish, etc. are in season, and how to make them taste good without the expense of a culinary school education. It will save your family a load of money, and greatly improve your own creativity with food and flavors."
--Liz Tarditi, chef and columnist, TODAY'S GOURMET

I am a self-taught home cook who enjoys the activities of the kitchen. I entered the cooking arena one of the standard ways, using cookbooks. Collections of recipes familarized me with the techniques and ethnic cooking styles. Gradually, my cookbook collection included reference books that provided some of the theory behind tastes and preparation styles. Gold's 1-2-3 series, Peterson's Sauces, and others introduced to me the philosophies that allow a cook to go beyond mimicking a recipe to improvising and even creating a dish. Culinary Artistry is perhaps the best available reference for learning about the traditions of combining flavors and food groups.

It contains vital information that I suspect is taught only in some of the culinary schools. It provides valuable charts of information about cooking and menu planning. The book contains sections on Menus, including a seasonality chart and a chart explaining successful seasoning combinations. There is a section for Composing Flavors, the highlight of which is a chart showing successful food contrasts. Another section involves Composing A Dish. Here there is a chart showing great food matches and one showing seasoning matches. The Composing A Menu section offers a chart showing frequent accompaniments to meats and paragraphs presenting theories about Hors Douevres, Cheeses, and Desserts. This was a sparse and incomplete passage in an otherwise comprehensive book. Finally, there was a fun section addressing the Evolution of Chef's Styles. Here the authors provide sample menus comparing chef's offerings from earlier decades to their present day productions.

The volume offers multiple anecdotes, quotes, and side bars concerning the views of popular chefs. Various recipes are interspersed to illustrate the principles. My one criticism was that the book was laid out like a college textbook. Photos, captions, quotes, highlighted lines, sidebars, and other areas compete on the same page, magazine style. The book serves as reference, frequently glanced at rather than read straight through as a narrative.

Although I love this book I didn't give it a full five stars because A) there are no pictures and B) I felt that the recipes would probably not appeal to everyone.

It is a personal favorite precisely because it is unusual. My family especially loves the African Pineapple Peanut Stew and Chick Pea and Artichoke Heart Stew, but we've enjoyed all of the dishes I've tried so far. There are some recipes that might be more familiar such as Mushroom and Smoked-Cheese Pizza and Curried Fried Rice.

Most of the recipes would fit a vegan diet, but some do include fish, eggs and dairy products. At the back of the book there is a list of nondiary and vegan recipes as well as lists of special dishes for entertaining, kid-pleasers, dishes that sit well and are suitable for a buffet, and 30-minute dishes.

Most of the recipes are fairly quick and easy to prepare. There are a lot of fresh ingredients used, so that could take more time. Be aware that many of the ingredient lists contain things like finely chopped onion, chopped fresh thyme, fresh grated cheese. Unless you are a very quick chopper you will need to buy prepared ingredients or elicit some help in the kitchen to get dinner on the table in less than 45 minutes.

I bought this book with the intention of including more vegetables, fruits and legumes in my diet. I have accomplished that and becuase the recipes are so flavorful we don't miss the meat at all.

I have had this book since it was first published and my weathered, stained, dog-eared copy can attest to the practical and delicious recipes it contains. A great variety of foods--my favorites are the Red, Gold, Black, and Green Chili, Pasta Tutto Giardino ("the whole garden" pasta with a light cream sauce), Tomatican (a vegetarian adaptation of a Chilean stew with tomatoes, corn, lima beans), and Vegetable Stifado (a Meditarranean-style stew with eggplant, okra, and peppers), and Fish with Tomato-Orange Salsa. All get rave reviews when I cook them for company. Most are not only vegetarian but also lowfat. There are still dishes I haven't tried because I like the ones I have tried too much! My parents have this cookbook and love it, and they aren't even vegetarian. You can't go wrong with any Moosewood cookbook, but this is by far my favorite. Easy to follow, simple and delicious!

I'm a personal Chef. I work part time cooking privately for a Jesuit Community as well as teach Vegetarian Cooking at the New School in NYC. This cookbook, is the wonderful! I literaly have to buy a new copy cause mine is falling apart. The recipes are easy, versatile, well written and varied. The suggestions for menus are helpful. And you dont have to be vegetarian to enjoy this book. The fish recipes are excellent and all the dishes can be used with other meals. I have an extensive library of Vegetarian cookbooks and this one is the one I use. Thanks Moosewood :) Merrick Dean

Excellent buy if you enjoy doing family crafts. My children love to try new projects and we are looking forward to trying many offered in this lovely book.

This is the ONLY craft book you will ever need for your kids. It has crafts for every age. Even I found some neat things for myself (Section on Candlemaking and Dried and Pressed Flowers). A great find! Highly recommend it!

I love this book. I buy it for my friends who have children. Many, many, many great projects that are easy and fun for spending quality time with your kids. This is a great BOOK!!

Essentials gets the most use of any cookbook in my kitchen, second only to Joy of Cooking. I absolutely love it. I started cooking from it as a fairly new cook - every recipe is easy with very good instructions. Essentials is a real Italian cookbook so you wil not find Italian-American recipes loaded with cheese and tons of sauce (not that those aren't good). The book is over 600 pages and crammed full of recipes from all of Italy's regions (no food pictures). Virtually every recipe has notes for ahead-of-time prep and all the pasta sauce recipes list a recommended pasta. My husband loves Marcella Hazan b/c she doesn't try to be fancy. If a dried pasta is best with a sauce she will recommend it. If canned broth can be used, she will make a note of it. There is a great chapter in the back of the book called "At Table". She discusses how Italians eat (how the courses work) and has a large variety of suggested menus.

My favorite cookbook reviews list the recipes people have made from it. It gives me ideas of dishes to try and a better idea of what the cookbook will be like. Since I have made over 30 recipes from this book I can't list them all, but here are some of our favorites: Minestrone alla Romagnola - the best, thickest vegetable soup I have ever had and unlike any minestrone I have had at a restaurant. Tomato Sauce with Porcini Mushrooms; Smothered Onion Sauce; Scallop Sauce with Olive Oil, Garlic and Hot Pepper; and Gorgonzola Sauce are all incredible on pasta. Don't forget the Pesto! Her recipe is the best. On to risotto's.... the Parmesan Cheese; Porcini Mushroom; and Sausage risotto's are great. The Baked Crespelle with Spinach, Prosciutto and Parmesan is a yummy Sunday night dinner. The Stuffed Spaghetti Frittata with Tomato, Mozzarella and Ham is my husband's new favorite Saturday breakfast. We have made the Grilled Shrimp Skewers at least 20 times - it goes great with pasta and pesto sauce. Chicken Fricassee with Porcini Mushrooms, White Wine and Tomatoes; Tuscan Meat Roll with White Wine and Porcini Mushrooms; Braised Pork Chops with Two Wines are all good winter cooking. If you want to wow your friends with a minimal amount of work try the Braised Pork Chops with Tomatoes, Cream and Porcini Mushrooms (I had a pound of dried porcini so I tried every recipe that called for it). I could keep going, but at this point just typing the recipes has made me hungry. I promise - you can't go wrong with this book. Hmmm, maybe I'll make the minestrone tonight!

I agree with the other reviewer here: this is the one cookbook I'd keep if I could only have one. This book takes you so far beyond spaghetti and meatballs you won't believe it. It is also meticulous, thorough, and yet very enjoyable just to read. Here are my favorite recipes:

1. The Bolognese Pork Roasted in Milk - this recipe is insane. It is like a wonderful chemistry set experiment you can eat. Marcella says it would be one of her top 10 choices of recipes that embody the genius of Italian Cuisine.

2. The Lemon Chicken - Also amazing. Easy to do, wonderful. Great summer dish.

3. Veal Stew w/Tomatoes and Peas

4. Veal Stew w/White Wine and Sage

Also, some of the standards are given great treatment:

1. Eggplant Parm

2. Osso Bucco (this is by FAR the best version I've seen of this).

3. Fried zucchini.

This makes a great gift too because it isn't full of esoteric stuff that only foodies (no derision intended) would make.

This is an incredible book. I have read it from cover to cover, and even lugged it on vacation to read (yes, I am a bit obsessive). Everything that I have tried so far has been wonderful. Marcella's recipes are very approachable, and, best of all, they work! I am not Italian, nor have I ever been to Italy, so I can not speak to it's authenticity as Italian cuisine, but I can speak to the fact that this is wonderful food. She does insist on high quality ingredients, with which I am in total agreement, but I wish that she had included name brand names and resources in this updated edition. I have yet to be able to find anchovies in salt--even on the internet! The tomato and butter sauce is now my favorite pasta sauce, the veal marsala is delicious, and the cream and butter sauce is also wonderful. She goes into incredible detail about making pasta, as well as pairing fresh and factory products with the appropriate sauce. I would highly recommend reading the first part of the book before diving into the recipes, because she discusses several cooking techniques, as well as how to determine quality in your ingredients. If you love simple, wonderful food, you will not be disappointed with Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking.

I think this book tops what i would consider other contenders for this type of all-in-one cookbook (joy of cooking and fannie farmer) I love that this book has pictures...missing from the other two books I mentioned. It's a nice LARGE general, basic cook book.

A perfect gift for a person setting up an apartment for the first time, learning how to cook, going off to college (altho sometimes cooking options in college are limited).

I love the extra help sections...how to do things... techniques... examples etc. All around books tend to be at a disadvantage when they try to be all things to all people. While I dont think there is any substitute for regional and specific food type/cooking method/ ethnic cuisine cook books, I also think there is an important place in everyones home for a general all purpose cook book. ( For times when you want to know the *basics*...how long to cook something, for example.)

I have been dissapointed with the fannie farmer cookbook and the joy of cooking... this book would be my number 1 choice for a favorite general cook book for everyones kitchen

My mother gave me an earlier edition of this book thirty-two years ago for my bridal shower. The recipes and instructions, along with the illustrations, are very clear and easy to follow. I have accumulated many cook books through the years, but my Better Homes and Garden is, by far, my favorite for all kinds of references I need to make. From where to properly place a fork at the table to making and canning strawberry jam, I still refer to BH&G, solely, several times a week for all my cooking and baking needs. My BH&G cook book is tattered and worn, but as far as I'm concerned, it was the most useful gift I ever received. Most importantly, the recipes contain ingredients that are usually found in your home or can easily be obtained. I'm an excellent cook and baker and I attribute that to my BH&G cook book, every novice cook should own one !

If I had to cut my extensive (over fifty) cookbook collection back to just one book this would be the "keeper!" When my beloved twelve-year old copy of this cookbook finally fell apart I purchased the 11th edition thinking I would mostly be replacing what I already had and knew well.

There was so much new and useful information included in the eleventh edition I wished I'd let go of my old copy earlier. I am especially fond of the nutrition analysis included with each recipe and the tips for making recipes lower in fat. The prep-times included with each recipe were also a new, and very useful, feature to me. Plus the editors upgraded the book to reflect the wider availability of formerly "exotic" fruits and vegetables now in the everyday market.

The fledgling cook will find everything needed to confidently accomplish any task from hard-boiling an egg to properly setting the table for a family meal or a buffet-style party. Pesky, but common, cooking terms like "al dente" and "crisp-tender" are explained in a straight forward manner in the cooking basics section where you will also find great tips for stocking a pantry or purchasing the basic cooking equipment you might need when just starting out.

Useful features for all levels of cook are scattered throughout the text. For example, there is a full-page photograph of different pastas with the name under each (finally! I now know the difference between Gemelli and Fusilli!). Also very useful are the extensive illustrative photos of retail cuts of meat cross-referenced to the wholesale cut and listing the best way to cook each cut.

One of my favorite things about the hardcover cookbook is the three-ring binder format. This makes it possible to lay the book flat on the counter or prop it up nearby with, or without, a cookbook stand. It also makes it easier to add your own notes right alongside your favorite recipes.

I love to give this cookbook as a gift to a young person just starting out -- inside a big crockpot or tied together with some fun kitchen tools.

This book by Gretchen Ward has been the most useful and used book that I have as a reference for teaching ballet. The pictures are wonderful. They actually show photos and not poorly drawn pictures. It shows so many movements used in classical ballet, with pictures and descriptions. It also has a wonderful section for teachers, which give you tips and a teaching guide that gives you insight on the order of what you should teach at specific levels. This book is so organized and covers so much material. I love this book and highly recomend it to every teacher who teaches ballet!

This book is an indispensable reference book for any seriousstudent or instructor of ballet. Its many photographs of professionalsexecuting each step (up to 6 to 8 photographs showing each stage of a step) is extremely thorough. I have both taken and taught ballet for years and I have never seen another book as complete as this one. It provides both inspiration and clarification regarding the numerous ballet basics and steps, while including differences in steps from the different schools of ballet. While this is the more affordable version of the hardcover edition, I would recommend the hardcover edition if you can afford it. This is surely a book that will be looked at numerous times and will remain in your personal library (or dance school, public school, or public library) for many years.

This book is wonderful for those dancers struggling to perfect their tecnique, or trying to learn many different styles. This book, however, is not for learning alone, it is a picture-filled book of ballet tecnique. I have found it to very helpful with the visualization of some complex steps and vocabulary explanations. It is the best book of its kind and a treasure of age-old tecnique finally written down in images for future generations to keep.

I've been buying cookbooks for decades. I'll buy cookbooks for just one recipe I'm dying to learn. The funny thing is, I'm really not that good of a cook, but I love working in the kitchen.

This cookbook just blows me away. Just like the Cooks International PBS television series, it explains the why of cooking. Lasagne without ricotta? Beef marinade without acid? How could that be? The explanations are there, and they make total sense.

I sit in my bedroom reading this book at night. I read about the things I already know how to make, looking for the subtle ideas to make them perfect. It's really not a cookbook even though it's got hundreds of recipes. It's more a book about cooking, and it's got me more inspired than all of the scores of books I've bought before.

I'll give these guys the best compliment I can think of: I wish I had written it.

I received this book about a month ago, and have been absolutely thrilled! I have now learned the best way to cook everything from chicken and turkey to yeast bread and cookies. While some reviews have complained that the recipes for meat and poultry are very basic, I found this very helpful - now that I know the best way to roast a turkey, I feel comfortable experimenting with spices and herbs to change the flavors. My favorite feature of the book is the commentary that precedes each recipe. Reading the steps that the authors went through to achieve perfection, you learn to avoid many common and uncommon cooking mistakes. If you love to cook, but have too many complicated cookbooks, buy this book! Understanding the basics will help you cook anything better!

If you love to learn, and if you like experimenting in the kitchen, then Christopher Kimball could easily become your hero.

Whether or not he has really identified the very best recipe in every case is certainly open to debate. But you can't help but admire the approach Kimball and his crew have taken to sorting through the variations on different means of preparing almost anything you're likely to cook at home. Moreover, even for a relative novice chef like me, the descriptions of his trials and travails in the test kitchen can be as much fun to read as the resulting recipes are fun to eat.

This is an awesome cook book if: you want a survey of the basics, you like to learn WHY different ingredients or prep methods are employed in a dish, you enjoy experimenting a little in the kitchen, or you simply want to enjoy great food with simple preparation.

Kimball has changed my approach to cooking. Now, before I make anything, I take out several cookbooks and compare recipes. What's different? What's the same? Is there a simpler way to prepare it? Do I really need that rare ingredient? I feel like I gained 10 years of kitchen experience in the time it took me to read (and sometimes prepare) the sampling of "best" recipes I've already tried.

This is a great cookbook in so many ways. The recipes are easy to prepare and don't call for strange ingredients. All the recipes are very flavorful, even my husband who runs screaming from anything associated with the word "diet" swears by this book. The recipes are varied enough to be compatable with many diets (e.g. low fat, no meat, high protien, or zone type combinations). Also, the layout of the book makes it very easy to use. You won't be dissapointed!

My picky husband and I love this cookbook! We've made about 35 recipes already, and every single one's a hit. Our favorite is the chicken chimichangas. The recipes range from easy to medium difficultly. This book would make a great graduation gift for a college student (which it was to me!) They should change the name to Healthy Eating Cookbook though, because you don't feel like you're eating on a diet.

My husband and I lost a total of 100 pounds in 5 months by using the delicious recipes in this book. The food is tasty, easy to prepare, and satisfying. The variety of foods from the traditional to the more exotic or ethnic gives the range of choice often missing in "diet" books. I have purchased this book as a gift for several friends who have also found it enjoyable.

I was dissapointed in the book. I truely hate to cook, and found many of the recipes seem to be for those who actually want to chop onions and green peppers, or spend time hunting for all the right spices. I'd rather buy a prepackaged mix, or something frozen. The author does have a good sence of humor though, and you cant help but chuckle.

My mother had the I Hate To Cook Book when I was growing up in the 60s. The recipes are good and fast (if not very healthy -- when was the last time you browned ground beef in a little oil?) and the text is just hilarious. The one I've always remembered is "let it simmer while you light a cigarette and stare sullenly at the sink." It's a lot of fun, especially for those days when only the food you grew up with will do.

This is cook book that is worth having. It's easy to follow, and FUN to read. The recipies use products that are easy to understand, and they taste good! An excellent recipe is the "Chilly night Chili" which is easy and fast. I especially enjoy this book as I am not a person who enjoys spending a lot of time in the kitchen unless there is a party there. This book is helpful in all cooking situations: parties, everyday meals even leftovers. It's also very funny!

I've been waiting for this release all summer, and I am well pleased. Let me say this, I was against a 3rd. edition of DnD from the beginning. Like many other DMs, I had all ready modified 2nd ed. to my liking and had worked out most of the rough edges on my own; however, like many other gamers, I couldn't resist picking up a copy of 3rd. ed. just to see what changes were made. I found myself liking it and believing that this is where DnD should have been twenty years ago.

That being said, "Return" is a step in the right direction of what made AD&D great to begin with: Compelling Adventures. "Return" is just that. It takes the original module T1-4, uses it as a background and advances the story line into an interesting campaign. I must say, I was skeptic when I received the book in my mailbox and at first peek saw that it has one hell of a massive dungeon crawl. Having read it, I agree with those who've reviewed this before me. Mr. Cook has done an excellent job of making this a dynamic,long, dungeon trek that if run properly will not be your standard, "Kick down door, slay monster, take treasure, repeat". The environment reacts to the characters. Several of the areas could be revisisted, and would not be the same encounter twice.

Overall, the story is solid. Old timers will enjoy finding refrences to several of the classic adventures from 1st ed. AD&D modules. The campaign takes players from 4th to 14th, but I've found that by starting earlier in the time line, and by expanding on the side trek options given in the book, I've been able to expand the adventure to begin at 1st level and go all the way to 14th. It is possible that events started with this campaign could take your players well beyond 14th with a little creativity on the DMs part as well. I all so think it is important to note that even though this is set in Greyhawk, I've adapted it to my own campaign world ("Birthright") with very little effort.

Well worth the money.

Ah, memories...

I ran the original Temple of Elemental Evil back in the eighties, and never was I more pleased with how badly a game can crash my school grades and keep me up until the wee hours of the morning. The Temple of Evil was one of the most popular and lauded adventures ever for the popular Advanced Dungeons and Dragons (AD&D) game.

Well, Monte Cook is sure to make the "Module Hall of Fame" with this new epic set in the original lands of the evil elemental cult. Unlike some of the previous "return-to" modules, "Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil" is not a simple re-hashing of old material. Rather, it is a true sequel, and a worthy successor to the Elemental Evil legacy.

Set about fifteen years after the original adventure, "Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil" contains descriptions of several of the original people and places, so those familiar with the original material will find much to reminisce over. However, the tiny Village of Hommlet and its bulwark of heroes and villains have "grown up" now, and Monte Cook does an excellent job portraying the passage of time and fleshing out the new order of things in the quiet, wooded hills at the edge of the Viscounty of Verbobonc.

Furthermore, Monte Cook provides a compelling, rich history of the past events in the area, serving to bring new Dungeon Masters "up to speed" with the cult of Elemental Evil, but also providing new material and insight into events and forces only hinted at in the original work. After about fifteen minutes of reading, the prospective Dungeon Master, even if new to the game, can rest assured that she will not be missing any information vital to running this epic adventure.

The adventure itself is a truly monstrous undertaking, beginning with players retracing the steps of the original adventurers of fifteen years ago, but quickly taking them off the beaten path into an entirely new edifice of Evil, where they will find themselves pitted against several rival cults in a massive, several-hundred-keyed-locations dungeon that should provide hours and hours (if not months and months) of entertainment for all. To be fair, though, this is not a simple hack 'n' slash dungeon - rather, it is a complex, dynamic community, and Dungeon Masters are warned to prepare thoroughly before attempting to run players through this complex.

The climax to this grand adventure truly befits the monumental work which precedes it, and characters who begin play as 4th level characters can finish as high as level 14!!

The presentation and artwork are consistent with other products published by Wizards of the Coast, that is, superb. A 16-page full-color map booklet brings the many locations to life vibrantly, while settings, encounters, creatures, and magic items are organized in a consistent, logical manner. Major villains are separated from the keyed locations and placed into their own section, to remind Dungeon Masters that they do not simply stay put and wait for players to discover and slay them.

In conclusion, why are you still reading this review?? BUY THIS BOOK NOW!! "Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil" is arguably the best adventure ever written for any fantasy role-playing game. You won't be disappointed.

(This review is 90% spoiler safe -- maybe a couple of minor details revealed.)

It has been 15 long years since a party of adventurers last destroyed the Temple of Elemental... yet something stirs in its shadows once again.

This is not a 3rd edition gloss-over of the original -- It is an entirely new plot with lots of new territory to explore.

The old favorites are there, but different: Hommlet is growing, the moathouse is still standing in it's old, crumbly way, Burne and Rufus are leading the town, and of course, the old walls of the Temple of Elemental Evil still stand.

To keep the players on there toes a host of new magic items, monsters, races, and spells are scattered throughout the adventure (and collected nicely in the appendix).

But whereas the original adventure was a dungeon-crawl of epic scale, this product is "the backbone of a full campaign". Instead of trudging through endless dungeon hallways, this adventure will actually involve a bit more traveling, npc interaction, and imagine, just possibly, role playing.

Descriptions are good and solid. Most monsters are listed by hit points and page number in the Monster Manual with little variants noted as needed. Use of the 3rd edition templates have taken advantage of to provide interesting new surprises. The plot and story line is logical. NPCs are often listed with their own personal goals and motivations in addition to the plans of their cult. Splashed about are tips for handling parties that go astray, dally, or take things in an unexpected order. Suggestions are included for how The Temple reacts to attack, both immediate and long term recovery if the players wander afar.

This is not a nostalgic rehash. This is a new story, new bad guys and new characters. I never GMed the first adventure, but I played through it. I'm thinking it will be fun to scatter my friends of old in and around Hommlet as retired adventurers; the players can run into them in bars spinning yarns of their glories of old. And possibly dropping some hints and tips to help keep the party on track...

If you play this, you can expect exploration of the plans of an evil cult, encounters with a wide range of creatures and magic, and the occasional gabbing with NPCs of Hommlet, and I would guess a good year's worth of gaming.

Played "out of the box", players should not expect great intriguing NPCs, long dives into the Underdark, nor great armies clashing over territory. But then, if that's what your players want, a creative GM could always work more of that activity into the game. Unlike its predecessor, there are many points where hooks could be added to take the game play in any desired directions.

The maps are stapled into the back of the book. Some may see this as bad, but for me, I think I'll just photo-copy the 40 pages of appendix. This will make it easy for me to give out handouts, add details/scratch out NPCs as events dictate, and scribble notes on maps to keep up with changes as the campaign progresses.

Being an open book on the store shelf, it's easy for players to sneak a peek at what's in store for them. Proper use of shifting monsters, treasure, and traps should do plenty to keep them from overly benefiting from this.

Ratings on a 1 to 5 scale:

GM background: 5 - nice historical snapshot and intro sections

Dungeon notes: 4 - could make it more clear how the adventure is meant to flow from one dungeon/area to the next

Reference Materials: 4 - maps could have better notes to how they link to each other

Monsters: 5 - some may wish full details were in the module, but reprinting such details strikes me as a waste of space

NPCs: 5 - tactics, motivations and plans are a nice touch

Art: n/a - just enough to give a little flavor, most of it I liked, but I'm not going to rate it

Overall: 4.6