Ronin Books

It is surprising that there is only one readily available (or at least affordable) translation of Chushingura, one of Japan's most famous puppet/kabuki plays, at amazon. We are fortunate then that Donald Keene's translation is that particular one, for it is a vivid, elegant work, serving as both an entertaining read and historical document.

After Tokugawa became Shogun in 1601, Japan entered a long period of regimented peace. The Samurai warrior-class were forced to adapt therein, trading their swords for the pen, and many of the classic traditions fell into stagnation. The old ways were taught, but seldom practiced: to excel in Tokugawa's bureaucracy, skill with the tongue was more important than skill with the sword...at least in the long run.

But occasionally the Samurai spirit rebelled. In 1703, forty-six former retainers of the late lord Naganori burst into the grounds of lord Yoshinaka, the man indirectly responsible for the death of their master; they killed Yoshinaka and then marched to a nearby Buddhist temple to offer the severed head to their master's grave. Even though they knew it would mean death by ritual seppuku (disembowelment), the ronin fulfilled their pledge to their master regardless, thus gaining `face' through the performance of duty.

Chushingura, a fictionalized account of this famous vendetta, emphasizes these aspects of honor and loyalty: the forty-six ronin are determined to see their course through to its end, regardless of cost. And the cost is, in places, quite high. Some have their wives sold to prostitution so that they can finance their revenge operation. Others deny their wedding promises, knowing death rests upon their shoulders. One ronin engages in all sorts of debauchery, destroying his reputation and staining his family name, so that suspicion is allied and he can plot in peace. Sacrifice for honor is prevalent throughout the play, and from it one can glean all of the qualities the Japanese revere most in their national character and heritage.

Though Keen's translation a joy to read, there are some essential elements missing from this slender volume, thus my rating of four stars. Specifically, a discourse on the music used during the play performance (so key, apparently, in influencing the audience mood), is missing, with a paltry excuse given; and a chart of names would have been very helpful in establishing the relationships between characters. Still, this is a great buy for anyone interested in Japanese history and culture.

Chushingura, The Treasury of Loyal Retainers is an action packed story. The main theme of the novel is vengeance, although loyalty, sacrifice, persistence and honor all contribute to the eventual act of vengeance that is carried out at the end of the story. In the beginning of the story the villain, Lord Moronao is shown to be evil and morally repugnant by his actions. This allows the reader to side with the samurai as they plan to avenge the death of their former master by killing Lord Moronao. This book almost has a "Count of Monte Cristo" feel to it. Because such time and preparation is spent planning the event that will avenge their master's death, the story has a strong emotional connection which makes the reader almost feel like he is one of the samurai involved in the plot for vengeance.
As the thirty seven samurai plot their revenge, several subplots unfold. It is interesting to see how the samurai continue to live their lives even though their plot will undoubtedly end with their deaths. It is amazing that all these men and even their families are so committed to their cause that they would lay down their lives. These men are so firmly dedicated to honoring their dead master that they are willing to loose everything they have in order to carry out their plan.
Although the book definitely holds your interest it is hard to comprehend the extreme loyalty these men have for their dead master. Lord Hangan is not in the story for long and little is exposed of his character. I think for this story to be comprehendible to a modern audience Hangan needs to be shown as a person worth dying for, not just a simple master whose men are loyal to him. There needs to be an explanation why these men all feel so incredibly strongly for him. Or perhaps Moronao should have wronged more of the samurai so that the vendetta becomes personal in different respects to each man. I guess when reading this story one must take into consideration the era in which the actual story took place and the importance Japanese society placed on the virtues of loyalty, honor, and sacrifice.

I read this book because it was required by a class.
However, after I started reading it, I can't put it down; it was very good translated, many Japanese names to remember for sure, but the interesting story will keep you going.

I would recommend people who are interested in Japanese samurai
period to read this book.

"Chushingura" is Japan's "Romeo and Juliet". Not literally, of course, as the stories are very different, but in the way that it is a story that every Japanese person knows. Based on an actual incident, the story has been glorified and told and re-told for every generation, and still reverberates in hearts today. It is also, traditionally, a very hard story for Westerners to come to grips with, because the morals on display are not what we would consider to be admirable.

Loyalty is something we can admire, of course, but this is unearned loyalty. The 47 Ronin do not avenge their lord because he was a good man, because he is worthy of their loyalty. They avenge him because he is their Master, and because he was born to be their master. The samurai also did not earn their position, they were born samurai, as an inherited class. Their job, rank and income was all decided the moment they drew their first breath, along with whom they would owe their loyalty to. The very word "samurai" translates as "servant", and without someone to serve they have no purpose. They uphold an inherently unfair system, as shown by their unwillingness to include a merchant in their vendetta, not because his courage is less but because his birth-determined class is lower than theirs.

Donald Keene has performed a minor miracle with his translation of "Chushingura: The Treasury of Loyal Retainers". First off, his introduction deals with the inherent difficulties in the work. Even in Japan, since the inception of the work their has been debate on who are the heroes and who are the villains. A hotheaded lord sacrifices his life, family, home and the lives of the hundreds who depend on him simply because he could not swallow an insult. His personal pride was more important to him than all of these people's lives, all of whom paid his price. Keene shows the various points of view, the commentary given by Japanese authors over the years, and the way the story has been interpreted to support the various viewpoints of society.

On top of that, he has created a thrilling translation, one that can be read as a novel and is hard to put down once started. Think what you may of the moral lesson, the story itself is pure adrenalin, and it is hard not to cheer for the sword-hard loyalty that drives the 47 Ronin. In this translation, there is no dispute as to who the heroes are, even as they sell their wives into prostitution in order to raise funds for the vendetta, or willing slit the throats of their own children in order to prove their earnestness. Keene also provides annotations for some of the more obscure references and translations, especially the references to famous Chinese poems and allegories which are abundant.

I picked up this book thinking it was going to be a study guide for Japan's most famous story, hoping to glean some insight into a tale I have seen dozens of times in different interpretations. I got that, but what I also got was a great book, fun and exciting to read. I wasn't expecting that at all.

As another reviewer has noted, this book is impossible to put down. Although I am not a big fan of introductions-before-book, this one by Donald Keene helps a lot (the spoilers are few) and is recommended. Professor Keene's translation style is very limpid and flowing -- one is surprised by the end of Act Eleven when the climactic action sequence is brought to an end.

Fans of Bunraku (puppet theatre) and Kabuki should have this book -- and hopefully the National Theatre in Tokyo might offer either version of the play (one can get in and see Bunraku these days for about 40-50 bucks).

A note of warning: as Prof. Keene points out, this work of literature shows the other side of Japanese art (in contrast to austere restraint, this shows the Japanese love for color and violence) -- but it is not a non-stop action work. Instead, it deals more with the "tests" of loyalty (hence the title) each retainer must show in order to be allowed to participate in the final plan to kill their lord's enemy. In that way, Chushingura is much more about the love the retainers have for their lord than, in my opinion, the hatred and violence they harbor against the enemy. Uma Thurman in samurai garb, they are not...uh...

Fans of Chikamatsu's plays will find this popular work refreshing -- it moves at a much faster pace, with more feints here and there. As a result, it lacks the gravitas of Chikamatsu's works, but it is much more fun. A great book to own and then pass around to friends.

With a wealth of helpful charts and ideas, and extensive background for running a Border Princes game, this supplement is a must for anyone who wants to create their own Warhammer experience. New careers, insights, and game aids make this book very excellent.

This book is well written and full of great ideas for running a campaign in a difficult and politically unstable area. It's not like the other regional sourcebooks because it really only gives you the nuts and bolts to create your own region. If you're looking for a setting to run a campaign in without too much work look elsewhere, if you're looking to make a region your own and create pretty much the setting you want to play then pick it up. Would have been nice to have a slightly bigger map showing this area in relation to Brettonia and the Empire etc. but that's a small point really.

Unlike the other books of Warhammer Fantasy rpg, this one is set more like a tool book that allow you to create randomly a whole region. To achieve this, this book contain a system to generate randomly the geography of your region. Then it provide numerous random tables to determine ancient ruins, types of menaces, regional history, individual Princes, the personality of those Princes, their relations, the communities set in the region and the hazards that can be found on your random map.

Because this book is not oriented on the definition of a Warhammer specific background, in other words, because it takes the form of a tool book offering a system to create and populate randomly a whole region with geography, history, encounters and politics this book have also for advantage to be useful for other RPG setting such as D&D. The conversion needed to do so is minimal to none.

The Renegade Crows: A Guide to the Border Princes hardbound supplement for Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay is one of the better supplements available for the roleplaying system - and has a great deal of information useful for any campaign or fantasy setting.

That said, this is not your typical game supplement. While it does focus on a specific region - the Borderlands to the southeast of the Empire - from the begining the book sets the scene that this is a fractious, uncontrolled region, comprised of myriad smaller regions vying for power or looking to secure their niche. As such, the topography, geography and borders are largely irrelevant.

Other than some cursory information about a few standards in the Border Pinces, the bulk of the book focuses on how to create your own region within the tapestry of the Border Princes overall -- using an incredibly robust, detailed step-by-step process to breath life into your very own corder of the Borderlands.

The region creation system helps an enterprising GM create their own vibrant area -- geographical features, towns, villages, riverways, and scores of interesting oddities... an abandoned shrine, a mystic temple, a ruined city from a long lost age. There are rules to further elaborate on and detail each of these features... How was this region ruined? What monsters or threat lurk in the area? Who rules the area?

There is an excellent walkthrough of the creation process, and a fully-developed region ready for use, but it's quite fun to grab some dice and a sheet of graph paper and start plotting your own map. As the region takes shape, ideas for adventures spring to mind. The charts and tables for creating intrigue, rulers, conflicts and the other details are incredibly useful and easily applied to other regions in the Warhammer setting.

My only disappointment is that it is a relatively short book - for the price point, I would have welcomed another 10-16 pages of content detailing existing material I could immediately access rather than generate on my own. Still, a relatively minor quibble given the excellent resources contained inside this tome.

The game designers of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay continue to amaze me with their lush detail and beautifully produced supplement books. Renegade Crowns is another gorgeous book featuring outstanding artwork. Renegade Crowns is a campaign supplement that covers the Border Princes or Borderlands as it is also referred to, giving players a richly detailed, yet open-ended region to set-up their own campaigns and adventures. Note that it is not a guide to the Border Lands themselves, but rather a way for the GM to carve out their own region. Within the first few chapters, the GM will find all the information to quickly create their own unique region in the Borderlands through the use of various random tables.

These tables include things such as geography and landscapes, types of border princes, inhabitants and communities of the region, characters, encounters, and more. These allow the GM to get their campaign set-up very quickly yet there's so many options and choices provided that you never get the feeling that it comes off as bland and cookie-cutter. You could set-up a campaign a hundred times and never duplicate the exact region because the tables are so diverse. There are also tables for generating all types of random Border princes from Knights to bandits, to priests and merchants, all with their own unique characteristics.

Chapter six covers the hazards of the Borderlands including numerous different types of monster encounter tables and notes on designing monster lairs. A fantastic example of a region called Masserschloss is included and takes the GM on a step-by-step tutorial on creating a region. I highly recommend that every GM read this tutorial as it is extremely well-written and fully explains the entire process from start to finish. This really may be the most important section in the entire book.

The final few chapters deal with becoming a border prince, first by seizing power and then by holding it. This covers everything from internal court intrigue to protecting your region from external attack from rival lands. There are many adventure hooks provided throughout Renegade Crowns to get the campaign off and running.

If your desire is for power, then becoming a border Prince is a great way to go!

Reviewed by Tim Janson

Kids will do these things. I did some, but as my dad said, "You had at least half the sense god gave celery." so I stopped when it got stupid and bizarre. Just kicked it. That whole Deadhead scene, all the concert thing - wasn't real. Bunch of people going nowhere, amusing themselves to death too literally. Oh, I liked the music, some of it.

Thing is, that 15-21 are crucial years for forming character, patterns of action, belief systems and personality for most. Adolescence is hard enough. Taking massive amounts of hallucinogenic drugs during that time is going to have serious effects.

Psychedelics can be useful. It's true what Norberg says about them at the end. But they can really weird people into orbit too. That includes some of those who researched them. Check out John Lilly, Mr. "Center of the Cyclone" did he turn into a blastoff boy or what? I've met and known well some of those Grof worked with or taught at some point. They vary a lot.

Anyway - I know that kids will always be kids and do stupid things. It's their nature. This book is pretty accurate about what to expect.

Me? Strangest thing for me was to love Mozart when I listened to it on LSD. Just wonderful.

Really great book, which made me laugh, cringe and think. It has been many years since my year of living dangerously at 17. I was less into mellowing agents than he, never liked pot or hash which dulled my mind too much. But I loved LSD, peyote and psylocibin. Yes, I did. Had some wonderful experiences from dying and becoming one with the light being-ness to seriously spicing up dinner and Christmas with my family. Quite a thing to see my heavy-duty dad get up from the table, hop and scream for joy at the ceiling from a pure contact high. I never dared to suggest we do it together, but we probably could have.

I also had some stellar bad times that seared my soul, never to return to what I was before. I too wonder what I might have been. But I don't regret. No, I don't.

Altogether it left me aching for the perfection of the wonder at the peak. The myth of Tantalus speaks fairly well for me. My life since has always been colored by the knowing that I can never slake that thirst, nor can I ever feel I may not drown someday should I try to drink of that spring or that I might not drown if I do not. As Maharaj Ji (Ram Dass' guru) said, LSD can take you to the room with god for a short time, but then you must leave.

Reading his book, it is hard to imagine someone intentionally returning to the level of paranoia which he did, and which it seems so many others did also. My lord what dedication! That's one thing that got me. After my first 6 months, things got tres` weird and I didn't like that anxious feeling at all. I kept at it through habit, and because it can be so goddam FUN and profound, then just stopped when I left home on my motorcycle and never did it again.

Psychedelics often massively inflate ones sense of self importance in a peculiar way, which Sheldon is honest enough to speak of in his book. Few former heads do. Most simply animate their inflation instead, making those around them subtly or not so subtly uneasy with them, particularly when they combine it with addle-pated notions. I have known, since my teens, quite a few who blew out on that course. I won't bore you with those I have known who didn't make it so well, some dead, some flipped, but they are there. I will say though, that far more people went down from unsafe sex, or stupid violence untouched by drugs, or from alcohol than from LSD or pot.

I still meet people, 28 years later who want to trip with me. People still know, after all these years. They can sense it if they get close to me. I consider it once in a great while.

Most of those I deal with now never have used such things and never will. They are, many of them, stellar people whom I respect greatly. But it is hard to never speak about such things, and I cannot do so with them usually.

Good book, and an unusual one in this time. So, thanks to Mr. Norberg for writing it. A surprise, really worth reading.

Confessions is a worthwhile read for anyone interested themes of spiritual awareness, social acceptance, dysfunctional families, and the process of becoming a self-supporting adult. In 352 entertaining yet sometimes repetitive pages, Norberg describes in detail his journey from a gifted yet angry young man to a full-time drug dealer to a substance-free meditation practitioner. He loosely ties the phases of his life, beginning with early childhood, to seven principles of Chinese philosophy and medicine (wood, fire, earth, metal, water, and yin and yang). The autobiography then concludes with two short chapters written from the perspective of someone who has tested the limits of society and themselves and wishes to share their wisdom

Confessions of a Dope Dealer is as much of a cautionary tale as it is a drug user's manual. The moral of this tale is that drugs are a seductive yet short-lived and harmful path to self-awareness. A great summer read for anyone with an open or curious mind.

This isn't normally the type of book that I choose to read, but after seeing the author's one-man theatrical performance of this autobiographical piece I decided to check it out. The book tells the story of a young man coming of age in the drug-culture of the late 70's and early 80's. The story is fun, engaging, and at times ultimately disturbing. At the end of the book the author reflects on his experiences, choices, and [mess] ups, and how they affected his life. It is not until the end that you get the impression that this book is meant to be a jumping-off point for discussion of our current drug-policy, and how it affects society as a whole. The author makes some keen observations, and I appreciate his approach to this discussion by bringing the subject matter into literary and theatrical formats. The one-man show is followed by a brief question and answer period which is a great way to spark a dialogue on this subject matter. Although some might perceive this book as a glorification of drug-dealing, it is ultimately an honest look at one man's experiences, one which left me with no illusions about the realities of this illicit profession.

I really enjoyed reading Confessions of a Dope Dealer. I picked it up and finished it in only two days. I had been looking for a good memoir about growing up as a drug dealer, and with a title like this, how could I go wrong? What I found was a curiously honest book about a young man growing up in the aftermath of the sixties, under the shadow of Raygunomics. A wonderfull read for anyone interested in dope, dealing, the Dead, or the eighties.

This is a treatise that extends beyond the normal boundaries of cannabis growing allowing the novice and veteran alike a new and innovative approach. It's multitude of High quality tables and graphs cuts across all boundaries and then some. Comes highly recommended to the newbie and veteran alike, no matter whether or not you're a newbie or veteran!

Fully descriptive in the biochemistry of the cannibinoids, including the environmental conditions leading to degradation of THC to CBD and CBN. Also details procedures of organic syntheses of compounds.

If you like science and chemistry and cannabis then this is the book for you. It is everything about cannabinoids (the main psychoactive ingredients in cannabis). This is an excellent resourse for the chemistry minded cannabis lover.

If you want to know about THC then this is the book to get about just that. Be warned! This is heavy on the chemistry and is mostly devoted to that science and so if you do not know much about chemistry then you may only get the benefits from the sections on processing and potency.

This book uses data collected from the pre-Reagan ban on marijuana studies to make good informed conclusions about cannabis. It dips into most everything but I wanted more genetic information.

This is an excellent book about the "contactees" and their alleged experience with "aliens". Vallee manages to do what the scientific community and the government fail to - accurately isolate and explain the consistent themes and occurrences surrounding contactees and UFO sightings and develop a theory that actually holds water. To quote the epilogue (without spoiling anything for you of course) Vallee's theory on UFOs "has some advantages (to the traditional views), it does not challenge the reports of thousands of credible witnesses, nor does it contradict our present laws of physics. Moreover, it suggests a plan behind the phenomena and indicates that UFO sightings could have serious social consequences." It's got a conspiracy theory ring to it, but with all the literature available today about the 4th Reich, Illuminati, etc this theory fits right in as a very real possibility.

I have read several books on this subject and by far, this is the best I have read so far. This is not your typical ufo book with just information about the subject. This book goes very deep into every aspect of it. It demostrates not only what ufo's are trying to show, but also what they are trying to hide. This book is excelent. I would recomend it to serious readers.

Vallee is a true visionary in the UFO field, asking the big questions and nearly always taking the larger view. That UFOs and the "contacts" they make will humans do not fit well into the current picture of interstellar Space Brothers, based purely on observational evidence is a view that most, if not all, UFO buffs will initially reject. However, a careful reading of this book reveals Vallee's painstaking thoroughness in investigating a baffling phenomenon- a phenomenon of contradiction and deception.

The deception goes further than the oft-contradictory message of the aliens: many on Earth are willing messengers of deception as well. The information gap caused by scientific, military, and governmental refusal to seriously consider the phenomenon's true nature have caused all manner of charletons and manipulators to fill the vacuum created by the willful refusal to acknowledge the reality of UFO incidents.

Many of Vallee's fears have already come to pass- the leaders of the Heaven's Gate suicide cult are chronicled nearly twenty years before their mass death. Vallee's observation that whoever is able to eventually control the UFO phenomena may well be coming true before our eyes, yet tragically most are unwilling to see the truth objectively.

This is a complex book that really needs careful reading more than once. If you do this, you'll never look at the UFO phenomena in the same way again.

Vallee has written one of the best, first-person-experienced revelations regarding the true nature (deceptive, tricky and harmful) of our supposed "spacebrothers". For everyone who has read "Communion" or other such tomes, BE SURE to get ahold of 'Messengers of Deception' - it's the other side of the coin that needs so desparately to be told...and heeded. Well-written, action-packed and sincerely offered, this author's book should be a 'required reading' for all earthlings- who seem to be nothing but a fruitful field for mischief and deception in the eyes of, and for, the 'aliens'. Some REAL SPOOKY real goings-on here...a true-to-life "X" file. One of the very first books (and authors) to hit on the true intentions of those 'not from this world' and thier human allies.CONTACT THE PUBLISHER AND ASK FOR A RE=RELEASE! This is probably much of whatALBERT K. BENDER KNEW before his untimely and highly controversial death. Betcha.

Jacques Vallee's Messengers of Deception (1979) is an intelligent, complex, and prescient exploration of the UFO phenomenon that focuses specifically on its social aspects and the mysterious UFO cults which have arisen globally around it.

By the time he came to write Messengers of Deception, Vallee had produced five earlier books on the subject, and was fairly confident that UFOs did not represent extraterrestrial craft of any kind ("I believe that UFOs are physically real. They represent a fantastic technology controlled by an unknown form of consciousness...they may not be from outer space.").

Almost thirty years later, Vallee, who contributes a new foreword to the current edition, is, like everyone else in the field, still in the dark about the exact nature of the specific subject in question.

What makes Messengers of Deception particularly fascinating is that Vallee cautiously sketches out his belief that some agency with enormous power of various kinds is and has been "staging" thousands of technologically complex, essentially 'fake' UFO sightings around the world with the pointed intention of manipulating and guiding civilization, and man himself, in a very specific direction.

The apparent goal of this agency is to encourage mankind, via a belief in the impending arrival from the heavens of the benevolent 'space brothers,' to become anti-scientific, irrational, infantile, dependent, and endlessly hopeful that the essential problems of man---including his mortality---can be permanently overcome through the multi-prismed salvation the [false] "space brothers" offer.

Other goals include 'the reversal of the scale of values,' "leading to a new understanding of social good, the abolition of borders, and the death of nationalism," 'goals' which are certainly becoming the reality in today's American.

Which raises the question: who or what has such enormous, organizational God-like power?

Basing his argument on his own observations, experiences, firsthand investigations, contacts within the military-industrial complex ("Major Murphy"), and excellent brain, Vallee suggests a somewhat complicated two-pronged solution.

The 'real' UFOs are apparently solid objects (or objects of an essentially psychoid nature, able to move between solidity and non-solidity), sometimes lit and sometimes not, frequently observed flying or hovering above the ground, which, while probably not of extraterrestrial origin in the sense that they are interstellar craft, are of a yet-indefinable nature.

They may or may not represent some kind of a "control system," Vallee's term for a sort of spontaneous cosmic socio-evolutionary barometer that acts directly and indirectly on the psyche of man.

The second prong of Vallee's thesis focuses on the 'Manipulators,' which is Vallee's term for the (most likely human) agency which understands the genuine UFO phenomena enough to exploit it, duplicate its effects, and use those effects to control and corral mankind (initially through UFO cults and occult groups, but also by infiltrating civilian UFO investigatory organizations) by methodically reducing it to an irrational, dependent mob without recourse to country or nationality, and, by extension, without recourse to family, community, financial solvency, or spirit of independence.

The 'Manipulators' use "psychotronic" weapons, which harness electromagnetic energy that acts on the subconscious mind, creating hallucinations of aerial and landed 'flying saucers,' visitors from other planets, 'alien abduction,' and amnesia. Some of these weapons are loaded onto flying machines shaped like classic 'flying saucers,' while other such "psychotronic" devices actually create the illusion of the 'flying saucer' itself.

Again: who--or what--has the sort of scientific, technological, financial, and organizational resources required to pull off such a decades-long stratagem?

Vallee again offers two hypothetical scenarios: one in which a secret cabal composed of military personnel of various Western nations are attempting to convince the masses that an invasion from space may be imminent; their goal is to unify the nations of the earth against a common enemy and thus prevent further catastrophic wars. If this hypothesis is correct, then what should be made of the 'alien abduction' phenomenon that has replaced the 'peaceful space brother' visitations since the mid-Eighties?

The second, very different scenario Vallee offers is a sketchy version of the demonological argument that has been put forth by John Keel, among others.

However, Vallee rules out very few possibilities completely, so the 'Manipulators' might also be a hidden, non-human race coexisting with man on Earth, or time travelers, while the actual source of the genuine, "control system" UFOs might be an actual deity ['God'].

Towards the end, Vallee weakly addresses the subject of cattle mutilations, which he considers part of the stratagem of "the Manipulators." Numerous investigations on the History Channel, the Discovery Channel, and the National Geographic Channel (the same channels that have influentially been promoting the idea that UFOs are either 'space craft from other planets, or simply nonexistent' for ten years) over the succeeding decades have shown that for every 'expert' who can be found to validate "cattle mutilations" as a legitimate unexplained phenomenon, another can be found to officially discount it, with both sides offering convincing arguments and 'evidence' to support their positions.

As Vallee's treatment of "cattle mutilations" is rather cursory and poorly integrated into his argument, potential questions can be raised about the accuracy of his judgment and other conclusions.

Vallee also raises the question of synchronicity: are energy and information actually transmitted via association rather than within a space/time continuum framework? Vallee makes an example of a receipt he received from a taxi driver bearing a highly unusual but extremely significant last name: unfortunately, the reproduced document is not printed on official company letterhead, and is thus useless as evidence of any kind. Vallee himself, or anyone else, could have composed it.

Lastly, since Messengers of Deception contains a decidedly conspiratorial bent, it's worth asking if Vallee himself hasn't been manipulated and deceived by "Major Murphy," who subtly steers much of Vallee's thinking throughout the book, or if Vallee himself isn't an active agent of misinformation and misdirection.

Conspiracy thinking and theory are like all-encompassing quicksand, and once suspicions and paranoia become constellated, they are capable of expanding and echoing endlessly ---and irrationally.

This version of the 47 Ronin story is the best I have read so far. Although it fills in some gaps with fictionalized dialogue that have never been filled by historians, it presents the story in the purest, most honorable form. The movie and other book versions all have a flaw in that they create flaws in either the 47 ronin or their lord. Although this is realistic, it takes away from the majesty of the legend. Mr. Allyn thoroughly covers all characters and aspects of the story, from the bizarre animal rights overkill to the depravity of the court officials to the perseverance of the ronin to the tender relationships between lovers. A magnificent tale told magnificently.

This book is a credible modern version of the Japanese saga of the 47 ronin (ex-samurai), for whom honor and loyalty to their master were the prime sense of their life.
When their master is slain because he fights against corruption (high taxes, briberies) and silly laws (the `Life Preservation Laws' of the Shogun, making animals more privileged than human beings), their only life goal becomes revenge, `bringing peace to their master's soul', because `a samurai cannot live under the same sky as the slayer of his lord'. But at the end only 47 of his former soldiers remain loyal to their cause and will try to seek revenge for their master's execution.

This book doesn't attain the high standards of well-known Japanese classics (e.g., The Tales of Genji) and flirts sometimes with melodrama. But it is a worth-while read.

I think the story is absolutely top notch, especially because its true. But the book has this major problem, for me at least, in that it seems to teeter on the fence between a history book and a storytale. Factually, I'm, sure its mostly correct, but the problem here is that the author likely writes a lot of history books, because I felt more like I was reading about what happened instead of reading a tale. I'm not suggesting the author fabricate anything, I'm simply suggesting it could have been written much better if it just used the language a competent fiction writer is equipped with.

If you just want the book for the story, then by all means, buy it, cause I believe it is the only decently translated one left in print today.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is based on an 18th century historical event, which has been retold many times. Mr. Allyn writes a very readable story that emphasizes duty, honor, betrayal and loyalty. Mr. Allyn's version of this story is not only exciting but he also does an effective job describing the rigid social structure of this period in Japan. And he does so in a simple and elegant prose. In this story, the admirable Lord Asano goes to visit the Shogun at his palace. While preparing to meet the Shogun, he insults a greedy scheming sycophant, who plots revenge and traps the fiery but naive Lord Asano into taking an action which leads to his demise. As a result, the Shogun also takes the lands of the dead Lord and banishes his wife. Hearing of his death, his samurai, who are now ronin, plot the death of the sycophant. To tell more is to spoil it but suffice it say that this book not only tells an exciting story but illustrates a society where the code of behavior is very different than the one in which we live. I recommend this book. Read it and then go watch the Seven Samurai for the full effect.

This is an excellent product line for those interested in RPGs in the romantic fantasy (RF) genre. It's also purposely limited to the three core books so it's not a never ending avenue of expenditure. Which, IMO, is a great thing. (It does have some freebies, extras, and a forum at the greenronin site.)

I agree with earlier reviews but wanted to add a sort of meta-review (of this, the Companion, & Worldbook) and hopeful "idea pot" inspired on suggestions in the Worldbook.

The system itself is heroically based with powers being a more balanced, and therefore sometimes limited. (If you're not into/knowledgeable about RF, think of a fantasy version of Star Wars and "The Force" -including all the negatives for doing evil stuff- and you're 90% there.)

Because of this, if you have a mixed group (like us - some RF fans, others just casual D&Ders), and some GM's styles aren't strictly RF, the BR system & setting is still really ideal if you switch off GMs.

For example, the way the warrior role/paths (paths are suggestions and ideas for roles [D&D classes]) progress in BR it gains in virtual toughness, which means that you can have some really fun swashbuckling type adventures which still doesn't have to "break it" for the RF fans.

The World, and especially Worldbook, seems to have instinctively felt this would be a good merger since there's lots of coastline and a very good description of a island nation which just begs to be expanded upon. (There's also a swashbuckler in the Companion.)

Mix that with a more "Pirates of the Caribbean" type Freeport (another Green Ronin product line) with the currently free True20 intro adventure and you've go a lot to run with. (True 20 & BR are very compatible - sort of like D&D 3.0 & 3.5.) Take it to Mindshadows (a sort of fantastical Indian subcontinent inspired setting), 7th Sea inspired (fantastical Europe), or Al-Qadim/Tales of the Caliphate Nights (1001 nights inspired) and the possibilities are endless.

Make sure the PCs have a ship in good order and a good Wind Shaper (someone who controls winds) and the party can be back in time for the RF GM to take over during GM switch week. :)

On the bad side, doing this sort of mixed adventure will take some work. And strictly speaking there aren't any sailor/pirate paths listed. But there is a small section in the Worldbook with a sample pirate leader.

And if you just MUST be dark about it all, BR really allows for that too. Just take inspiration from Midnight (a game line inspired by the idea of a Sauron-type being winning the war of middle earth) and make the evil nation of Kern much more powerful, Jarzon (a nation of extremists) much more rampant, and the plains of Rezea besieged, alienated, and unwilling to ask for help from treacherous outsiders and it could be enough to make an anti-hero such as Elric smile in evil joy.

Having said all that, here's a quick lowdown system-wise: BR is offshoot of the d20 (D&D) explosion but has some differences. These include abilities being -5 to +5 which is both the stat & the modifier, which is nice. Characters don't have hit points, they have a static damage track. This makes if have much more in common with games such as BRP (RQ, Stormbringer, etc) then d20 since combat can be pretty dangerous. To offset that danger, there's "Conviction" which more or less acts like "Fate Points" in other games. Plus for certain characters toughness goes up which helps stave off such damage.

BR exclusively uses a d20, which makes things easy.

As stated earlier, there is a pagelist worth of magic powers (arcana) that cover a good degree of the standards of fantasy games. There are extra powers in the Companion, and they are all divided into different types (such as psychic, shaping, and animism, to name a few) that help players and GMs follow certain character types. (Ultimately, however, you can mix and match at will.) Arcana use is limited by the user ultimately suffering physical exhaustion. If you use powers that are "anti-social" (dominating people, etc) characters can suffer from corruption which could finalize in NPC-ville.

Feats are there, and skills, a bestiary, and a d20 conversion section (But that will take some kibitzing). Background, GM suggestions, and a bestiary round out the book.

As an aside, wealth is handled by a wealth rating vs actual money, which stops accounting, but can be weird getting used to.

The Companion is nice because it includes a nice expansion of paths, which really helps give the GM a framework for characters in the game, skills, arcana, a bestiary, and general concerns in the game.

The Worldbook expands on the background given in the main rulebook nicely. Without offering spoilers, it adds several juicy bits and location descriptions for adventure & campaign ideas. There's also maps, an adventure, and adventure seeds.

As stated elsewhere, if you're looking for more there's always True20 material that can be kibitzed.

Rated a 5. for how great it is & 4 for micro-world GMs like me since they really should have more sailer/pirate rules/paths.

Even though the book is billed as a game of "Romantic Fantasy," guys don't fear the romance. Essentially, the romance angle is just a marketing point and a style of role play that the GM can stress, or not.

What Blue Rose really is, is a clean d20 system that stresses role playing and story over game mechanics. It is great for beginners and (not to be sexist)I can see encouraging wives and girlfriends to get involved in RPGing with Blue Rose a lot faster then with any other game.

I would have probably never even picked it up if I didn't play the game Mutants and Masterminds (a super hero RPG). I love M&M because it dose stress story over mechanics, and is a heck of a lot of fun. I wanted to be able to apply that same simple smoothness of play to the fantasy realm (like my D&D game), and then I heard about Blue Rose. Many of the adaptations that M&M incorporated into it's mechanics (from the core d20 system) are applied to Blue Rose making it a great game. But there is quite a few things that make Blue Rose unique. Personally, both the M&M and Blue Rose system remind me a lot of the "F.U.D.G.E." gaming system. I would not be surprised if it had some influence in that adaptation made in these games.

The book is really well organized, and beautifully laid out (what you have come to expect from Green Ronin) and contains all the rules you will need to play the game in one book (IE: Campaign setting info, Player info, GM info, and creatures)so it's a great buy. The art work is all black and white, but excellent quality, and very dreamlike.

In any event, if you want to streamline you fantasy games, and put back more story and stop fussing over rules, this is the system for you. You will not be disappointed or suffer from buyer's remorse.

Having picked up the True20 corebook, and finding out that this book was its predecessor, I could not help but purchase it. Like the others said, it is a cleaned-up version of d20 meant more for telling stories than hack and slashing. However, unless you are strictly into fantasy RPGing, you will find this a one-trick-pony. If you already have True20, you don't really need to pick up this book, as it offers very little more.

One note about this book; it is rather "feminine". I don't really mean that as an insult. It's just that the art has a feel to it that most men won't like. But if you are trying to convert a girlfriend or wife to fantasy roleplaying, then you should definitely use this book instead of d20 or True20.

The pre-release material for "Blue Rose" suggested that it would take fantasy gaming in new directions. When it was finally released in PDF format (the release date of the paperback version being unclear as of this writing) I snapped it up. The following is my review of the PDF version, which may or may not reflect the paperback version when it is (eventually) released.

"Blue Rose" takes place in a unique fantasy world. There are no elves, dwarves or other Tolkienesque trappings. Neither is it a fantastic version of Earth's middle ages. In this world nobles are chosen by an examination, the ruler is chosen by a divine messenger, and discrimination of race, gender or sexual orientation is unheard of. Indeed, the almost Utopian nature of the kingdom of "Blue Rose" has more in common with the land of Oz than Middle Earth or the Hyborian kingdoms. While some players may snear at such "anachronistic" ideas (if such a term can be applied to a fantasy world), I for one, liked it. Saving the kingdom is a popular theme in fantasy games, well here's a kingdom that I for one think is worth saving.

At this point, it is worth mentioning that "Blue Rose" is not intended to be played with a "hack-and-slash" mentality. The book encourages exploring charcter development, personal motivations and non-violent solutions for problems. This isn't to say that there can't be conflict, or even combat, simply that it shouldn't take center stage in "Blue Rose."

The rules present five cultures of humans for one to play. You can also choose between two non-human races (the magical Vata or the sea-folk) or an intelligent animal. Again I liked that. I am tired of elves, and every gaming group has a player who wants to be an animal.

The system is similar to the d20 system, but the antiquated elements have been shed. The 3-18 scores for abilities have been dropped. In "Blue Rose" all you have are the modifiers (i.e. +1, +2 etc.). Hit points have been dropped (applause!) in favor a damage roll/health level system like that in "Mutants and Masterminds." Finally, experience points are gone. The DM determines when you have advance in levels.

The magic system has been revamped as well. Gone are the endless lists of spells. Instead, there are specific schools of magic, each with a list of uses that can be learned as skills. Thus you have the animalism school, with abilities like beast-speech and beast-summoning, or the shaping school, which lets you shape fire or shape earth. Some players might feel this approach is furstratingly limited, but to me it has a much better feel than the traditional D&D magic system.

My complaints about "Blue Rose" are few. First, as the rules are written, all your character's skill levels go up every time you gain a level, and if you acquire new skills at higher levels you are automatically an expert in them. The designers say they sacrificed realism for playability with this approach, but this is a cop-out. It took me five minute to revise the skill system to provide both.

My second complaint is that the book provides relatively little information on the non-human races. This was most likely a space issue which will be amended in future supplements. It begs the question though; why include the non-human races if they could be fully developed? As a referee I will need to develop these non-human cultures, only to see my work become outdated when said supplements are published.

Despite these complaints, I was very impressed with "Blue Rose." It dispenses with the outdated elements of the d20 system, which I heartily applaud. More than that though, it inspires players to take their playing in a new direction, and in a hobby that is bogged down with endless repitions of a small pool of cliches this approach is truly noteworthy.

This book is completely necessary in today's world. Because propaganda and ignorance still prevail, any legalization of this God-sent drug probably won't happen in the near future. This book tells you what you need to know in order to privately use marijuana and...not get caught! It tells you the rights that you do and do not have concerning search and seizure, police conduct, drug tests, etc., etc. This is a must have!

This book it out of date if you look at it. The first few pages I browsed through said it was illegal to have marijuana in all states. I'm thinking, "You forget that if you have it for medical purposes it's legal." I decide to check out the date of this book and it is 1996. A lot of stuff has changed since then. Not too great but things have changed. I would look at this book to see an old perspective of how martijuana is viewed and can still be viewed today in some aspects.

This book is very thorough. Especially worth mentioning is the eloquently worded preface, in which Boire likens the government's banning of marijuana to the government's banning of a particular book. (Reminds me of the Pakistan fiasco over Salman Rushdie's "The Satanic Verses" back in the late 1980's.) He then concludes, "My mind is my own." Wow! That gave me the chills.

This book was wonderfully written. It is divided into accessible chapters so you can read any chapter without missing the point. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the law, especially those who use drugs or would like to know their rights.

I have a few problems with Mutants & Masterminds 2E (M&M2E) at it's core. It's a good game, but it feels just a bit "blah" to me in play. I have issues with the linear d20 system, as well as a bit of a "bored now" feeling toward it's Toughness save in lieu of rolling gobs of damage dice against traditional Hit Points. I heard the Mastermind's Manual would have a few optional rules to help people like me customize M&M2E to what we saw as the exemplary superhero game, if M&M2E wasn't already there. I was mistaken. There are a few HUNDRED optional rules listed herein.

This means the Mastermind's Manual is geared more toward system (crunch) junkies, and setting (fluff) junkies will probably find the book lacking. I am both a system and setting junkie, and bought Freedom City 2nd at the same time as this book to sate both needs ;-).

What you have here is a 160 page tome of pure substance. If you pay for page count the price is terrible, but if you pay for content, the price is peanuts. Nearly every system of M&M2E is given an optional rules and replacement rules treatment, among which are my quest for a bell curved resolution system and hit points/damage system.

But there's so much more. Systems and tweeks that can change M&M2E into a different game. M&M2E at core is designed for closer to Four Color superhero play (like Justice League), but several options presented within the Mastermind's Manual can easily scale it down to gritty Street level play the likes of Punisher, Batman, and Daredevil. Also, some options exist to bring the game into the other direction, scaling the power level up to resemble something like Nobilis (godlings).

Now, I'm not saying you'll use (or even like) all 200 optional rules, because you probably won't. I don't even come close, I only like/use about 10 of them for my version of M&M2E. But having them all there to peruse is a real treat, as it shows exactly what the system can be customized to do, as well as how far the designer will go to help fans houserule the game into their perfect superhero RPG. Every rule seems to have been playtested to iron the kinks out, every question I came up with was clearly answered in the text. While I don't like and won't use many of the rules, it's good to see the breadth presented in an effort to make the book useful to anybody, not just those with a particular taste.

This book also shows how to create Powers from scratch (including breaking down the Powers from the core into their component parts), and handling Powers in different manners than just the core.

The main merit of this book (as in a merit to any group, even those that love core M&M2E with no changes), in my opinion, is the GM tips and tricks. For superpowers that tend to break the plot (you know - invisibility, mind control, esp, incorporeality, mind reading, precognition, etc), utilizing both the "real lives" and the "super lives" of the superhero characters, even different possibilities in the roles of superheroes vs. the society around them.

All this, and I've barely scratched the surface on the Mastermind's Manual, giving you what I would say is a weak selection of the sheer mass of options within. Let me just say that this book turned me around when it came to M&M2E's system. It took me from "blah" to "whoa!" in no time. I can't say as to whether it will do the same to others, but it seems likely to be a good addition to anyone's M&M2E library.

At its heart, the Mastermind's Manual is a smorgasbord of new rules options for a 2nd Edition Mutants & Masterminds campaign. The Manual contains dozens of options for all aspects of the game, including character creation, feats, skills, powers and combat. In addition to the rules options there is gamemaster advice and expanded rule systems. The book also includes a FAQ about the game, as well as errata for the 2nd edition - a nice inclusion.

I liked some of the rules options better than others, but overall most seemed both well thought out and interesting. Some of them, like the rules for extra attacks, could easily have been included with the core rules. Others, like the optional level-based advancement rules or rules for using hit points could make significant changes to how the game is played.

What's missing? I would have really liked a chapter devoted to `plug ins' like a sample bank map, a template for a runaway robot, etc. that I could easily drop into my campaign. Maybe I'm just greedy, but these would be more useful to me than a discussion of tech levels or other general advice.

The Mastermind's Manual is a book geared primarily towards the game master of the Mutants and Masterminds game. In it you will find suggestions, tips and tricks for running what can be one of the greatest superhero role playing games ever devised. Several more Martial Arts styles drawn from the real world are tallied up in terms of feats for ease of reference as well as revisiting ones in the second edition main book. This can be likened to the DMG of M&M. Anyone who is running or is thinking of running a Mutants and Masterminds campaign really should consider this book. Freedom City gives you a setting, the main book has all the basic rules for play. But the Mastermind's Manual is for the GM who wants a few extra cards up her figurative sleeve to tinker with the system when it gets to be somewhat contrary to his or her vision. Not exactly an essential book, but for the Mutants and Masterminds game, it does help the GM do his job a lot better.

You don't. What you do is, you give people the tools so that they can can make things better in their own way.

The Mastermind's Manual was described by lead writer and gaming guru Steve Kenson as "Unearthed Arcana for Mutants and Masterminds". Unearthed Arcana, a Wizards of the Coast supplement for Dungeons and Dragons, was a compilation of dozens of optional rules for that game, so you know from the start that you're going to be getting a book of optional rules. Many of these were options included in the first edition of the game that had to be cut from the second edition's page count; quite a few of them are the status quo of the first edition, offered as options for those who don't like the way the second edition does things. And there are also some rules for gamers who aren't happy with the changes that Mutants and Masterminds introduces to the basic rules set. (Of this last category, the only ones that make me wince are slightly ham-handed attempts to reintroduce hit points and experience levels to the system.)

But there's more. There's a short section explaining how the various powers in the main rulebook are put together, and explaining how one can go about building new ones. There are sections offering advice about simulating natural hazards, and about world-building and different styles of games. It's obvious that the designers have put a lot of thought into their work, with many sidebars on "how and why you might (or might not) want to use this."

What has most contributed to the so-called D20 revolution is less the freedom to use the system offered by its creators to other publishers, then its recognition that most, if not all, gamers don't necessarily just use the game systems we're offered "out of the box". We tinker, we invent house rules. We say, I like this idea that I've come up with better than what the publishers came up with. This has never really been sanctioned before, and I say that it's about time. Kudos to Green Ronin for offering the tools to make their great system even better.

This was a very good product from Green Ronin. I really enjoyed the spells, though the prestige classes were a bit bland.

While it IS on par with other books in the Master Class series, I was personally hoping for a just a little fluff, or even a sample coven or NPCs or something, just because Green Ronin's are sooooo great. (See Assassin's Handbook,). I'm excited to introduce all kinds of witches into my game. My only complaint then is the book is too short. I'd pay more for more of any Green Ronin product.

What it does have is many good feats and great spells that really help with the flavor of being a witch.

The Witch has been an archetype in fairy tales and stories of long long ago. So it comes of no surprise that someone would want to make this basic type of spellcaster a part of the D20 landscape. The Dungeon Master Guide makes passing reference to the Witch class as a way for DMs to make their own classes but beyond a suggested spell list, not much development is given. Steve Kenson does a wonderful job filling out the class as a worthwhile addition to the base classes. The suggested spell list is expanded with new spells and the hows and why of the type of spellcaster a Witch should be is explained. Keep in mind that the Witch is not not supposed to be someone who gets into the thick of things with spells that fry opponents with Lightning or otherwise reduce an enemy to ash, her magic is much more subtle. No new skills worth noting but a few feats that are good for filling out a Witch's personality and while the selection of Prestige Classes is rather lean what is there is rather interesting with classes to represent the traditional wicked witch, Circe, the Wizard-Priestess and the Crone as well as a warrior oriented class of persons who defend Witches and their covens. Influences of powerful places and times of the year are given some well thought discussions with a calendar of Pagan holidays given as an example from our own world. All in all I highly recommend this book to anyone looking to add this classic type of spellcaster to their campaigns.

This book is really good on what is supposed to do: To present a new core class and a creative and delightful background to include it in your D&D 3.0 campaigns.

From the core class to the spells and the great amount of potions... the celebrations (based on real mithology and beliefs about witchcraft with their respective warning that the included information is only for entertaining purposes) this book is very useful and entertaining in a D&D campaign.

I'm waiting for a D&D 3.5 version of this book.

I ordered this book, sight unseen, expecting a mostly shoddy book with a lot of WC (Wicca Correct, similar to PC, but with more nightshade and black lace) crud and a few gems I might be able to slide in here or there.

Imagine my pleasure and suprise at discovering that this is actually a very useful, well-planned book that delivers a lot of good information in a balanced fashion. Witches can be evil, witches can be good, witches can be, well, pretty much whatever you want them to be. And they aren't just suped-up hedge mages or adepts, they're a full-blown class, with a pleasant combination of special abilities from other classes (most especially druids) and a few new abilities.

The prestige classes are great, allowing the witch to really customize her character, as well as providing a great prestige class, the witch's champion, that can give her some extra protection, in the form of a bodyguard, without getting ridiculous or borrowing too much from the Devoted Defender (Sword and Fist.)

The items section is interesting, providing a range of natural ingredients for spells and potions that can add flavour to a campaign. Even if you don't actually have to buy the stuff, it's much "neater" to have stuff like wolfsbane and celery root in your inventory rather than the generic "spell components."

The ritual magic section is superb, outlining rules that just about any class can use to "cast a hex" or just reach out and crush someone. This section is, however, the reason the book doesn't get five stars. After several chapters of giving flavour and colour to the rules, ritual magic is presented as a bare bones set of guidelines and standardizations, with precious little colour or detail provided.

Still, well worth purchasing, along with Green Ronin's Shaman's Handbook, if you want to generate a rural, magic-casting environment.