Clarke Books

Praise of Folly is what it was intended to be, a modest satire, not a masterwork. Erasmus was an interesting and accomplished man - one of the lights of his age. However, this work, written, basically, on a lark for his good friend, Thomas More, is a little difficult for the modern reader but is still, at times, quite humorous. Unlike the work of Jonathon Swift (many years later) there's little reason to read this unless you're a student of the period.

Granted this is pretty dry reading. Erasmus may not be the greatest writer. This does make for a turgid evening if one plans or desires to read it from cover to cover in one sitting. That said, Erasmus rode (if not found himself starting) the beginning wave of the great reformation. In his writings (which bear a not so slight foreshadowing to the great C.S. Lewis) Erasmus gives hope for all of us sinners in the guise of wit. An important addition to any library of classical literature.

"It is not wisdom to be always wise, and on the inward vision close the eyes" That is Santayana's wisdom. To play with it a bit ," It is not foolish always to be a fool, and on the outward shows and games of mankind make endless mockery. For who is the fool in the one place we are all to go?"
I remember reading this work in graduate school. A dutiful plodder wondering why I was not laughing out loud and being so amused. Rather I was falling asleep inside and finding the dull complaints of Erasmus a kind of spiritless exercise in predictable dumping on all things.
Alas, I am usually apologetic about not understanding works generations of mankind consider classics. But in this case I will make a modest disclaimer. This one is not in my eyes a great one, not even a very good one.
And now to another complaint. The great tolerant Erasmus who could see the folly of human greed and vanity and prejudice everywhere was himself quite vain and greed and prejudiced in regard to one very small minority of 'Europeans' who can claim to be the most persecuted people in the history of mankind. Why should I sing the praises of someone who hates me?
The bootsteps of Nazism march to the tune that Erasmus and Voltaire the two great ' liberators' of European mankind sing.
I have no praise for Erasmus folly and his wickedness in this.

Sorry, I tried several times to read this book. I hunted for passages that might interest me. Unfortunately, all I found was [the author] blowing his own horn. But then fantasy and science is about all that interests me. I'm sure someone with a historical bent would find this tale exhilarating.

To say the book has less than perfect unity in tone, as was written in the introduction, pg xv, is an understatement. The reader is never sure whether it is Folly or Erasmus who is talking. Perhaps for the goddess of Folly, contradictions and inconsistencies are the very follies desired - how are we mortals to tell?

And that is what we have here - all the inconsistencies, as, for example, mentioned in pages xiv-xv of the introduction again, that Erasmus wrote with the learned sophistry he denied schoolmen, philosophers, courtiers, theologians and monks. It's almost like Lao-Tzu and his Tao-Te Ching which includes the famous "The name that can be named is not the eternal name; the Tao that can be named is not the eternal Tao," only to have a later poet, Po Chi-Yi, quip about the 10,000 word effort to say what cannot be said in the first place. Yes, he did say at the end that 'I hate an audience that won't forget,' but that's not a courtesy he proffered to his opponents, of whom the criticism by Erasmus seems caviling, carping and nitpicking. He should have emulated his inpiration, Lucian with his 'philosophers for sale,' and made points simple like that here. It would be unfair, though tempting, to think that Erasmus took Quitillian to heart (pg. 81, 'what can't be refuted can often be parried in laughter') and disguised his voice in silly chaos for what has not been thought out cogently.

So, one is not quite sure whether wasting away a life in idleness, corruption or avarice as priests, bishops and monks are wont to do is the same kind of folly as the folly that comes from the innocence of the simple minded people or children, since Erasmus never quite made it crystal clear. Do we praise folly here but condemn it otherwise - without unity of tone and consistency of the vantage point of the writer, the whole thing just becomes a mess of confusion.

What Erasmus wanted to say does deserve our attention, but one wishes that he could have done it in a more fluid style and without all that pretentious classical references, for unlike Lucian, he lived not in that period. And certainly it could be better organized into chapters and sections, and used some editing to eliminate the endless repetitions, ensure consistency and unity of tone. Casson's 'Selected Satires of Lucian' is a much better read and is highly recommended over this one.

SHADOW LOVER is an erotic mystery with suspense and intrigue. It captured the reader's attention from the first page and did not let go until the last page. It was a page turner, especially if you like murder and mayhem. Ivan was as brutal a murderer as Angelica was a fearful victim and Dr. Painkin was focused on "saving" his patient, while someone was lurking in the shadows. Hope C. Clarke is a excellent writer-one with the creativity to make a new genre-and who has mastered her craft as well.

Let me start off by saying that the idea and plot for this novel is very creative. Written well it could've even been a really descend movie. However the novel wasn't written well at all. In fact, the only thing good about this book was the creative idea.

I think you'll agree that character development is one of the most important elements in a book. That's what makes most books stand out from the rest. Good, developed characters. Wasn't happening here. They just weren't developed at all. They were unrealistic and too perfect. Here's an example: The romance between Angelica and Steve wasn't believable. They practically fell in love after a couple of chapters without even knowing each other. Another example... the shadowy figure character that shows up 3 times (with which the book is named after) has nothing to do with the story at all.

I don't think I'm being mean here. As a reader, who goes out and invests time and money into your work, you expect to read a novel that's developed, free of spelling and grammar mistakes, and somewhat believable.

I'm mad because this really could have been an excellent novel. I searched high and low for this book, finally found it, and became so disappointed after reading. I don't recommend this book because if you're someone whose looking for good suspense, thriller, and mystery you, unfortunately, won't find it here.

Hope C Clarke is an excellent writer who coates the mind with intrigue and suspense. She delivers strong characters that are never predictable and neither are her plots. In my opinion, she is the best of the best. I could not put Shadow Lover down. I started reading it at 6:15, just after work, and I did not put that book down until I finished it at 4:45 the next morning. I like the way she weaved in the mysterious shadow in this horrific tale of a battered woman's quest to get away from her derranged husband. You never know when he will pop up, but he is there lurking in the shadows and in this book, the bad guy gets his royally. I would give it 10 stars, but I was limited to 5. this definitely deserves the big screen. I read Pent Up Passion and Best Seller too and Hope Clarke is wicked with the pen. Her short stories are no joke either. Check them out at [URL] people, she updates them every 3 months.

Man! Hope Clarke's tale of fatal attraction was a roller coaster of a ride. Just when I thought the situations couldn't get any more twisted and vivid, I was shocked when they did. The story focuses around a DR. (Dr. Painkin) who falls in love with on of his patients (Angelica) that he meets after she is beaten by her husband. The action picks up when Ivan (her husband) will stop at nothing (AND I MEAN NOTHING) to get her back. I won't spoil the ending for you.....This is a first rate thriller by Hope C. Clarke. I look forward to reading more of her work.

I had the pleasure of meeting Hope C. Clarke at the Harlem Book Fair this year and I must say, she's got it going on. Gorgeous woman and very approachable. I finally got around to reading Shadow Lover and the book is hot!!! I don't know if the girl writes erotica, mystery, horror or romance because she touched it all. Ivan Carty was brutal and sexy - what a combination! I would not have believed it possible to create such characterization. Her story line is tight too. She creates mini stories that are all linked together in the end and Ivan is tied into all of them.

The girl is dangerously sexy and her writing is entertaining too. This is a must read - take it from a man who only reads non-fiction. I'm converted!!! I'm looking forward to reading Pent Up Passion.

Cheril N. Clarke, in my opinion, is an excellent writer! I thoroughly enjoyed Tainted Destiny, which just flowed from the first book, Intimate Chaos. I honestly didn't want to finish the book because it was so good and held my attention, thus requiring me to turn page after page until I finished it in about 3 days! I think I will read them both again in a few months!!! Keep'em comin' Cheril...

I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. Only because didn't hear anything about these books, so I had no feedback to go on.
It was very real, very emotional. The characters were believable & it offers a realistic view (for the most part) into lesbian relationships.
I've read both I & II, I believe that in some aspect we can all relate to at least one of these characters.

I had difficulty getting into both Intimate Chaos and Tainted Destiny. Actually the onlyi reason I read this book is that I bought them together and figured maybe this was a little stronger than Intimate Chaos. As the book continued, it became easier to read, but was never a gripping story for me,because I found it difficult to empathize with Sadira. Perhaps this is because she seems so immature. I guess I have little sympathy with people who wallow in their pain and I feel that is what she does for much of both books. (We all do to some extent, but she takes it to an extreme) She can see other people's foolishness for staying in situations that are not good for them--she can even see her own; however even when she finally does go to a therapist she comes close to ignoring the insights she gains into her life. This stubbornness is the direct cause of her breakup with Tricia. Too bad, so sad. What makes her think the way she plans to resolve the situation has any merit? At least she has people who care enough to help her pick up the pieces of her life.

The followup to Intimate Chaos, this book was intense, suspenseful, and a great read. I read it in less than 24 hours. I just could not put it down. The characters were well developed and you could easily relate to them and what they were going through, especially Sadira. Truly shows you how powerful love can be.

Face it--you've been Sadira before: a woman with a deep obsession for someone else. That's what makes TAINTED DESTINY, Cheril N. Clarke's sequel to Intimate Chaos, so compelling. It's the fact that as women we can relate so well to having that one person in our lives we can't shake.

For Sadira, that person is her former lover, Jessie. Where things ended horribly between them in Chaos--complete with heartbreak and scandal--Destiny picks up with Sadira still nursing her wounds, but realizing that she has to get over the woman who could never entirely offer her heart even after their many years together. Leaving their home in Miami to move back to New York, Sadira plans to rid herself of the pain, and finds she has many distractions to do so.

One such woman is Brianna, a college student who offers Sadira a new outlook on life. Another is Olivia, a strong-willed chick who won't take no for an answer. And another is Tricia, an old flame that becomes rekindled over time. It's Tricia whom Sadira falls for, but memories of Jessie still plague her.

Tainted Destiny, simply put, is gripping. Clarke manages to unearth emotions that ring true and paints a true picture of a woman in love turmoil. With every page, you sink deeper into her despair. Just like with Intimate Chaos, you want smack some sense into her, while at the same time hug her when her pain gets unbearable. Though sometimes a bit wordy, Clarke is a writer who pulls you in and takes you there.

I was actually very disappointed with the condition of this book when I received it. It had been packed in an envelope that was close to being too small, and the jacket was torn in several places. I purchased this book among others, as a 45 year anniversary gift to my wife. Robert Service had been a particular favorite of her father, and I knew she would treasure the book. I will just have to tell her that I meant well, but it didn't turn out so well.

I am very happy with this book. It combines a lot of Service's greatest poems with great Photos of the land and people he wrote about. It is a lovely book that you can be proud to have in your collection.

I love Robert Service's raw tones and poems. He tells them with a grit that is true to heart and really just gives you a feel for what is going on and what it was like to be in the real wilderness days. I have heard he described as crude and if that's how you want to view it...go ahead but these poems aren't crude...they tell the true spirit of the classic days with great detail and life.

I first stumbled upon Robert W. Service when I found a small volume of his poetry from before and during World War One in an antique shop in Maine. I hungered for more, searched the internet, and was thrilled to find this book available, as well as others. Service's poetry is what poetry should be, at least in my mind. It flows evenly, it rhymes, it tells stories about human beings' lives, feelings, and struggles. Plus, he deals with people, places, and times in history that interest me, especially World War One, northern North America, Europe, etc. This is an excellent, excellent collection of his works.

Robert Service, if anyone, could be called "the grandfather of cowboy poets." This has been a popular genre over the past few years and much of the work done by these wonderful men and women can be traced back to Service's poems and style. Being called the "Bard of the Yukon" is certainly true, but sells this particular writer short. His works include so much more that just the delightful poems of the Canadian Territory. Simply written, with a story, they are quite a delight for both old and young alike. I recent years, some of our elitist in our academic world have been less than kind to this poet. This is all well and good with me. They simply don't get it. Service's work will quite likely endure far longer than some of the ranting I read in the professional journals. I read these poems to young folks in my classes, and they seldom fail to delight and indeed, inspire. It is difficult to go wrong with this one. Highly recommend.

The author has great ideas and the premise behind this book has so much potential as a Choose Your Own Adventure (CYOA). (I do not want to give away many of the endings, but a roommate from hell reading bad poetry is just one potential outcome.) However, it is not well drafted and the illustrations are unnecessary and distracting. I wish the author of this book would do a piece with the authors of Whatever you want - now that would be a fantastic CYOA ride.

This book is a really great gift, a totally fun and unusual read and ideal for anyone who dates or just likes a good story and used to love the Choose Your Own Adventure books when they were a kid.

This is a fun book suitable for pre-teens and teen girls. There are chances to make some bad decisions that don't always give a harsh enough outcome (i.e. having unprotected sex with a stranger results in marriage and a baby), but in general this book was fun and when the reader makes a really bad call at one point (yes, I read through all of the endings), the author slightly chastizes the poor choice (which I found amusing and light hearted). This book does not encourage multiple dates in one night, but instead gives options of whether you want to go on a date that night, if so, what happens, and there are lots of twists and turns that make this book fun even for a pre-teen/teen who is not an avid reader. The stories are fairly short and could be read with limited time.

This book is a "must have." Dating, friendship, and coincidental humor paired with lusty excitement and it's even interactive!! "Night of a Thousand Boyfriends" allows you to channel decisions that you could have never made in realife all while making you laugh. The book is a true necessity!!!!

Need a book to blow your mind? night of a thousand boyfriends is it. this book is fun fast and a great guilt free way to indulge in man candy. mmm man candy.

This a very good book with many surprises. You think you are up to date on things happening in Washington? Not so!! Read this book to find out things you can't even imagine.

9/11; Massive national intelligence failures; the Iraqi War; Oil and the current energy crisis; International and domestic terrorism. What happened? Where did we go wrong? Who is to blame? These are just a few questions the American Public deserves answers to as a result of our government's failure to fully investigate, cooperate, and act on intelligence leads. Richard A. Clarke has written an explosive expose' of what went wrong agency by agency, and believe me, he spares no one. In his book, "Your Government Failed You: Breaking the Cycle of National Security Disasters", Mr. Clarke outlines the history of how we got to where we are, what went wrong, and how we get out of the mess we're in.

Richard A. Clarke is a foreign policy professional. He served in the Pentagon, State Department, and National Security Agency; working side by side with the key policy makers in both the Clinton and Bush Administrations. This is a guy who has "been there and done that".

If you are tired of all the partisan finger pointing and want to know the unvarnished truth, then I urge to read this book. The American People deserve noting less than honest answers, and Mr. Clarke provides them in spades.

Clarke writes very well. This amusing, wonkish book should be read by Obama, McCain, Barr, and all members of the US Congress, the CIA, the FBI, and Homeland Security, as well as by the 50 governors---and by the staffs of these officers.

Clarke makes many sensible suggestions as to how to keep us safe. I hope some or all of them are eventually adopted.

On energy security, Clarke points out that nuclear power is the only safe, always-on, carbon-free source of power that is currently available.

He has, however, drunk the Kool-Aide on clean coal. He seems to think that with reasonable effort, we can sequester the 3 billion (3,000,000,000) tons of hot carbon-dioxide gas that annually go up the smokestacks of our coal-fired power plants mixed with billions of tons of hot air. This task would be enormously expensive; it would dwarf even the long-term costs of Bush's invasion and occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan. Instead, we should employ nuclear power on a large scale and do further research on wind, solar, and on batteries for cars and trucks.

Great book. I've read a lot about this administration and it's mess-ups but this book was the most informative yet. Highly recommend it to everyone really interested in what happened to the US.

From Pearl Harbor, to Korea, to Tet...to Beirut...to Sept. 11, the millions of dollars a year we dump into intelligence has been largely wasted and we have seen the failures. Clarke's book is fascinating in that it gives a very practical reasoned approach for what we can do to increase our success ration and our safety. A great read from a patriot.

This is a book-within-a-book story of a man who goes back in time 80 million years, proving that his theory of time travel works yet living out his life absolutely isolated from human contact.

Sam Magruder lives in 2162. We first learn of his amazing adventure when slabs of stone from 80 million years ago are discovered to contain "universal Swahili" - the language of 2162 - chronicling Maguder's amazing time jump. He writes of how he figures out "when" he is, how he survives, and of his musings on his purpose now that he can't ever get back to his life in 2162.

This is a treasure of a book. I really enjoyed the descriptions of how he survived the first days, how he tried to make sense of what happened to him, and how he got through his life.

Surrounding the 8 slabs of Magruder's story is philosophical argument about his life and its meaning by the Universal Historian, the Common Man, the Pragmatist, the Ethnologist, and Pierre Precieux, discoverer of the slabs. Each represents a different philosophical viewpoint. One thing that was terribly amusing was that Magruder's discussion of his (lack of) sex life was eliminated from the general translation available to the general public, but kept, for scientific accuracy in the official text.

Surrounding the book-within-a-book, are an introduction by Arthur C. Clarke, an afterward by Stephen Jay Gould, and a memoir by Joan Simpson Burns, daughter of the author, George Gaylord Simpson. All are well thought out and interesting reads on their own.

This book was found after the author's death by his daughter. He was the preeminent paleontologist of the 20th century, and this book is, according to Clarke, Gould, and his daughter, unconsciously autobiographical and revelatory of his strengths and weaknesses.

The Dechronization Of Sam Magruder is a time traveling story by the late great George Gaylord Simpson. The introduction is by Arthur C. Clarke and with an afterword by Stephen Jay Gould. And it is brilliant!
Based very much on the style of H. G. Wells's The Time Machine Mr. Simpson writes a story about a man being sent BACKWARDS in time, about 80 million years, to find himself totally alone among the dinosaurs. The story is less about ancient life as it is about what is means to be a member of mankind. Is this fiction? Is it science? Or is it philosophy? Whatever it may be it turns out to be just plain fun.
A short story any fan of time travel needs for their library.

Loved this book. Despite begin an adherent of creation science and abhorrer of evolution, I found this a fascinating and well-written story. I enjoyed it so much I read it to my daughter at bedtime. Sam Magruder is a "time" scientist in the future who accidentally falls victim to his own experiment. Simpson's plot is compelling. At first it bothered me that I found an evolution story so interesting, until I remembered that evolution is science fiction anyway.

Stephen J. Gould notes were an interesting insight into just how philosophically-based evolution is.

This slim novella, by the late and distinguished paleontologist, was
found in his papers after his death. It's just so-so as fiction, in my
opinion, but the book is worth your attention for the two elegant essays
included. The first, by Arthur C. Clarke, outlines the history of time-travel
stories, and includes more recommendations for classic dinosaur tales.
Sir Arthur notes, with admirable succintness, that "the most convincing
argument against [real] time travel is the remarkable scarcity of [real]
time travellers."

Stephen Jay Gould was a student of Simpson's, and contributes a
graceful and elegaic essay on Simpson's novella, career and life --
which, I must say, I enjoyed more than the story. An exceptional
piece, not to be missed if you have any interest in Gould or Simpson.

Simpson's novella does have its charms -- it has a nice mock-
Victorian club-story opening, not unlike Clarke's Tales from the
White Hart, and is oddly compelling despite the amateurish writing.
Sam Magruder, a chronologist in 2162, is accidentally "dechronized"
into the late Cretaceous, with no possibility of rescue, and spends the
rest of his life evading, eating and studying dinosaurs. It's certainly
not "the best time travel story since HG Wells" as the cover blurb
avers, but it's worth a look. Sadly, the story's paleontology is
now quite out of date.

Peter D. Tillman
Consulting Geologist, Tucson & Santa Fe (USA)
(Review first published in the Arizona Geological Society newsletter, 1-02)

I love time travel and I loved this book. Incredibly it was way too short, but a masterpiece for its genre.

Tom Feelings book the Middle Passage is an excellent book to use with students to help them learn about a topic that is often ignored (slavery). The images are striking and casue students to delve deeply into their emotional being to identfy the true feelings of slavery during a horrendous period of time. This books created great discussions and my students were able to broaden their scope on several topics: the middle passage, slavery, emancipation, etc. The best visual read that my students and I have had in a life time.

The Middle Passage is a phenominal series of paintings depicting the transportation of black slaves across the Atlantic. I use this large format book as a visual aid in my N.Y.C. art classes. It has inspired the type of dialogue we all want to have in our classrooms.

Excellent pencil drawings depict the harvesting and the transport of human beings as commodities to be sold in the slave trade. A powerful resource.

This book has been classified as an Art book. Share it with every Art Teacher you know !!! Horrific, terrifying illustrations should motivate us to ensure that something like this NEVER happens again !!!

Inaccessible and obscure to many because of its controversial categorization under children's books, Tom Feelings' The Middle Passage: White Ships/Black Cargo relays a story that simply cannot go untold. People of all ages will experience a strong reaction to the vivid, black and white illustrations chronicling the brutal history of America, of race, and of humanity that can never really be fully remembered. I would advise against simply handing the book to a child without being prepared to undergo the painful process of explaining the meaning of the narrative relayed by Feelings. The artist graphically captures many of the different atrocities that occurred: violence, rape, and dehumanizing conditions. The book sparks productive discussion between all people on the slave trade and on the different methods of representing that history.

Arguably miscategorized as a children's book, The Middle Passage: White Ships/Black Cargo is a fascinating chronological still portrait of the slave trade. Tom Feelings' images are graphic yet beautiful, cruel and realistic, uplifting but heartbreaking. The absence of words intensified the images on the pages by letting them speak for themselves.

I particularly thought that the black and white (of the images as well as the intentional black/white of the figures in the images) was extremely powerful. The artwork is superb, but because of its violent subject material, other viewers might find it difficult to turn the pages. The details in the works are amazing, and the juxtaposition of the beauty of the human form and the cruelty of the slave trade is haunting.

A major asset to any book collection.

this book offer a lot of info about boats and ships. it also has new races and subraces.Good book

Nice addition to the environment books being put out by WOTC. One would have thought these would have come out just after the core rulebooks.

I liked this book... the information is really useful for DM's who want to add water to their adventures and adds new features such as races, spells and scenarios (rules included).

I would like a better choice of races and a little more of information about underwater adventures since the information is focused on anphibious races and more pirate style adventures (which I don't mind about it).

The spells are Ok and the monsters included are interesting too.

This book is a good reference for coast and shore adventures, if you want to play a pirate-style adventure or just to change the location of your standard adventures, this book is right for you.

Stormwrack is a nice book about sea trade, pirates, and aqauatic adventures. It has a few bits of rather nice advice for those seeking to add an aquatic touch to their campaign or make a purely aquatic one. They have some of the best rules for boats (as far as I'm concerned) out of any d20 book.

That being said, this book is really only about oceans, and is most useful to DMs. Players won't get much out of it unless they know they're going to be playing in waterbased campaigns for a long time.

All right. I've been looking forward to this book for a long time. I've heard great things about Frostburn. I had a positive reaction to Sandstorm. This is the third book in the environment series and it deals with one of my great loves . . . the sea.

So how did Richard Baker, Joseph D. Carriker, Jr., and Jennifer Clarke Wilkes do? Did this Wizards of the Coast book meet my (admittedly high) expectations?
Well, no.

I can't recommend this book. I wouldn't have bought it but that's because it fell woefully short on the only areas I'm likely to use. Your game might differ, so lets discuss what they book actually contains.

Chapter One discusses the uses of this book and the type adventures a GM might run. This discusses aquatic adventures, planar adventures and the like. The chapter ends with a discussion of a stripped down narrative way of handling naval combat, under the premise that in a D&D campaign, naval combat won't be exciting for the players (this is the first time I disagreed with a premise of the book).

Chapter Two contains four "new" aquatic races. Now, the Aquatic Elf is an old D&D standby, but please, WotC, enough already. I've got more sapient races in my D&D games than I know what to do with. I've got enough. Stop deluging me. Races are getting as bad Prestige Classes.
The second half of the chapter deals with existing races and their interaction with the seas. This is more in line with what I wanted.
Chapter Three is classes. The first half deals with class variations, such as how to handle an sea-based druid. This is what these books should be about. The second half deals with Prestige classes.

Sigh. Those who follow my reviews know my deep hatred of Prestige Class proliferation. Now this book had a shot of getting a pass from me like Waterdeep. I mean, the sea is an alien environment. A few new prestige classes might be a must, especially dealing with characters that actually live or work underwater.

They had seven. Seven!

I think I'm going to swallow my tongue.

Chapter 4 has the same problem as the previous two. It begins with some expansions to skill rulings, which is delightful. Then it moves on to continue Feat proliferation. Twenty-Three new feats by my count. Really, isn't there a Betty Ford program for these people? A few, like sea legs, I can see. Now stop it.

Chapter 5 deals with ships and equipment. This is the chapter that made me want to toss the book. I'll get back to it later.

Chapter 6, Spells and Magic Items. You guessed it. Spell proliferation. Has anyone explained to these people that there's a point where "crunchy bits" become "soggy bits?" They also have new psionic powers, which was novel enough for me to be charmed (I don't have a psionic proliferation issue, but I have faith WotC will get me there eventually). New magic items are good. I think my favorite part here was the new Epic spells. Hey, high-level campaigns don't get a lot of love from game companies.

Chapter 7 is monsters. New monsters don't dilute or unbalance a game (yet) and this is a new environment, so huzzah. Some of the monsters, like the hippocampus, are a bit familiar as well, and I welcome them back.
Chapter 8 is adventure locales. I've enjoyed this chapter in the previous books, and this one is no exception. Hear that? I liked the last two chapters.

So, let's discuss the book overall.

Half of it is filled with stuff (Chapters 2-4, plus 6), for which I frankly have no use. What are the odds of one of these prestige classes ever making it into one of my games. Compare to the hundreds of prestige classes out there and honestly tell me why I'd be willing to pay for that paper and ink. The same is true for races and feats and spells. WotC needs to learn to pick their battles. If these chapters were focused, like a laser, instead of this scattershot approach, drowning us in game mechanics, I would have liked them. They aren't. So half the book is all but useless to me.

Now we get to two deeper issues, however.

First of all, research. I felt like a lot of research went into this product, there was all sorts of things that I didn't know, and I'm a bit of a nautical buff. Still, the things I did know often have glaring omissions. It's as if they wrote rules without thinking them through, or as if they didn't fully understand the implications of what they wrote.
Let me give you a couple examples.

First of all, there's the sinking ship. Now they have rules based on such facts as how much damage the ship has taken, and a ship can sink very fast with these rules. Still, they never mentioned that ships are made out of wood (at least most ships a PC will see). A real age of sail ship wouldn't typically sink quickly. They'd sink until their deck was a foot or two below the surface and stay that way for an hour or more, until the wood became water-logged enough that it went down the rest of the way (they might sink fast if they were very heavily laden, but the book doesn't address that). Now, this is an extremely important fact, one that would radically change the way a sinking ship is handled by the players, but it's never mentioned at all. If they had just spent one sentence on that fact then the DM could have used those rules to model it and this would have been a usable rule. Either they didn't research enough to understand this or they didn't think it important to tell the reader. Either way, the book doesn't get you the information you need. Since I found one important fact missing in an area I knew about, I now doubt the stuff I didn't know.

A second example. They use age of sail ships and they have some cannons, but they also have much older ship weaponry, the kind that you can't use from an age of sail ship. I don't see where they ever mentioned that you can't use a catapult from most of the ships in this book without damaging the rigging. They discuss that there might not be gunpowder on some worlds, ruling out cannons, but they never give an alternative. The ships on this book are designed based on a level of ship technology that can't evolve without cannons. If you are going to say that they might not have cannons, a reasonable alternative is needed, and in a game with little one-shot alchemist items in the PH, it would seem they could produce something. Heck, Wizards, back when it was TSR, actually published an article in Dragon where they discussed this problem (They owned Dragon back then if I have the time line correct). Someone at the company should know their intellectual property better than I do. Again, it's like they didn't follow through.

But this isn't the biggest problem for me. I'm used to companies screwing up ships.

No, the biggest problem is you have a book built around water adventures. Your game might vary, but in my game 90% of the time I'd use that book I'd be dealing with a ship. The book has perhaps 20-30 pages that directly relates to ships. I don't see anything in there what would improve my nautical game. I see very little in there that would improve anyone's nautical game. Instead of giving better rules for ship combat, they give sketchier ones. Instead of sprinkling the book with boxes describing details of ship life, they discuss world building logistics that are more likely to make your world more improbable. Instead of giving us useful ship data, they skimp over it with a minuscule treatment. They could have taken that old Dragon article, updated it straight to 3.5 and had a more useful book (and that article had a lot of problems of its own).

So you have to look and decide if this book is right for you. Maybe you need more aquatic races because your starting an exclusively underwater campaign. Maybe you want skimpier ship combat because you know your players will hate it. Maybe you don't intend to use the ships from this book (or don't need them, or only need one or two). If that's the case, this might be the book for you. It's not that it was poorly written, I've had this many problems with books and given them a recommendation. It's that this book's entire focus seems to be geared toward a different type of game than I would ever run.

Maybe you're the one it's focused at. If that's the case, buy it. If not, let it be.