Book Description
Populated with vampires, monsters, mummies, zombies, werewolves, sinister scientists, aliens, and psychopaths, horror films are permanently imprinted on our culture. Hollywood Horror celebrates this ever-popular and enduring cinematic genre, providing an entertaining narrative and pictorial history of the classic American horror film from the silent era to 1968.
The book captures all the mystery, power, dark humor, and chilling beauty of horror films, which author Mark A. Vieira calls "the escape valve of the American psyche." Using the voices of directors, writers, special-effects artists, and actors, this history covers every aspect of cinematic horror: seminal icons such as James Whale's Frankenstein, the steamy pre-Code jungle sorcery of The Island of Lost Souls, big-budget thrillers like The Uninvited, the cold-war science fiction of The Invasion of the Body Snatchers, sublimely ridiculous "creature features" such as The Blob, and studies in terror like Hitchcock's Psycho. Illustrated with 300 pristine still photographs-many never before published-Hollywood Horror is sure to appeal to a wide audience, from students and scholars, to classic movie fans and cinematic thrill-seekers, to all those interested in American popular culture.
Customer Reviews:
Carefully and lovingly crafted.......2007-08-17
This book is not only beautiful to look at, it is so beautifully written! The text gives great insights into the genres of classic horror films and fills them with little-known details of how the films were made. Vieira understands that films are made by people and he explores the personalities behind some of the most indelible cinematic creations ever. For any fan of horror films, this is a must own, must read!
Not just the same old stuff.......2006-05-19
I read everything published on the horror movie genre, and a lot of it is repetitive (there is almost nothing new to be unearthed after so many decades), but Mark Vieira has written anecdotes and observations that are fresh and lively. With a slightly wicked delight in gossipy tales of professional jealousy and schadenfreud, he has also gotten access to the clearest most beautiful pictures I've seen on the subject. His interest and knowledge of photography is outstanding. Where did he get the juicy tidbits of personal knowledge he relates about the great figures of genre filmmaking?
A Captivating History of the Hollywood Horror Movie.......2005-11-03
The horror movie has evolved from its origins in German Expressionism to our current day of graphic gore.Mr.Vieira is both entertaining and informative as he guides us along this shadowy path.We are offered behind-the-scenes anecdotes of the actors,directors,writers,producers and even the composers of some of the film scores.Quite fittingly we are given a glimpse of Universal's make-up wizard Jack Pierce.His painstaking creations persist more than sixty years later(even though we are told they did not look good in color).
All of the major as well as the lesser known works are covered.They are arbitrarily grouped under the titles of"The Gothic","The Psychic","The Atomic",and "The Cosmic".These unifying headings help the author to correlate relevant social and historical events with metaphorical images(eg 1950's Aliens as Cold War invaders).The section devoted to Val Lewton was especially enjoyable.I was able to better appreciate these artfully done low budget horror movies when viewing the recently released DVD collection.
I would highly recommend this book to the enthusiast and to the casual fan.Mr.Vieira obviously has a passion for this genre and it is infectious.An added bonus is the sumptuous black and white photographs many of which are rare studio stills.This is a book I was sorry to finish but I know I will be referring to it often in the future.
It Came From Upon The Screen.......2004-02-21
It is one of the most familiar faces from Hollywood: huge, boxy forehead, heavy lidded eyes, railroad-track surgical scars, and bolt through the neck. Frankenstein (or more properly, Frankenstein's monster), in a gorgeous, detailed black and white photo (which for all the fussing over its production would have been called a glamour shot if the subject were someone else) stares from the cover of _Hollywood Horror: From Gothic to Cosmic_ (Harry N. Abrams) by Mark A. Vieira. In his Acknowledgements section, Vieira thanks his dad for letting him watch horror movies "on the Early Show, the Late, Late Show, and everything between." He also thanks him for making trips so he could buy _Famous Monsters_ magazines. One cannot doubt that he has a lifelong enthusiasm for his subject, and the format of his book makes this clear. It has large, glossy pages filled with black and white images of celluloid nightmares, and most of them are by the studio photographers (some of them famous, like Ernest Bachrach) who were responsible for the stills that would sell the film to the public. Although for many the pictures will be the show, Vieira's intelligent text and cataloguing of the films is worth reading on its own.
Vieira has chronologically divided the genre into the Gothic, Psychic, Atomic, and Cosmic. Boris Karloff's career stretches over them all, starting from his Frankenstein role, for which his costume weighed all of 48 pounds. Dracula and Frankenstein made lots of money, with violence and the sexuality (both of which seem wonderfully understated in our times) before the Production Code came out drew the "grandstanding censure of women's clubs, clergymen, and politicians." The Psychic section of the book is largely given to the films of Val Lewton, who refused to go along with any previous horror formula. Cutting in mere suggestions of horror into a love story about normal people was just what budget-conscious RKO went for. The Atomic years were a reaction to the atmosphere of the Cold War, and routine horror films "began to portray science as a tool more evil than Dr. Frankenstein had ever anticipated." The first of many films to show how nuclear devices could bring forth monsters was 1953's _The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms_, with a custom-designed dinosaur awakened by an atomic test. Vieira ends with the Cosmic films, paying most attention to a movie monster that is among the most realistic ever, and which has caused more serious analysis than even Frankenstein's monster: HAL the computer from _2001_. The years tick by and we have yet to make a machine nearly as smart (or fortunately, as diabolical) as HAL.
The final portion of the book also includes films that are quite dissimilar from the monster movies covered in other pages. In a book like this, one will always think of films that ought to have been included or excluded, but Vieira is calling the shots. He has included _Psycho_, which is not really a monster film but has plenty of terror. For real scares, read about how Alfred Hitchcock treated Tippi Hedren during the shooting of the filming of the climactic sequence of _The Birds_, or how Frank Sinatra treated Mia Farrow while she was making _Rosemary's Baby_. Also here are _Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?_ and _Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte_, in which the real monsters are the actresses Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, aging grandes dames of cinema, who were at each other's throats onstage and off. There are some eccentric choices here, but Vieira's book is a fine-looking survey of a genre of films that, like so many of their monsters depicted, just does not die, and if it does, it comes back with surprising transformations.
Beautiful Book to Frighten Any Coffee Table.......2004-01-21
Mark A. Veira has assembled an outstanding collection of photographs to decorate this gorgeous coffee table book. These dazzling images alone would be enough to recommend this hefty volume but he also provides a fascinating account of the history of the horror film up to the end of the sixties and the death of the production code by which time fullly realized gore (think Night of the Living Dead) took over. The cover of the book features Boris Karloff and that is as it should be. His career spans the period of this book and his work over the years exemplifies the changes in the horror movie. The account of him throughout this volume bears a fitting tribute. The only shortcoming of this book is the space devoted to such movies as 2001: A Space Odyssey, but everyone will have an opinion on a movie here or there that should have been omitted or added. A fine volume.
Book Description
From the turn of the century to the 1960s, the songwriters of Tin Pan Alley dominated American music. Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, George and Ira Gershwin, Rodgers and Hart--even today these giants remain household names, their musicals regularly revived, their methods and styles analyzed and imitated, and their songs the bedrock of jazz and cabaret. In The Poets of Tin Pan Alley Philip Furia offers a unique new perspective on these great songwriters, showing how their poetic lyrics were as important as their brilliant music in shaping a golden age of American popular song. Furia writes with great perception and understanding as he explores the deft rhymes, inventive imagery, and witty solutions these songwriters used to breathe new life into rigidly established genres. He devotes full chapters to all the greats, including Irving Berlin, Lorenz Hart, Ira Gershwin, Cole Porter, Oscar Hammerstain II, Howard Dietz, E.Y. Harburg, Dorothy Fields, Leo Robin, and Johnny Mercer. Furia also offers a comprehensive survey of other lyricists who wrote for the sheet-music industry, Broadway, Hollywood, and Harlem nightclub revues. This was the era that produced The New Yorker, Don Marquis, Dorothy Parker, and E.B. White--and Furia places the lyrics firmly in this fascinating historical context. In these pages, the lyrics emerge as an important element of American modernism, as the lyricists, like the great modernist poets, took the American vernacular and made it sing.
Customer Reviews:
SING ALONG WITH THIS ONE, FOR SURE!!.......2007-09-23
I loved this book!! I picked it up somewhere, and sang inside my head on almost every single page! It is a terrific overview of the Tin Pan Alley days of GREAT music, and in this book Philip Furia has provided enough lyrics to remind us of all the songs, and it is great fun to read. I marked up my copy, and then had to buy another, clean copy to re-read. I have also bought a couple more copies of the book for friends who also love the old music.
Philip Furia is a lover of this great music, and his bio of Johnny Mercer is very well written and, again, lots of fun to read. Oh for the good ole music of yesterday! I do miss it. But because of these books -- and others like them -- it is not gone forever. Thank you to Philip Furia for sharing your love of this music with all of us! The men and women who wrote this popular music were poets indeed, and one can tell they had a lot of fun while writing the songs.
Excellent overview.......2004-01-02
This is an excellent book. Furia provides a fine overview with lyric analyses of all the major lyricists of the first half of the 20th Century. He also touches upon the history of Tin Pan Alley itself and other developments that were happening at the same time in music, like the rise of the film studios, the creation of ASCAP and BMI, and the "race" and "hillbilly" recordings which helped bring about the end of Tin Pan Alley dominance. Furia later wrote full biographies of Ira Gershwin and Johnny Mercer that are more complete. (He would do the world a great service if he would write a decent book on Dorothy Fields.) THE POETS OF TIN PAN ALLEY is highly recommended for all lyricists and anyone who has in interest in American popular song.
O.K. for dipping........2002-06-05
I have to wonder if the impressive endorsements on the back cover (by Sammy Cahn, Steve Allen, Michael Feinstein) are from musical celebrities who actually read the book. The author deserves praise for bringing concentrated focus to and careful analysis of the lyrics of America's best wordsmiths, but this is not a book that seduces the reader into staying with it for extended stretches. There's historical context, learned analysis of prosody with lots of concise examples, and pithy scholarly prose. But when all is said and done, the chapters devoted to individual lyricists, as well as the book as a whole, are quite bloodless. I don't sense any clear thesis, any driving passion, even any strong personal preferences from the author.
The author's justification for such a book--that composers of melody are given credit at the expense of the lyricist--strikes me as a bit of a straw man. How many listeners can immediately associate a familiar popular standard with either its composer or lyricist? Also, the analysis of prosody and technique often overshadows consideration of the thematic integrity, or meaning, of a song. Moreover, the analyses pay too little heed to melody and harmony to make a persuasive case for the poetic power of the lyrics themselves. Finally, with song lyrics how can you separate the dancer from the dance? Were it not for Billie Holiday, Mabel Mercer and, above all, Frank Sinatra, most of these songs would be long forgotten. Certainly some consideration of the actual performance of the lyrics would seem requisite to any demonstration of their continuing vitality and importance.
Most of the above challenges are met by a book to which the author frequently alludes--Gerald Mast's "Can't Help Singin'." Any reader interested in the art and lives of the composers and the songs, not to mention the lyricists and lyrics, cannot afford to pass by Mast's singular achievement. In the neglected, taken-for-granted field of the American popular song, it remains the one "must read."
Issue a new printing.......1999-07-01
I erroneously entered this as an author's review. I thought I was communicating with the author. Please delete what I erroneously submitted, and accept it as a customer's review.
I would like to have several compies of this book available. I am thinking of putting on an adult education course with this book as the principal text.
Peak pleasure for this reader........1999-03-27
Delightful detailed insight into the creativity of the lyric writers of the 20th century [prior to 1960]. Furia's writing style is a pleasure to read, wonderfully free of cliches. If you appreciate genius {I do, but I'm not one} and you have a rudimentary knowledge of music [I do}, you'll love this book.
Book Description
The Temple of Elemental Evil is one of the most well-remembered adventure series from the early days of the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game. Now, veteran designer Monte Cook revisits this legendary setting in an all-new adventure written for the D&D(r) game. Players will enjoy countless hours of play as they race against an evil band of priests attempting to unleash the dark god upon the world.
"Return To" products are tremendously popular adventures that revisit the most infamous dungeons from the early days of the D&D game. Seasoned D&D veterans will enjoy the nostalgia of returning to the games they played years ago, while newer players will appreciate the chance to play in these legendary settings.
Customer Reviews:
Great Adventure, Spotty campaign.......2003-05-20
Although I agree with most of the feedback that this is a great module (the dungeon levels are excellent and well-documented). I would point out that the overland maps, while beautiful, are NOT TO SCALE and DO NOT MESH with the Living Grayhawk material. Also the maps and sketch of Hommlet DO NOT MATCH the old AD&D module (esp regarding terrain). Unfortunately this is typical of the Dungeons and Dragons product line. For example, the text says it's 30 miles to Verbobonc, but the overland map shows 90. There are no details about the river that flows past Hommlet, nor the one that flows past the moathouse. Nor are there any roads shown for the route to Rastor. While this is fine for hack and slash GMs who don't care about realistic whole-world detail, the more discerning GM will spend hours remapping and/or rescaling all the overland areas. Because there are no published detail maps for the world of Grayhawk, the GM must make his own maps, and face the prospect of reworking them later to fit future modules into the campaign. All-in-all, this is really just a case of poor editing. I would suggest dropping this module into your own campaign world and forgetting the World of Grayhawk altogether, since it so inconsistent and patchy. You may have to redo one or both of the two overland maps, but at least you can make it mesh.
an adventure all nighter.......2002-09-28
Of all the 3rd edition adventures, i must say this is simply the best!
I just got this book and it kept the players wide awake all night long.
The enemy encounters are real challenging and you should be well prepared.
The plots, items, spells, and new templets are great.
This will get you WAY up after you have finished.
This book, its worth EVERY cent!
regards,
A satisfied costumer
Excellent product, but be careful.......2002-07-05
First of all, let me say that this is easily the best module I have ever gotten my hands on for Dungeons and Dragons. It is very well written, provides everything in great detail, and is a hell of a lot of fun to run. As the DM of my home campaign, i must issue a few warnings to those who want to use this adventure. My campaign is set in the Forgotten Realms and thus I needed to do a fair bit of conversion to set the adventure in Faerun, but in the end it was well worth it.
DMs should remember before running this adventure that it is intended to be the backbone of an entire campaign, and if you run the entire thing, it most certainly will be just that. After conquering the Temple, your PCs will have saved the world (hope I'm not spoiling this for anybody), and the question for the DM is simply: Where do I go from here? Frankly my PCs are a bit disenchanted with the entire "Save the world, um, again" theme. I'll still give it five stars since it is the best module available as far as content is concerned, just make sure you want your campaign to be remembered as "When we did the Temple of Elemental Evil".
Definitely Worth The Time.......2002-06-18
I recently finished the original 1985 version of the Temple of Elemental Evil. For a DM who only plays for about 10 days total per year, this took years for us to complete. Near the end, we were like, man, when is this going to be over!? HOWEVER... this was definitely the coolest adventure I've ever been involved with. If you love solving puzzles, exploring rooms, killing weird monsters, and finding excellent treasure, this is without a doubt the greatest adventure you could possibly get. It's not too bad on a DM, either, since everything is well laid out and explained in marvelous detail. Keep in mind, this adventure will take you from low level way up the ladder, so there won't be much room for side adventures, although you might want to make a couple side adventures anyway to break some of the monotony, which may occur at times. Overall, assuming the new adventure is basically the same thing as the original (which I'll bet it is), I think you will be very pleased.
An excellent adventure........2002-05-21
This is definitely the most enjoyable store bought module I've adventured in. Our group has had a lot of fun going through this one.
There are two main features to this module that I enjoy the most:
1. Encounters are challenging.
There appear to be very few of what I call "fluff" encounters. Most of them fully challenge the abilities of our group. In this respect, it gives everyone a chance to contribute to the success of the encounter, not just the fighter type characters. Rouges, wizards, clerics and bards can all play an important role. (Our bard has been especially helpful.)
2. Role playing opportunities.
This adventure is not just a dungeon crawl with only combat. There are a number of encounters that can give the player characters a chance to practice role playing.
I'd rather not say much more, because I don't want to spoil any surprises. I'll just add that there appear to be some plot lines that could extend beyond this adventure. Perhaps WotC is planning a sequel?
Book Description
A sinister force, long thought destroyed, stirs in the land. As a she-demon bent on wreaking worldwide havoc struggles to escape her prison and a foul demigod plots to bend her to his will, a band of desperate heroes must infiltrate the very heart of darkness in a daring attempt to stop them both.
Customer Reviews:
Not very good...could have been way better........2006-03-09
I did not like this book, despite the content. I was looking forward to it very much, having played D&D for over 20 years.
First, the author has little ability to create good characters. I didn't care for any of them. Plus, he just throws things in or leaves you wanting more. There was a cool scene where the good guys capture some bad guys and they were going to interrogate them....could have been a great scene, but the author basically stated, "the bandits were charmed, the alliance got their info, and then they sent the bandits on their way."
The author needs to expand on dialogue and characterization.
Boring!
Good book if you liked the AD&D module.......2006-03-05
I stopped reading these Dungeons & Dragons novels about the time I finished high school (1993). I saw this book and had to get it since I have played the AD&D Temple of Elemental Evil adventure so many times with my friends.
The good: The author doesnt stray far from the information in the module, so it brings back a lot of memories. But thats about where the good ends...
The bad: I have no interest in being a literary critic, usually I either like a book or I don't. But with this book I found myself thinking about how poorly written it was. I mean its really bad. There is no character development. This book could be used in a literature class as an example of bad writing.
But I am still giving this book 4 stars. Mainly because the author stuck to the facts in the module. And I was able to enjoy it for that reason despite the poor writing and shallow characters. My recommendation for others is if you enjoyed the AD&D adventure, this book might be fun. If you arent familiar with the adventure, don't bother with this book.
I REALLY REALLY wanted to like this book, but..........2006-01-25
How in the world (or Oerth, for that matter) can the main characters fall in love in less than 18 hours of story-time? That's right, less than 18 hours (and 48 hours into the story they share a KISS, "'Be careful,' she said, and leaned in to kiss him once, softly, on the lips."): the novel starts off at sunset, and suffice it to say, with no spoilers, stuff happens; the main character gets to town just after sunset; more stuff happens; meets the co-main character for all of ten minutes, and during a fight where they exchange: seriously, 12, TWELVE, words! they fall in love?!? The next morning they meet again, have maybe a full paragraph of conversation, another battle, someone dies and suddenly I'm reading a Dawson's Creek episode! I AM NOT KIDDING!! Reid is a pretty good writer, and his work is easy and fun to read, and yes, I read the whole novel; I have to say, except for this absolutely incongruent and totally unnecessary blossoming love between the druid and the elf, it's an OK book. Don't expect anything new, and you'll never read this one again: it's no Black Wizards (Doug Niles) or Time of the Twins (Weiss & Hickman), but it's diverting and somewhat engaging, thus the tree stars. Borrow it, or if seven bucks is no big deal, buy it with moderate expectations. Another bothersome element, and a small spoiler here: At the beginning, the elf and his master are on the way to Hommlet. They've been riding for three days straight, in the rain and early spring chill. At sunset they are attacked by a small platoon of Gnolls, all of which they kill, but the master buys it with an arrow to the heart. Insert sappy ellipses-full death scene. The elf has an emotional outburst before deciding to continue on. He has his master's horse and takes it with him to Hommlet, but decides that, instead of also taking his master, he'll just bury him in place; that's right, don't forget it was sunset, overcast and early spring when the battle started; so it's gotta be dark by now, but the elf still decides to dig a hole, and with what I still haven't figured out...so he digs the hole, gathers a bunch of rocks for a cairn, plants his boss, and soldiers on to Hommlet. Now he has already said that Hommlet is an hour away, nonetheless, he gets there and it's still light...?...he goes inside and despite his grief (and he's gotta be exhausted, right?) he's able to laugh at jokes and eat three chicken pot pies (or the Oerth equivalent); then engage in another battle (with seven-foot + bugbears and such!), put out a raging fire; sleep for a few hours, then get up the next morning and STUDY HIS SPELLBOOK while eating a very English breakfast, later joining the other adventurers and engaging in lively and jocular conversation (while falling in love with a woman he'd be hardpressed to remember the eye color of, at this point, having only been near her for twenty minutes of story time)...I could go on and on (and the "By Cuthbert"-s and "Boccoab!"-s get very tiresome every three pages...), but why bother? I think you get the point...for good, mature, structured, modern D&D fiction (no cliches, or worse, cliche language and romance)check out the new Watercourse trilogy (and be appreciative of the Ayn Rand Fountainhead allegories).
"The dead priest's fingers still twitched, ..........2005-02-08
...perhaps struggling even in death to finish the casting that could not be completed in life."
The Temple of Elemental Evil starts off incredibly well (i.e. with the twins!), but then all of a sudden there is a blunder; Iuz, the Demigod, communicates with his high priest through "a small bell sitting upon his writing desk" (???) pp 2. I did not know that deities used bells to inform their clerics that it was time for communication...
This is just an early example of the many mistakes made throughout the book.
In addition, the writing is rather poor and the dialogues could have been a lot better.
To start with, Lanithaine's death took place as if he were a novice, a first level character (!!!); one arrow (!!!) was enough to dispose of the veteran wizard? Hmmm... After serving with the original group that assaulted (and defeated) the forces of Evil ten years back, this was hardly the death this character deserved. Sacrificing himself against Lareth/Hedrack or to seal the portal to the demoness Zuggtmoy or to destroy her altogether would have been a much more likely and heroic death.
In the first third of the book, there is too much of Shanhaevel thinking to himself about everything and anything, over and over... It becomes tiring, not to mention annoying!
Moreover, though adopted by a human at a young age, Shanhaevel, is not very elf-like; the way he carries himself, the way he thinks and acts. A human would be more suited for the role. Why did Shanhaevel have to be an elf if he was not going to be anything like an elf?
Also, did his master not have his spellbook with him when he died, for Shanhaevel to take after his death? What about magical items? His master had ventured into the Temple ten years ago and he doesn't have as much as a ring to show for it? Just his horse???
In addition, the conversation/dialogue that follows Melias' fall is laden with romance and drama better suited to a lame soap opera and not the novelization of one of the best modules of all time! The elf, who is behaving more "irrationally" than a human, and has close to no elven personality traits is acting/behaving like a love struck teenager who cannot tell when it is time for romance and when it is time for business/ serious work, not to mention that he is way too insecure and eager to "make friends," as if he were "special..."
On page 130, the paladin says "I like the idea of waiting" rather than exploring the barn house and seeking out a possible secret passage into the Temple! That was the PALADIN talking, ... when those are words expected from the thief!
Moreover, on the same page the party of six is divided in half with ALL the warriors inside the barn house, and the spellcasters with the thief located outside, as if they were morons; the first rule of adventuring is ALWAYS to provide your spellcasters with defensive muscle.
Furthermore, "In his estimation, there were possibly a hundred or more, plus maybe a total of dozen ogres, trolls, and even what looked like a giant." pp151-152
By the time the six companions were done with them (!!!) with regular arrows, one fireball, one sleep spell, one stinking cloud and one lightning bolt, "the few left alive were fleeing into the woods" (???) pp160 Is there something wrong with the picture here?
The chances of a human priest (Lareth) worshipping Lolth are slim indeed, as for the Spider Queen herself accepting a MALE and a HUMAN are way less than slim!
As for the romance it just did not feel right; it was rather forced.
On page 247 there is the cherry on the cake: Shirral and Shanhaevel making out in the midst of battle with skeletons and ogres all about! Mercy...
Furthermore, as other readers have also pointed out, the characters have "bonded" way too soon.
On the positive side, what with the AMAZING cover art and the bedroom scene with the twins, the book opens with a bang, immediately catching the reader's interest and attention.
Thomas M. Reid has done a FANTASTIC job of keeping a balance between what is suitable to young readers and what to adults! Subtle, and not so subtle, hints is exactly what many of us fans out there who are now in our 30's would like to see more of-something a bit more spicy than the usual. In short, Mika and Astelle steal the show!
Moreover, there is great use of familiar spells throughout the book, thus boosting interest, while the thief's humor is refreshing.
In conclusion, there is the great quote on page 252 "Our sorrow at committing even the lesser evil is what separates us from evil."
Though the potential for a great book was definitely there it fails to take off. A shame really... Nevertheless, Thomas M. Reid does a FANTASTIC job of establishing a cliffhanger for a sequel.
In a nutshell, it's an ok book, and that's about it; it lacks that extra something to put it over the top. No masterpiece here...
I liked it, but it wasn't the best book I've ever read.......2003-09-19
I picked up this book after having played the game more times than I can count (mostly running it). There are several things I really enjoyed about the book, but others that made me feel a little disappointed.
The good:
1: It was great getting a refresher in the structure of the temple, and it brought back a lot of memories. It also gave me some interesting ideas.
2: It was not written in the typical preteen fashion that many books derivative of the games are.
3: It was entertaining.
The Bad:
1: Not the greatest character development -- it seemed a bit rushed.
2: Anyone who's played the game will recognize that this went entirely too easy and quickly to even compare.
3: A bit too many stereotypical elements.
All in all, if you love the game, you will enjoy the book. If you are just looking for a good fantasy novel, try Tolkein or Alexander.
Book Description
BradyGames' The Temple of Elemental Evil: A Classic Adventure Official Strategy Guide provides a complete walkthrough for every quest, including all side quests! Comprehensive stats for every creature and weapon. Complete character coverage including specifics on every class, race, feat, skill, spell and more. Full explanations of the various party dynamics. Full-color format captures the rich design and style of the game!
Customer Reviews:
Temple of Broken Dialog Options.......2005-12-10
Don't get me wrong - I loved Troika, and I play lots of D&D games, so I'm pretty surprised to be giving such a low rating. The game is very ambitious, but the flexibility of choice isn't matched by the programming of the game.
The two most glaring problems are the dialog options and the turn-based combat. The dialog options don't follow a set structure (that is, the "exit dialog" conversation might be any one of the options; typically it would be the last). As for the combat, there is no way to see melee or ranged dice rolls, so it is difficult to tell what is happening in combat.
Even the most hardcore D&D/Gary Gygax fan will find this a bit slow moving and boring, except when he is forced to reload over and over.
Customer Reviews:
Sort of a letdown................2002-02-26
I would have to agree with the person who found it "disappointing". Village of Hommlet has always been one of my favorite all-time modules. But the Temple module was somewhat of a letdown. First of all, I found they ramped up the difficulty from VOH a little too quickly assuming you run the modules in sequence as was intended. Also, the Temple module seemed to need a lot of fleshing out, as the "Do your homework" reviewer covers quite amply. But that's just it, if I was going to do all the work that he talks about to flesh out the module and make it good, I would just create the adventure from scratch myself and not even bother buying the module.
Disappointing.......2001-03-24
After reading the VILLAGE OF HOMMLET module way back when, I thought the TEMPLE edition would be even better. It wasn't.
VOH had context to the village . . . it breathed as if it were alive . . . there were little motivations on the side going on with the villagers and the dungeon was well thought out for a first level group.
But, TOEE, was VOH plus the big trip to the temple. And, for the most part, I found TEMPLE to just be a room filled with different types of monsters. It was like this: kill monster, look for traps, get booty . . . repeat process.
Wouldn't recommend unless your group is hack and slash only.
Temple of Elemental Evil: Do your homework........1998-07-25
We started "Temple" about 3 years ago. I found it to be the most rewarding campaign i have ever attempted to DM. I created entire personalities for each and every person included in the module as well as a plethora of my own. I have complex relationships, seasonal changes, and multiple plots and goals for players. I developed trade routes, weapons smugglers, betrayors, unknown allies, demonic possession, third competing adventuring party, I rebuilt Nulb from scratch, expanded on the intricate relationships between rival/allied factions within the temple, etc. The list goes on. That's why i say... Do your homework. Take as much time as you need. Some of the party members have decided to stay back from other adventurers and build a life there in Hommlet. The potential for growth, leadership, commerce, and adventuring is high. There is no limits to what you can do with T1-4 so don't waste it. Do other smaller scale adventurers to appease characters as ! they travel to unknown destinations. But when you're prepared, fate will lead them to Hommlet. Make your Elder very dynamic with ties that go back to the great war. Kelno, Falrinth, and others play a very proactive role. Don't have them sit around waiting for characters to storm their base of operations. Iuz and Zuggtomuoy are impatient employers and demand results. Take some of the encounters from "The City of Greyhawk" boxed set, and include them as well. I have local nomadic tribes that see lots of enemy movement at night. Give PC's the opportunity to ally with them. Climax with a full scale comfrontation, then as the armies are repelled (god willing) the PC's storm the Temple to deliver the final blow to the weakened evil minions. When the crushing fatal blows are delivered, the PC's must dash from the Temple as the Nodes collapse and attempt to suck the Temple and it's contents into the void it creates. PC's must escape or be wisked away to who knows wh! ere. My hat is off to Mr Mentzer. Great Module, but the mo! re you read it, the more you realize that Frank wasn't the creator. He was the framer of that area. You create it. Have fun... and do your homework.
Customer Reviews:
Simply the best module ever written for AD&D.......1999-11-19
This module has everything you need for a good Dungeons and Dragons campaign -- a good story, well-thought-out villains, etc. Only I6 Ravenloft comes close. This is, hands down, the best.
One of the best modules ever written........1999-10-21
This work is in my opinion a masterpiece of the AD&D game. It's a shame it is out of stock with the publisher. There is enough information and adventuring in this module to last for months.Dm's should do their homework before running this module because it is full of many factions and groups all striving for control of the Temple. Hack and slay won't work with adventurers in this place. The group I DMed were confident in the beginning and made the fatal mistake of being too bold and brash where more stealth was needed. In the end they were all destroyed,but for one female illusionist who managed to escape with nothing but her figurine of wondrous power(an owl). A fantastic work worth it's weight in gold. A good DM will make this module a fun and challenging adventure that will be remembered for a long time.If anyone has an extra copy they are willing to sell let me know!!
An adventure for all levels..........1999-10-09
This is the perfect mod. for all levels of characters. Higher lvl's will have a breeze at first, but when in the temple the adv. begins. It's viewed for 1-8 lvl. for a party of 8-12. Although I have DM'd 10 party's and no one has ever lived. The pluses include at lvl. 4 of the temple a guest apperance by ST. Cuthbert and Izu the old. For you folks not acquainted with these two, they are "old school" gods. As you may have heard of the mace of ST. Culthbert. If you want to really chalenge a party this is the perfect adventure. Also can be used for 15+ lvl. just limit there magic, or number of magic items allowed. After all it is pretty hard to defeat gods.............
Book Description
These quick reads, based on McGraw-Hill bestsellers, are designed to meet the needs of busy people. Titles in the series focus on each book's main themes and action ideas, reduced to a manageable page count for on-the-go readers.
A workplace-tested prescription for encouraging the behaviors and key drivers of effective leadership, from one of today's top training teams.
Books:
- Hugo Munsterberg on Film: The Photoplay: A Psychological Study and Other Writings
- Introducing Character Animation with Blender
- Introducing Halle Berry
- Invisible Storytellers: Voice-Over Narration in American Fiction Film
- James Baldwin : Collected Essays : Notes of a Native Son / Nobody Knows My Name / The Fire Next Time / No Name in the Street / The Devil Finds Work / Other Essays (Library of America)
- Jane Campion's The Piano (Cambridge Film Handbooks)
- Japanese Screen: Edo Period Screen With Trees And Flowering Plants, 18th Century (New Journals)
- Joan Crawford: The Essential Biography
- Kill Bill: An Unofficial Casebook
- King Kong: The History of a Movie Icon from Fay Wray to Peter Jackson
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- The Law of Tax-Exempt Organizations, 7th Edition
- Raising a Modern-Day Knight: A Father's Role in Guiding His Son to Authentic Manhood
- Film Encyclopedia, 4e, The Macmillan International
- Funding Effectiveness: Lessons in Building Nonprofit Capacity
- How to Write a Marketing Plan for Health Care Organizations
- Owl Moon
- Lonely Planet Hawaii
- Electronic Bill Presentment and Payment
- Human Well-Being and Economic Goals
- I Remember Heaven: Beyond the Death Experience
General
| Movies
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
Monsters: A Celebration of the Classics from Universal Studios
Famous Monster Movie Art of Basil Gogos
Universal Horrors: The Studio's Classic Films, 1931-1946
Universal Monsters: Cavalcade of Horror
Ray Harryhausen: An Animated Life
