Rating: 
Summary: In Living Color, Monsters that will Actually Frighten PCs !!
Review: Dungeons and Dragons is now capable of competing directly with Video-game time. No more Black and white "Monsters" that are too Cute to take seriously! Show the Players a picture in the 3rd Edition Monster Manual, and they won't be so Cocky and Self-assured of Victory. These Critters have been influenced by more than a decade of excellent Artwork and more Realistic concepts of what a "Monster" should look like and how Powerful the Creature can become, over time.I compared my old 2nd edition "Monsters" to the New, 3rd edition Monster Manual and I found 90% of the Old ed. Creatures to be "Cute." It was always very difficult to use D&D pictures, from the handbooks, to explain what the PCs were encountering. Even 2nd edition "Ravenloft" was mediocre--leaving the DM the full responsibility of Describing the Monsters, in vivid detail. Now, you can cut preliminary Encounter descriptions to 1/3 of the time you formerly spent as DM, informing the Players of what they were facing. The 3rd edition Monster Manual is NOT Black & White, and the Players will not say, "Awwwwww....how Cute," when you flash a picture of the Creature that is attacking them. This edition is splendid, with full, Living Color and Realistic portrayals of the Bizzare Critters the PCs will encounter throughout their Adventures. Even those who have been desensitized with Video Games, will find the Creatures in 3rd edition Dungeons & Dragons to be quite Frightening and Worthy of due respect, from Players/PCs. Show these pics to your Players and see if they still want to Talk to the Ettin ! There is simply No Comparison between 2nd edition & 3rd edition Dungeons & Dragons--except, possibly, by comparing 2nd ed. to Black & White TV, vs. 3rd edition's Full-Color, Wide-Screed, Dolby & Surround Sound style. I wish 3rd edition had manifested 10 years ago. However, the Religious Right would have had a conniption ! These Critters are truly Formidable and make 2nd edition "Monsters" look like Saturday Morning Cartoon characters for pre-schoolers. DMs may seriously consider providing adequate + weapons for 3rd edition Adventures. The PCs will NEED them !
Rating:
Summary: Best Monster Manal Yet!
Review: Do your players think the monsters are too easy to defeat? When you start rolling out the monsters in this book they will think that no longer! Red dragons, for example, can now have 660 hit points and higher! Their armor class can climb to 46 (equal to -26 in the old rule system). Giants have been given a boost in hit dice as well (and multiple attacks).
The best feature, I think, is the ability to make each and every monster more powerful, as needed by your campaign. An orc, for example, could be given 12 extra hit dice, if needed. Play the game which inspired me to become an author!
Rating:
Summary: Almost worth it just for the artwork
Review: I've only ever played D&D intermittently and would never actually make a good DM, so, apart from just buying this book to know what to expect as a player, I also wanted to see what the artwork had to offer. I wasn't dissappointed. The illustrations of creatures, though of various styles, are consistently good to great throughout, and very rarely bordering on mediocre, which I think noteworthy because I have very high standards when it comes to fantasy artwork. The book also get points also for font styles and presentation. I'm tempted to substract a star since the book isn't always specific when it comes to a creature's size but it's really a small point, not a star.
Rating:
Summary: great for drawing
Review: i totally love this book. not because im into dnd because im not. its actually my bros book, and i just use it to draw. there are great pics and i love to draw and if u love to draw i would just get it for that. the other dnd book are also great but dont have as many pictures. but dont get the 2nd or 1rst addition to draw. the pictures arnts so great. im actually going to enter one of my drawing in the talent show at my school. (i did not trace just if any of u people thought thats what i meant)
Rating:
Summary: Monster Manual Review
Review: For any D&D or AD&D player, this is probably the best you can wish for. I expected dull, gray illustrations, and unclear descriptions. Was I surprised. There's large descriptions and excellently-done, vivid illustrations. Combined with amazon.com's great prices, this is a definate MUST BUY.
Rating:
Summary: Tigers and Bears and Tarraques.. Oh My!
Review: This is an essential book that you must have, it provides the offcial statistics used in any Dungeons and Dragons game world. The book contains a vast amount of monsters; well over 500 of them to supply your needs of destruction. The book is very promising and every page contains some form of artwork detailing the monster, which helps to know when you have no idea what these beasts look like in the first place. I give this book a 5 stars for its years of perfection, through 1st edition, 2nd and now 3rd edition. It is the most correct Monster Manual to date and is a Must Buy.
Rating:
Summary: You simply can't do without it
Review: Okay, It's a book of monsters, which you need to play the game. To write a review of the book is to write a review of the entire game. I would like to point out a hidden resource in this game. If you have some new players in the game, especially if they are new to the whole D20 system, you can have them play as monsters for a session. This lets them get used to the different statistics, how combat works, etc.
Rating: 
Summary: Good enough to call it a Monster Manual
Review: This book has all you need to create an exciting adventure. It has many new creatures that were not included in the 2nd Edition. However it also lacks some of the creatures from the original 2nd Edition MM (although you can get many of them in the newly released Monsters of Faerun book). The book has a section in the back for developing special monsters such as Lycanthrope and vampirism. So rather then having a "vampire" monster they have a template system for turning ANY monster into a vampire in a few simple steps (and have an example of one as well). Same for the lycanthrope's. You'll find the dragons to be much more powerful in the new Monster Manual (as opposed to 2nd Edition), however they lack a spell list (so you have to look them up in the Players Handbook manually). If your new to the D&D gaming system, then lets just say that this is all you need to fill your dungeons with monsters!
Rating:
Summary: There's a good reason it's a core rulebook
Review: What adventure would be complete without ugly, strange monsters to fight? Sure, you could just make enemy NPCs, but after a while those just get old. No, you need to send The Tarrasque at the party. Then things will get interesting. The Monster Manual covers the whole range of challenge ratings- from nil to 20- and is far more useful than any of the other monster guides. It's also better priced than any of them, and has far more material. You'll definitely want this one over, say, Monsters of Faerun- even if you're planning on basing everything in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting. Many of the bestiary described here is quite universal even to the planes and other campaign settings, so it won't get obsolete if you decide to move there. As for the book itself, you'll get all the info you need to describe and fight with the creatures. It is also very well illustrated, which is the best way to convey their appearance. Bottom line is, if you're a DM, you definitely should have this book.
Rating: 
Summary: This is good for the less creative D&D player..
Review: This is a great book for those D&D players who want to go really by the book and not take the time to create their own monsters. That is something I love to do. But if you want to skip the trouble, this book is the one for you. It has well over 100 pages of monsters ranging from small to giant, undead to very much alive and faires to dragons. This is a good book and even though I hate to admit it should be part of all the D&D basic items and gear.
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