Clanbook: Malkavian

Rating:
Summary: Feel the pull of Malkav.
Review: Excellent. I found the book to quite insightful. It was written well, a bit confusing at times. Yet, what does one expect from this mad lineage. It is a must for all Malkavian players. It shows that the madness need not be horrid and "flashy." Rather, they can be subdued and withdrawn to the point where all other characters become queasy wondering when you may burst.

The character concepts in the back are great from hich to garner ideas. I feel Clanbook: Malkavian is perfect for the role-player. Happy Hunting

Rating:
Summary: Feel the pull of Malkav.
Review: Excellent. I found the book to quite insightful. It was written well, a bit confusing at times. Yet, what does one expect from this mad lineage. It is a must for all Malkavian players. It shows that the madness need not be horrid and "flashy." Rather, they can be subdued and withdrawn to the point where all other characters become queasy wondering when you may burst.

The character concepts in the back are great from hich to garner ideas. I feel Clanbook: Malkavian is perfect for the role-player. Happy Hunting

Rating:
Summary: Much Improved
Review: Gone are the yacko warner ripoffs and bunny slippers. This revised edition actually sheds light on the children of Malkav instead of printing pages backward and being obtuse. Most of the source material from the first clanbook has been thrown out of the window, and replaced with much more workable( and fluid) interpretation. Even the madness network gets a facelift, becomming the 'Cobweb'. For players wanting to really get into the role of a Malkavian, this book is your best foothold.

Rating:
Summary: Not the Crayon-Eaters you thought they were....
Review: Malkav. Malkavians. What more can you really say? This book is great, if you know how to read it properly. It does well to actually give reason to the madness, and shows truly (as true as they get) in what mass delusion the Children of Malkav are reveling. Have fun. And remember, everything you read here may be totally false. Smile!

Rating:
Summary: Not the Crayon-Eaters you thought they were....
Review: Malkav. Malkavians. What more can you really say? This book is great, if you know how to read it properly. It does well to actually give reason to the madness, and shows truly (as true as they get) in what mass delusion the Children of Malkav are reveling. Have fun. And remember, everything you read here may be totally false. Smile!

Rating:
Summary: Hcum oot dnatsrednu i! I stand under much too!
Review: The original CLANBOOK: MALKAVIAN was one of the best in the original CLANBOOK series. To portray the clan's eccentricity, it used artwork in the style of children's drawings, a page that had to be read in a mirror and the Malkavian version of the tale of "The Blind Men and the Elephant". It raved through the clan's twisted insights into their own history, other clans etc.

So how does the new CLANBOOK: MALKAVIAN measure up? Well, the new CLANBOOK series books are handsome but more conventionally designed than their predecessors. No kiddie drawings here (darn) or "Blind Bats and the Elephant" (double darn). However, in their place is a wonderful expanded presentation of the Malkavian's history and character.

The text is mostly new. In the original, Malkavians were tricksters who challenged accepted concepts with mad pranks. The new edition emphasizes the mystical character of Malkavian insanity, develops the prophetic group mind underlying this and explores the loss and return of the Dementation discipline. (If Gehenna prophecies are part of your chronicle you need this book. Malkavians are canaries in the coal mine- the Final Nights affect them first.) Two (apparently) different Malkavians narrate. Both know things seemingly beyond their experience- one from a voice in his head and the other from memories he can't account for. It's more horrific than the original, almost as eccentric and easier to follow.

It has features standard in the new CLANBOOK series: new discipline variations, merits and flaws, an expanded noteworthy Malkavians section and a sample Malkavian coterie. It details new derangements and, unlike the original, helpfully includes derangements in the (all new) player character templates and the noteworthy Malkavians' stats. The antitribu templates defy the expectations created in GUIDE TO THE SABBAT and sound more rewarding to play.

Rating:
Summary: Hcum oot dnatsrednu i! I stand under much too!
Review: The original CLANBOOK: MALKAVIAN was one of the best in the original CLANBOOK series. To portray the clan's eccentricity, it used artwork in the style of children's drawings, a page that had to be read in a mirror and the Malkavian version of the tale of "The Blind Men and the Elephant". It raved through the clan's twisted insights into their own history, other clans etc.

So how does the new CLANBOOK: MALKAVIAN measure up? Well, the new CLANBOOK series books are handsome but more conventionally designed than their predecessors. No kiddie drawings here (darn) or "Blind Bats and the Elephant" (double darn). However, in their place is a wonderful expanded presentation of the Malkavian's history and character.

The text is mostly new. In the original, Malkavians were tricksters who challenged accepted concepts with mad pranks. The new edition emphasizes the mystical character of Malkavian insanity, develops the prophetic group mind underlying this and explores the loss and return of the Dementation discipline. (If Gehenna prophecies are part of your chronicle you need this book. Malkavians are canaries in the coal mine- the Final Nights affect them first.) Two (apparently) different Malkavians narrate. Both know things seemingly beyond their experience- one from a voice in his head and the other from memories he can't account for. It's more horrific than the original, almost as eccentric and easier to follow.

It has features standard in the new CLANBOOK series: new discipline variations, merits and flaws, an expanded noteworthy Malkavians section and a sample Malkavian coterie. It details new derangements and, unlike the original, helpfully includes derangements in the (all new) player character templates and the noteworthy Malkavians' stats. The antitribu templates defy the expectations created in GUIDE TO THE SABBAT and sound more rewarding to play.

Rating:
Summary: Invaluable
Review: This book is quite simply invaluable to the maniac in you. It's in depth explinations and histories have made me the leading authority on not only Malkavians but all vampires within the playing circle I'm associated. Worth 10 times it's price

Rating:
Summary: Very good!
Review: This is a must for players of Malkavians. Here is the nit and gritty of the Malkavian clan. They are truly insane mystics not stuffed animal hugging whiney children, as they are often portrayed. These Malkavians have seen the truth; and the truth has made them mad.

This book has an excellent working of the Malkavian Madness Network and Clan specific Merit and Flaws.

If you like Malkavians or if you think they are all mindless children, buy this book.

Rating:
Summary: Whom The Gods Love They First Make Mad
Review: This was the one book in the series that I found genuinely irritating. Insanity is the nature of the Malkavian beast. Some are random, some are mystical, some are downright rigid, but all have their minds someplace else. If there is a clan that the player desperately needs a guide book for it is the Malkavians.

Take a loot at the associated clan nover. This book alternates between a narrative as told by a Malkavian that still has most of the cards in his deck, followed by trips into the mind of his companion Anatole, the prophet of Gehenna. The latter is the end times in which the oldest vampires - the Antediluvians - rise to destroy all their heirs.

Anatole's parts are intentionally dense, full of references to events in the other volumes, fragmentary episodes that make for unsettling and often confusing reading. In the midst Anatole's meandering quest for enlightenment there are pieces of actual, straightforward narrative to bring us up to date on the activities of the Sabbat and Victoria Ash. So the book may be hard to read and lack a continuous plot, but if you want to follow the series you still have to read it.

There are a few moments when I think that Wieck is playing an ironic prank at the expense of the followers of the series. And there are other points where I wonder if this isn't an experiment in bringing some complex literary techniques into play. Be warned, this is not a book that stands alone. Or a book that will work well if read out of order. The nightmare brought by the Eye of Hesha continues to grow, and Anatole is destined to be a part of it.