Rating: 
Summary: A Great Dungeon Hack!
Review: Now this is AD&D at its finest! Magic, Melee, and mirth all rolled into one. I throughly enjoyed this book, though I would have liked to see to dungeon adventure be a little longer and names given to the other adventurers in the group, but this book was a great, quick read; perfect for the person that longs for a good game of AD&D. I won't give away any of the plot, but those of you that played White Plume Mountain many moons ago will enjoy the story line. The Justicar is the dogmatic dispenser of justice while Escalla provides the witty comic relief and Cinders provides the pyrotechnics. I look forward to the continuing adventures of the Justicar, Escalla, and Cinders in "Descent to the Depths of the Earth".
Rating:
Summary: A Great Dungeon Hack!
Review: Now this is AD&D at its finest! Magic, Melee, and mirth all rolled into one. I throughly enjoyed this book, though I would have liked to see to dungeon adventure be a little longer and names given to the other adventurers in the group, but this book was a great, quick read; perfect for the person that longs for a good game of AD&D. I won't give away any of the plot, but those of you that played White Plume Mountain many moons ago will enjoy the story line. The Justicar is the dogmatic dispenser of justice while Escalla provides the witty comic relief and Cinders provides the pyrotechnics. I look forward to the continuing adventures of the Justicar, Escalla, and Cinders in "Descent to the Depths of the Earth".
Rating: 
Summary: Nothing wrong with a fun book
Review: OK, enough of the reviews complaining that this book isn't "serious" AD&D fare. This book brings back memories of running this campaign years ago, and we used humor and had fun while we role-played. A refreshing, entertaining, and fun book. I've loaned my copy to my wife, daughter, and several students at school. They all enjoyed it, even the one student who said it contained more "corny" humor than he liked was grinning while he retold parts of it to his friends. The only complaint I have is that Mr. Kidd cannot write as fast as we can read.
Rating:
Summary: Why do I like this book?!?
Review: Paul Kidd is a comic book writer, and it shows. The author doesn't spend a lot of time establishing mood, or world-building, or even using depth in his characterization. He concentrates on action and witty banter, like the game the book is drawn from. The characters are mildly archetypical, with vague and unrealistic motivation; the villains are of the Trying To Take Over The World and Insane Wizard With A Plan varieties, and there's even commentary from characters internal to the story parodying the aspects of "heroism" found in everyone's earliest stabs at playing the game. There are humorous moments related to the plot, but some of the tropes of gaming itself are the butt of the joke in a number of scenes. The characters unashamedly spout anachronisms at every turn-- you can almost see the players pausing between handfuls of Cheetos to rattle off a modern idiom or two. The faerie is like something out of a Boris Vallejo ilLUSTration: there's a point where the word "naked" is used to describe her condition twice in a matter of about five sentences. When she's not nude, she's busy trying to assemble an outfit which is as suggestive as is possible for an adolescent male to imagine-- which is the whole point of the joke, obviously. The book adamantly refuses to apologize for its lack of modern fantasy acoutrements such as rich motivations and character complexity... and bludgeons its way through to win your heart regardless. If you seek serious fantasy fare, or mindless Dragonlance drivel, look elsewhere. This book is beer and pretzels-type fare, with all the swashbuckling and lack of seriousness that implies... but unless I miss my mark, Paul Kidd has also embedded the book with some serious commentary on the D&D game itself, and how it has evolved in the years since its infancy. In fact, unless I'm ascribing more genius to the work than Kidd intended, the book acts as a deconstruction of legacy D&D campaigns and even the modern angst-ridden White Wolf-style gaming heroes... and it works!
Rating:
Summary: Why do I like this book?!?
Review: Paul Kidd is a comic book writer, and it shows. The author doesn't spend a lot of time establishing mood, or world-building, or even using depth in his characterization. He concentrates on action and witty banter, like the game the book is drawn from. The characters are mildly archetypical, with vague and unrealistic motivation; the villains are of the Trying To Take Over The World and Insane Wizard With A Plan varieties, and there's even commentary from characters internal to the story parodying the aspects of "heroism" found in everyone's earliest stabs at playing the game. There are humorous moments related to the plot, but some of the tropes of gaming itself are the butt of the joke in a number of scenes. The characters unashamedly spout anachronisms at every turn-- you can almost see the players pausing between handfuls of Cheetos to rattle off a modern idiom or two. The faerie is like something out of a Boris Vallejo ilLUSTration: there's a point where the word "naked" is used to describe her condition twice in a matter of about five sentences. When she's not nude, she's busy trying to assemble an outfit which is as suggestive as is possible for an adolescent male to imagine-- which is the whole point of the joke, obviously. The book adamantly refuses to apologize for its lack of modern fantasy acoutrements such as rich motivations and character complexity... and bludgeons its way through to win your heart regardless. If you seek serious fantasy fare, or mindless Dragonlance drivel, look elsewhere. This book is beer and pretzels-type fare, with all the swashbuckling and lack of seriousness that implies... but unless I miss my mark, Paul Kidd has also embedded the book with some serious commentary on the D&D game itself, and how it has evolved in the years since its infancy. In fact, unless I'm ascribing more genius to the work than Kidd intended, the book acts as a deconstruction of legacy D&D campaigns and even the modern angst-ridden White Wolf-style gaming heroes... and it works!
Rating:
Summary: The Saga of greyhawk
Review: Paul Kidd left off where Gary gygax left off, with memorable tales and even more memorable characters. The Justicar is a lone Ranger, orphaned by th Iuz wars, he was trained by the elves of the Celadon forest, and trained to fight by dwarves, he carries his former masters magical wolf skull pommeled broadsword, and wears the sentient hide of a hellhound named Cinders. Polk is a drunken lunatic teamster that has taken it upon himself to turn the Justicar into a "real hero". Escalla is a true Fae princess/sorceress, whose penchant for theft, lying and cheating drives the Justicar insane. will these four be able to tackle the secrets of White Plume mountain, and bring the ancient sorcerer, Keraptis, to justice once and for all?
Rating: 
Summary: An Enjoyable Adventure, but..
Review: Some good points and some derogatory ones in this book. Lets start with the bad . Kidd makes annoying analogies, such as " enough for a thirty years war " , too much. And the vocabulary and descriptive elements are certainly lacking. This is by no means a classic of any sort. Characterization is postage stamp quality. There is little depth, both to the characters and the world. HOWEVER. I did enjoy reading the story. The quips and jokes are excellent, and the combat language is first rate. Its a fast, enjoyable read which keeps the adrenalin flowing and the mystery active. Its worth the price, but the author does indeed have a long way to go.
Rating:
Summary: An Enjoyable Adventure, but..
Review: Some good points and some derogatory ones in this book. Lets start with the bad . Kidd makes annoying analogies, such as " enough for a thirty years war " , too much. And the vocabulary and descriptive elements are certainly lacking. This is by no means a classic of any sort. Characterization is postage stamp quality. There is little depth, both to the characters and the world. HOWEVER. I did enjoy reading the story. The quips and jokes are excellent, and the combat language is first rate. Its a fast, enjoyable read which keeps the adrenalin flowing and the mystery active. Its worth the price, but the author does indeed have a long way to go.
Rating: 
Summary: showed a promising concept.
Review: The cover was enticing, the notes on the back showed a promising concept. But the book was a real let-down. The main character was so invinsible, that there was little suspense when he attacked or was attacked. He always won the fights. Even when he got hurt, he cured himself. The pixie was too hip. Her dialogue was almost Valley-girlish. And it was magic here, magic there, and spells, spells, spells. Mr. Kidd should have relaxed, sstopped worrying about his editor's deadline, and given some thoughtfullness to the characterizations, and depth. The hell hound might as well have been a regular magic wolf. It seems I do not share the other reviewers' enthusiasm. I cannot recommend White Plume Mountain over several other books. Sorry.
Rating:
Summary: Paul Kidd is a great D&D writer!
Review: This book and his others remind me of years ago when I picked up a paperback from an unknown author based solely on the wonderful artwork of Larry Elmore. It was my delight to 'discover' RA Salvatore and introduce him to many friends. Paul Kidd is the same way and it is an absolute shame he does not write more books. If you want to be entertained while reading, get all of his books. I would also hurry, because just like Gary Gygax's Gord books, these will soon be out of print and very hard to find!
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