Rating: 
Summary: Surprisingly good read!
Review: After the miserable effort that was The Phoenix, I was all set to be disappointed by this book. For those of us who follow Legend of the Five Rings, whether as a card game, roleplaying game or whatever, the story of the Crab's participation in the Clan Wars is well known. What could Stan! possibly add to that?Quite a lot, apparently. The Crab Clan has defended Rokugan against the Shadowlands for centuries. So how could they all of a sudden side with their hated opponents against the very empire they protect? Stan's explanation is surprisingly convincing. He depicts the humanity of these larger-than-life characters; they make mistakes, but it's how they redeem themselves that make them the stuff of legend. The scope of The Crab is broad and deep. The time period of the story stretches across all the other books released to date, including The Scorpion. It is a complete story in and of itself. You could never have heard of Legend of the Five Rings, and pick up a copy tomorrow and be none the worse for it. I heartily recommend this book!
Rating:
Summary: Surprisingly good read!
Review: After the miserable effort that was The Phoenix, I was all set to be disappointed by this book. For those of us who follow Legend of the Five Rings, whether as a card game, roleplaying game or whatever, the story of the Crab's participation in the Clan Wars is well known. What could Stan! possibly add to that? Quite a lot, apparently. The Crab Clan has defended Rokugan against the Shadowlands for centuries. So how could they all of a sudden side with their hated opponents against the very empire they protect? Stan's explanation is surprisingly convincing. He depicts the humanity of these larger-than-life characters; they make mistakes, but it's how they redeem themselves that make them the stuff of legend. The scope of The Crab is broad and deep. The time period of the story stretches across all the other books released to date, including The Scorpion. It is a complete story in and of itself. You could never have heard of Legend of the Five Rings, and pick up a copy tomorrow and be none the worse for it. I heartily recommend this book!
Rating:
Summary: Deep into the Shadowlands!
Review: Good book which presents a strong character. Though I did not like the very ending. As good as THE SCORPION. Must read to understand THE DRAGON. If u want to develop a plot to a L5R rpg it's very good book to read.
Rating: 
Summary: The Slip-N-Slide Descent into Evil...
Review: Hida Kisada is a man who has spent fifty years fighting evil. Not some distant, vague concept of evil, but the actual thing: undead, demons, goblins, and the like. Every day, for fifty years, he has fought them or planned to fight them. So why is it that he hooks up with them so willingly? Granted, the initial offer takes two years for Kisada to mull over, but after that, it's easy - he sacrifices his clan's purpose, his desire for peace, and his son's soul all in one day. Let me say that again: he effectively sells out everything he believes in, in a single day. To be certain, this book isn't absolutely terrible. It's just that, as written, Kisada's not half the man Bayushi Shoju was (see the first novel in this series, there to find a similar character in a similar, but better-written, situation). Worse, Kisada's not a tragic hero - he's a blundering idiot. He makes the kind of flagrant mistakes that should get people questioning his sanity and competence. Finally, stay far, far away from this novel if you don't like the word "ropy" being used more often than the word "the." What makes this novel worse than the Unicorn novel is that the Unicorn author at least had the excuse that the Unicorn never did anything. The Crab were arguably the biggest players in the Clan War, but you couldn't tell that from this.
Rating:
Summary: Way cool... makes sense why the Crab did what they did.
Review: I am a huge fan of the crab because they are huge and they grunt. The fact that they stand on their wall and bash goblin heads in all day long only adds to that. I have read all the l5r books and this is the 2nd best. If you read this you have to read the Unicorn too.
Rating: 
Summary: Me like crab book!
Review: I am a huge fan of the crab because they are huge and they grunt. The fact that they stand on their wall and bash goblin heads in all day long only adds to that. I have read all the l5r books and this is the 2nd best. If you read this you have to read the Unicorn too.
Rating:
Summary: A Triumph of a Novel
Review: I believe Stan! was able to properly capture the essence of what it means to be a Crab while not portraying that clan as a bunch of war-driven simps. The book has its share of high and low points, but considering this is the first novel-length work from Mr. Brown, I can hardly see how he could have done better. The novel more than met my expectations and I look forward to future works from Stan!
Rating:
Summary: the best clan ever
Review: i got into l5r during hidden emperor where i played as yoritomos alliance for a while then toturis army and finally the crab the crab clan have to be the most interesting and best clan around and this book tells there story and how they had to join the enemy they swore to destroy to protect the empire from that very enemy
Rating: 
Summary: Mediocre at Best. . .
Review: I picked up this book thinking it was going to be more of a chinese japanese legend, boy was I wrong. This book is a pastiche of various other fantasy works including the LotR series. I was ashamed after reading this. This book is WAY too predictable and it is easy to see which characters will betray who, and why. This book sticks with cliched themes that have been used over and over again. I will admit the book had me interested in the begining with the battle scenes and the weapons used during these scenes, but fighting is not enough to keep a plot going. The plot in this particular book was very slow moving, and the characters all seemed to similar. The fact that this book tries to be so serious at times made it even worse. No comic relief, just strict tension throughout the whole story, this was bad. After reading such great adventure/fantasy books as The Hobbit, the LotR series, Lord of the Flies, etc., this book is just meh. . . mediocre at best.
Rating:
Summary: Well written
Review: I pretty much disliked this book. I found it a chore to get through and reasonbly dull. Why 4 stars then? Because I do not like the Crab clan much and so was always going to find it a tougher read. But it is very well written. I like the writers style and the way he puts things together. So even though I didn't enjoy the book I can appreciate it. If you like the Crab clan then it will probobly be a great read. It does cover the clan in deapth, especially the way they think and come to their decisions. If you have read the other books then this is a must.
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