Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Excellent Edition of a Great Work
Reid's philosophy was very influential in the early nineteenth century. Unfortunately, his fame declined. But contemporary analytic philosophers recognize his contribution, and Reid is again very influential. Reid is a philosopher of historical importance and contemporary relevance.
Reid's Inquiry established him as Hume's most brilliant critic. Reid treats Hume's scepticism as a reductio against the theory of ideas, offers some independent objection to the theory, and replaces this theory with a more accurate account of the human mind. Reid's method is characterized by careful empirical observation along with keen philosophical analysis and argument.
I think that Reid's style is more beautiful and engaging than that of any of his predecessors; he writes lucidly, elegantly and with sharp wit. The Inquiry is also shorter than Reid's subsequent masterpiece, "Essays on the Intellectual Powers of Man".
However, I think that Reid's Essays are better than the Inquiry; the Essays are better organised and more comprehensive. While the Inquiry is a hint of things to come, it is no replacement for the Essays. I recommend both the Inquiry and the Essays.
This edition of the Inquiry includes a nice introduction, and some manuscript material relating to the Inquiry. I think that the most interesting of the latter is the exchange of letters between Hume and Reid. There are also helpful explanatory and textual notes. Every serious scholar and student of Reid will want this critical edition of the Inquiry.
I also recommend the critical edition of Reid's Essays published in the same series as this volume. Fortunately, unlike the Essays in this series, the Inquiry comes in a relatively cheap paperback edition. I have also posted a review of the edition of the Essays in this series on amazon.com, where I suggest some other editions. But I think that the editions in this series are the best, albeit not the cheapest. ... Read more

Product Description
Thomas Reid has been known in the past principally as a critic of Hume and a champion of common-sense philosophy. In this volume, Keith Lehrer outlines and analyzes Reid's thought from epistemology, philosophy of mind and aesthetics to theory of action and moral philosophy, to show that he was a distinctive and subtle philosopher in his own right. Through a detailed critique of Locke and Berkeley as well as Hume, Reid developed his own theory of the operations of the human mind, concluding that our faculties are fallible, but that they have the power to lead us to truth about matter, mind and morals. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The Active Powers with no Usable Table of Contents
This is volume 3 of "The Works of Thomas Reid" and is only his Essay on the Active Powers of the Mind.There is a table of contents but it does not let you jump from chapter to chapter.Unless you are desperate to Reid the this essay on your Kindle, save your money. ... Read more

Product Description
Widely acknowledged as the principal architect of Scottish common sense philosophy, Thomas Reid is increasingly recognized today as one of the finest philosophers of the eighteenth century.Combining a sophisticated response to the skeptical and idealist views of his day, Reid's thought represents an important alternative to Humean skepticism, Kantian idealism and Cartesian rationalism.This work covers not only his philosophy but his scientific research and extensive historical influence. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Good Read
This gives a good christian perspective, without being religious, to a world of philosophers who desire to remove Christianity from everything. ... Read more

Product Description
The second in a trilogy of Forgotten Realms novels from Thomas M. Reid.
This title continues the trilogy exploring the political intrigue of a mercenary society in the Forgotten Realms world. The entire series is authored by R.A. Salvatore's War of the Spider Queen author and rising star Thomas M. Reid and features stunning cover art from artist Duane O. Meyers.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

The Ruby Guardian by Thomas M. Reid
The Ruby Guardian by Thomas M. Reid- This is the second book in The Scions of Arrabar Trilogy. The first book is called The Sapphire Crescent and the third book is called The Emerald Scepter. The Ruby Guardian is set in the Forgotten Realms fantasy setting. Thomas M. Reid's other Forgotten Realms novels include; The Empyrean Odyssey (The Gossamer Plain, The Fractured Sky, and The Crystal Mountain) and one book in R. A. Salvatore's War of the Spider Queen series called Insurrection. His other works include; Truth & Steel, Forged, The Temple of Elemental Evil, and Gridrunner. He has also contributed a number of short stories to various anthologies. The trilogy is currently only available used or from online sellers, as far as I can tell. The Ruby Guardian was released in 2004 by Wizards of the Coast, Inc.


The upcoming summary may have spoilers to The Sapphire Crescent.

A few weeks have passed since the events of The Sapphire Crescent, and Vambran Matrell, along with his uncle Kovrim, have been shipped out of Arrabar to deal with problems the distant city of Cimber are having. During the voyage across the sea, the company of the Sapphire Crescent, who is led by Vambran, is waylaid by pirates and destroys the ship. The company manages to escape, do to some handy potions. They land on a beach, which is swarming with mercenaries who are waiting for them, and the groups only chance to escape is through the forest called the Nunwood. Most of the company, along with Kovrim, gets captured, but Vambran and a few others manage to evade capture. Back in Arrabar, the rest of the Matrell family is vacationing in a summer home recovering from the events of The Sapphire Crescent. We learn that Grozier Talricci and his mage Bartimus have escaped from their cell in the church of Waukeen (the goddess of coins and wealth), much to the dismay of the Matrells. Xaphira Matrell, the thought to be missing and presumed dead aunt, is on a mission to discover who Junce Roundface is to stop Grozier from his plans. Xaphira takes Emriana with her to give her a few lessons of how to be 'sneaky', and it all goes terribly wrong. Finally, the Grand Syndar (the head priest) of the temple of Waukeen is dying and his servant, Pilos finds out something is odd with the Grand Trabber (a high-ranking priest) Lavant. Will Vambran rescue his company and save his uncle? Do Xaphira and Emriana survive the information gathering on Junce? Does Pilos find out what really happened with the Grand Syndar?

Criticisms:
1) Bad Dues Ex Machina. This may spoil something but there is absolutely no way I can work around this. Early in the story, Vambran is being pulled into a kraken's beak when he somehow drives it off. However, Vambran is slowly running out of air and he won't be able to make it to the surface to get some air. But wait! A sea elf comes to his aid. Wait what? A sea elf just suddenly appearing to save him? Not only that but after the sea elf kisses him (transferring some air into Vambran's lungs), it isn't acknowledged at all. It was a huge cop-out. But wait, I'm not done. Emriana gets in a similar situation later in the story and what happens? A sea elf comes and rescues her. To be honest, this isn't as 'cheesy' or simply stupid as Vambran's rescue, but the fact that the same thing (or relatively the same) happens in the story twice painful and lazy. At least Emriana's rescue wasn't as detailed and unintentionally funny as Vambran's, but is still is lazy and makes me yell the question of "Why?"
2) Protagonists. I don't know what it was, but I just didn't care about Vambran, Kovrim, Emriana, or Pilos at all. They weren't bad, but they just weren't as interesting as Vambran and Emriana were in The Sapphire Crescent. Vambran and Emriana in this story were shades of who they were in the previous book. That being said, they weren't terrible characters. They seemed to be more of the same and don't develop any further until the last few chapters. With Kovrim, he just seemed useless. Sure he was tied up and unable to do much, but I just didn't think he added much to the overall story except for giving the reader knowledge of what is happening to the captured company. Pilos is just weak. He only appears a few times throughout the story so there isn't much there, but enough to make him one of the main characters. He just seemed to be there to move the story along a little more and to become a love interest for Emriana. Basically, it just seemed that the characters from the previous story just didn't develop any more, and that was a let down.

Praises:
1) Antagonists. I have to say that the villains do carry this book. While in The Sapphire Crescent, they were laughable and pathetic. In this part, they are just down right cruel and scary. What makes a good antagonist? Someone who is evil and has little to no morals, right? At least that's one way to make a good villain. Well, that's what these villains are. They are plain evil and it seems they have little to no morals. There were times when I just was plain frightened by them. I can't really get into too much detail, because if I do, I would ruin some great moments. If you compare The Sapphire Crescent's villains with The Ruby Guardian's it's like night and day. The best way to explain this is if you take a sitcom (let's say Seinfeld) and suddenly turn it into something like The Silence of the Lambs. Or let's use some characters from The Sapphire Crescent. We have Grozier and Bartimus who were a joke in the previous book. Every time they came up in The Sapphire Crescent, I couldn't help but laugh. But now, Grozier turned into Patrick Bateman from American Psycho. He's that frightening. The sudden change in antagonists was jarring, but in a good way. I'm just plain impressed.
2) Plot. The plot of The Ruby Guardian was pretty interesting. Finally we see why Grozier and Lavant wanted to take out the Matrells (or at least 'win' them over) to help fund a war. I didn't really expect the reason to be what it turned out to be and seeing how the antagonists go about what they were doing was interesting. The overall reason is a little 'cheesy', but somehow it worked. The other points concerning the protagonists were interesting as well. I can't really name specifics, but everything just tied nicely together and everything fit.
3) Humanizing Protagonists. Now I did mention that the protagonists weren't all that interesting, but I thought that there still is one major quality about them. They are human and they act like it (mostly). It was nice to see Vambran being unable to do anything outstanding and amazing to save himself and his company. Then you have Emriana's inability to do anything competently. At first it was frustrating, but as the story progressed it started to make sense. It just was nice to see more human protagonists.

Side Notes:
1) Xaphira. Is it me or does she seem to be superhuman? Take her fighting in this book and her acrobatic abilities in The Sapphire Crescent. She seemed to be like some Kung Fu movie hero, and I have to say it was annoying.
2) Frustrating. I have to say, going right into this book after reading The Sapphire Crescent and it's frustrating scenes made me a little frustrated at The Ruby Guardian for the first one hundred pages. I'm just glad that the story did get better as it progressed.
3) Cover Art. I really like it. It isn't like The Sapphire Crescent's romance novel-esque cover, it actually is interesting. I really like how the color red stands out and it draws your eyes to Emriana. Not to mention that something like that is reflected in the story! That always gets bonus points. To put it simply, I like it.

Overall: 4/5
Final Thoughts:
The Ruby Guardian was an improvement over The Sapphire Crescent. The villains weren't a joke and they were frightening scary and sadistic. They made the story entertaining and worth it. The major problem is the horribly bad dues ex sea elf. Seriously, why? I would rather have seen the characters drown, it would have made everything so much better. The protagonists themselves were not that good. There was little to no character development, but I did enjoy seeing how human they were. The Ruby Guardian is better, and I'd say it's worth the read.

Excellent Series as a whole
Great Series!As Forgotten Realms books go this series was a great read.It's nice to see a series cover a different area of the Realms other than the more popular "conflicted" areas.The characters were interesting and the plot and story carried it well enough that the books were a fairly easy read.

A big improvement
First book of the series, "The Sapphire Crescent" was a bit of a disappointment for my money. "The Ruby Guardian", fortunately, keeps the good things from the first book and improves on the weaker elements.

Again, the plot is brilliant. Just when I thought Reid has exhausted all of the twists in the first book (as it tends to happen in trilogies), he finds a way to weave in a whole heap of new ones. Excellent.
The author gives us even more insight in Chondath, clergy of Waukeen and relations between rivaling merchant Houses than he did in the first novel.
That is where the similarities between the installments end.

Reid greatly improves his storytelling, and stays away from unexpected rescues and rigid dialogues that troubled the first book. The reading is much more entertaining this way.

The characters, which were in my opinion the weakest part of the first novel, do get fleshed out a bit more in this book, but there is still much space for improvement. Reid also introduces a fair number of interesting new characters and some of the old ones get much more space, especially the villains. Usually, if the antagonists get much space in the book, the readers tend to like them more than the often cheesy protagonists. It is not the case with this book. Although the "goodies" are a bit cheesy, the villains are so sadistic and disgusting that you can't really get to like them.

A very good second book. If the author keeps this rate of improvement, we are going to have a fantastic third novel. You should check this one out.

Good Read
To start off this is the second book in a triliogy set in the Forgotten Realms by Thomas M. Reid called The Scions of Arrabar. The Scions I am guessing are those that are 'heirs' or something of the sort.. and Arrabar is the city they are in.


To tell the true, I can't really remmeber much of the first one because I read it a while back, but this on picked up alright and got me on track about page 60. Vambran his sister Emriana thier aunt Xaphira and Uncle .. as well as the rest of the Matrell family were thrown into turmoil in the first book and the family now ( in this book ) have threats from inside planning to take over the estates. Every family member is at risk and it does not look like any are to make it through.


Also, we are introduced to the Druids and thier leader. Thier cause is to take out all those that would harm the forest, but Vambran has other plans for himself then them killing him. The final take in the book is against the entire city of Arrabar and may take the entire world if nothing is done about it.. but that must be found out in the next book, The Emerald Scepter.


If you enjoy deception and misdirection with family ties then you will enjoy this series.. I have yet to find what the "whole scope" of these books are, but hopefully that will be answered in the final. A die hard fantasy fan, that has read a few Forgotten Realms books will enjoy this, and its not too hard to pick up if not although it is easier.

Reid delivers again!
With the second book in his first trilogy set in the Forgotten Realms, Thomas Reid hits another home run. He expands on the story told in the first book and fleshes out the characters more fully. Yet, this fleshing out does not detract one bit fromt he plot moving ahead at full speed.

As I said witht he first review, Reid is proving himself to be one of the best up and coming authors in the Forgotten Realms universe. I am eagerly awaiting the final installment of this trilogy.

I miss spoke in the post for the first book. The cliff hanger that ends this book is by far the best one I have ever read! ... Read more

Product Description
Edited by William Hamilton.This Elibron Classics book is a facsimile reprint of a 1872 edition by Maclachlan and Stewart; Longman, Green, Longman, Roberts, and Green, Edinburgh; London. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Text is rather small, but the meaning is impressive.
Thomas Reid was a contemporary critic to David Humes. An Inquiry Into The Human Mind is a great read, Reid is a entertaining and intriguing fellow. His defeat of Humes Skepticism I find is fair. As for this copy of his works, this copy is rather tough to read. I blame it on the text size,If "Common Sense" of perception are weak, then don't bother. If the text size doesn't bother you then I'd say this is a winner, it even has letters he has written to fellow philosophers including-- David Humes. The only reason I'm not giving this 5 stars is because of the text, make sure to preview the text before buying to make sure if reading is comfortable. ... Read more

Product Description
Edited by William Hamilton.This Elibron Classics book is a facsimile reprint of a 1872 edition by Maclachlan and Stewart, Edinburgh. ... Read more

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This Elibron Classics book is a facsimile reprint of a 1856 edition by David Bogue, London. ... Read more

Product Description
Reid's previously published writings are substantial, both in quantity and quality. This edition attempts to make these writings more readily available in a single volume. Based upon Hamilton's definitive two volume 6th edition, this edition is suitable for both students and scholars. Beanblossom and Lehrer have included a wide range of topics addressed by Reid. These topics include Reid's views on the role of common sense, scepticism, the theory of ideas, perception, memory and identity, as well as his views on moral liberty, duties, and principles. Historical as well as topical considerations guided the selection process. Thus, Reid's responses to Descartes, Locke, Berkeley, and Hume are included. Through the resulting selections Reid's influence and impact upon subsequent philosophers is manifested. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Warning! Abridged!
The editor says, "The present edition is an attempt to 'let Reid speak for himself.'" Yet he deletes the first two sections of Reid's primary essay and begins with the third! And he continues this practice throughout the work. Unacceptable. Get the whole story in an unabridged edition - Reid is worth reading.

Monotonous Litany of First Principles
Reid is the perfect antidote to Descartes, Berkeley, and Hume. He is also progenitor of ordinary language philosophy and ordinary common sense. The sensible world is restored as a first principle; something that cannot be proven, but all must concede exists. And all perception is veridical. The Inquiry captures all the nuances of the five senses as we ordinarily have come to know them. Ditto, reason, which is the focus of the first Essay. Yes, reason can lead one into infinite regress, especially when it comes to causes and effects, but we necessarily rely on some element of reason (conception, imagination, judgment) to give us bearings in the world. The final Essay is on morality. It is the least interesting, if only because Reid appeals to the "Author of our being" to establish first principles of right and wrong. Even so, humans are endowed naturally with a moral sense so that many of the appeals to God could just as easily be appeals to our endowment by human nature. But the number of his first principles is inordinate.

One of the problems with Reid's entire approach is the number of his first principles. I stopped counting after forty. Somehow that many first principles defeats the whole notion of first principle. Even if I agree with Reid that Descartes' starting point, the thinking self, is the wrong first principle, at least Descartes starts with one first principle and deduces others. Likewise, Berkeley and Hume, one to an idealist conclusion, one to a sceptical conclusion. Reid's approach is manifestly opposite. Since he insists so much of what we are consists of numerous first principles, soon the whole notion of "first principle" loses its meaning. In a sense, to save the rest of ordinary language and common sense philosophy, he must abuse the ordinary notion of "first principle."

Somehow, there needs to be a better balance. Surely, that man is sentient can itself be a first principle, and that man is a rational animal can be another, and from these two, the others can be deduced. Maybe not. That's the predicament of modern philosophy. ... Read more

Product Description
This important book will do much to reestablish the significance of Thomas Reid for philosophy today. Nicholas Wolterstorff has produced the first systematic account of Reid's epistemology. Relating Reid's philosophy to present-day epistemological discussions the author demonstrates how they are at once remarkably timely, relevant, and provocative. There is no competing book that both uncovers the deep pattern of Reid's thought and relates it to contemporary philosophical debate.It must be read by historians of philosophy as well as all philosophers concerned with epistemology and the philosophy of mind. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

An enjoyable introduction to the philosophy of Thomas Reid
This book successfully presents the importance of the work of Thomas Reid to those who are familiar with the Western philosophical tradition, or, as Reid likes to call it, the Way of Ideas.In particular, the explanations of Reid's arguments against the philosophical theses of the British empiricists (Locke, Hume and Berkeley) is particularly well-done, and are helpful in revealing assumptions of their outlooks.See especially the sections on indirect vs. direct perception and the chapter "Reid's Way with the Skeptic."
The only warning that I would issue concerning this book is that the section on the doctrine of common sense may be difficult for those with little background in the philosophy of Ludwig Wittgenstein, especially his "On Certainty," since Wolterstorff explains Reid's doctrine by way of Wittgenstein.However, he does a fairly good job of explaining both, so that this characteristic ought not to be a stumbling block for the sufficiently patient reader. ... Read more

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Thomas Reid was one of the greatest philosophers of the eighteenth century and a contemporary of Kant’s. This volume is part of a new wave of international interest in Reid from a new generation of scholars.

The volume opens with an introduction to Reid’s life and work, including biographical material previously little known. A classic essay by Reid himself – ‘Of Power’ – is then reproduced, in which he sets out his distinctive account of causality and agency. This is followed by ten original essays exploring different aspects of Reid’s philosophy, as well as his relation to other thinkers, such as Kant, Priestley, and Moore. ... Read more

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Ever wonder what could bring a demon to the gates of heaven?

Aliisza and KaanyrVhok have returned from their attempted invasion of Menzoberranzan and turned theirsights on Sundabar. But before she can complete a mission in that beseiged city,Aliisza finds herself in the one place a demon would never want to go, no matterhow sure she is of her wits and cunning: the very heart of Celestia!

Join everyone'sfavorite succubus and her half-fiend boyfriend, introduced in the War of the SpiderQueen series, in the first installment of their own exciting new trilogy! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

Could have been better.
This book is well written but the plot needs a lot of work. The story seems fractured because it tends to jump all over the place as we follow the story of different characters as they go about their part of the grand plan for invasion. That's only a part of it, there's too much going on in this story and since many the main characters are evil we don't know who to cheer for or care about.
The characters seem a bit flat since we don't know enough about them to care if they survive or not and the things that are supposed to be important to them aren't important to the author. There seems to be a book that comes before this one because the Alu (demon woman) on the cover keeps mentioning things that happened in the Underdark that we know nothing about. I found this book to be confusing and it left me feeling a bit cold.

The Gossamer Plain by Thomas M. Reid
The Gossamer Plain by Thomas M. Reid- This is the first book in The Empyrean Odyssey trilogy. This follows the Alu-fiend, Aliisza, and the cambion, Kaanyr Vhok, after the events in the War of the Spider Queen series. This is my second read through in honor of the last book The Crystal Mountain coming out.

I'll just simply reword what the description says on the back of the book. Still upset with his defeat in Menzoberranzan, Kaanyr Vhok takes his Scoured Legion to bring down the human city of Sundabar. In order to do this, Kannyr needs to take a trip the the elemental plane of fire. While on a simple mission for Vhok, Aliisza stumbles upon something that she wasn't prepared to find inside and finds allies she thought she'd never have.

Negatives:
1) The pace. The first 150 pages or so, were just slow and hard to really plow through. Many scenes were just hard to read and at times, I was starting to fall asleep. Most of those scenes were when Vhok and Zasain are traveling the Plane of Fire. At least it picked up a little towards the end.
2) Setting Up. The problem that can explain why the first part dragged on is because it was mostly setting up things to come. The first 100 or so pages just set up things and honestly, could have been told with in a chapter or two.
3) Tauran. The whole two emotion celestial was just annoying like nothing else. Oh wow, he's has a sad smile (which is repeated every other time Aliisza talks to him). He was a robot. He didn't radiate anything other than annoying and boring.

Positives:
1) Plot and the Plot twists. First off, the plot was excellent. After you got around the whole set-up part, you started to understand what was going on. But just when you think you thought of it all, BOOM a twist. Sure some of these are obvious... Myshik betraying the group (obvious after he is introduced), Aliisza's change and her reverting (obvious after you recall the moments lost to her), and Zasian being more than he appears (Not a typical Banite, as Vhok so cunning figured out early yet didn't worry to much over it).
2) The Cliffhanger Ending. Usually I'm not a fan of cliffhangers because they are well, sloppy. However, this ones ending fairly well and even when I first read it, I wanted to read the next one ASAP. I still do want to read the next one after reading this one again. It still hooked me.
3) Zasian, Aliisza, and Vhok. I liked all these characters for different reasons. With Zasian, he didn't seem like a typical priest of some evil god, hellbent on destroying the world. Plus the way he tricked everyone was just brillant, you never would have suspecting him being what he was. Aliisza I liked for a few reasons. The first being, I liked her in the War of the Spider Queen series. Even though she was a minor character, see was interesting. In here, she was more so because of the changes she goes though. I wanted her to be changed. Vhok is very different. I didn't like him in the War of the Spider Queen series because he was a very minor character with little to no depth. However, in this story he grows a lot. His anger and humor at times are rewarding. It's also important to mention that Aliisza and Vhok are among my favorite Forgotten Realms characters.

Overall: 3/5
*Although, I do like Vhok and Aliisza, the slowness of the whole first half the book along with the long set up, just really hurt what could have been an amazing beginning to a great trilogy*

Decent start to a new trilogy
The Gossamer Plain by Thomas M. Reid takes a different point of view then most FR novels. Usually the major focus is on the heroes with some views from the villians perspective. This is not so with this one. In a sense, Kaanyr Vhok could be viewed as the protagonist in this one since he is the focal character along with Aliisza, both of which are from The War of the Spider Queen series. The main plot revolves around Vhok's ambitions and the majority of the novel deals with his travels to achieve an objective. A subplot involves Aliisza learning more about herself on a different plain. While there she has dealings with an Angel named Tauran who is doing what he does of the good of all. A couple other characters are Zasian and Myshik who travel with Vhok.

The pacing starts out very slow. I really had a hard time keeping interest with the things that were going on. I really didn't care much for the characters as much at first, but towards the end, Aliisza's character became more interesting and more towards how I felt about her in the WofSQ series. She was one of those characters I liked then and even more later in this one. As for the flow of the book, I did like the way this is written. I enjoyed the say Mr. Reid would get to a cliff hanger part and shift focus to the next set of characters and back. That was one of the things that kept me reading. I needed to find out what happened next. Other readers may not like it as much, but I did.

There was only a little bit of character development with this one, except for Aliisza who had more, but for a first book in a trilogy, I don't have to have major development. The development that was done, I enjoyed very much and made sense. The characters themselves, however, were missing something to me. I really had a hard time connecting with them. Tauran's character was `eh'. He would show up, do a couple things and disappear. I didn't care for him or what he was trying to do much at all until the very end.

A couple minor criticisms:

1. The way the book dragged on or about the first half was hard to push through. I was having a difficult time getting interested enough to pick it back up after I put it down. I feel a lot of that had to do with all the travel through the plane of fire. There was not much of an "umph" to it to keep things moving. This may have been alleviated a bit if there was a little more action to it.

2. This one seemed more detailed than Mr. Reid's previous trilogy, The Scions of Arrabar, which I absolutely loved. I believe with the plane of the Triad and the plane of fire, Mr. Reid had to get more detailed to get his vision across and in doing so, at times, it seemed somewhat over detailed to me.

3. Aside from Aliisza, the characters were average at best. I really would have like to connect and care about them and their plight more. I guess it can be hard to connect with characters who normally would be considered antagonists.

Some positives:

1. When he does grab your attention, Mr. Reid can keep a person captivated and then cut them of at the appropriate moment to heighten the suspense making the reader want to see the outcome of each predicament.

2. The character Aliisza. I know, I keep going on about her, but she was the most interesting of all the characters. There are a couple of really awesome twists that are used with this character as well.

3. On top of all the suspense, Mr. Reid adds some really nice twists to the book. A couple I was expecting and able to anticipate, but the others, I was not and especially the one at the end added the perfect moment for the ending.

When all is said and done, The Gossamer Plain was an average book. I was entertained and did eventually enjoy myself, especially at the end. This one ends with a cliff hanger, but not until after everything else is wrapped up. I am looking forward to reading the next book, The Fractured Sky right away. I would recommend this one of course to the die hard FR fans than need to keep their collection up and those that would like to see a story more from the point of view of a villain type character. For realms and fantasy starters, you couldn't do wrong with this, but I recommend looking to other to get our feet wet first.

-Dimndbangr

Has both good and bad points
This book is interesting in an overall bigger picture sort of way, but quite puzzling in details.

It's best not to summarise the plot, as it forms part of the surprise and interest of reading the book. I'll write about some of the puzzling aspects.

The big bad half fiend lord is a remarkably powerless being. Besides being a mean and nasty person, he has virtually no powers worth mentioning. I normal human knight could take him down. In fact, a dwarf nearly does.

At the very end, how the heck does being swallowed by a dragon get you transported from one plane to another??? I cant for the life of me figure this one out.

Nevertheless, I will be heading off to the bookstore to buy the second book in this series. It's a weakness of mine. Unless it is truly horrible, I will keep reading to see how it ends.

Read this book if you like Forbidden Realms or these two characters. Otherwise, there are plenty of other fantasy books out there to read.

Pure Fantasy - Fun Exploration of Familiar Characters
I discovered the characters of Aliisza and Kaanyr Vhok when I read the Spider Queen novels.They piqued my curiosity, but I was unsure if they warranted a full trilogy of their own.Fortunately Thomas Reid has drafted an aetheral tale that journeys far beyond the realm of the Drow.

This is a story of high fantasy with characters featuring traits and bloodlines of dragons, demons, and angels.The first book travels through environments that are fully detailed and realized; environments that tickle the imagination of readers.

I found myself lost in some of the finer plot points, but I suspect they will become clearer as the trilogy progresses.I think this book may not appeal to readers that prefer swords over sorcery, or characters that are rooted in the human/elf bloodlines. ... Read more

Product Description
Manifest Activity presents and critically examines Thomas Reid's doctrines about the model of human power, the will, our capacities for purposeful conduct, and the place of our agency in the natural world. Reid is one of the most important philosophers of the 18th century, but hitherto under-appreciated; through the reconstruction of his arguments, many of which have never before been discussed, Gideon Yaffe demonstrates that Reid's simple prose and direct style belie the complexity of the views he advocates and the subtlety of the reasons he offers in their favor.

For Reid, contrary to the view of many of his predecessors, it is simply manifest that we are active with respect to our behaviors; it is manifest, he thinks, that our actions are not merely remote products of forces that lie outside of our control. Reid holds, instead, that actions are all and only those events that spring from active power, and he produces insightful and imaginative arguments for the claim that only a creature with a mind is capable of having active power. He believes that only human beings, and creatures "above us", are capable of directing events towards ends, of endowing them with purpose or direction, the distinctive feature of action. However, he also holds that all events, and not merely human actions, are products of active power, power possessed either by human beings or by God. This collection of theses leads Reid to the view that human behavior and the progress of nature are both essentially teleological. Patterns in nature are the products of laws of which God is the author; patterns in human conduct are the products of character and the laws that individuals set for themselves.

Manifest Activity examines Reid's arguments for this view and the view's implications for the nature of character, motivation, and the special kind of causation involved in the production of human behavior. Yaffe's assessment will greatly profit anyone working on current theories of action and free will, as well as historians of ideas. ... Read more

Product Description
Best known as a moralist and one of the founders of the Scottish Common Sense school of philosophy, Thomas Reid (1710-96) was also an influential scientific thinker. Here his work on the life sciences is studied in detail, bringing together unpublished transcripts of his most important papers on natural history, physiology, and materialist metaphysics.Part I provides the first published account of Reid's reflections on the highly controversial theories surrounding muscular motion and the reproduction of plants and animals and relates them to the broader Enlightenment debates on these issues. It also contains the first systematic reconstruction of Reid's opposition to materialism and views his polemics against the noted Dissenter Joseph Priestley in terms of their differing interpretations of the Newtonian legacy, their conflicting philosophical assumptions, and the cultural politics of Common Sense philosophy in the 1770s.Part II reproduces a selection of Reid's most significant papers on the life sciences, including his Glasgow Literary Society discourses on muscular motion and on Priestley's materialism, as well as other manuscripts that document the development of his scientific ideas. ... Read more

Product Description
The War of the Spider Queen spreads...

A hand-picked team of the most capable drow adventurers begin a perilous journey through the treacherous Underdark, all the while surrounded by the chaos of war. Their path will take them through the very heart of darkness, and the Underdark will be shaken to its core. If the powerful dark elves falter, the world below is open for Insurrection. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (34)

Insurrection, R.A. Salvatore
Book came exactly when promised in the condition stated.Would order again from this seller.

Fantastic read, even better than the first book!!
Mr Reid did an excellent job continuing this 6 book epic series. Honestly, after reading the first book and getting myself familiar with all the characters, I wasn't sure another author could duplicate or even surpass the writing skills of RIchard Byers of Dissolution. But, surprisingly enough, Mr Reid enhanced the persona's of Phaerun and Ryld, "which I didn't think was possible" and he introduced a couple new fantastic characters such as Aliisza, Valas, and Hallistra. Phaerun is even more sarcastic and hilarious than he was in the first book. Although, I thought My Byers portrayal of Quenthel was much more devious and exciting than Mr Reid's version of her character. But, I didn't really notice this part much due to so many other well drawn out characters and the incredible story that was written.

Now, the storyline and pace from the first book flowed great, but the new direction in Insurrection was even more phenominal than the first. It's like going to a fancy restaurant and ordering your favorite meal. First u recieve a nice salad, then it's time for the main course. This is how good of a read Insurrection is.

It's been a long time since I read a series of novels as good as the first two books I've read. I love how the heroes are in actuality "evil" by nature but must work together to uncover this mind boggling mystery. If they fail in their endeavor, then the entire race could be doomed. It's just so cool reading about devious, treacherous, chaotic evil beings "including a draegloth half demon" risking their lives helping one another to solve this mystery. The sheer bravery and heroism portrayed by Phaerun the wizard, Ryld the weaponsmaster, Valas the Rogue, and even Jeggred the evil demon will honestly make you question the word "evil" and give you goosebumps. I've never read about an evil group of races working so hard together and saving eachother's life over an over again for the greater good of their city. Some of the characters are very honorable even though they're technically Evil.

I'm on the third book right now and I must say the action, excitement, twists, and surprises are exhileratingly refreshing. The third book is starting to shape up even better than this one, which just can't be possible. lol...

If you haven't started reading this series yet or are waiting until you finish the series your currently reading, please do yourself a favor and START READING THIS SERIES NOWWWWWWWW!!!!! You definitely won't be disappointed. I got the first book when it came out on hardcover 5 years ago and just finished it a couple weeks ago. I'm so mad at myself for taking 5 years to read the series. It's honestly that da,mn good.

Better than book 1
In this second book of the War of the Spider Queen series, the main characters from book one travel to the drow city of Ched Nasad to determine whether Lloth's presence has been lost there too.Of course, being drow elves, each of the characters harbors their own private goals and motivations as well.Nearly continuous fighting makes for a very fast-paced read without any significant down time at all.I missed some of the dark and sinister plotting that was more in evidence in the first novel of the series, but enjoyed the book nonetheless.

The overall storyline was expanded upon in this book, where we gain a better understanding of the situation with the missing goddess and get a glimpse of a new but similar drow city.The addition of a few new characters adds to the story.I especially like the alu-fiend Aliisza, who promises to be influential in future books.

I thought Reid did a very good job of continuing the story, and actually enjoyed his writing style better than Baker's writing (from DISSOLUTION).Reid writes in a much more straightforward way, avoiding the sometimes overly eruditic prose of Baker that was frankly out of place in the FR setting.

I haven't been overly impressed so far, but I'll continue with the series.

ok
This book was like a great date that didn't put out. It left me expecting more,but didn't deliver. The cover picture was the best part.

Entertaining dark fiction.
The drow live in an oppressive matriarchal society where the women have the power (given to them by their evil-demoness spider-queen Lloth), and the males are second class citizens.. When Lloth withdraws her favor a small delegation of drow travel to a distant city to determine if the affliction is theirs alone or if it has spread to other cities within the underdark.

Phaeron is the hero of this tale, a wise-cracking wizardly drow whose subservience masks an intelligent mind and a strong character. Overall, I enjoyed this novel, but I find some elements don't work for me. The idea of a 100% cold and loveless society seems too alien for me to relate to. Biologically, despite their conditioning drow are still elves. Which means friendships and relationships would develop despite the overall greed and cruelty of masses. Also the complete lack of sexuality is strange given the level of sensuality the drow are reputed for. No, I'm not asking for a romance novel, but making the characters s3xless barbies seems a bit strange, especially given the violence in this book. (Yeah I know there is one sex scene in the book but it is a fade to black scene).

Overall an entertaining novel, but I think the characters need to display a bit more emotion. 4 Stars.
... Read more

Product Description
In this succinct and well-written book, one of our most eminent philosophers provides a fresh reading of the view of freedom and morality developed by Thomas Reid (1710-1796). Although contemporary theorists have written extensively about the Scottish philosopher's contributions to the theory of knowledge, this is the first book-length study of his contributions to the controversy over freedom and morality. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Reid's metric argument for realism is futile
The Berkeley-Reid debate on vision concerns the question: does visual sensory data contain metrical information reflecting an objective reality or are such impressions merely "in the mind" (as colours are known to be)?

Berkeley argued that all our geometrical knowledge of the world is ultimately tactile in nature. Visual data contains no metrical information about the world, except insofar as visual impressions are reliably associated with tactile ones. To prove this Berkeley noted that "visible extensions 'have no settled determinate greatness'" since "a given visual extension, which we may take to be an arc containing a given number of degrees of the visual field, can be associated with tangible objects of different sizes" (p. 54; i.e., a man being as tall as a house because he is closer to us, etc.).

Reid tries to argue against this by claiming that the "geometry of visibles" does in fact have "determinate greatness." In fact, he maintains, this geometry is spherical geometry: to a single eye incapable of depth-perception, the visual impression of any object will be identical to the visual impression of that object's projection onto a sphere centred at the eye, which suggests the metric that "the common and natural measure of length, is an infinite right line [i.e., a great circle], which ... bears a finite ratio to every other line [segment]" (Reid, Inquiry, 6.IX).

Daniels is convinced by this. He summarises Berkeley's argument as saying that "we must be able to assign determinate magnitude to something if it is to be a possible object of geometry" (p. 55), claims that "Reid provides the basis for just such a metric for his geometry of visibles" (p. 55), and concludes that Reid has won: "So much for Berkeley's argument" (p. 56).

But this is a terrible argument. Read the summary of Berkeley again---"we must be able to assign determinate magnitude to *something* if it is to be a possible object of geometry"---and ask yourself what the "something" is that Reid is assigning magnitude to. Saying that the "somethings" are real objects external to the mind comes at the huge cost of ascribing to them wild fluctuations in size. As I go for a walk, trees grow and shrink all around me. Even worse, it also come at a price of all-out subjectivity: the sizes I observe have nothing to do with those observed by others. What kind of defence of "realism" is this? Since this approach is obviously untenable, we must conclude that Reid has only assigned a metric to the visual field itself, not to anything external to it, so his point fails to have any bearing on realism whatsoever.

However, some doubt still lingers. It seems strange to hinge our argument on issues of subjectivity---shouldn't the question be decidable even if we were alone in the universe? There remains the point that adopting the Reid metric forces us to hold that things fluctuate in size, but is this really such a terrible thing? This point may be tested by the following amusing thought experiment alleging a symmetry between the tactile and the visual:

"Berkeley's argument can ... be turned around to show that tangible extension has no 'determinate greatness'. That is, [if Reid's metric is taken as the starting point,] different visible extensions ... can be associated with the same tangible extension. According to Berkeley's original argument, this would show that the tangible extension is not of 'determinate greatness.'" (p. 55)

In other words:

Berkeley may say: "Here I have a pen. As I move it further away from me it looks smaller even though I can feel that it is the same size. Therefore visual impressions cannot be trusted."

But Reid may say: "Here I have a pen. As I shrink it [which is how he may interpret the same action] it still feels the same size. Therefore tactile impressions cannot be trusted."

Where does the symmetry break down? I think one way in which it breaks down is that Berkeley can explain why he can throw his pen out the window but not his desk, whereas Reid cannot explain the analogous state of affairs with respect to shrinking. Here is a follow-up question though: suppose I have both the tactile and visual metrics but that I cannot actually move any object---then will I still be able to decide in favour of Berkeley? But let's save that question for another day, since it would take us too far afield from the original issue of realism. As far as this issue is concerned I think we are justified in concluding that Reid's metric is utterly futile.

Just fine
Daniel's book is an interesting inquiry into Reid's place in the history of ideas, particularly with regard to the place of his theory of vision (and his development of a non-Euclidian geometry) and its place in his critique of post-Cartesian understandings of knowing (what he calls the "Ideal System").Focusing, as it does on Reid's mathematical and scientific work in the Inquiry, this book is not for everyone and is would not be recommended as an introduction to or a detailed commentary on Reid's works.That aside, by showing how the apparently archane passages on geometry and vision in the Inquiry are inextricably related to Reid's broader critique of his intellectual context, this book is invaluable.The prose, it should be pointed out, is far from scintilating (in keeping, perhaps, with the topic at hand), and the reading of Reid is often done in the terms of contemporary analytic philosophy (talk of "equivalence classes" etc), which lays it open to the charge of anachronism.But these are fairly minor criticisms.A worthwhile read for Reid readers, but not necessary for those with only a passing interest. ... Read more

Product Description
Thomas Reid saw the three subjects of logic, rhetoric and the fine arts as closely cohering aspects of one endeavour which he called the culture of the mind. This was a topic on which Reid lectured for many years in Glasgow and the volume is as near a reconstruction of these lectures as is now possible. The material is virtually unknown now but in fact it relates closely to Reid's published works and in particular to the two late ones, Essays on the Intellectual Powers of Man and Essays on the Active Powers of Man. When composing these volumes, Reid drew primarily on his lectures on 'pneumatology' which presented a theory of the mental powers, broadly conceived. These lectures were basic to the course on the culture of the mind which explained the cultivation of the mental powers. Although the Essays also included some elements from the material on the culture of the mind, the bulk of the latter was left in manuscript form and Professor Broadie's edition restores this important extension of Reid's overall work.In addition, this volume continues the Edinburgh Edition's attractive combination of manuscript material and published work, in this case Reid's important and well known essay on Aristotle's logic. This text was corrupted in older editions of Reid's works and is now restored to the state in which Reid left it. This volume underscores Reid's great and growing significance, viewed both as an historical figure and as a philosopher. At the same time, it is of great interdisciplinary importance. While the material emerges directly from the core of Reid's philosophy, as now understood, it will appeal widely to people in literary, cultural, historical and communications studies. In this regard, the present volume is a true fruit of the Scottish Enlightenment. ... Read more

Product 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.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (21)

Goodover evil
The books is a rip roaring adventure from beginning to end.
I suppose that the reason that I can't give it high marks is that isn't isn't very original even with new creature at the beginning ( Gnolls?).
Evil priests of evil gods and bad wizards fighting good wizards. Elfs and troll and other mythical being fighting it out with knights and yeomen.
With the traditional fantasy map at the first page
we have a small band of "The Alliance" facing the hoards
of demons, bugbears, trolls and reanimated bodies.
Nice if you like that sort of spell casting and sword fighting.

What Happened?
It seems as though every solid author has some odd skeleton in his or her closet, some anomalous blip that's best forgotten. For the standout author of the Scions of Arrabar, Insurrection, and the current Empyrean Odyssey, this is the 'what the?' entry of Thomas M. Reid.

This book read like proverbial stereo instructions, as though someone took notes while playing D&D and painstakingly transferred every word and line into something approaching novel form.If that is your cup of tea, by all means devour this book.If you're like me and don't prefer hilariously bland regurgitation you may agree with some of what I have to say regarding this odd foray into writing.

First off, Greyhawk was basically a dead medium from the start.Not a good place to be but we did receive the amazingly well done Tomb of Horrors from its brief run, so it wasn't all bad.

The Temple of Elemental Evil is populated by characters so bland or oddly defined that there's really not a base to start from.The generic wizard (who's *master*, a theoretically strong-mage-like veteran from whatever picnic/quest happened at the hilariously badly named temple the first time around, was oblitirated in a few minutes by some bipedal hyenas...err, Gnolls, out of nowhere.Pansies train wussies, so I guess it works...)The stereotypical womanizing thief.A feminist druid.A large, silent, hairy, devoid of personality fighter...who, I might add, apparently *carves a flute with a knife and plays it by a fire*.Since being a Bard is something to be ashamed of at best, I can understand if this guy tried to mask his falsetto voice by never talking and his pale skin by gluing hair all over himself.Somehow, I doubt Mr. Reid had those intentions.A notable favorite was the whiny Paladin that shows up out of nowhere and recites a page long poem (*see DM explanation in the margin of the playbook...oops) describing each of these wrecks in detail.Oh, goodness.

The majesty just increases from there.A nebulous goal highlighted by the death of the only marginally interesting character about twenty pages in.Awesome.From there it's basically a lot of plot fumbling in the dark.Did I mention the antagonists are hilariously bad?

-Generically evil priest
-Vain idiot fighter-type guy (Think Vega from Street Fighter 2)
-Generic Monk (Who screams something like 'You can't hit me!' before someone decides that his lower intestine looks like a knife-sized ATM slot)
-There were probably a few more lackeys, but honestly, I really don't want to re-check the book to verify that.

The plot was so disjointed, it was honestly funny.The environments were paper-thin, the characters moved through each bland event like they were on a track, and this sequence just never let up.The capstone on the monotony came when the party freed the supposed individual they came to find (yeah, there was no explanation given to why he was there or why he'd been taken either).In response, said prop piece basically gave them a 'thanks!bye!' and took off.It gave me a visual picture of him saying that via text bubble and promptly fading away, a'la Code Name Viper for the venerable NES.

There was an end to it all, but seeing as how the story was so laughably bad, it was more a release than anything else.Mr. Reid has done some brilliant work in the Realms which I have thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend (his odd wannabe-James-Bond-turn in the 3rd Arrabar book aside), which just serves to make this excursion into writing so much worse.After completing this book I bear no hate for it.Reading it is more like entertaining that smelly dude who collects 'treasures' and lives with his mother at age 45 by letting him use your cell phone; a basic selfless gesture that will likely leave you with your head cocked in confusion for some time to come.

"... and Melias fails his saving throw..."
The Temple of Elemental Evil is a novelization of the classic Dungeons and Dragons module of the same name, Part of the Greyhawk Classics line of book adaptations of old D&D adventures. I'd picked this up because I really enjoyed the PC version of The Temple of Elemental Evil. I think the idea of turning some of these classic D&D modules into novels is a brilliant one. It's just too bad that Wizards of the Coast so obviously considered this line of books to be second tier.

The novel actually reads pretty well. We start in a forest, following a wizard and his adopted apprentice, heading to a reunion in the town of Hommlet. Trouble ensues and after a brief battle in the woods, Shanhaevel the apprentice winds up heading into Hommlet alone.

Before you can say 'the adventure begins' he and a group of strangers have been sent off to investigateactivity surrounding the ruins of a Temple that had caused some trouble in the past. Really there's not a whole lot more to the story than that. I'm personally not a fan of the hoary old 'defeat the Empire/save the world' cliches that run rampant through so much fantasy. This is a nice, little pocket adventure of some novice adventurers taking on a task that pushes them to their limits. The module was originally an adventure created for low-level characters and the novel reflects that. Don't go in expecting an epic, globe-spanning adventure and you will probably enjoy it.

The characters are nicely written but a bit flat. The structure of the book seems a bit off and the pace is a little too hectic. I got the feeling that these problems had more to do with length restrictions imposed by the publisher than any deficiencies of the writer. Thomas Reid seems like a competent author and at times his writing is very nice. However things are often rushed. Before the companions have been together a full day they are risking their lives for each other and a romance has blossomed.

A major character seems to just arrive out of nowhere and there weren't really any scenes of 'should we trust this guy or what?' Also, the best part of the book was a stand off at an abandoned farm house. It was very well written, but the odds just seemed so unbelievable. And at the end you can see that the author was under pressure to wrap it up in under X number of pages. The details in the last third were kind of haphazard and sloppy.

I think a few more chapters would have solved the problems this book had. The writer showed a number of different times he was up to snuff, but just wasn't able to stuff such a large package into such a small box.

I wouldn't really be able to recommend it to anybody except for those that have nostalgia for the original module or the computer game. However I can say that I do have that nostalgia and enjoyed the book enough that I would have picked up a novel of Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil if Thomas Reid were ever to write it.

Not very good...could have been way better.
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
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. ... Read more