Book Description

Customer Reviews (11)

A mediocre start
"The Sapphire Crescent" is the first installment in the new "Scions of Arrabar" trilogy by Thomas M. Reid. The book features one of Arrabar's merchant families, the Matrells, getting involved in a power struggle within the city.

Surely, the best thing this book has to offer is the plot itself. It is masterfully woven, deep, complex and completely unpredictable. Just when you think you've figured it out, the author throws another twist into it, giving it a completely different look.
Reid also does a good job of describing the city of Arrabar, the constant power struggles within it, its ruling merchant clans and the clergy of Waukeen, overseeing it all. Praise to him for that part.
The way Reid tells his story is mediocre. The dialogues are a bit shallow, but descriptions and battle scenes are a bit better. There is also a huge number of close shaves and unexpected rescues, so you get the feeling the protagonists can't achieve anything on their own.
The characters are weak, I must say. They are consistent and do have a couple of characteristics that define them, but really lack anything that would make them stand out and make the reader care about them. Also, one of the main characters, Vambran Matrell (the guy from the cover), is supposed to be a mercenary captain. That wouldn't be strange if he wasn't a kindest person in the world, a sort of a paladin. A mercenary, as far as my knowledge of English goes, is a person that fights wars for money. Fighting wars doesn't go without killing people, to be sure, so that makes him a bit unbelievable. The villains of the book are OK, I guess, but the problem is they get limited space in the book. I wish to see more of their scheming in the next installment.

All in all, a mediocre book. But since I've read the second book before writing this review, I'll suggest reading it, if nothing, for the sake of the good things to come. Enjoy.

Interesting read
Before "The Sapphire Crescent," I had read one previous book from Thomas M. Reid (The Temple of Elemental Evil), and I felt it was quite poor. Thus, I entered this with much trepidation and few expectations. However, I was generally satisfied with Reid's improvement over his writing quality and ability to carry a story. He creates a book that, while not genre-breaking, is interesting enough to finish without feeling like you've wasted your time.

"The Sapphire Crescent" is a tale that delves into the delicate political balance between powerful merchant families in the city Arrabar. Its distinctiveness lies in its simplicity. The entire world is not at stake. Rather, the welfare of only one family takes the forefront. The hero, Vambran, is a member of this family, and also a mercenary soldier with a shady past. By accident, he happens upon a mystery that goes far deeper than its initial appearance. As Vambran explores deeper into this mystery, he puts himself, and his loved ones, in further danger. The ending delivers plenty action sequences, as well as additional twists to the storyline. On the whole, the story is pretty solid.

Reid managed to develop strong lead characters. I found myself feeling concern over their plight and satisfaction in their successes. Unfortunately, the supporting characters were almost completely void of any development. Vambran's two friends might have well been twins since they acted the exact same way, and his mother was really just a log of a character with no personality to speak of. It would have been nice to have seen more time spent on the characters that weren't the core of the main story. They all seemed like cardboard cutouts.

At times, Reid's writing gets a little tedious. He has this tendency to describe objects or places that need no description whatsoever, such as flowerpots or fences that are never focal to the story. Every once in a while you'll wade through a couple pages of meaningless description or action ("She climbed up this. Then she climbed up that. Then she wedged her way into this.") that could have been summarized in one small paragraph or skipped altogether. I often felt like Reid was trying to prove he's a good writer. Yet, he'll completely ignore things that really COULD use some description. What was his friend wearing? What kind of facial expression is he making? Etc.

I really believe that "The Sapphire Crescent" could have been more effective as a stand-alone novel. Everything seems wrapped up nicely at the end. Then suddenly, there's an extra chapter added simply to give reasons for a sequel. These reasons are not that significant, but obviously this series is supposed to be a trilogy, so we've got to have something more to go on. It'll be interesting to see how Reid follows up on this. Will be keep to same premise, or will the next two books totally veer in a different direction, causing the storyline to wander aimlessly?

A 3½ star book that I'm rounding up. It really doesn't quite deserve 4 stars, but hey, I'm in a good mood. We'll see how the sequels turn out . . .

Thomas Reid's book is one of a kind
Thomas Reid leaves young readers in "awwwww," with his romance and fighting scenes. From the vividly detailed battle scenes to the desire of love from a sex-driven, mad man, he gives the reader a crystal clear picture of what is going on. As Emriana, the protagonist, nears womanhood many troubling events occur. Beginning with the death of a mysterious person, until the constant abuse of power by a man named Denrick, Emriana relentlessly brings justice the port city of Arrabar. For those of you with time to spare this would be a great way to spend it.

Great up and coming author
Thomas M. Reid bursts onto the Forgotten Realms fantasy scene with his own trilogy. This being te first book, he has his work cut out for him. Can he follow the likes of Salvatore, Greenwood, Niles et. al.? The answer is a resounding yes!

With this book Reid cements himself in with a line of great authors. If this is the first, how much better can he get? He does a fantastic job of keeping the plot moving. The reader right away becomes invested in not only the story, but the characters as well.

Reid combines several aspects of fantasy into a great novel. In reading this you will find wonderful heros, villians that make you want to kill them yourself, and mystery apon mystery. I truly believe in years to come this will become a Forgotten Realms Classic.

Fair wanring to all, if you read this be prepared for one of the best cliff hangers I have EVER read.

A Fair Start.
This book was an entertaining read.The main plot was interesting, and the characters were engaging.It's not high literature, but it's a decent way to pass the time.My rating would have been higher if it were not for the "mystery" saviour that appears to bail our hero out whenever he finds himself in a jam.Even the slowest of readers would instantly discern the identity of this person, which makes the whole device rather lame.Still, the book does manage to rise above this shortcoming and manage to be a worthwhile read in the end. ... Read more

Book 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 favour. For Reid, contrary to the view of many of his predecessors, it is simply manifest that we are active with respect to our behaviours; 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 behaviour 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 behaviour. Yaffe's assessment will greatly profit anyone working on current theories of action and free will, as well as historians of ideas. ... Read more

Book Description
This digital document is an article from Canadian Journal of History, published by University of Saskatchewan on April 1, 2004. The length of the article is 1053 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: The Correspondence of Thomas Reid.(Book Review)
Author: Benjamin W. Redekop
Publication: Canadian Journal of History (Refereed)
Date: April 1, 2004
Publisher: University of Saskatchewan
Volume: 39Issue: 1Page: 212(2)

Article Type: Book Review

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Book Description
This digital document is an article from The Review of Metaphysics, published by Philosophy Education Society, Inc. on September 1, 1998. The length of the article is 734 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Thomas Reid On the Animate Creation: Papers Relating to the Life Sciences.(Review)
Author: Marc Baer
Publication: The Review of Metaphysics (Refereed)
Date: September 1, 1998
Publisher: Philosophy Education Society, Inc.
Volume: 52Issue: 205Page: 166(1)

Article Type: Book Review

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Product Description
by Thomas M. Reid

Customer Reviews (1)

Flawed but a decent read
I tend to like novels set in RPG settings, because they give a good idea of what the world or setting is really like. RPG rule or setting books can be somewhat dry, almost textbook like.

So I was actually looking forward to Forged, the first novel set in the Oathbound setting from Bastion Press.I like Oathbound, which actually did a good job of conveying the atmosphere of the setting, but it's a bit on the alien side, with lots of strange races, two suns, slightly altered perceptions. So a novel would go a long way to getting a feel of the world. Or so I had hoped.

It starts off okay (well, the first part reads like a romance novel, actually, but not for long). The main character is suddenly taken from his homeworld in an awkward moment (he's either the bodyguard to the queen, or the head of her army, and was sleeping with her), and enters the world of Oathbound, the Forge. So the begining was what I had hoped - seeing the Forge through the eyes of a newly arrived person.

The trouble is, there really isn't much to the novel. Right after he enters the Forge, he meets a friendly dog person (a "Dover", the race is called), then they get captured by the main bad guy of Penance. He spends most of the novel (say 85%) as a captive. He also doesn't do much while he's captive.

So, this novel is a bit of a disappointment as an introduction to the world of Oathbound - very little of the setting is visited - some underground ruins, slave pits, a gladiatorial arena, then main bad guy's palace.

A James Bond novel it's not (though like James Bond, the hero does seem to be a bit of a womanizer), there's really no exotic locations or all that much in the way of action scenes. There are a few fights. But I would have liked a lot more sight-seeing, so to speak.

Usually when a book doesn't focus on a plot or mystery, or sight-seeing, it focuses on characterization. But character development in this could be a lot better. The main character is a Dudley Do-Right sort, and about as bright (which goes a long way in making him likeable, actually, otherwise he would be too perfect). The dog person doesn't seem to have much of a personality, other than always wanting to help (which is perhaps dog-like, but seems a bit contrived, especially how he carries a cask of liquor around his neck. Joke! He really doesn't carry one.). The same could be said for the main character's romantic interest. The villains in the novel are also fairly one dimensional, and without much charm.

The most interesting characer is probably Jezindi, a seeress, but she only plays a tiny role until the very last part of the novel.

Really, for all characters, we never see more than a superifical look into their history or personality. One of the characters says "I'm good for more than a roll between the sheets." But you would never really know that, from reading the book. Because that's pretty much all she does for much of the book.

Still in all, it's not a bad novel. For all it's faults, it's an enjoyable read. While I wasn't glued to it for 12 hours straight like the last Harry Potter novel, it did only take me 3 sittings to read, which is a pretty good. ... Read more

Book Description

Customer Reviews (7)

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!

Thomas does it again
Thomas does it yet again.What started in the first is continued here.A fantastic tale, great intrigue, memorable characters.Thomas' skill in writing improves with each release of a new novel.Looking forward to book 3 with extreme eagerness.Keep em coming Thomas! ... Read more

Book Description
Thomas Reid's Inquiry has long been recognised as a classic philosophical text. Since its first publication in 1764, there have followed no less than forty editions. The proliferation of secondary literature further indicates that Reid's work is flourishing as never before. Yet Reid scholars have been acutely aware of proceeding without the full textual evidence. There exist thousands of unpublished manuscript pages in Reid's hand, many of which relate directly to the composition of Inquiry. Furthermore, no account has been taken of the successive alterations made to the four editions published in Reid's lifetime. The present edition, therefore, aims to present a complete, critically edited text of the Inquiry, accompanied by a judicious selection of manuscript evidence relating to its composition.

The volume contains an editor preface presenting the rasion d'être for the edition followed by an introduction giving the central argument of the Inquiry by means of an historical and philosophical account of its formation; an account which also indicates the significance of the MSS contained in the section containing related documents. The critical text is based on the fourth life-time edition (1785), while the textual notes include bibliographical details and allusions, translations, references to secondary literature, and selected passages from Reid's MSS. ... Read more

Book Description
In Four Volumes. This scarce antiquarian book is included in our special Legacy Reprint Series. In the interest of creating a more extensive selection of rare historical book reprints, we have chosen to reproduce this title even though it may possibly have occasional imperfections such as missing and blurred pages, missing text, poor pictures, markings, dark backgrounds and other reproduction issues beyond our control. Because this work is culturally important, we have made it available as a part of our commitment to protecting, preserving and promoting the world's literature. ... Read more

Book 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

Book Description
This digital document is an article from The Review of Metaphysics, published by Philosophy Education Society, Inc. on December 1, 2003. The length of the article is 863 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Wood, Paul, editor. The Correspondence of Thomas Reid.(Book Review)
Author: Daniel N. Robinson
Publication: The Review of Metaphysics (Refereed)
Date: December 1, 2003
Publisher: Philosophy Education Society, Inc.
Volume: 57Issue: 2Page: 445(2)

Article Type: Book Review

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Product Description
pp168-348, 8vo. Thomas Reid is general topic. Contributers include Kivy, Lehrer, Duggan, Heath, and several others. ... Read more