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I waited and waited, and finally my favorite clan for the Legend of the Five Rings Game gets its turn. After reading the book, I can soundly say that I am a happy camper.

The Phoenix are a very convoluted and tricky clan ad the book is able to convey this with a minimum of confusion onthe prt of the reader. A great book overall for L5R and not surprisingly) quite helpful to a Phenix player.

The biggest complaint I have is with the typos in the book. The typos increase in frequency as the book goes along... as if the editor was falling asleep as they were working. This is okay though, the typos are annoying but are not terribly detremental to the book. My other complaint is that the art seems to be a bit haphazard. I am sure the artist(s) were on a tight schedule, but I don't feel the pics reflect the text all that well. The pics are good for representing the Phoenix, just not the particular text that they are attached to. Also, of all the covers (save Crane) I think this looks the worst. Overall, the artwork is good enough not to detract from the enjoyability of the book. Ho hum.

On the plus side there is a high 'fun factor' to this book. Lots of secret stuff is revealed (no mention of Kolat though) and presented in a way so that it is useable by a GM. The Asako are particularly fun and very playable. The relationship between the Isawa and Shiba and the histroy thereof is also quite fun (and handy to finally know aout) Additionallly, on top of the standard family and clan descriptions as well as nifty Phoenix-related rules, you get a whole host of extra info that is useful to any L5R campaign. Stuff on Shugenja and the Daisho, the expanding ofthe role of shugenja-yojimbo, spell creation, shugenja faceoffs, and monks are all discussed. Even if you are not a phoenix, the stuff on Shugenja is really valuable.

I can't go into too much for fear of ruining the book. rust me, if you like the Phoenix this is a wonderful investment. Heck, if you like L5R this is a good investment (if only for the stuff on Shinsei and the Shugenja).

Style: 3 (Average)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Way of the Phoenix
Author: Patrick Kapera and Ree Soesbee Category: game Company/Publisher: Alderac Entertainment Group Cost: 14.95 Page count: 128 ISBN: AEG 3017 Capsule Review by Chris Gunning on 02/11/99. Genre tags: Fantasy Asian/Far_East	I waited and waited, and finally my favorite clan for the Legend of the Five Rings Game gets its turn. After reading the book, I can soundly say that I am a happy camper. The Phoenix are a very convoluted and tricky clan ad the book is able to convey this with a minimum of confusion onthe prt of the reader. A great book overall for L5R and not surprisingly) quite helpful to a Phenix player. The biggest complaint I have is with the typos in the book. The typos increase in frequency as the book goes along... as if the editor was falling asleep as they were working. This is okay though, the typos are annoying but are not terribly detremental to the book. My other complaint is that the art seems to be a bit haphazard. I am sure the artist(s) were on a tight schedule, but I don't feel the pics reflect the text all that well. The pics are good for representing the Phoenix, just not the particular text that they are attached to. Also, of all the covers (save Crane) I think this looks the worst. Overall, the artwork is good enough not to detract from the enjoyability of the book. Ho hum. On the plus side there is a high 'fun factor' to this book. Lots of secret stuff is revealed (no mention of Kolat though) and presented in a way so that it is useable by a GM. The Asako are particularly fun and very playable. The relationship between the Isawa and Shiba and the histroy thereof is also quite fun (and handy to finally know aout) Additionallly, on top of the standard family and clan descriptions as well as nifty Phoenix-related rules, you get a whole host of extra info that is useful to any L5R campaign. Stuff on Shugenja and the Daisho, the expanding ofthe role of shugenja-yojimbo, spell creation, shugenja faceoffs, and monks are all discussed. Even if you are not a phoenix, the stuff on Shugenja is really valuable. I can't go into too much for fear of ruining the book. rust me, if you like the Phoenix this is a wonderful investment. Heck, if you like L5R this is a good investment (if only for the stuff on Shinsei and the Shugenja). Style: 3 (Average) Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Way of the Phoenix