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I want to get the bad things about this product out of the way first, because I really like it and I don't want to dwell on the major problems in proofreading here. No 'Page XX' here, but a few spells with parameters which change halfway through the description, and a prestige class with an 8th level special ability the same as its 3rd level one.

Way back in days of TSR, a set of books was released called Monstrous Arcana, with in-depth studies of beholders, mind flayers and sahuagin. Usenet discussions at the time suggested that what people wanted next was a book about yuan-ti. Well, here it is. There're a few bits which are realms specific, but this is easily the most generic of the various 3rd ed Forgotten Realms sourcebooks. The monster slant is at all intellegent scaly creatures except dragons, with feats, prestige classes, spells and equipment aimed at such. You could even use it in a Scarred Lands campaign - especially if you use the asaathi and the gorgons a lot.

The book covers yuan-ti, naga and a number of other scaly creatures, like troglodytes, ophidians and a new race, the sarrukh. The sarrukh are the creators of all intellgent scaled life native to Toril. The basic sarrukh is CR 21, and the sample NPC is CR 35! Better as a plot device than an encounter. Strangely, there is no mention of lizard folk directly, but there are lizard kings! The lizard kings are a far cry from the gimmicky creatures in the original Fiend Folio - they now have a reason for being a different alignment from the creatures they rule.

The interplay between all these creatures is very detailed and very plausible. The sarrukh created the yuan-ti to be their ideal slaves, as the so-called scaleless ones (mammals, etc.) were inefficient and smelt disgusting. The yuan-ti rebelled against their masters, who they considered decadent, and came to see themsleves as the ideal followers of their god, Sseth. The other scaled races were created by either the sarrukh or the yuan-ti for specific functions - the troglodytes, for example, were created to penetrate the underdark. The lizard kings were created by a demon prince intent on weakening the sarrukh's Faerunian power base. (Note: I've never read any FR novel. I hope this isn't a spoiler for anyone.)

This is undeniably a DM only book. No feats and few prestige classes are usable by anyone other than someone who is reptilian or associated with the yuan-ti. Here are some highlights of the crunchy bits:

Nagahydra - Arguably the nastiest creature in the book (despite being 3rd in terms of CR, only 18!), this thing can cast one spell per round per head. They have five heads, and those heads also have poison DC24, 1d12/1d12 Con damage. I'd rather fight a sarrukh.

Osssra - Weird oils which have negative effects on mammals and positive effects on reptiles.

Erupt - Was this spell playtested? A 9th level spell, it does 10 damage per caster level to everything within 100 feet per level - including structures. Now the casting time is one minute, and the caster is always caught in the effect, but there's no expensive components or XP costs. Doing the sums, this destroys 99% of everything in half a square kilometre!

Fang of Sseth - A prestige class of snaky assassins, not necessarily serpentine themselves.

In conclusion, this book has lots of usable stuff whether or not you play forgotten realms, but only for snaky stuff. I'd give it 5/5, but the proofreading errors lower my confidence. On last point - nowhere does it say how to pronounce yuan-ti. I've always pronounced them as if the name were Mandarin (two syllables), which tends to confuse everyone.