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Essentially the Monster Manual is an alphabetical list of over two hundred creatures that populate the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy universes. Like all AD&D products there is a heavy bias towards the mythic fantasy of medieval European or Ancient Hellenic origin, although this is not exclusively so by any stretch of the imagination and some (e.g., Doppleganger) are quite inaccurate. There is a handful of creatures of the Indian subcontinent (e.g., naga, rakshasa, yeti), Semitic (Bahamut, Djinni, Efreeti), Sumerian (Tiamat) and some definite east Asian creatures (e.g., gold dragon, ki-rin, ogre mage). The Elves, Dwarves, Halflings, Orcs and (ahem) "Treants" and the "Balor" demon, are obviously very Tolkien-inspired, whereas the Mind Flayer is really just a 6' high version (and appropriately powered) version of H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu. There is also a modest list of dinosaurs and pleistocene creatures.
In addition there are also a number of D&D-specific creatures; some of these may even be considered part an mythic bestiaries in centuries to come. Favourites include the dangerous pun the Beholder, a giant floating sphere with a huge central eye, several eyestalks with cast spells and a gaping maw; the Intellect Devourer, a psionically-capable giant brain on massive clawed legs; the rather disgusting carrion-eating Otyugh; the exotic polar worm, the Remorhaz; and the massive bipedal insectoid Umber Hulk.
By the same token, there are also numerous D&D designed creatures that are best forgotten, but as this is a review they're mentioned. First, the Gelatinious Cube, an improbable 10 cubic foot lump of flammable but acidic translucent jelly; the Gas Spore, an explosive floating mould that looks like a Beholder; the Thought Eater, a emaciated duck-like creature that inhabits the ethereal plane as a psychic vampire; the Lurker Above and Trapper, cunning creatures that take the appearance of dungeon floors and ceilings; the Piercer, a sapient stalactite; the Rust Monster, an armoured, well, I think it looks like a 5' spineless hedgehog with antennae, which a taste for the finest steel; and the evil manta-ray Ixitxachitl, a monster usually avoided merely on account of its unpronounceable name.
Perhaps the most annoying feature of the Monster Manual is that approximately 1/2 of the text consists of the most inane creature statistics and military organisation, which establishes their role in the game as an object to kill and with treasure to steal. One receives a full complement of combat abilities, including armour class, hit dice, % in lair, treasure type, number of attacks, damage per attack, special attacks and defense, magic resistance, but only a modicum, if any, information on where the creature actually lives, how it interacts with members of its own kind and different species, what it eats, and how it reproduces.
This issue is not just limited to the "monster races" either; Elves, Dwarves, Halflings, Men, Goblins, Orcs, Bugbears, Sahaugin, and so on. Even the social creatures are described primarily and most importantly in terms of their martial organisation. It is little wonder that a standard criticism of the AD&D game system is not a roleplaying, but rather a single-unit wargame.
This said, there are some exceptions to this general tendency with roleplaying potential. AD&D was perhaps one of the first products to strongly differentiate between the lawful (but evil) devils and the chaotic (evil) demons; historically, the devil commanded various lesser demons. The competition within and between the demonic and devil realms is strongly suggested and the leaders are portrayed even as physical embodiments of their alignment (e.g., compare Juiblex to Asmodeus). A lesser known example of roleplaying potential is the bizarre love triangle among the andro-, crio- and gyno-sphinxes.
Finally, significant comment must be made of the nature of dragons, seeming that they are the name of the game and one would presume some thematic quality. For what it's worth, dragons are extreme in their moral alignment; there's no neutral dragons. This moral disposition is also evident in their colour scheme - chromatic (black, blue, green, red, white) dragons are evil and metallic dragons (brass, bronze, copper, gold, silver) are good. Likewise, the breath weapon of dragons is also defined by their colour and - wonder of wonders - the environment they live in. White and silver dragons, for example, inhabit cooler climes and have frosty breath weapons.
Other important elements of dragons include the fact that they are often asleep (an independent percentage per type), they are innate cowards who can be subdued (roll percentile each round in ratio of their hit points if subdual damage is claimed), they have the capacity to cause fear to low-level opponents, and finally, their hit points per die vary according to age. Dragon hit dice typically vary between 5 and 11, making them a surprisingly weak opponent, even taking into consideration their breath weapon and attack abilities.
Like the Players Handbook, the Monster Manual is one of those publications that was quite impressive thirty or so years ago. Today, if anyone dared release a product listing creatures primarily as a list of potential combats and treasure, they'd be justifiably mocked. Thus the assigned values must be taken in context. The Monster Manual is an appropriate product for an AD&D single-unit wargame with high physical standards. As a roleplaying product there are only occasional moments of usefulness, and a DM will have to work quite hard to put some persona flesh on these dry statistical bones.
