The Way Monster Manuals Should Be Written
Customer Rating: 
I couldn't say enough good things about the first Monsternomicon, and after delving into "volume 2," I am still of the same opinion.
The trend with many monster books in the Role Playing genre is quantity. Stuff as many monsters and their stat blocks into a book as possible, slap a price on it, and feed it to the masses.
Monsternomicon Volume II continues to exhale the breath of fresh air that the first installment brought to the genre.
Rather than focusing on hundreds of monsters for the sake of hundreds of monsters, Monsternomicon focuses on more content PER MONSTER and less filler monsters in general. Each monster is fleshed out beyond the stat block with insightful (and fun to read) backstory, history, and hooks.
A "journal entry," a story, a tale in addition to combat styles and history enhance the read for the prepping GM. No longer do I scramble to find a monster and move on with prepping... often I find myself immersed in the book, thinking and developing how the details provided can fit my campaign.
GMs working on the fly when their group diverges from the expected path will embrace the book as each entry includes the lore (or "what the PCs know about it") section that can be quickly referenced should time not permit a full review of the monster's flavor.
The artwork is dynamic and consistent with the other IK source material.
Thankfully, Privateer Press continues to "buck" the mainstream and provide quality over quantity... the result is a source book that grows beyond the "source book." This style provides for a deeper experience for GMs and PCs alike.
I can only hope that the volumes continue to roll in after 4e launches or 3.5e lives on.
