I ordered it late from Amazon-UK - together with a photo book called
"Phantom Shanghai" (I'm not affiliated, but very impressed by it) among
other things.

The book:

First, a remark about the cover as this is the first thing one notices.
It's a great and very fitting motif as dragons are often the ultimate
adversaries - or NPCs - in CRPGs and it's high quality artwork.
Another great thing about it, is that the sky color wraps the whole book
which gives it a feeling of integrity. Great choice.

But the protective cover is removed quickly and the book gets opened...

All things said by Bill are true - especially the slightly dark screens.
Of course - color screenshots would be the ideal solution but how many would
(or could) pay for the book, then? (I know I would, but I don't impose my
preferences on others ;-)

The color section with eight screens is a joke, however, and only underlines
the problem with the pictures. My advice is to either enlarge this section or
drop it *completely* and use only b/w photos that are brightened up a bit.

Making the picture files available as downloads would be a good "solution"
for beginning CRPG enthusiasts or people not wanting to search the web.

The picture thing is also the only real negative criticism I can name as the first
chapter I read today (and the excerpts published lately) already show what is
the books major asset: It's immensily vivid and lively writing style.

One quickly recognizes that this isn't a vanity book of some self-proclaimed
expert on an obscure subject but a professional effort by a person experienced
in relaying knowledge to others.

The book appears to be very thorough - the introduction to the genre alone
shows this - and easy to understand for people without a deep gaming history.
The latter being entertained by the writing and the filling of some knowledge gaps.

I think that this is not only the first non-fiction book in a long time that I will read
from beginning to end but also that this may become a "CRPG bible" for budding
game designers and fans of the genre!

And I can assure Matt, that the Barton nose isn't that big a problem as is my own ;-)

take care,
Calibrator