Sorry to be late in thanking everyone for their comments. This thread had fallen to the second page with only a couple of responses, so I thought I'd let it "die." Suddenly today I find it on the third page with several more comments I hadn't seen...things move fast around here!
Anyway, I just found out that my FLGS has one copy of the book, so I think I'll go over there and check it out. Sounds a bit "hit or miss" for my particular tastes in monsters, so hopefully a firsthand look will either justify the $45 or put my mind at ease once and for all.
Thanks again.