Secrets of the Dead Lands Review, Chapter 7

Athas.org recently released Secrets of the Dead Lands. The book is a D&D 3.5 version of an unfinished manuscript, originally for AD&D 2nd edition. Although, most of the information is system neutral and can be used for any rule system. The original draft was written by Timothy Brown, co-creator of the Dark Sun setting. 

I will not be comparing the Athas.org version with the original manuscript. I will give my opinions on the completed Secrets of the Dead Lands. I have decided that I will break down the review into separate parts, by reviewing it chapter by chapter. I will not criticize the artwork or maps, as this is a free book, that was put together by fans. Although the artwork and maps have been surprisingly good.
The review of Chapter 1. 
The review of Chapter 2.
The review of Chapter 3.
The review of Chapter 4.
The review of Chapter 5.
The review of Chapter 6.

Chapter 7 - The Eastern Reaches and the Crunch
This chapter begins with a section about Chol. Chol is a vast smooth plain, with savage undead marauding clans. The section continues with a description of three of the clans. It is insinuated that there are more.
The first clan is The Black Thunder. These marauders have little to drive them, except survival. Seeing that undead survive with no need of physical nourishment, they must believe that in order to survive, they must fight the other undead. It does mention the leader of this group taking booty, but aside from corpses to raise as his minions, I do not understand what else he would take.

The Swift Death is outlined next. The swift death clan attack the other clans and territories using gliders. Skeletons are very light and usually serve as the pilots. Winds are regularly blow across the obsidian plain, so they are able to glide like a kite. This is a clever use of skeletons and I like it.
They are lead by an undead defiler. Once again, it mentions them having material wealth, but what need do they have for it? Perhaps they gather it to trade with the sad settlements that still try and act as if treasure matters at all.
The last clan mentioned is The Blacktooth Maw. This clan is lead by a fael, so most of the clan are skeletons. Now, this clan's leader does have a reason to be a marauder, he wants to eat the flesh of non-skeletal undead. That is awesomely disturbing. This clan adapts their tactics and learn from their enemies. Definitely my favorite clan.
In the eastern reaches of Chol are the howling caverns. These caverns would offer a group of living player characters a brief respite from the heat of the sun. In addition, the little water that blows on the hot winds of the obsidian plain are gathered here, in obsidian cisterns.
The caverns are unnerving to visitors, due their complete lack of noise, save the howling winds. The caverns are devoid of the living and the unliving, except for a single inhabitant. There is an immortal ooze creature that will feed on those who tarry too long, or delve too deep, into the caverns. If the player characters want to use the caverns as a base of operations, they certainly can, but the ooze will eventually find them.
There is another curious location inside of Chol. It is called the Big Bubble and was created when the obsidian cooled in an unusual fashion. The undead believe that traveling to the bubble will give them visions of the future.
Southeast of the Chol region is an area known as Sagramog. In ancient times, this area was a swamp. We are treated to a page long history of the area, but little else. In current times, the area seems to be filled with unorganized undead monsters.
Elsavvos of the Elves was a city on the southeast edge of Sagramog. This elven city was once prosperous, but did have occasional problems with the lizardmen. These elves used undead as guards before the undead lands were created. There is a powerful undead that resides here, who has a detailed history, but little other information is provided.
The final area detailed is known as The Crunch. The Crunch is the boundary between the humanoid undead and the bugdead. There are been many battles here and chitin, from the defeated bugdead, is pilled up in the area. These chitin piles fill the crunch, so the obsidian beneath is hidden from view. If the chitin is pushed aside, the terrain shows clear signs of massive battles. 

The bugdead surge north every one to three years. The last battle was, appropriately, over a year ago. I like this little note, because it means player characters visiting the crunch, could participate in a battle with the bugdead.
Tarktas is an undead city on the outskirts of the crunch. The undead here lay in their tombs and expect any visitors to pay the proper respect to the dead. Player characters may not be immediately attacked here, unless they are pterrans.
Lastly, we are given a discourse on the ruins of Shumash. The history of the city is detailed and some information is given about its once leader. The first bugdead invasion destroyed the city entirely and the leader vanished, with most believing he was destroyed by the bugdead.
This chapter outlines great areas for player characters to encounter in the dead lands. There is a place for them to have a little bit of downtime, but is still dangerous if they procrastinate. There are undead that will kill them on site and some that won't. Then, there is the ever present threat of the bugdead invasion. This was, overall, a good chapter. It can feel a little long winded in the histories, but overall is satisfying to read. I look forward to reading the next chapter.