Product Description

The legendary Warhammer of Stonebridge lies lost and broken in the treacherous wilderness of Darkwood Forest. Without it, the Dwarves of Stonebridge are doomed...Only the foolhardy would enter the murky depths of Darkwood. But your quest will lead you into the very heart of the forest. Dare you take on the unknown perils of Darkwood, and survive the puzzles, traps and fearsome creatures that lie in wait for you? You alone must find the missing pieces of the Warhammer and save the Dwarves of Stonebridge before it is too late!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #41277 in Books
• Published on: 2003-02-17
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 192 pages

Funday Times
"Relaunched and as gripping as ever, fans of role-playing adventures will lap [these books] up."

PTA magazine
"Bound to appeal to fans of the fantasy worlds of Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings."

Venue
"A fantastic time guaranteed for all with authors Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson."

Customer Reviews

A real treat!
The Forest of Doom is the third book in the Fighting Fantasy series; written entirely by Ian Livingstone. You play the part of a 'Sword-for-Hire' adventurer, wandering around Allansia. One night, while you're settling down by your camp fire, you stumble across a dying Dwarf. With his last, dying words, the Dwarf tells you about the theft of the Dwarf King's great Warhammer and his quest to retrieve it. While being flown south from Stonebridge, the Hammer was accidently dropped into the sinister Darkwood Forest.

The stage is set for you to enter Darkwood Forest, attempt to rescue the Warhammer; saving the Dwarven town of Stonebridge from disaster and raking in a huge 'collect fee' for your trouble. The only clue you have to it's whereabouts, is that the Hammer was divided in two by two Goblins, who then went their separate ways. This only adds to your difficulties!

This book is quite well written. Being Ian's first solo attempt at a FF book, it is original, exciting and interesting. Also, it's the first FF book to feature that old softy we've all come to love/hate: Yaztromo the Wizard. The only criticism I have is with the general ease of the book. The Monsters that (frequently) try to maim you could of been slightly stronger. The object of your quest could also of been made harder to find.

Saying this, the book is good. The puzzles, traps and creatures you encounter are engaging and varied. You get to explore lots of different places above as well as below ground. You uniquely get the option of entering the forest again if you fail your quest first time around (but look out for Hill Trolls), making the book a satisfying read.

Early misfire
The Forest of Doom is the third Fighting Fantasy book, and Ian Livingstone's first solo book as an author. Unfortunately though it's inferior to both The Warlock of Firetop Mountain and Citadel of Chaos. The one good aspect about Forest of Doom is that by setting it in the open air of a forest Livingstone has manages to break away from the 'dungeon quest' format of the first two books, but in almost every other aspect the book is weak. Firstly it's far too easy (this one took me only 5 attempts to complete), most of the options are limited to using a certain magical item or not, and the book lacks the multiple red herrings and opportunities for sudden death that made The Citadel of Chaos so tough to complete. It also has few memorable encounters and is badly structured, entirely lacking any big climactic villain to confront. Mediocre Fighting Fantasy by numbers, The Forest of Doom hasn't stood the test of time very well...

Okay
This is another of those game books where you jump from numbered text passage to passage to complete a mission like a novel version of a Dungeons and Dragons role-playing game.

Being easy to pick up, you start at the beginning at reference number one and then you're directed to different parts of the book, depending on which paths or decisions you take in your adventure. The goal is to win and get to reference 400, which is the end. It's quite clever really.

The 'Forest of Doom' is a good book but is just too easy. As the other reviewers have pointed out, this one is set in an open forest, rather than the usual underground maze explorer adventure that many other books follow.

You're given the mission of having to find an important object that's disappeared into a dangerous forest called Darkwood. This means that you have to enter the forest and explore around, moving from reference to reference within the 400 passages in total.

I think that this book is good, but it isn't the best in the whole series of books overall. It's interesting, but when compared to other books like Deathtrap Dungeon, Island of the Lizard King or Return to Firetop Mountain, it's just average.

The main reason for this is that it's far too easy. Some other books are hard and I think this could've been better if the writer had made it tougher and more unforgiving than it is. I think the easiness of this book is the only real weakness; the rest is a good idea.

If it were harder and more of a challenge that could keep your attention longer, I'd give it four stars. But I'll give it 3 instead.

My favourite bit is the crypt, it's quite spooky!