Product Description

Deep within the Crystal Caves of Icefinger Mountains, the dreaded Snow Witch is plotting to bring on a new Ice Age. A brave trapper dies in your arms and lays the burden of his mission on your shoulders. But time is running out - will YOU take the challenge.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #148229 in Books
• Published on: 2003-04-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 242 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

Disappointingly linear, frustratingly hard
This early (original number 9) Fighting Fantasy is a classic set in the FF world of Titan and very much immersed in the fantasy world, with elves, dwarves, vampires, wolves, zombies, dragons, demons, orcs, goblins and golems - as well as some weird and wonderful additions such as a squid-like Brain Slayer and some evil Bird Men. Plot-wise it's basic but has a definite story where the hero enters and escapes from the Snow Witch's lair. The setting is broadly arctic (like Caverns of Kalte) but the last part of the adventure inexplicably switches to mainland Titan.

My first criticism of this book is that its structure is extremely linear - there is basically one path from beginning to end, and the route choices nearly always involve a path continuation or a detour to a side-room from which one must return to the main course. This makes for a long (maybe over-long) adventure, a lack of challenge in terms of route choices and a reading experience resembling a novel more than an adventure.

Second, it's very, very hard to defeat. Not in the interesting sense of having to solve puzzles of which is the best route or which items are needed. In the sense of having a frustrating number of lethal luck, skill and stamina tests and unavoidable high level (skill 10 to 12) adversaries. A few pages from the start and you're already fighting a skill 10 or 11 Yeti and facing a potentially lethal avalanche. Later you'll have to beat a Skill 12 Bird Man - combat is unavoidable. And these are the routine encounters - not the "boss" monsters. It's not difficult to use up your Luck and Provisions before you even meet the Snow Queen, rendering the later battles deadly.

Third, it's the conversion of a shorter piece into a book-length adventure, and it tells - the main quest (defeating the Snow Witch) is already done a third of the way in. It's like one of those films which carries on for half an hour after it "ends". Two-thirds of the book is anticlimax. And the difficulty level seems geared to the shorter adventure.

In all, overly hard, far too linear and lacking in immersive elements to keep interest - not one of the strongest of the series.

Embark upon a frozen quest.
In this story, you are hired to seek out and kill a Yeti who is disrupting the trade routes in northern Allansia.

Yeah, I know it doesn't sound too exciting, but after you deal with it, you meet a half-dead man who tells you about the Snow Witch and her riches. This, of course, is your REAL mission and you're off to kill the chilly pest...

What's interesting about this story is that it's actually separated into three different quests. The first part of the story involves finding the Snow Witch's domain, collecting several important articles, and confronting the evil sorceress herself.

The second part of the story deals with escaping the Snow Witch's lair with the companions you team up with. Since you can't go out the way you came in due to enraged guards, you have to go out the back door. The three of you run afoul of all sorts of goons and traps.

The third part of the story is the most challenging. You must find the 'Healer', a mysterious mountain man to aid you. Unfortunately, you have to pass a few tests and have some specific items to have a chance. If you were lucky enough to pick up all the correct objects, you'll obtain his help...

This is an excellent book, due in combination to its unique story line and its relative difficulty. If you succeed, the feeling of accomplishment is well-deserved. Not as good as Deathtrap Dungeon, but COOL nevertheless...

Cool!
This is like the usual game books in the series of fighting fantasy, in which you're directed to and from hundreds of numbered passages to create your own path through the adventure, based upon your own decisions.

Caverns of the Snow Witch is a good book, but it's quite a peculiar game book indeed in some ways, mainly because it's seems to be two adventures that've been attached together by the author. None of the other game books I've read are like this!

Allow me to explain; in a normal game book, you're given a mission to embark upon and usually a big baddie to tackle and kill at the end, not unlike the `boss' at the end of a computer game. In CotSW, you confront the big villain in the middle of the adventure and then have another mission to complete, which involves a lot of travelling, to be successful. Weird!

Although I mean weird in a good way, for I liked this book quite a lot and enjoyed the unusual adventure setup and style. It's the only game book I've read set in an icy, frozen, snow-covered environment. The allies you can meet are a nice touch and the Snow Witch's subterranean lair is dangerous, albeit too short in my opinion.

My favourite bit is the icy caverns of the Snow Witch; they're atmospheric and fun to explore. I like the way she dominates her henchmen, although I won't spoil the surprise for you.