Caverns of the Snow Witch (Fighting Fantasy Gamebook 10) [Paperback]

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.

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...

This Fighting Fantasy gamebook has something in its history and atmosphere that strikes you straight at the heart, in fact is one of the most loved and remembered book of the serie.

Almost by chance you get to know where the access to the Snow Witch cavern is and you decide to go and get her. This part of the book is really enjoyable and the mix of scenarios and encounters really work very well, but you manage to kill her relatively quickly.
Then you need to escape from the cavern with the help of two friends that you meet right after killing the Snow Witch, but the climax is still right, as you find that her evil spirit survived and you confront her once more.
Then an anti-climatic part of the book takes you away from the Icefinger Mountains where the Snow Witch lived and down to the Pagan Plains. While this part is full of Easter Eggs and nods to other Fighting Fantasy books, it is a bit confusing and is a kind of link to the start of the Forest of Doom (another gamebook). The only quest that becomes slowly apparent in this part of the book is that during your escape from the icy caverns you were cursed by a death spell (without knowing, in the beginning) and now you need to find the Healer to be saved. Once you did this, you go back to a Dwarvish town under Troll siege, where the Forest of Doom gamebook will start. This second part of the book is quite anticlimatic and confusing as you don't have a real objective until you realize about the death spell.

This book is definitely very memorable (in fact is one of the most fondly remembered by the fan community, especially for the first part of it, that is very very atmospheric and entertaining, even if it's not full of riddles and enigmas like other gamebook of the serie), but the level of the enemies that are encountered is very very high and you don't even stand a chance to win if your rolled SKILL is below 10 (this means that the initial roll of a six sided dice can not be below 4 - if you don't get this, much later on you will surely fail, which is quite disappointing).