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Item - The Caverns of Kalte

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(Beaver edition, second cover)
(Original (Red Fox), UK 1991 1st printing [5th])
(Original (Red Fox), UK 1990 1st printing [4th])
(American edition, first printing)
(American edition, early printing)
(American edition, sixth printing)
(American edition, twelfth printing)
(American edition, later printing)
(American edition, fourteenth printing)
(Lone Wolf (2007-) edition)
(Lone Wolf, Definitive Edition, hardcover first printing)
(Lone Wolf, Definitive Edition, paperback)
To see more images, switch to Edition View.

Combined Summary

Online Full Text: Internet Archive (American edition, tenth printing)
Project Aon (Project Aon edition)
Series: Lone Wolf (1984-1998) — no. 3
Lone Wolf, Collector's Edition (2007-) no. 3
Lone Wolf, Definitive Edition — no. 3
Platform: Web Browser (Project Aon edition)
Translated Into: As cavernas de Kalt (Portuguese)
As cavernas de Kalte (Portuguese)
Las Cavernas de Kalte (Spanish)
Gefahr in den Höhlen (German)
Les Grottes de Kalte (French)
Gua Kalte (Malay)
Kaltes grottor (Swedish)
Kaltes grottor (Swedish)
Kaltské jeskyně (Czech)
Karute no doukutsu [カルトの洞窟] (Japanese)
Negli abissi di Kaltenland (Italian)
Pećine Kaltea (Serbo-Croatian)
Peshterite na Kalte [Пещерите на Калте] (Bulgarian)
I spilies tou tromou [Οι σπηλιές του τρόμου] (Greek)
Adapted Into: The Caverns of Kalte [junior edition] (Gamebook)
Hunting Wolf (Novel)
Lone Wolf and the Ice Halls of Terror (Video Game)
Author: Dever, Joe
Illustrators: Chalk, Gary (Original Sparrow edition; Original (Red Fox), UK 1990 1st printing [4th] - interior; Beaver edition, second cover - interior; American edition, first printing - interior; Beaver edition, first cover - interior; American edition, early printing - interior; American edition, sixth printing - interior; American edition, later printing - interior; Project Aon edition; American edition, twelfth printing - interior; American edition, fourteenth printing - interior; Beaver edition, first cover, stretched version - interior; American edition, tenth printing - interior; Original (Red Fox), UK 1991 1st printing [5th] - interior; Lone Wolf, Definitive Edition, hardcover first printing - interior; Lone Wolf, Definitive Edition, paperback - interior)
dal Lago, Alberto (Lone Wolf, Definitive Edition, hardcover first printing - cover; Lone Wolf, Definitive Edition, paperback - cover)
Jones, Peter Andrew (Original (Red Fox), UK 1990 1st printing [4th] - cover; Original (Red Fox), UK 1991 1st printing [5th] - cover)
Maitz, Don (American edition, first printing - cover; American edition, early printing - cover; American edition, sixth printing - cover; American edition, later printing - cover; American edition, twelfth printing - cover; American edition, fourteenth printing - cover; American edition, tenth printing - cover)
Salmon, Brian (Beaver edition, second cover - cover)
Sampson, Richard (Lone Wolf, Definitive Edition, hardcover first printing - interior; Lone Wolf, Definitive Edition, paperback - interior)
Mattioli, Francesco (Lone Wolf, Definitive Edition, hardcover first printing - interior; Lone Wolf, Definitive Edition, paperback - interior)
Dates: 1984 (Beaver edition, first cover)
1984 (Beaver edition, first cover, stretched version)
September 24, 1984 (Original Sparrow edition)
July, 1985 (American edition, first printing)
1990 (Original (Red Fox), UK 1990 1st printing [4th])
2007 (Lone Wolf (2007-) edition)
2022 (Lone Wolf, Definitive Edition, hardcover first printing)
2022 (Lone Wolf, Definitive Edition, paperback)
ISBNs: 0099385309 / 9780099385301 (Original Sparrow edition, Original (Red Fox), UK 1990 1st printing [4th], Beaver edition, second cover, Beaver edition, first cover, Beaver edition, first cover, stretched version)
0425084078 / 9780425084076 (American edition, first printing)
0425093573 / 9780425093573 (American edition, sixth printing, American edition, later printing, American edition, twelfth printing, American edition, fourteenth printing, American edition, tenth printing)
191558602X / 9781915586025 (Lone Wolf, Definitive Edition, paperback)
1916268072 / 9781916268074 (Lone Wolf, Definitive Edition, hardcover first printing)
Edition Descriptions: Beaver edition, first cover:
This edition has the same title page as the Sparrow edition, but has a revised cover.

Beaver edition, first cover, stretched version:
Some printings of the first Beaver edition of the book are overcropped at the top and bottom; the title page is indistinguishable from the better-centered version, but layout differences on the back cover reveal that there must have been two distinct production runs.

American edition, early printing:
This copy differs from the one listed as "American edition, first printing" only in the absence of an ISBN on the front cover. It is possible that this is the true first American printing.
Length: 350 sections (Original Sparrow edition, Beaver edition, first cover, Beaver edition, first cover, stretched version, Beaver edition, second cover, Original (Red Fox), UK 1991 1st printing [5th], Original (Red Fox), UK 1990 1st printing [4th], American edition, first printing, American edition, early printing, American edition, sixth printing, American edition, tenth printing, American edition, twelfth printing, American edition, later printing, American edition, fourteenth printing, Project Aon edition)
Number of Endings: 21 (not including failure by loss of points) (Original Sparrow edition, Beaver edition, first cover, Beaver edition, first cover, stretched version, Beaver edition, second cover, Original (Red Fox), UK 1991 1st printing [5th], Original (Red Fox), UK 1990 1st printing [4th], American edition, first printing, American edition, early printing, American edition, sixth printing, American edition, tenth printing, American edition, twelfth printing, American edition, later printing, American edition, fourteenth printing, Project Aon edition)
Cover Price: US$2.25 (American edition, first printing, American edition, early printing)
US$2.95 (American edition, sixth printing)
US$4.50 (American edition, later printing, American edition, fourteenth printing)
US$3.99 (American edition, twelfth printing)
US$3.50 (American edition, tenth printing)
Printing: Thanks to Luke Sheridan for the spread cover and title page version images. (Original (Red Fox), UK 1991 1st printing [5th])
Special Thanks: Original (Red Fox), UK 1990 1st printing [4th]:
Thanks to Ryan Lynch for the front cover, back cover, spine and title page verso images.
User Summary: Vonotar, the traitorous magician who betrayed the Kai to the Darklords, has retreated to the icy realm of Kalte and taken control of the Ice Barbarians residing there; you must capture him and bring him to justice.
Braxus's Thoughts:

The Caverns of Kalte was obviously the third of Dever's brilliant series and it's one of my favourites.

Though the actual book is rather short, this is because there are so many options and ways to go. The thing that makes the book so good, however, is the snow setting. It's exciting and atmospheric and easy to imagine.

There are many cool ideas like Ice Barbarians with archer-children in their backpacks, and the journey through the caverns to the castle is just brilliant.

In short, one of the best of the Kai series, but they are all excellent. Highly recommended.

More reviews by Braxus

Demian's Thoughts:

I have very fond memories of this book, but having replayed it, I'm not exactly sure why. It certainly doesn't strike me as a bad book by any means, but it doesn't really stand out either. It's a perfectly decent entry in the series, with all the usual characteristics that make a Lone Wolf book fun, but it doesn't strike me as being a really special book the way it did when it first made an impression on me. I think that initial reaction must have been due to the atmospheric icy setting; although I maintain that Dever's style of writing is adequate but nothing too special compared to his greater skill in game design, he does have some nice touches here that help to convey the peril and beauty of a frozen environment -- the threat of snow blindness, the interesting Cloudmaker Mountain, the constant threat of cold-adapted creatures. It all goes by rather quickly, but there are certainly some nice sights along the way.

More reviews by Demian

Dtar's Thoughts:

As someone who enjoys Nordic skiing and most winter activities, I loved the ice barbarians on skis, with their backpack baby archers!

More reviews by Dtar

Kveto's Thoughts:

The third book in the Lone Wolf series is a bit of a step back from the tour de force that book 2 was. While book 2 had a wide variety of scenarios, including the possibility of losing all your possessions, The Caverns of Kalte is a much more straightforward adventure, spending all your time on an icy glacier and the caverns inside.

You are sent to capture a renegade wizard to the hilariously named land of Ikeya (IKEA). The adventure seems well-balanced, it took me about 3 or 4 tries to get through. (It also provided me with a personal dilemma. When my first character dies, I lose all of his possessions, including the incredibly strong Summerswerd, never to get it back. I didn't know if I should award the Summerswerd to the new character. In the end, I awarded myself two new Kai disciplines, I did complete two books, but not the possessions. I was happy to say I was able to succeed without the uber-powerful Summerswerd, which I didn't like much anyway. I'll stick with my warhammer, thank you very much.)

There seems to be a high number of unavoidable combats. One thing I'm not so keen on in the Lone Wolf world is that all of the monsters are given original names, like Bagnar or Kal-somethingorother. Maybe I'm just old school, but I prefer fighting goblins or yeti, rather than their no-name equivalents. While I'm complaining, I'm kind of fed up with the "pick a random number" options. It just feels like there should be a more interesting way to do this.

This book feels very much like an Ian Livingstone Fighting Fantasy book, with the wandering about and collecting needed items. I got definite Caverns of the Snow Witch vibes throughout.

Anyway, it's fine, but I'm starting to see some limitations to the Lone Wolf format. But to be honest, I'm just killing time till I get the courage to try book 3 of the Grey Star series.

More reviews by Kveto

Shadeheart's Thoughts:

[Rating: 2/10]
[Recommended? NO]

Expecting the unexpected has proven to be the best strategy when approaching the held-in-high-esteem Lone Wolf series, and in my newfound awareness of the limitations of this format I was more suitably prepared for "The Caverns of Kalte". After a solid first adventure and a relatively disappointing sequel, it was fitting that the third adventure would both bring together the best and worst of its predecessors while being an entirely different sort of innovation on the format - one which makes for a mixed bag of a read and playthrough. It's a tough thing to get right when a particularly complex gamebook series expects readers to be able to adjust to a completely different sort of adventure each time, and here, I can't tell why the talented Joe Dever forsakes so many of the qualities he got down brilliantly back in "Flight from the Dark". While the tried-and-true combat system is as great as always, this book is seriously let down because of the astonishingly high difficulty level, frequent use of extremely arbitrary path splits (along the lines of 'pick a random number'), exhaustiveness of the narrative's unmeasured approach to the journeying aspects, and - differently so for this title - a real absence of focus on the characters. The decisively plot-driven story isn't about the now seemingly one-dimensional protagonist as much as it's about what the reader would do in his place; the second story relegated him to a self-insert hero, and from this point on that's all he seems to be, which is a shame, since there seemed to be a few chances to explore this part of the world this time around. With all the time delving into the details of this frozen, barren wasteland, why not explore the alliterative way Lone Wolf's life imitates his own condition? A precious opportunity wasted, perhaps - an unused way to make the atmospheric world reach both the head and the heart.

Since the third time wasn't the charm, for me, Lone Wolf remains a moderately enjoyable interactive fantasy adventure series with a few obvious faults amid the definite strengths - especially hindered by emphasis on arbitrary number selection passages, and failing to feel out the meaning of this world, I don't think this series is entirely my cup of tea. While I wasn't personally affected or impressed by this gamebook, it is still quite easy to tell why the series has garned the reputation it has - there's plenty of enjoyment for the right reader here, though not nearly as much long-term value as the first entry - and there's some value in seeing the legacy of the series a little differently through this darker, more dangerous quest. ^^

(Mysteriously disappears into the shadows.)

More reviews by Shadeheart

Special Thanks:Thanks to Ed Jolley for the original Beaver edition cover scan and to Brett Easterbrook for the Red Fox cover scan, both of which have been subsequently replaced with higher resolution versions. Thanks to Jeremy Welker for the variant American cover images ($2.25 and $4.50 cover prices), and to Ryan Lynch for all of the British images except for the second Beaver cover, and the American 14th printing images.
Users Who Own This Item: aden, aehalpin, Alarion, Alatar001, AlHazred (Berkley/Pacer), andyr, angriestmonster, Aniline, Ardennes, auximenes, Avenger (Beaver), B0N0V0X, Barker1952, Belgarath, bookwormjeff (Sparrow, Beaver reissue, Red Fox, Berkley), Braldt, brujeria!, bunnyhero, casperthegoth (American), Citanul, crazydave, Crazyscotsman, CSquared, CSX, CWCprime, Cyan, c_wickham (physical Sparrow edition + for Kindle), dArtagnan, dave2002a, dblizzard72, DeKoovenWolf (Beaver reissue), Demian (American first and sixth printings), demon of the deep lt, desdichado66, devilsboy, Dirk Omnivore, Dronak (US), drystan (Sparrow Edition), Eamonn McCusker, Ed, edwebb, EegahInc, egokun, Erikwinslow (US, UK (Sparrow)), Ffghtermedic, firaya, firefoxpdm, Flurris (Red Fox Ed.), Gamebook, Gamebook_Pirate (Definitive Edition [Paperback]), Gamehorder, Garrick Muttley, Gartax, Gibraltar, gnomeza (Red Fox), Greeneuva, greyarea13, Grifter (Sparrow & US), Haoie, Himynameistony, hoops4ever, Ian2405, Icedlake (Sparrow), jdreller, jeff3333, Joe_TC, JoshW, jr (Berkley), Jubal, juski, katzcollection (Sparrow, Beaver reissue and American editions), kesipyc, killagarilla, kinderstef, knginatl (US, Beaver reissue), Kojiro, le maudit, lek, LordJR, Luke, Maginomicon, Malthus Dire, marginal_space, marksmith, marnaudo, mattender, mattward, mir1812, mlvoss, Morthynmir, mvstang, mymgoth, nelsondesign, NEMO (American edition), nerelax, nicolau (Spanish eds., Alfaguara & Timun Mas), nilhilius (American), Nomad, ntar (American edition), Oberonbombadil (Sparrow 1st, Beaver (slightly stretched 1st ed. - my childhood copy), Beaver ed. 2nd cover, Berkley-Pacer ed.), outspaced, Pessimeister (red fox edition), peterm2, Pirrakas, Pseudo_Intellectual, randrews, redeyeball, redpiper05, rpatel1976 (beaver), ryderark (Sparrow), Ryuran333 (Red Fox, Beaver), Sabreman (Sparrow), Salpynx (Sparrow), Seizure, Shadeheart, Sheridan77, Sir Olli (UK & US), sireeyore (Sparrow), spragmatic (Pacer), StagQuests (Sparrow), Superfro, Tamerlane1396, ThaRid, Threepwud, Treguard, Tremendez, truce57, twar (US), TWolf, Virtua Sinner, wonderfly, Yalius, zat
Users Who Want This Item: domj29, Dtar (original "Sparrow" edition desired for the awesome cover art!), eriq90 (red fox only), Hugues, Lambchop, MasterChief, Mr ?, mrwalker, NEMO (Sparrow, beaver, beaver reissue), nordik, odo_ital, plutonick, punga, snakefire77, Surcal (Beaver & Redfox), Trompe-l Oeil (1st Print), yermither
Users with Extra Copies: andyr - US Berkeley
bookwormjeff
CSquared
dave2002a
DeKoovenWolf - American edition
Ed - Sparrow edition, missing half of colour map.
Ian2405 - Original 'Sparrow' Edition
iceman
JamesMulgrue
mvstang
ntar - American edition
Pirrakas - Berkley/Pacer
redpiper05 - Beaver and sparrow
Threepwud

Known Editions

Original Sparrow edition
Beaver edition, first cover
Beaver edition, first cover, stretched version
Beaver edition, second cover
Original (Red Fox), UK 1991 1st printing [5th]
Original (Red Fox), UK 1990 1st printing [4th]
American edition, first printing
American edition, early printing
American edition, sixth printing
American edition, tenth printing
American edition, twelfth printing
American edition, later printing
American edition, fourteenth printing
Project Aon edition
Lone Wolf (2007-) edition (in The Caverns of Kalte (collector's edition))
Lone Wolf, Definitive Edition, hardcover first printing
Lone Wolf, Definitive Edition, paperback

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