Item - Prince of Thieves

This book is fairly well-written and has a refreshingly non-linear design, but it also has some problems. The worst is that far, far too much of the story is determined by dice rolls. There aren't actually all that many choices and death comes far too easily due to the difficulty of many of the rolls. It's also unfortunate that pretty much no matter what you do, you come across the items you're looking for. This really messes up the consistency of the story and makes the book's challenge seem considerably less interesting.

More reviews by Demian

(review based on the Spanish translation)

This is an average, but fun gamebook. It consists of three subquests which can be completed in any order, and a final confrontation. The design and gameplay are nothing exceptional: choices don't seem to matter that much since, as Demian mentions in his review, pretty much every path you take leads to the desired goal. The book is made enjoyable by virtue of the entertaining writing, as well as the fact that the challenge level is a bit higher than usual for this series (even if that challenge is confined to the die rolls; skill checks are often tough and there are several instances where failing a single one means instant death). Since there are several different paths to explore, the book is also highly replayable. Overall, while not as good as the author's previous effort, Curse of the Werewolf, this is an enjoyable adventure and can be recommended.

More reviews by Guillermo

Although it came out a few years before the movie, the 1990's Kevin Costner Robin Hood film with this same title probably makes this book difficult to Google. Which is a pity because it's a pretty good final book for the series.

You play Jadd, a one-eyed thief who robs from the rich and gives to the poor. But three thieves steal gems from you which you learn can be used to open a demon gate. You have to track down the three thieves in short mini-quests, which gives it nice variety. In this, you get helped by a female thief who you come to befriend a little too quickly, considering she was trying to rob you with the others.

It's written by Chris Martindale, who also gave us the regular Endless Quest book, Duel of the Masters. Like that book, it uses a high variety of D&D monsters, such as a behir, a lamassu, a pit fiend and others.

Overall, this book is a good way to spend an evening, much more enjoyable than listening to Kevin Costner's American accent for Robin Hood.

More reviews by Kveto