Item - The Abominable Snowman

The Abominable Snowman is an interesting mix of realistic and fantastic elements. On the realism side, we have a mountain climbing expedition with all of its attendant dangers and a cast of allies and villains to encounter. I really like the map of Central Asia included at the beginning as well as the elevation illustration of the Himalayan mountain peaks. In the realm of fantasy we have our title character and his buddies, religious mysticism, and a potential trip to Shangri-La. However, it is a bit boring, with abrupt, unsatisfying endings. 2 out 5 stars.

More reviews by auximenes

Ratings: 2

The abominable-or-whatever-snowman leads you to a Nepalese adventure (albeit a boring one).

R. A. Montgomery's eccentricity works best in wild, head-scratching fantasy and mystery titles. Having an objective is clearly not his cup of tea. While the number of endings has been cut down slightly, the book's structure still remains rather loose and dull at best.

More reviews by barryattles

Far more consistent and coherent than other R. A. Montgomery titles I have read, but not only has Montgomery left out a lot of the usual weird wackiness, he's also forgotten to bring the fun.

A few endings are surprising. One is good thought provoking fodder for your curious 11 year old reader. But most of the endings are flat and unsatisfying.

I much preferred reading through Mystery of the Maya which was far more off the hook than this plodding along offering.

More reviews by charlesdaniels

This isn't a bad R. A. Montgomery book -- it features some of his trademark metaphysical ponderings, but it devotes enough time to the core story of searching for the Yeti and offers enough glimpses of the beast to entertain for several readings. As with many of the early books in the series, there's not a whole lot of story consistency, many endings are abrupt and unsatisfying, and several paths feel like padding, but it's fun if you take it on its own terms.

The 2005 reissue retains the structure of the original edition -- all of the choices and endings are essentially the same. However, nearly every page has been edited to some degree. One character name is changed, drug and religious references are removed, a death ending is reduced to a bad dream, several other endings are extended without much change in meaning, some technology is updated, and a bit more dialogue is introduced. The expanded dialogue definitely makes the text feel less dry, and some other edits improve the pace, but the mild censorship seems somehow inappropriate, and most of the other changes have no real impact. All of the art is new and makes good use of the greyscale palette, generally seeming like an improvement over Paul Granger's work... however, the original edition has a couple of striking pieces that it's sad to lose. Like the original, the reissue has good points and bad points; I'm mainly just happy to see the book back in print!

More reviews by Demian

If you expect THIS to be action packed, you're wrong. Minor, MINOR action, and lots of bad ends make it junk.

More reviews by Good

My review is based on the Spanish translation by Timun Mas, which in turn is based on the Bantam original edition.

The Abominable Snowman by R. A. Montgomery is a classic, even if it hasn't aged all that well. To its credit, it is less random and disjointed than The Lost Jewels of Nabooti (though it is not without its moments of fortuitousness, either). The book also earns points for managing to convey a message or two without feeling overly preachy. Like much of R. A.'s early work, it is more concerned with getting its points across than with actual adventuring, and for this reason it felt incredibly dull when I read it as a child (a sentiment echoed by other reviewers on this site and elsewhere). Nonetheless, over time I've grown to appreciate the author's intent.

My adult self still has criticisms to make, though. For starters, there is not much to speak of in terms of gameplay. While there are a few failure endings, achieving a successful outcome is way too easy. For the most part, the choices and their outcomes do not seem to be linked in particularly creative ways, which detracts from the interactive experience. In terms of design, it definitely does not hold a candle to Edward Packard's books from the same era. Still, there's enough variety of endings here to provide significant replay value.

Overall, I found the book to be an enjoyable read in spite of its flaws. This is undoubtedly one of the best R. A. Montgomery gamebooks you'll find.

More reviews by Guillermo

The Abominable Snowman is one of the most high-profile original Choose Your Own Adventures. In 2006 Chooseco adapted it as a DVD game, a treatment afforded no other book in the series. A young, proficient mountain climber, you and your friend Carlos are headed to the Himalayas in search of the mythological Yeti. You arrive in Kathmandu, capital city of Nepal, only to hear Carlos is missing. He went to Everest base camp in pursuit of a lead on a Yeti sighting, but hasn't returned. R.N. Runal, the government official you need to approve your permits to search for the Yeti, has an appointment to speak with you. Should you go through with it, or cancel and look for Carlos immediately?

Runal hesitates to give the green light for you and Carlos to enter Yeti territory. A recent party of outsiders attempted to kill a Yeti, and Runal warns the Yeti may harbor anger toward humans. He suggests you visit Terai instead and study tigers. If you insist on your original mission, Runal requests to go with you; his position in government will help slash through bureaucratic red tape. He sends a team that retrieves Carlos, and the expedition begins. In a certain village, Runal says there's a Buddhist monk with close ties to the Yeti. The monk invites you to join a secret society that lives in harmony with the Yeti. If you accept, a gigantic man named Zodak leads you to Shangri-La, a utopian mountain village. You've far exceeded your aspiration to prove the Yeti exist.

Canceling that original meeting with Runal prompts him to go along on your search for Carlos. Yeti are believed to prefer lower altitudes, but if you look higher up, in the glaciers, you reunite with Carlos right away and meet Sirdar Podang Sorba, a Sherpa guide. If you stumble onto evidence that Sirdar is a criminal, you could be strong-armed into the international illegal drugs market. Avoid that danger and Sirdar might join your excursion to find the Yeti. If he guides you into the Everest region, you have an icy climb ahead that is likely a death sentence. Go to Annapurna instead, and in camp one night you see a distant flash. Is it a sign of the Yeti, or mountaineers in distress? If you come face to face with a Yeti, will you have the presence of mind to collect proof? Choosing to search lower altitudes rather than the glaciers, you meet a woman who interacted with Carlos. He left a note asking you to wait here; if you comply, the Yeti arrive that night howling outside. Go after them and you could trace Carlos to a quiet, isolated valley, rescue him from his Yeti captors, or find him thriving among space aliens called the Movidians. Will Carlos want to reenter human society? Would you, if promised paradise instead?

I expected good things from The Abominable Snowman, but it's a candidate for worst Choose Your Own Adventures to this point in the original series. No attempt is made at internal consistency, so there's no sense that your decisions matter, and the core identity of the Yeti transforms from one ending to the next. Without a reliable depiction of Yeti culture, we're left with no memorable revelation of who they are or feeling of accomplishment at our discovery. Aside from an ending or two with a glimmer of philosophical promise, The Abominable Snowman isn't worth your time. That's disappointing, because the concept is ready made for a pure, exhilarating adventure.

More reviews by KenJenningsJeopardy74

(based on the Italian translation, "L'abominevole uomo delle nevi")

I haven't read too many of the "Choose your own" series, so I can't really compare this one to others in the series or by this author. It seems fine for what it is. I guess you play a more adult version of yourself as you are involved in a mountaineering expedition in the Himalayas with your mate, Carlos.

It has a number of paths and the stories can take a few wild turns, and there seems to be quite a bit of metaphysical mumbo-jumbo musings. The endings feel abrupt, but that might just be my lack of experience with the series, as I vaguely recall the same in my youthful readings. The black and white illustrations in my version were quite good. I suppose it would satisfy the young target reader who picks up a book about Yeti for a short adventure.

More reviews by Kveto

R. A. Montgomery’s books rarely work on consistent internal logic, and this one is no different. If you make one decision, the Yeti are murderous, growling monsters, and if you follow a different path, they shake your hand and discuss an interspecies peace treaty in controlled tones. I guess it doesn’t matter how reality works when most of the choices players make are completely arbitrary and many times the book asks questions like “Do you want to follow the sound of the Yeti on your Yeti search or do you … not want to do that?” R. A. also has a habit of leaving things up in the air: “Your search for the mythical mountain creature continues forth!” is a completely unsatisfying ending (but maybe it’s a gentle nudge to start over from the beginning).

That being said, this is a story based on pure Yeti vibes, and it delivers on those. Yetis (yes, plural) show up in like 20 of the endings, which cheapens the whole ordeal (if it’s this easy to find the Yeti, why should we care?), but gives you a lot of looks at R. A.’s strange Yeti thoughts and Yeti ideas. There are aliens, too. I think a cop turns into a spaceship at one point.

In the end, this is successful as an R. A. Montgomery gamebook, which is to say it’s frustrating and bizarre and occasionally sublime. My favorite ending, after you find paradise: “Is it different? Can you do whatever you want? Can you fulfill your dreams? Can you enjoy your life completely? Or must you be content within limits?”

More reviews by williamtuttlewho