Item - The Prisoners of Time

This is an extremely disappointing book. Although it does have some merit thanks to the strange environment of the Daziarn Plane, some colorful characters, interesting revelations about Lone Wolf's role in the universe, and a surprising reunion (that's unfortunately spoiled in advance if you accidentally see the wrong illustration), its flaws really outweigh its good points. To an even greater extent than The Cauldron of Fear, it's an extremely linear adventure, with more page-turning than choice-making. It seems that by this point, the author was getting tired and just wanted to force things along to their conclusion. Another flaw shared with The Cauldron of Fear is the fact that this adventure is effectively unwinnable if you bring the Sommerswerd along. I can see how it would be fair to make the book more challenging for Sommerswerd-wielding readers; after all, wielding such a powerful weapon is generally an unfair advantage. However, to make victory impossible for players who have faithfully followed the storyline from the beginning is frustrating and makes no sense plot-wise; after all, why would Lone Wolf ever choose to leave his best weapon behind? Of course, regardless of the Sommerswerd issue, the book ends with not one but two nasty combats in rapid succession. These aren't unwinnable, but to lose them is endlessly frustrating, since the book is so linear that replay is tedious rather than exciting. In any case, this all goes to show that, while I have praised the Lone Wolf game system in the past, it does have major flaws in the area of combat balance -- by this point in the series, most fights are either too easy or completely impossible, and it detracts from the reading experience. I had to cheat to win here, and I really hate having to do that. If you need to visit the Daziarn, try the World of Lone Wolf series instead; this book reminded me of my sadness over the brevity of Grey Star's time in the spotlight.

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