Item - The Lord of Shadow Keep

On the surface, Lord of Shadow Keep isn't much to write home about. The set-up is rather weak--we're in a kingdom called Lalassa. Lalassa?? The villain is Arkayn Darkrobe. Come on. There's also something about an undead usurper to the throne who'll crumble to dust at the instant of Darkrobe's death. All of which has practically nothing to do with events in the book itself. One gets the feeling the writer was trying a little too hard to be epic.

Things get a little better once the actual adventure starts and we can start forgetting about the overwrought story. The general tone of things is dark and spooky, at which it succeeds decently well, but this is certainly not the next Beneath Nightmare Castle. Ultimately though, the book only manages to hit "acceptable" as quality goes. Most of the adventure involves bopping around a castle collecting a series of bizarre items and sometimes using a random item to resolve a problem. There's little rhyme or reason to any of it.

There a few highlights throughout the book, like the bowling ball, troll grammar and the lizardman swordsman, but in the end I can't say there'd be a gaping hole in my collection if I were to lose my copy.

More reviews by Fireguard

This book's story seems to be influenced by Arthurian myth, especially the legend of the Fisher King. It's highly atmospheric and has a unique flavour, with text and illustrations that straddle the line between creepiness and hilarity. Although I realize it's not the best book in the series by any stretch of the imagination, it's my personal favourite.

More reviews by Gartax

This book is not set on Legend, but on a fantasy realm called Lalassa. Unfortunately, Oliver Johnson's solo debut as gamebook writer does not live up to the standards set by the earlier two volumes. It's for the most part an Ian Livingstone-style quest-to-kill-the-evil-wizard (with a rather short wilderness journey and the majority of it taking place inside the castle), and it's also pretty generic. As in many Livingstone books, the writing is mostly dry and unengaging. The design also resembles those of that famous Fighting Fantasy author, in that it consists of lengthy sequences of encounters (the vast majority involving monsters lifted straight from D & D monster compendiums) which branch apart and at some points rejoin. The encounters are, in my opinion, rather uncreatively devised: there are seldom more than two alternatives given to resolve them and way too many of them will require the use of brawn or skill checks, instead of careful choices and quick wits (there are some exceptions, but they aren't that frequent).

Not only are combats way too frequent, but they are also tough; even a lowly orc will have a 50 percent chance of hitting the player character in a combat round. Several opponents are also given the chance to deal very powerful blows or even to kill the player character outright in a single round. The player character's vigour score is usually depleted pretty quickly and opportunities for replenishing it are quite scarce. As a result of all this, the adventure's difficulty is quite high. By the way, did I mention that this adventure includes a laboratory with an assortment of potions, some of which are helpful and one that causes instant death when drunk? Grrr.

Overall, this adventure may prove to be entertaining to people who are not too choosy, who like dying many times before reaching the final goal, or who feel they need one more generic fantasy quest. When taken in context with the rest of this series, however, it is almost hopelessly average.

More reviews by Guillermo

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

With neither the glitter of gold nor the ferocity of a dragon, the Golden Dragon Fantasy Gamebooks aim for and deliver a decidedly mixed story within the scope of "The Lord of Shadow Keep". Released during what I refer to as the golden age of both fantasy literature and interactive storytelling in general (the 1970s and 1980s; only in Japan do these still have the chance to continue blossoming), as with other titles in the series there are numerous lows that keep the enjoyment from ever taking full effect. All the hallmarks of the series are in full swing, alas - the game design system is as derivative as the narrative borrows from other works, the frustrating difficulty level which is annoying mostly due to the unforgiving ignorance of embedding opportunities to heal and/or preserve health, and, to my surprise and disappointment, an overall absence of unexpectedness or innovation. There is sufficient charm, however, to make this title readable and not necessarily as disappointing as other works in the series. I would also like to call attention to how, when comparing the initial releases to the reprintings, the quality of the cover art sharply declines; the illustrious, evocative cover paintings on the original covers are inexplicably replaced with ugly, minimalistic garbage (not to mention how the text itself is carried over with loads of errors and zero attention to detail)... and I cannot help but wonder why the one thing that truly worked in the first editions of these gamebooks would be taken away and destroyed.

Ultimately overstaying its welcome for its polarizing difficulty/probability levels, mismatched narrative-and-style combination and lack of everlasting substance, I cannot help but suggest that readers avoid this gamebook title (and the series in general). Don't let yourself be fooled: while there is much to love in these stories - at least in how they were originally presented - readers would not be wrong to pass on these gamebooks and keep searching for more valuable quests. ^^

(Mysteriously disappears into the shadows.)

More reviews by Shadeheart

This is an excellent gamebook. While this series offers stand-alone books, initial characterization is decent and the writing is superb. This book offers wonderful flavor and you really feel like you are there in a creepy Keep the whole time. The interior illustrations match this flavor well, but as the strange cover illustrations on the American series continues, illustrating you as a small, relatively androgenous child, belying your description on the first interior page.

Featuring riddles, a number of cool items to find which prove both handy and/or crucial to completing the quest, and a number of memorable encounters, this adventure delivers. Choices center on much more than battle or simply picking a path, and replayability is quite high. The authors also do an excellent job of offering you choices you would actually have, and letting you backtrack to choose an option you had previously dismissed.

This book is not as difficult as book 2, which was nearly impossible, yet is still above average in difficulty. Most fights are quite reasonable though, and this time, the PSI and agility tests are mostly against 2 dice rolls instead of the 3 which frequently occurred in book 2. I was able to find one central opportunity to heal, which came just in the nick of time.

All in all, excellent gamebook with wonderful writing featuring an interesting adventure, great memorable encounters, and tough fights which aren't impossible.

The only thing missing, in my mind, is the context, continuity, emotional attachment, characterization, and history offered by a build-upon series where each book builds upon the one before.

As a stand-alone gamebook, this is superb and should be a must read for any gamebook fan.

Rating 1-10: 9

More reviews by utfanatic