By Tim Marshall

Cover Blurb:

Your name is Shadow, and you are a thief. An exceptional thief. For the last 3 years, you have been working the rooftops of the city of Laevani, stealing from the rich and powerful. You are well named, as you seem to have the ability to move unseen in the dark and pass like a shadow in the night. However, last night the unthinkable happened. You were caught and thrown into jail. But you managed to escape your cell, but then encountered powers beyond your belief, trying to bring back an ancient evil banished from your world eons past. And you may be the only person in Laevani who can stop the return of this eons old terror – as you have the key to its escape. But having just escaped with your life, the minions of this great evil are now trying to track you down. But you cannot just hide, as you have to find the few people in the city who may be able to help you thwart this terror from history. Expect roof-top chases and action as you search the streets of the city to try to find those who can help you, whilst remaining a step ahead of the dread servants of this ancient power. Trust no one.Are you the hero? In this gamebook, you play Shadow. You make all the decisions, and choose unique abilities that may help (or hinder) you as you try to uncover this terrifying scheme. Armed with two 6-sided dice, a pencil, paper and an eraser, are you ready to take on the dark powers?

Shadow Thief Book Two: Hunted By Author David Lowrie – Book Review

The Book Dragon has reviewed Shadow Thief Book Two Hunted through the reading and reviewing of Shadows Under Laeveni which is a Hardback Book Compilation of all 3 Shadow Thief titles. Therefore the below review is applicable to the individual titles and has been shared accordingly for those who wish to read and purchase the titles separately in their paperback editions.

I’m very pleased to be introducing Shadows Under Laeveni, as it’s the first opportunity I’ve had to review an indie gamebook on behalf of The Book Dragon. For those who aren’t familiar, gamebooks are closely tied to both roleplaying games like Dungeons and Dragons and ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ novels. You play (and read) as the main character in the story, who has a particular set of skills that are tested during the course of the narrative using dice and impact the way that the story unfolds. There are many paths through the story, many of which can lead to (sometimes literal) dead ends. The story is an adventure that the reader, playing the character, attempts to succeed at. In many ways gamebooks are a predecessor to single-player video games, and for those who enjoy both reading and games, they combine the best of both worlds.

Shadows Under Laeveni is an adventure gamebook trilogy where the main character is a thief called Shadow who uncovers a conspiracy to unleash an ancient evil on the Holy City of Amaldi – assuming they don’t find themselves on the wrong end of a half-orc’s bastard sword first. There are many gruesome ways to die throughout the trilogy. To start off, you choose Shadow’s skills (such as Lock Picking, Charm and Guile, or Sixth Sense) from a list of options and determine his basic abilities (such as Fighting, Intelligence and Agility) through dice rolls. At various points throughout the story, skills may prove useful, or even lifesaving, while abilities are frequently tested to accomplish tasks. As the author notes, it’s possible for those who don’t enjoy rolling dice to ignore the element of dice rolls and play the book as a ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ story.

The first book in the trilogy, Jailbreak, is, in my opinion, a great introduction to the gamebook genre. It has many possible ways to die and is less heavy on dice rolling than the latter two books, Hunted and Heroes. Jailbreak is a great way to get a taste of the genre. To get the full story, though, will require Hunted and Heroes as well, or the full trilogy in Shadows Under Laeveni. Each has a distinct feel as setting and circumstance for Shadow changes from book to book, and the titles are apt for describing the themes. Something that sets the series apart for me from some other gamebooks is the art – a lot of the story is depicted with hand-drawn sketches from the author. As mentioned before, it’s definitely a gamebook for mature audiences, given the violent and sometimes horrific content.

I give the trilogy 4 stars out of 5 and highly recommend that anyone who thinks they might be interested in the genre give Jailbreak a try!

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