Chooseco, $6.99, ISBN 1-933390-01-8
Paranormal, 2005

This reissue of The Abominable Snowman also contains some revisions, none of them that will make this edition significantly different from the original that was published in 1982. Some references to hashish and Buddhism have been removed, though, because we all know that kids today are so fragile. The illustrations however are new and pretty, and there is even a character sheet of sorts, although since you don’t have to roll any die here, that one is more decorative than anything else. Still, I have to wonder: isn’t $6.99 a little steep for a thin book? The free cards don’t really offer any added value for money.

As the first gamebook in the reissued very kiddie-friendly Choose Your Own Adventure series, this one is a decent introduction to the concept of gamebooks. The plot is very basic: you and your best friend Carlos are mountain climbers and explorers who are looking for the Yeti for almost a year now. Carlos had gone ahead of you when the campaign opens, and now, with a monsoon storm approaching, you have to look for him ASAP. But the Himalayas won’t give up their secrets so easily…

The writing has been given a more lively boost in this revised edition, but this one is still on the dull side. There are many abrupt endings to cut short an adventure, making this one seem like a sea of aimless wandering among Himalayan clichés like Yetis, monks, Shangri-La, and other things.

While I hope I’m not too old to enjoy Choose Your Own Adventure gamebooks, this one does end up too fluffy and unsatisfying for my liking.