Petrified World

Petrified World, Piotr Brynczka, Edge Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing, 2008

Do you remember those "Choose Your Own Adventure" books from the 1980s? Well, they're back.

You, the reader, are in a present-day airplane, traveling over Tibet after a trip to China. Suddenly, the plane develops engine trouble and crashes in the mountains. You are thrown from the plane and knocked
unconscious. A group of Tibetan monks find you and nurse you back to health in their lamasery. After a
month-long coma, you wake with total amnesia. The monks let you stay and regain your memory, along with
learning the mystical arts of the East, at which you become very proficient. After nine years of training
and living with the monks, it is time for you to head home. One night, after you are back home, the head
monk appears to you with an important mission.

The peaceful land of Zaar is being ravaged by an evil sorcerer named Darkblade. He plans to become
absolute ruler of Zaar, then go on to other lands and other worlds. With help from an evil potion called Black Death, Darkblade has gained a number of magical powers, among them, the ability to hypnotize anyone just by looking at them. Your mission is to capture Darkblade alive (killing him is not an option) and
bring him to a druid named Keinu, so that all knowledge of Black Death can be erased from his mind, and
he can be turned back into a druid named Rekken. Then you must take him to the Tibetan lamasery, where he will spend the rest of his days. Naturally, Darkblade knows you are coming, and has put many obstacles in your path, including rock monsters and ice slides that are so long that the unlucky traveler will starve
to death before reaching the end.

For younger readers, it is very much recommended, and will certainly keep them interested. It's very
good for older readers, too.