Oh man, Casket of Souls (1987) is the second (and last) Fantasy Questbook, this one written by Ian Livingstone and published by Penguin instead of Puffin, but it still has something indelibly “Fighting Fantasy” about it. Unlike The Tasks of Tantalon, this puzzle book had a prize — a gold-plated casket made by Citadel miniatures, reproducing the titular treasure right there on the cover.

Plot is straight up — demon takes over the world, the only thing that can stop him is the casket and the proper spell. You’re guided through story by the ghost of a wizard (who gives you the casket at the end) and you have to divine the hints in his narration to locate the twelve treasure that will lead the way to the twelve words of the spell (and their proper order). Unlike Tasks, these are all hidden picture puzzles. Somehow, that doesn’t make it any easier. We recorded a podcast on this book and at that time, I had spent about two hours looking and found three and suspected the location of one more. I’ve devoted another two hours now and I’ve only gotten one more, and that involved turning the book upside down. I suspect mirrors are needed to solve the one I am half sure of, I just can’t be bothered because I’m old and bitter. It’s fun though, even if I am convinced some of the puzzles are bullshit. This book hurts my head way less than Tasks.

This is largely because of the art by Iain McCaig. I mean, just look at it. The puzzle elements are subtle enough that every page in the book is a fantasy art portfolio piece. The cover, and the illustration of the wizard and his smoking hand, are high on my list of all-time great fantasy paintings (and I think both are reproduced in McCaig’s art retrospective book, and a lot of the piece were also recycled for the short-lived BattleCards game). Just gorgeous all the way through!