What do you think?
Rate this book
At the Mountains of Madness
208 pages, Paperback
Published September 16, 2025
9 people want to read
About the author
Jacopo della Quercia
9 books229 followersJACOPO DELLA QUERCIA is an award-winning educator, essayist, and novelist. His work has been featured on BBC America, Business Insider, CNN Money, Folger Magazine, The Huffington Post, Reader's Digest, Ripley's Believe It or Not!, Slate, and Princeton University's Electronic Bulletin of the Dante Society of America, among others.
As a writer, Jacopo strives to present otherwise obscure scholarly subjects in a manner more easily accessible and enjoyable for all audiences: a practice he honed in the classroom. His novels are The Great Abraham Lincoln Pocket Watch Conspiracy and its sequel, License to Quill , with many more to follow!
As a writer, Jacopo strives to present otherwise obscure scholarly subjects in a manner more easily accessible and enjoyable for all audiences: a practice he honed in the classroom. His novels are The Great Abraham Lincoln Pocket Watch Conspiracy and its sequel, License to Quill , with many more to follow!
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
February 16, 2026
I met the author of this book at a local bookstore. The passion and excitement he had about his work was enough for me to grab a copy of two of his books.
He told me he was hoping to replicate the same sort of fun of a "Choose Your Adventure" book that I read as a kid. He did. as I flipped through the pages, trying to commit to my decisions and not back down, I felt like I was 13 again, getting lost inside of a book where my choices could kill someone. highly recommend this book! so much fun!
He told me he was hoping to replicate the same sort of fun of a "Choose Your Adventure" book that I read as a kid. He did. as I flipped through the pages, trying to commit to my decisions and not back down, I felt like I was 13 again, getting lost inside of a book where my choices could kill someone. highly recommend this book! so much fun!
October 9, 2025
Love this! I was at a bookstore and got the book signed because the author is local :)
I used to love choose your adventures as a kid, I like how this one is more for older audiences
I used to love choose your adventures as a kid, I like how this one is more for older audiences
January 25, 2026
Adapting Lovecraft into a YA Choose Your Own Adventure chock-full of Easter eggs was a wickedly perfect idea - so fun, so spooky, an easy gift for the horror kid in your life.
November 2, 2025
An engaging Lovecraftian gamebook, which leavens the horror with humor. I appreciated the strong internal consistency and how reading more of the book reveals more of what is going on. There were some fittingly bleak endings, including some endings that were depressing on a large scale.
September 28, 2025
Great read aloud for the whole family! I actually enjoyed this so much that I plan to bring it in as a fun treat for my high schoolers. Great for upper elementary and middle, but enjoyable for the older crowd. And, like other “choose your own adventure” books, you can get multiple reads out of it. I have already read it twice, but I foresee a lot more rereads!
I particularly liked the cast of characters and educational guide in the back. As a teacher, I’m always trying to bring in that love of learning.
I particularly liked the cast of characters and educational guide in the back. As a teacher, I’m always trying to bring in that love of learning.
November 2, 2025
You’ll feel the Antarctic chill deep within your bones when you set off with At the Mountains of Madness, a Choose Your Own Adventure title and the latest from acclaimed author Jacopo Della Quercia. You’ll match wits with horrors both technological and Lovecraftian as you navigate this intriguing labyrinth of a mystery. Older readers will be reminded of “The Thing,” younger ones “Stranger Things” and “It.” The young characters are plucky and resourceful; you’ll feel the visceral claustrophobia of the indoor settings. Make smart choices and you might get out alive. Della Quercia must surely be one of the cleverest, most versatile authors working today.
December 23, 2025
This is a fun and fast paced homage and sequel (of sorts) to At the Mountains of Madness. While it lacks the sheer unsettling discomfort of the original, it makes up for that in the frustrating way the narrative labyrinth unfolds. Each decision you choose seems to only end in an oubliette and a horrific disaster. Or maybe I just chose poorly. I went through several variations, different paths than I’d originally selected, but there just didn’t seem to a way through the myriad choices to find a safe ending. But then it’s inspired by H.P. Lovecraft, so there really is road to a happy ending.
September 25, 2025
Enjoyed this book but found it difficult to read to my kids under 10. There was a lot more profanity than I had expected and I needed to adjust as I read the book aloud to them. For kids 12 and up, this is a fun and action-packed book that changes each time you read it. Great for a camping adventure when you want to read a spooky story as this novel packs in a lot of suspense!
May 7, 2026
This was my first Choose-Your-Own-Adventure book, and I found it to be enjoyable. I really liked the storyline - it reminded me of John Carpenter's The Thing. This book is perfect to older kids/tweens/younger teenagers.
I did have a few issues reading that took away from the experience, though. I read through every possible path, and the first issue for me was when I decided to return to Camp Starkweather. I had made it to the point were my options were to run back to campers OR lock the door behind me. The choices were clear, but the passage had made it sound like the door was already opened and knocked off its hinges. Based on that, I chose to go back to the campers. This led to my death. When I went back and made the decision to lock the doors, the following passage clarified that there were multiple doorways aside from the one the shoggoth was at that I could lock. I feel like if the initial passage had been more clear, I could've made the right choice the first time.
My second problem was when I had taken the path which led me to my father's laptop. I selected each file to see what would happen. When I chose to read the Starkweather-Moore Expedition File, I was then given the choice to go to page 102 or 190. Page 102 was fleeing to the plane, and returning to the horrors at camp with a The End. However, if page 190 was selected, it took me to magically appearing on the plane and telling JR to take us home. The other campers have also miraculously appeared. The storyline doesn't match at all. I think instead of page 190, the pathway was supposed to be page 141, just like the options were for the Dyre Document. This mistake left me very confused and I searched the whole book trying to find the proper ending. Finding none and having read through each document scenario, I think the Dyre Document and Starkweather-Moore Expedition File were supposed to have the same outcome.
My last problem has two parts. The first is when BROTHR was telling me to get on the platform in the ancient alien city. Since Jackie and Moon clearly didn't like where things were going, I chose to Propose a New Solution instead of Approach the Platform. In each case, I wind up on the platform, which made no sense. I feel like different options needed to be available here, along with two different and distinct outcomes as this is one of the big climaxes. Following that, the second problem was when one of the campers tells me to use the power my mother gave me. The only option at the bottom said something along the lines of "if you don't know what she's talking about, turn to this page". That was the only option available. Naturally I turned there and died. I went back to the previous page, turned to the next one, and the story continued as if I did know what the camper had been telling me. It's like the book set you up to fail that section, as if it had already decided I was too dumb and couldn't possibly know what the child was trying to tell me. Both options should've been written and available for me to pick.
I did like how in some paths you died but nobly since the other campers lived, just died from being stupid, or survived in different states of sanity and optimism. I also liked how if you do the "correct" path were the parents are rescued, you get more answers to the mystery of why you were at camp in the first place.
Overall, really enjoyed and looking forward to the next adventure to try.
I did have a few issues reading that took away from the experience, though. I read through every possible path, and the first issue for me was when I decided to return to Camp Starkweather. I had made it to the point were my options were to run back to campers OR lock the door behind me. The choices were clear, but the passage had made it sound like the door was already opened and knocked off its hinges. Based on that, I chose to go back to the campers. This led to my death. When I went back and made the decision to lock the doors, the following passage clarified that there were multiple doorways aside from the one the shoggoth was at that I could lock. I feel like if the initial passage had been more clear, I could've made the right choice the first time.
My second problem was when I had taken the path which led me to my father's laptop. I selected each file to see what would happen. When I chose to read the Starkweather-Moore Expedition File, I was then given the choice to go to page 102 or 190. Page 102 was fleeing to the plane, and returning to the horrors at camp with a The End. However, if page 190 was selected, it took me to magically appearing on the plane and telling JR to take us home. The other campers have also miraculously appeared. The storyline doesn't match at all. I think instead of page 190, the pathway was supposed to be page 141, just like the options were for the Dyre Document. This mistake left me very confused and I searched the whole book trying to find the proper ending. Finding none and having read through each document scenario, I think the Dyre Document and Starkweather-Moore Expedition File were supposed to have the same outcome.
My last problem has two parts. The first is when BROTHR was telling me to get on the platform in the ancient alien city. Since Jackie and Moon clearly didn't like where things were going, I chose to Propose a New Solution instead of Approach the Platform. In each case, I wind up on the platform, which made no sense. I feel like different options needed to be available here, along with two different and distinct outcomes as this is one of the big climaxes. Following that, the second problem was when one of the campers tells me to use the power my mother gave me. The only option at the bottom said something along the lines of "if you don't know what she's talking about, turn to this page". That was the only option available. Naturally I turned there and died. I went back to the previous page, turned to the next one, and the story continued as if I did know what the camper had been telling me. It's like the book set you up to fail that section, as if it had already decided I was too dumb and couldn't possibly know what the child was trying to tell me. Both options should've been written and available for me to pick.
I did like how in some paths you died but nobly since the other campers lived, just died from being stupid, or survived in different states of sanity and optimism. I also liked how if you do the "correct" path were the parents are rescued, you get more answers to the mystery of why you were at camp in the first place.
Overall, really enjoyed and looking forward to the next adventure to try.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 12, 2026
In AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS (Choose Your Own Adventure New Classics), author Jacopo della Quercia provided a terrific diversion from my regular reading rotation! This adaptation of one of my favorite H.P. Lovecraft stories kept me turning pages, making bad choices that abruptly ended the story, and then trying again. I wanted more!
"Something sinister is unfolding at the bottom of the world. Will you heed the call?"
I am not sure I ever was a reader of the choose-your-own-adventure books, so I went into AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESSwith no expectations of how it would work. The first path I took cut the story dramatically and tragically short. As did the second. Repeat, repeat, repeat. I ended up reading every page to to find the most satisfying and complete conclusion (or did I? *flip, flip, flip*).
"From this moment on, you'll know the world is little more than a tiny island in an infinitely expanding sea of cosmic horror."
The map at the beginning and the accompanying comic-style illustrations are engaging and enhance the story, but della Quercia's well-written and imaginative descriptions stand alone, and readers will feel the coldness of not only Antarctica but the secrets it holds. And the Further Adventures section at the end of the book invites readers to expand their vocabulary and even try fan fiction.
There's a good dose of humor to counter the darkness of the story -- and that helps since there are logically some sad, grim, and gory endings. I'd expect nothing differently! The intended audience is ages nine to twelve; however, with the main character being in the midst of his gap year, and the horrors within the pages of AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS, I'd recommend the book for mature middle grade readers and older.
Lovecraft's original story has inspired and fascinated many to reimagine that world, and two of my favorites have been the movie THE THING and Texas author Joe Lansdale's short story collection, IN THE MAD MOUNTAINS. I'm adding Jacopo della Quercia's version to my list.
This full review coming soon to Hall Ways Blog.
"Something sinister is unfolding at the bottom of the world. Will you heed the call?"
I am not sure I ever was a reader of the choose-your-own-adventure books, so I went into AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESSwith no expectations of how it would work. The first path I took cut the story dramatically and tragically short. As did the second. Repeat, repeat, repeat. I ended up reading every page to to find the most satisfying and complete conclusion (or did I? *flip, flip, flip*).
"From this moment on, you'll know the world is little more than a tiny island in an infinitely expanding sea of cosmic horror."
The map at the beginning and the accompanying comic-style illustrations are engaging and enhance the story, but della Quercia's well-written and imaginative descriptions stand alone, and readers will feel the coldness of not only Antarctica but the secrets it holds. And the Further Adventures section at the end of the book invites readers to expand their vocabulary and even try fan fiction.
There's a good dose of humor to counter the darkness of the story -- and that helps since there are logically some sad, grim, and gory endings. I'd expect nothing differently! The intended audience is ages nine to twelve; however, with the main character being in the midst of his gap year, and the horrors within the pages of AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS, I'd recommend the book for mature middle grade readers and older.
Lovecraft's original story has inspired and fascinated many to reimagine that world, and two of my favorites have been the movie THE THING and Texas author Joe Lansdale's short story collection, IN THE MAD MOUNTAINS. I'm adding Jacopo della Quercia's version to my list.
This full review coming soon to Hall Ways Blog.
November 7, 2025
At the Mountains of Madness by Jacopo della Quercia is a clever and modern take on Lovecraft’s horror, turned into a choose-your-own-adventure that actually feels alive. You play as a counselor at an Antarctic camp, where the mix of AI gone wrong, eerie myths, and teenage chaos slowly builds into real tension. The writing balances humor and unease without losing focus, and the choices pull you deeper into the story instead of feeling like gimmicks. Some paths end abruptly and a few jokes land awkwardly, but overall the book stays sharp and engaging. It earns a solid 4 out of 5 for being ambitious, atmospheric, and genuinely fun—a rare mix of horror and interactivity that mostly gets it right.
March 17, 2026
Wonderful setup and story building, undermined by the endings, when the plot rums off the rails into rushed implausible silliness.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews