The Face in the Frost

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Face in the Frost is a short 1969 fantasy novel by the author John Bellairs. It centers on two accomplished wizards, Prospero ("and not the one you're thinking of") and Roger Bacon, tracking down the source of a great magical evil. Playfully written with frightening dips into necromancy, the novel includes talking mirrors, carriages made out of turnips and miniature wizards bobbing through underground rivers in miniature ships, but also disturbing imagry including magically mummified animals, melting cities, and souls trapped within their own graves. This quality prompted Ursula K. Le Guin to say of the novel, "The Face in the Frost takes us into pure nightmare before we know it-- and out the other side."

This novel was listed in the "recommended reading" list in the first edition Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, Dungeon Master's Guide by Gary Gygax. Prospero's practice of studying his book of spells the night before he might need them may have inspired the game's requirement for Magic Users to do the same.