1. The 4-D Funhouse
Authors: Clayton Emery and Earl Wajenberg
Illustrators: Jeff Easley (cover), internal illustrator uncredited
First Published: September, 1985
ISBN: 0-88038-255-4
Length: 219 pages (16 sections)
Number of Endings: 5
Plot Summary: A young man sets out to visit his eccentric,
amusement-park-designing uncle and ends up running across the remains of an
experiment which lead him to adventures involving dimensions beyond the usual
three.
My Thoughts: This book features a somewhat unusual format; it has
named chapters (with choices directing the reader to specific page numbers
rather than section numbers), and it's written in the first person, past
tense. Content-wise, it's very much a good-news/bad-news kind of book. The
good news is that it features some of the best writing I've encountered in a
gamebook -- the story is original, enjoyable, exciting and clever, the
characters are developed and endearing, and even the concepts behind the
science fiction elements are handled well. It works as a sort of tribute to
Flatland and Dr. Seuss (to whom the book is dedicated), and various
pop culture references manage to add flavor without being too jarring. The
bad news is that this isn't really much of a gamebook. There's no real game
to it -- at times, several dozen pages go by between choices, and there
really only are a handful of choices in the book anyway. The choices are of
no consequence to the momentum of the plot, with all choices either leading
immediately to endings or reconverging at the same point (as
this map of the book demonstrates).
Only the last decision, which branches off to three different lengthy happy
endings, leads to dramatic plot divergence, and since this is at the very
end, it doesn't give the book anything that could be described as
"gameplay." This is well worth a read, but its interactive
elements are superfluous. It's a shame, too, because this could have made
quite an intriguing "real" gamebook. I'm also a little sad that no
sequels were written -- there's more potential here than was used up in just
one tale.
2. Jaguar!
Author: Morris Simon
Illustrator: Jeff Easley (cover), no internal illustrations
First Published: September, 1985
ISBN: 0-88038-256-2
Length: 222 pages (21 sections)
Number of Endings: 3
Plot Summary: An American linguist gets drawn into bizarre
circumstances as a result of researching the ancient Olmec language in a
remote area of Mexico.
My Thoughts: This book is quite similar to the previous one in
format, though it's written in the third person rather than the first person.
Its story isn't quite as original or well-executed as the previous adventure,
but it's still more engaging and fun than the average gamebook. As before,
though, the improvements in story are offset by a lack of meaningful
gameplay. Although there are a few more choices and sections here than in
the last book, there's still not a great feeling of freedom, and there's
actually less plot diversity since there are only three endings. Different
paths reveal different details, but the basic story barely varies (here's
my map of the book's paths). Once
again, it appears that the author has managed to avoid the normal story
pitfalls of the gamebook form by not really writing a gamebook. It's a
decent read, but not much of an interactive experience.
3. Portrait in Blood
Author: Mary L. Kirchoff (credited as Mary Kirchoff)
Illustrator: Jeff Easley (cover), no internal illustrations
First Published: October, 1985
ISBN: 0-88038-258-9
Length: 222 pages (22 sections)
Number of Endings: 7
Plot Summary: An American student visiting England has a strange
encounter with a painting at the National Gallery and finds himself haunted
by the ghost of a woman who died a hundred years earlier.
My Thoughts: After two largely linear adventures, this is a nice
change of pace. Although there's still a lot more reading of linear chapters
than there is decision-making, this book features some genuinely meaningful
(and sometimes tough) choices which cause substantial branches in the story's
plot. The plot itself isn't as original as that of the first volume (being
essentially a standard supernatural tale of lust and betrayal), and the
writing is a little shaky at times (particularly in the characterization of
minor characters), but this book maintains the series' above-average
storytelling while sacrificing less freedom of gameplay than its two
predecessors. It's still much more of a story than a game, but it's a story
worth reading several times in order to play out all of the possibilities.
It's well worth a look, especially if you like traditional ghost stories. In
case you're interested, here is my map of
the story's structure.
4. Nightmare Universe
Authors: Gene DeWeese and Robert Coulson
Illustrator: Jeff Easley (cover), no internal illustrations
First Published: October, 1985
ISBN: 0-88038-259-7
Length: 223 pages (13 sections)
Number of Endings: 7
Plot Summary: A science-fiction-writing construction worker stumbles
upon a dimensional gateway on a job site and finds himself on an alien world.
My Thoughts: This is an interesting item -- a linear novel which has
been converted into a gamebook. According to the title page, "[p]arts of
this book were previously published in the novel, Gates of the
Universe, by the same authors." Since the copyright notice lists both
1975 and 1985, it can be assumed that the linear version of the story was
written ten-years before the gamebook version. Origins aside, this is a
fairly typical entry in the series, fairly closely resembling the first book
in plot and style, though with somewhat less inventiveness on display. There
aren't very many chances for decision-making, with every path through the
book being either three or four sections long (see my map of the book to see what I mean).
Fortunately, what choices are available do make a significant difference to
the unfolding of the plot, and different paths reveal different aspects of
the story, making replay worthwhile. This is no classic, but it's another
solid adventure.
5. Starskimmer
Author: John Gregory Betancourt
Illustrator: Doug Chaffee (cover), no internal illustrations
First Published: February, 1986
ISBN: 0-88038-262-7
Length: 222 pages (17 sections)
Number of Endings: 9
Plot Summary: A starship captain and his empathic alien friend look
for work and find themselves involved with a new kind of jewel that proves
somewhat dangerous to produce.
My Thoughts: This is my least favorite entry in the series so far,
though since this is a pretty strong series, that's not to say it's bad.
It's a fairly straightforward space adventure, falling somewhere between
Star Trek and a spacebound Doctor Who episode in flavor, but
generally less charming than either. The presence of a sonic screwdriver
seems to suggest that the Doctor Who influence may be stronger, though
it might also be a coincidence. Anyway, there are some bits of inventiveness
(a flashback to the main character's childhood on an algae farm in the last
section of the book, for example, is surprisingly evocative), but for every
good idea, there are three or four weak attempts at characterization,
implausible turns of the plot and vindictive robot taxis. I'm honestly not
entirely sure what the author was trying to do here, but he didn't quite
succeed; there is just enough promise on display that I might consider
reading some of his short stories, though. Structurally, the book is much
like the previous one, with all choices branching outward and revealing
different aspects of the same basic plot, though there are longer paths and
more choices here. As with the rest of the series, I made a map for your enlightenment.
6. Day of the Mayfly
Author: Lee Enderlin
Illustrator: Doug Chaffee (cover), no internal illustrations
First Published: February, 1986
ISBN: 0-88038-263-5
Length: 221 pages (18 sections)
Number of Endings: 8
Plot Summary: A sign advertising cheap gasoline lures a young girl
into a dangerous situation.
My Thoughts: The author of this book is a self-proclaimed Stephen
King fan, and it definitely shows in the writing -- the style and storyline
are quite reminiscent of King. Not being much of a fan of Stephen King's
work, this didn't impress me very much, but others might feel differently.
From a gamebook perspective, I found the adventure intriguing but ultimately
disappointing. First of all, the book is written in the first person, but if
it had stuck with gamebook-style second person, it would actually have been
more powerful and frightening; this is the sort of story that could be quite
immersive, but since it is clearly about someone else, its impact is
lessened. In any case, my first two read-throughs were by far the most
interesting. The first time, I made what I thought were good decisions and
ended up getting horribly killed. My demise then cast a whole new light on
the previous experiences, giving the second read-through a totally different
flavor and showing one of the unique benefits of the gamebook: the ability
to learn new things and thus experience different emotions reading the same
text. Unfortunately, though, my second read-through also ended in a horrible
death under circumstances which contradicted what I had learned the first
time around. While most of the inconsistencies on display in the book could
be explained away as lies told by various characters, there are more
contradictions than there have to be, and in the end, it detracts from the
experience. After reaching four or five different endings, I didn't feel I
was likely to learn anything new or interesting about the secret of Ashton
Falls, and I put the book down and got on with the rest of my life. This
certainly isn't a bad book, but I'm disappointed that it failed to make full
use of its potential; it could have been quite gripping if it had tried a
little harder. As always, here is the obligatory map.
