1. The Ring, the Sword, and the Unicorn
Author: James M. Ward
Illustrators: Jeff Easley (cover), Mario Macari, Jr. (interior)
First Published: October, 1983
ISBN: 0-88038-059-4
Length: 76 pages
Game World: Dungeons and Dragons
Number of Endings: 10
Plot Summary: You wander into the forest behind your house determined
to prove that it is magical.
My Thoughts: This is probably the weakest book in the series. It
doesn't really have much to do with its fantasy setting since it starts off
in the present day, and while it has a variety of short adventures in it,
none of them are particularly satisfying.
2. Ruins of Rangar
Author: Mike Carr (credited as Michael Carr)
Illustrators: Jeff Easley (cover), Michael Fishel (interior)
First Published: October, 1983
ISBN: 0-88038-060-8
Length: 76 pages
Game World: Dungeons and Dragons
Number of Endings: 5
Plot Summary: You are the weapons caretaker for a group of
adventurers on a mission to defeat an evil skeleton king named Nightshade.
My Thoughts: While this book is necessarily fairly shallow due to
its length, it's a more exciting and action-packed adventure than most
gamebooks aimed at this age group.
3. Shadowcastle
Author: Michael Gray
Illustrators: Clyde Caldwell (cover), Mario Macari, Jr. (interior)
First Published: October, 1983
ISBN: 0-88038-061-6
Length: 76 pages
Game World: Dungeons and Dragons
Number of Endings: 8
Plot Summary: You and a halfling travel to Shadowcastle, an evil
place created by Nightshade, to rescue innocent captives.
My Thoughts: This book seems kind of redundant; it contains many of
the same characters and situations as the previous story without really
being much different. Its no better or worse, though; just overly similar.
4. Keep of the Ancient King
Author: Michael Gray
Illustrators: Keith Parkinson (cover), Michael Fishel (interior)
First Published: October, 1983
ISBN: 0-88038-062-4
Length: 76 pages
Game World: Dungeons and Dragons
Number of Endings: 10
Plot Summary: Once again, the Good Knight Gregor is battling
Nightshade. This time the fight takes place in the Keep of the Ancient
King, where Nightshade and his agent the Shadow Rider reside (and hold
your horse captive).
My Thoughts: This book covers the same territory the last two did.
The battle between Gregor and Nightshade would probably be a lot more
interesting if the reader actually played Gregor rather than being a
different tag-along in each book. In fact, even being the same tag-along
would be an improvement... Playing a different uninteresting role in each
book is rather frustrating. Once again, though, my gripe is with the
continuity and not this book specifically; by itself, this is as good as
the last two books in the series.
5. Dungeon of Darkness
Author: John Kendall
Illustrators: Ben Otero (cover), Pamela Summertree (interior)
First Published: January, 1984
ISBN: 0-88038-063-2
Length: 76 pages
Game World: Dungeons and Dragons
Number of Endings: 9
Plot Summary: You are the only person to escape capture when
Nightshade's troops and the Shadow Rider attack your village. You must
help Gregor the Good Knight rescue your fellow villagers.
My Thoughts: Well, there's a bit of a continuity error here since
the Shadow Rider is a prominent part of the story, yet he can be killed in
the previous book. Apart from that, this book is actually above average...
It feels a little broader in scope than the other books about the battle
between Gregor and Nightshade, and it allows the reader to be considerably
more active and useful.
6. Star Rangers and the Spy
Authors: Jean Blashfield and Beverly Charette
Illustrators: Joe DeVelasco (cover), Mario Macari, Jr. (interior)
First Published: January, 1984
ISBN: 0-88038-080-2
Length: 77 pages
Game World: Star Frontiers
Number of Endings: 9
Plot Summary: On your way to a Star Rangers meeting you see a
suspicious man entering the X-302 spaceship, an experimental project that
your father has been working on, so you decide to investigate...
My Thoughts: This is a fairly well-designed gamebook, and the
science fiction setting is a pleasant change of pace from the all-too-similar
fantasies earlier in the series.
7. Castle in the Clouds
Author: Morris Simon
Illustrators: Jeff Easley (cover), Gary Williams (interior)
First Published: July, 1984
ISBN: 0-88038-157-4
Length: 77 pages
Game World: Dungeons and Dragons
Number of Endings: 7
Plot Summary: A mysterious voice in your attic leads you to adventure
in a world of fantasy.
My Thoughts: This book marks a change in the cover design of the
series and also a throwback to the style of the first book -- rather than
being a character in a fantasy or science fiction world, you instead play
a modern child drawn into fantasy by strange circumstances. The book doesn't
work especially well. There's a fairly high challenge level in that only
one ending is really successful, but at the same time, too many choices are
of the meaningless "do you give up yet?" variety. While this is
one of the comparatively rare books where the reader is explicitly cast as
a female character (in this case a girl named Mary), the role you are forced
to play is almost completely undefined, and a Choose
Your Own Adventure-style gender-neutral protagonist would have worked
just as well. Finally, although there are a few interesting encounters
featured in the tale, they aren't handled in any especially interesting ways.
It could certainly have been worse, but this is not a high point in the
series.
The title page is torn out of my copy of this book; thanks to Chris
Gallagher for transcribing the missing information!
8. Star Rangers Meet the Solar Robot
Authors: Beverly Charette and Mario Macari, Jr. (credited as Mario D. Macari)
Illustrator: Mario Macari, Jr. (credited as Mario D. Macari)
First Published: July, 1984
ISBN: 0-88038-156-6
Length: 77 pages
Game World: Star Frontiers
Number of Endings: 8
Plot Summary: As a reward for stopping a spy, you and the other
Space Rangers are given a tour of the SOLAR Star Station. Unfortunately, an
insane robot is lurking in the area, ready to make your lives difficult.
My Thoughts: This is a decent sequel to Star Rangers and the
Spy. While the book isn't spectacularly original or scientifically
believable, it's appropriate for its target age group, its characters have
at least a bit of flavor to them, and the events of the story are consistent
throughout its many possible paths. The inclusion of these two science
fiction adventures does make the series title Fantasy Forest feel a
bit inappropriate, though...
9. Jason's First Quest
This book is not part of my collection.
10. The Lost Wizard