1. Star Rider
Author: Carole Carreck
Illustrators: Steve Jones (cover), Peter Wilkes (interior)
First Published: 1985
ISBN: 0-14-031840-2
Length: 350 sections
Number of Endings: 17
Plot Summary: You've just come into some money which has allowed you
to pursue a dream of horse ownership; now that you have a horse, though,
you'll have to work hard to make it into professional competition.
My Thoughts: Between the obnoxiously lecture-like introductory
section and the fact that I have no particular affection for or interest in
horses, I expected this book to be a completely tedious read. To my great
surprise, I actually found myself rather enjoying it. Despite the fact that
it's written for an audience that I am in no way a part of, I enjoyed the
fast pacing (you never have to wait too long for a decision) and the fact
that there is no pointless dice-rolling to bog things down. I also appreciated
the fact that, while there can be romantic elements to the plot, they are
left entirely up to the reader -- you choose whether or not your character
has any interest in potential relationships rather than having the whole
thing dumped on you. Although I enjoyed the first part of the book, where
you make connections with more established riders, train your horse and
interact with other characters, I didn't find any of the endings to be
especially satisfying. When it comes time to actually compete, the writing
becomes vague, a great deal is left to chance (there are numerous pages
ending in things like "How lucky do you feel? Turn to 124 or
307"), and the book eventually ends rather abruptly. Here is where some
sort of game system could have come in handy -- things would be more
interesting if you kept track of your horse's level of training, building up
points during the first half of the book and then using them to compete in
the end. Without such a system, the book succeeds fairly well as an
interactive story but fails as a game. Despite the fact that it could have
been better, though, this certainly exceeded my (admittedly low)
expectations.
2. Riddle of the Runaway
Author: Heather Fisher
Illustrators: James Bareham (cover), Bob Harvey (interior)
First Published: 1985
ISBN: 0-14-031841-0
Length: 300 sections
Number of Endings: 6
Plot Summary: You are a junior detective on your first genuinely
interesting case; your task: track down a missing heir before it is too late
for him to meet the age requirement for his inheritance.
My Thoughts: This book is a little more mechanically complicated than
the previous one; the introduction mentions three factors which affect play:
choice (the reader's decisions), chance (the flip of a coin) and fate
(determined by your zodiac sign and birthdate, which affect certain events
throughout the book). Also interesting is the fact that at several points in
the book, the "turn to x, then y" instruction (similar to what was
later used in Life's Lottery) is given. Despite
these gimmicks, the book is quite linear. There is one optimal ending (led
to by several slightly different paths), and whenever a non-optimal ending is
reached, the option is given to head back to an earlier point in the
adventure and start again. Actually, I quite like this -- there's no sense
in starting completely over once you've reached certain critical points, and
while it makes the experience of playing through the book shorter, it also
makes it more satisfying. The story itself is unremarkable and occasionally
cringe-inducing (some of the names are pretty silly, and watch out for the
stereotyped Texan), but I had fun while it lasted. It's about as good as the
previous book, but for different reasons.
3. Island of Secrets
Author: Kim Jordan
Illustrators: Steve Jones (cover), Peter Wilks (interior)
First Published: 1985
ISBN: 0-14-031892-5
Length: 350 sections
Number of Endings: 11
Plot Summary: You've been hired to work at a Greek villa, and in the
process you get to have an exciting summer vacation near an archaeological
dig.
Translation: Italian
My Thoughts: This book offers yet another set of mechanics different
from the proceeding books; this time around, there's a Luck score to keep
track of which goes up and down and measures ultimate success, plus dice
rolls need to be made from time to time. Pretty simplistic, really. The
book itself is one of those adventures where time moves along no matter what
you do, so it's important to do the right things at the right times. The
first time I played, nothing of note really happened and I felt pretty left
out. The next time around, I began to discover clues and become intrigued.
This satisfaction lasted for quite a few play-throughs as more and more of
the mystery was revealed, but eventually I began to get frustrated, mainly
because certain major plot revelations require lucky dice rolls. Because of
this, it became progressively harder to retrace my footsteps and, after a
certain point, caused subsequent readings to muddle rather than clarify the
plot. I was eventually successful, but by that point, the book had
overstayed its welcome. Other weaknesses, including weak continuity (some
characters are introduced twice on some paths while others appear abruptly)
and poorly-written romance which never naturally melds with the plot, further
detract from the experience. With less reliance on luck and a little more
refinement to its design, this could have been a pretty good mystery
adventure; as it is, it's tolerable but not quite worth the time it takes to
play.
4. Danger on the Air
5. Ice Dancer
6. Trance