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Item - Indiana Jones and the Lost Treasure of Sheba

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Item-Level Details

Translated Into: Indiana Jones i el tresor perdut de Sabà (Catalan)
Indiana Jones y el tesoro perdido de Saba (Spanish)
Shiba no joou no hihou [シバの女王の秘宝] (Japanese)
Il tesoro di Saba (Italian)
User Summary: Your father, Dr. Roger Ballantyne, has found what appears to be a map to the long-lost treasure of Sheba. He's kidnapped by the Fascists to aid their war effort. You must travel with Indiana Jones to Ethiopia to rescue him (and find the treasure!)
Guillermo's Thoughts:

(Review based on the Spanish translation.)

Being written by Rose Estes, the text sections are longer than is usual for a Find Your Fate book (though they are not excessively long). The book is also free from the mechanics used in other FYF books to introduce randomness (such as flipping coins, or determining outcomes based on the day of the week it is when you are reading). These unusual features do not make this an especially good book, unfortunately. The writing is quite dull and I had a hard time becoming interested in anything that happened. I wouldn't go out of my way to read this if I were you.

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pericles23's Thoughts:

This title was written by Rose Estes, the author of many of the books in the Endless Quest series. As such, it has a somewhat different feel from the other Find Your Fate Indiana Jones books. Oddly, it reads kind of like an Endless Quest book, in that the choices tend to be presented in narrative form. So, for example, instead of something like

If you go to the temple, turn to XX; if you go to the bazaar, turn to YY

you'll get something like

"I think we should go to the temple", said Hasan. It's abandoned at this hour." Turn to XX.
"I don't think so," replied Indiana Jones. "We're better off buying supplies at the Bazaar." Turn to YY.

Also, this is the only gamebook I've ever read that's presented in first-person, past tense format. So instead of "You and Jones decide to flee from the bandits," you get "Jones and I decided to flee from the bandits."

None of this is inherently bad, though-- just different. The adventure itself is quite enjoyable. There are nicely descriptive period details, and the unusual setting is a plus. The book also has more internal consistency than some of the other titles in the series (although far from perfect). On the (slightly) negative side, this title has fewer paths than others in the series. But this is a minor quibble-- Estes does a good job of capturing the feel of the Indiana Jones character, and what the book lacks in set-pieces it makes up for in storytelling.

All in all, worth acquiring if you're a fan of Indiana Jones. As a matter of fact, I would rate the Find Your Fate Indiana Jones books, as a series, to be above average-- some of the adventures are better than others, but none are disappointing.

More reviews by pericles23

Special Thanks:Thanks to pericles23 for the plot summary.
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Find Your Fate edition





Series: Find Your Fate no. 2
Item: Indiana Jones and the Lost Treasure of Sheba
Author: Estes, Rose
Illustrator: Mattingly, David B.
Date: June, 1984
ISBN: 0345316649 / 9780345316646
Length: 115 pages
Number of Endings: 14

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