Item - Beyond the Morning Mountains - Volume One

Benefits from multiple read-throughs. This is an ambitious gamebook/work of interactive fiction which includes a combat system and inventory. The story itself definitely benefits from repeated readings as it is possible to miss entire pieces of story while travelling through the vast environment. Don't be too surprised if you get lost in the cities either, as they are just as big and detailed as the wilderness surrounding them.

I read through the book multiple times, trying to cover as many paths as possible, and while there is just the one ending there are many and varied ways to get there. My first read-through could almost be described as a pub crawl, as I stuck to the main roads and visited all the towns, visiting almost every pub along the way.

I barely hit any major story paths (there are still smaller encounters that happen) and pretty much had an uneventful trip from point A to B. In my second read I decided to walk straight into the countryside, and discovered a whole world of holes, tunnels, weird animals, an elephant man (not really; he's the bloke on the cover) and all sorts of crazy things. Then a third read-through saw me taking part in a manhunt, chasing down a group who had wronged me. A fourth read led to me finding their leader. There really is a lot to do, if only you're willing to go seeking it out. Note that this is only volume one, so some readers might find the ending a little jarring (there is no grand finale or anything, as this sets things up for another volume). A great, detailed, well-written gamebook which I highly recommend to anyone who wants more depth than the average piece of interactive fiction.

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