Item - Typhoon!

Choose Your Own Adventure had several natural disaster books. Volcano!, Hurricane!, and Earthquake! were among them, and Typhoon! could be considered the last before the original series wrapped its run a little over twenty books later. You are part of a team on the sloop Allegro, out sailing the South Pacific to observe humpback whales. You departed from the island republic of Naruba less than a week ago with your friend Wanda Vivaldi and others, but this morning you awaken to waves throwing the boat. A typhoon is barreling toward Naruba and will soon hit the area the Allegro currently sits in. As navigator it's your job to avoid the sea cyclone, but should you tack to the right of the storm, the left, or race against it to relative safety on Naruba?

Pick the wrong side of the typhoon and your adventure comes to an abrupt, violent end. You cannot survive the strongest part of it. Get on the lee side, though, and the Allegro is sturdy enough to emerge intact. A leak, however, could sink you before you're able to harbor in Naruba. You can set out with just Wanda on a small life raft in search of help, but the ocean holds dangers you didn't have to consider on the Allegro. Sharks pummel the raft and could overturn it, but worse is the peril of death by dehydration. If you take advantage of wind gusts to reach Naruba faster you'll run across a pair of men in their own boat, but you'd rather not have met their sort. Armed with guns, the men try to steal what little water you and Wanda have on the raft. You are dizzy from hunger and thirst, but smart strategy can give you the jump on them and allow you to survive. If you never run into the two men, you may wind up on a deserted island, finding a cache of gold bars that would represent extravagant wealth back in the real world. If you load the gold on your raft and set sail again, what are your chances of reaching civilization in time to save yourselves and send help for the Allegro?

You could head for Naruba in the Allegro as soon as you hear of the typhoon, setting up a race to shelter before it hits in full fury. There's a chart across pages sixty-two and sixty-three to inform your decision based on recent depth readings. If you interpret it wrong you'll run the Allegro over a reef and be doomed, or end up somewhere you can't access land as the typhoon sweeps in and kills you, but one destination has potential for you to survive. Once in the lagoon, you'll want to reach solid ground quickly, but even then you won't be out of jeopardy. The palace of Naruba is ahead; the typhoon knocked out electrical power, but the real danger comes from Dieno, an assassin bent on killing Naruba's president. Should you try to stop him yourself, or let others deal with the gunman? You can't prevent the president's murder, but the right choices will save you from the storm and bring Dieno to justice. You never expected anything like this when you set out six days ago to view humpback whales.

Not all the action in Typhoon! is electrifying as it should be, but the book isn't bad. The most evocative scenes aren't the raging storm, but rather being out on that raft with Wanda on the massive ocean, sharks and who knows what else stalking you beneath waves still choppy from the maniacal weather. These are the moments I felt pulled in by, typhoon or no typhoon. I wouldn't call this book a series highlight, but it provides a thrill or two, and is a different take than Richard Brightfield's Hurricane! on the concept of a tropical cyclone at sea. The nautical navigation decisions tended to trip me up, and I wish there weren't so many endings that neglected to mention what happened to the Allegro after you and Wanda leave for help, but I'd read this book again.

More reviews by KenJenningsJeopardy74

This book is an alternate universe version of book 16, Survival at Sea. Like the older book, you're sailing the South Pacific aboard the Allegro on a scientific mission when rough weather strikes. You must consult maps and choose the best course to reach safety. Instead of Dr. Nera Vivaldi, this book features a new character, Wanda Vivaldi. You face various dangers, including a sinking ship, getting stranded on a deserted island, or tangling with a band of armed criminals. On its own this isn't a bad book, but it's so clearly a rehash of the original book that this one is kind of pointless.

More reviews by Scrumptious