Item - Master of Tae Kwon Do

I have mixed feelings on this book. Being that it is a sequel of Richard Brightfield's first martial arts book, Master of Kung Fu, there are some references and continuing elements, such as the characters of Ling and Billy from the previous installment. Even though this is somewhat of a "sequel" it does stand apart from its predecessor. My feelings are a mixed bag on this title because upon the book's completion, I am left with the feeling that I did not "properly" complete the book--"properly" meaning that I did not reach what is assumed to be the "best" ending(s) or the "most successful" ending(s).

With that being said, I do completely read each of these books, with this one being no different; I make sure that I hit every possible ending and that I read every page and choice(s) thoroughly. However, I still cannot shake off the unsatisfactory feeling I have. As mentioned in the previous review for this title, this book has mostly "bad" endings. (I managed to hit all the bad ones first out of pure randomness). However, the endings that I feel aren't "bad" aren't what I deem to be necessarily "good" either. These "non-bad" endings, if you will, seem to be an in-between, confused sandwich of both good and bad, which, many times, left me with a feeling of not accomplishing my main objective for the story--finding Ling and successfully escaping the evil wrath and tyranny of my environment (assuming).

Maybe this is looking too much into the story, or maybe it was written with the intention of not being able to obtain that one "good" or "best" ending, I don't know. The non-negative endings usually involve fleeing Korea without any involvement of Ling, which kind of defeats the purpose of what the story seems to be about. Again, this is simply my interpretation. In the future, I will probably reread this one and see if I have a change of heart or if maybe I perhaps missed some key detail on a page or within a choice. Overall, this book, like its predecessor, falls in the category of mediocrity--an average CYOA book worth picking up.

More reviews by Enigmatic Synergy

This is one of the better books in the "Master of" series. However there are some discontinuities because in Master of Kung Fu you only get to meet Ling in a few storylines, which makes the other storylines in Master of Kung Fu non-canonical. There are also very few, if any, satisfying endings. And like its predecessor, you start the plot knowing nothing of Tae Kwon Do. However you have a choice of learning Tae Kwon Do in the States, or going to Korea and enrolling in a Tae Kwon Do school.

The interesting things about this book are plot twists and the secret agendas of almost every character in the story. You can learn about the whole situation by reading every ending. The story is also hard to survive due to the number of "bad" endings, which makes for a more challenging read.

More reviews by pinkfloydechoes

Although I'm not a big fan of the martial arts books, I concur with yunakitty. This book is pretty average, although the setting was fairly well developed. Story-wise, this is just your standard espionage CYOA; this time you're searching for "your friend" Ling in Korea, who taught "you" kung fu when "you" were in China the year prior. Tae Kwon Do is the first sequel to Master of Kung Fu.

Interestingly, your friend Billy from Mr. Brightfield's previous installment shows up in this once. He claims to still have nightmares about what happened to "you" and him in China, so he doesn't join your adventure. I also got the impression that this book is mistitled like its predecessor: you don't seem to know much about tae kwon do when starting out, but your kung fu experience is mentioned several times.

More reviews by Stockton

This is an average adventure book. There are some problems with continuity, but it's fairly interesting. I'm not always so into the ones about martial arts, but it's not that bad overall. Not the best CYOA ever written, but definitely not the worst!

More reviews by yunakitty