Item - The Antimatter Formula

This is Jay Leibold's first entirely non-historical entry in the series, and it's quite good. The introductory section is particularly well-written, conveying the world's silence effectively and eerily and seeming almost poetic coming from a Choose Your Own Adventure book. While the story uses some of the most tired cliches of the series (eccentric scientists and KGB spies, among other things), it does so with enough skill to rise well above the material. Things are helped further by its sense of humor; it's hard not to chuckle at the choice on page 108, for example. Also worth noting is the fact that the boy in the illustrations sometimes looks sort of like I did when I was younger and had less hair. If I'd read this at the time, I imagine this would have increased the immersion factor a bit!

More reviews by Demian

This book is absolutely bonkers, but it doesn't feel like it cheats.

This reads like a spiritual successor to Hyperspace, but it doesn't have the meta qualities.

You start off waking up with everyone else in the world gone. You can choose to enjoy the situation, or you can try to figure out what's going on.

There's a clear antagonist. There are also bizarre universes to experience. The lighthearted tone of the choices leaves you with a better feeling about making a decision leading to death. You don't have any real information to make an informed decision.

It's also notable that this is well-written, and the illustrations are very interesting.

The worst part is that the title is a problem. I'd probably say that even The Antimatter Device is a better title.

More reviews by Jordashebasics