Item - The Trumpet of Terror

This book is quite similar to Deborah Lerme Goodman's earlier entry in the series, The Throne of Zeus, in its mythologically-oriented plotline. This time, however, Norse mythology is used instead of the Greek equivalent. This is fairly interesting, as these stories aren't quite as well-known as their Greek counterparts. As in The Throne of Zeus, most of the mythological elements are featured only briefly in the interest of cramming as many strange events as possible into the story, but the book is definitely a decent introduction to Norse mythology -- once you've read about six-legged horses and boats made from the fingernail clippings of the dead, there's at least a fair chance that you'll be inspired to go out and look for more information. Readers who already know about this stuff may be disappointed, however, as the book isn't all that interesting in itself; the consequences of most choices seem more or less random, so there's little satisfaction in the gameplay. Also worth noting are the illustrations -- I've always thought Ted Enik's thick-lined, cartoony drawing style seemed more at home in the Choose Your Own Adventure for Younger Readers books than in this series, but a couple of the illustrations here would definitely not be appropriate for younger readers. The picture on page 101 is the most notable example, being surprisingly bloody!

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