Item - Spy for George Washington

Like the author's earlier work, Sabotage, this is a purely historical adventure. Fortunately, it's a considerable improvement over that earlier book. The writing style is much more engaging, and while some endings are a bit abrupt, they're not too frustrating. The biggest problem with the book is its gameplay -- it's simply far too easy to successfully get the letter to Washington, and most of the paths through the book are too brief. Still, if you don't mind winning again and again, you can discover some interesting historical details by playing through the book repeatedly. The notes in the back of the book which explain the origins of the characters and situations used in the story are a welcome addition, and it's a shame that such notes aren't more common in historically-based gamebooks; I'd certainly like to know what was fact and what was fiction in some of the Time Machine books.

More reviews by Demian

After a detour into mysticism for Grand Canyon Odyssey, Jay Leibold's third Choose Your Own Adventure—Spy for George Washington—is a return to historical fiction. Brooklyn, New York, 1777: the fledgling United States of America asserted independence from the British a year ago, but the outcome remains up in the air. Despite your youth, you want a hand in the fight for freedom, so you meet a man named Robert Smith at the Red Lion Tavern to ask how you can help. He has a crucial job for you: hand deliver a letter to General George Washington warning that the British are planning a raid on his current location. You're eager to leave tonight, but should you listen to that impulse or get a full night's sleep first?

Take the night to rest, and your point man, Captain McGillicuddy, offers you either a land or sea route to sneak past the British Redcoat troops. Choose land, and you wind up adrift in a rowboat regardless. When a British frigate pulls you aboard you'll be interrogated, but if you avoid giving away the game, you learn the letter you carry is addressed to a Hubert Hogglebottom, not General Washington. Stopping for the night at an inn, you notice a Hubert Hogglebottom is also staying there. If you resist the temptation to show him your letter, you may find yourself that same day with General Washington, learning the secret of the letter. Had you approached Hogglebottom, trouble ensues, but is the man a British loyalist or a hidden American ally? If you elected at first to embark on your mission by sea, then you, McGillicuddy, and crew set sail on his whaleboat, but encounter a severe storm on the East River. Waiting it out takes too long; leave the ship to go by land, and you meet a runaway slave named John. Can you work together to achieve your goal and his? If you pushed the ship full speed ahead past the storm, you become trapped in a cannon-fire exchange between a British warship and an American schooner. The Brits won't turn a blind eye; they have the firepower to sink your vessel. Smart strategy can beat the odds and leave you with a great triumph to report when you meet Washington.

What if you were too impatient to sleep that first night, and left directly for your mission? On horseback down a rural path, a shadowy figure calls to you. Stop to converse and you are greeted with words that form a code, about attacking a "Knight-Errant." Play along, and you're welcomed into a group of hooded men and women who are allowed freedom of travel by the Redcoats. The group’s two leaders—a man named Arzod and a woman called the Countess—are plotting to assassinate Washington. Choose your time for action wisely, and you could prevent his death. If you never met Arzod, an unidentified pursuer chases you in the woods. You might be captured by a Hessian mercenary, who speaks mostly German and is paid by the British. Claim to be working for British General Howe, and the Hessian escorts you to the man's office. Howe employs unsettling psychological tactics to get you to confess what you know, but navigate the war of words just right and you walk away free. Avoid the Hessian in the first place and you run into a Mohawk Indian. You're injured, but what should you say when he wants to take you to a British hospital? Can you play politics well enough to survive? Perhaps you escape the Mohawk and seek refuge with a Quaker woman, but is she, too, a British loyalist? A good-faith debate about wartime morality and standing firm on conviction can go further than you expect.

Spy for George Washington is definitely superior to Grand Canyon Odyssey, but does it improve on Jay Leibold's first entry in the series, Sabotage? Not significantly. I love the stakes—alerting General Washington to a catastrophic attack on his person, thrusting you centerstage in the war for American independence—but the narrative action varies in quality. Some scenes are rich in detail and exciting, while others are nothing more than words on a page. Leibold doesn't bungle the concept, but neither does he produce what could have been one of the most stirring of all Choose Your Own Adventures. I’ll return to Spy for George Washington occasionally for a reread, but it's hardly an essential of the gamebook genre.

More reviews by KenJenningsJeopardy74

I liked this book. It has several varied and interesting plot paths, and the section in the back that goes into detail about some of the historic origins of the adventure is neat. It is brought down, sadly, by a number of ambiguous endings and the overall lack of challenge.

More reviews by Waluigi Freak 99