Item - Sabotage

I quite enjoyed reading this book even though it has some serious flaws. On the positive side, the book is exciting and contains quite a few interesting choices and one or two genuinely surprising plot twists. Unfortunately, the book is hampered a bit by its writing style, which is rather unengaging and not nearly as detailed or well-written as, say, a Time Machine book. Additionally, even though this is one of the longest books in the series up to this point, it has a number of endings that just trail off in a frustrating manner. Better to have a "you're dead" ending than a "you're alive but we're not going to tell you what happens next" ending. Despite these flaws, though, the book is definitely worth reading.

More reviews by Demian

It's great! I am glad the book is not limited to 118 pages, like most of them are. Raoul's secret is easily findable. Nazi escape is easier the more you read, and a few times, you escape by trusting Raoul.
There's lots about history here, but each character is perfected.
Spy For George Washington, Fight for Freedom, and Grand Canyon Odyssey are his other greats.

More reviews by Good

He would go on to author several somewhat memorable Choose Your Own Adventures including Spy for George Washington, The Antimatter Formula, You Are a Millionaire, and The Search for Aladdin's Lamp, but Jay Leibold's first attempt at the series was Sabotage, a World War II thriller. As a freedom fighter for the Allies, you are working with a pair of French Resistance agents named Simone and Raoul. Colonel de Grelle assigns you to rescue Jean-Paul and Marie LaRoche, French agents captured by Herr Kruptsch and his Nazis. An unknown double-agent is plotting against you, so how should you proceed?

Raoul and Simone disagree how to approach Baderhoff Castle in the Bavarian Alps, where Jean-Paul and Marie are being held. Side with Raoul and disguise yourself as fishermen, and you'll have to outwit a German patrol. Succeed, and you’re soon zooming along the countryside in an automobile that breaks down. A farmer offers overnight accommodations, but should you accept? Decline politely, and Raoul suffers an injury on the long walk ahead. A monastery may hide you from the Nazis, but if Kruptsch shows up will you be able to escape? Maybe you bypassed the monastery and continued to Baderhoff Castle, where you’ll read a secret note de Grelle entrusted to only you. It identifies the traitor in your midst, but will that help you free Jean-Paul and Marie? If you stayed with the farmer earlier, Kruptsch tracks you down. At gunpoint, will you spill the secrets you know? Stay mum, and Kruptsch sends you away by automobile, but a daring escape is possible. You'll end up deserted in the Alps, but might you reunite with Jean-Paul and Marie out here? The option exists to commandeer an armored military tank; will anyone be able to stop you in it?

Agree to Simone's plan near the start, and you three parachute into the Alps to rescue Jean-Paul and Marie. German Alpencorps soldiers are hot on your tail, but Simone is skilled at traversing mountains. Survive the numbing trek to Baderhoff Castle, and you'll choose from multiple entry strategies. In one story branch, you either trick the traitor into revealing key information, or lock the traitor in a cell. Perhaps you initially mounted your assault on Baderhoff Castle by scaling the roof several floors up; you could smash through a glass skylight to retake Jean-Paul and Marie from the guards. If instead you entered disguised as German military, there are other ways to free the prisoners. Much earlier, if you relied on Raoul's expertise in the mountain blizzard rather than Simone's, you struggle to remain ahead of the Alpencorps. Stay on your feet past the point of exhaustion and you might find a cabin for shelter, as well as the major lucky break your weary body is begging for. At Baderhoff Castle you sneak around setting up explosives for after you locate Jean-Paul and Marie, but one small mistake could equal a violent end.

Sabotage is straightforward: break into Baderhoff Castle, emancipate Jean-Paul and Marie, then evacuate. Several storylines cover the same plot points, but there's enough variety to keep the reader entertained awhile. The best comparison through the first thirty-eight original Choose Your Own Adventures is R. A. Montgomery's Escape, another book with minimal surprise but a steady narrative. Sabotage wasn't a bad start for Jay Leibold, and his writing would evolve to be more exciting.

More reviews by KenJenningsJeopardy74

A-

Despite the high number of endings (39) even for an older CYOA book, this has always been one of my favorites. The story is fast-paced and exciting, has a lot of interesting and challenging choices, and while it may not take long for an adult first-time reader to figure out that Raoul is a double agent, DeGrelle had me in for some suspense when I first read this as a kid. I agree with yunakitty's observation that bad guy Herr Kruptsch always seems to be a step behind you no matter what choice you take, and that gives him a bit of a comical bad guy effect, rather than being a Hitler-influenced character. Still, this is a book for younger readers, and I also agree this is minor nitpicking. This is Jay Leibold/Montavon's best CYOA ever (also see Grand Canyon Odyssey for more good Leibold/Montavon writing) and is still quite enjoyable to read even for adult readers.

More reviews by MrEndshiftresign

I really enjoyed this one. Jay Leibold writes a lot of historical CYOA's like Spy for George Washington. And even though I'm not really into history, this was well written enough that it held my attention all the way to the end (all 39 of them!). There were a lot of twists and turns to the story, and the characters are engaging, as much as you will get in a gamebook at any rate!

Odd little thing: I actually made a mistake when I started out... from page 3 I went to page 4 instead of page 5 like I was supposed to. It pushed me several choices ahead in the story, but I didn't realize until I had exhausted that whole trail and realized I had seen pictures while flipping that I never got to while reading. It was then I discovered my mistake and was able to finish the rest of the book. But even with that, I felt like I had gotten my money's worth so to speak out of the book! I wonder if anyone else has made this mistake... it did feel like the story jumped a little bit, but that's something you see pretty often in these books to save space, so I thought nothing of it.

Minor nitpicking here... the big baddie seems to be everywhere too conveniently. Really? He's waiting for you when you wake up at a farmhouse? Yes, I understand that you have a traitor in your midst that finagled it so you would be forced to be there, but why not just push you off a cliff? Oh wait, the traitor does do that in effect in one of the bad endings.

Also, not sure why it is called Sabotage and not something else... Adventure in the Alps... Spy Mission... something. There is some sabotage that you can do, but it turns out kind of crappy. You end up blowing yourself up more often than not. Whoops.

Still, great book. Four out of five stars.

More reviews by yunakitty