Item - Outlaws of Sherwood Forest

Fairy rings seem a popular gamebook plot device. In any case, this is a decent book; the writing style is a bit more lively than is generally the case in this series, and there are occasional moments of humor. The book's use of the Robin Hood legend is fairly standard (not nearly as original as that seen in the first Knightmare book), but at least Maid Marian's portrayal is a bit odd. Undoubtedly, the book's most original contribution to the genre is a sequence in which you run into yourself, only the other you has made a different choice! The book also features some rather nice illustrations, a few of which contain some cute and subtle details; you have to love the gargoyles on page 18!

More reviews by Demian

There's at least a hint of magic in every Ellen Kushner Choose Your Own Adventure, and Outlaws of Sherwood Forest revels in its identity as a fantasy/time-travel story with a few genuine surprises. You are attending Camp Yoochee-Koowee, where you have no friends and almost no appealing activities to choose from. You'd be going crazy had you not discovered archery and learned you're a natural with a bow and arrow. One day while practicing, your arrow goes astray in the woods. You have to find it, but you end up lost. Stranded alone, you fall asleep in a circle of flowers...and wake up staring at a huge man clad in green. He asks why you're in Sherwood Forest and if you're in league with the Sheriff of Nottingham. Does he actually believe he's one of the legendary Robin Hood's Merry Men? Should you indulge his delusion for the moment or take off running?

Once you identify the man as Little John, he relaxes. You were sleeping in a fairy ring controlled by the Fair Folk, he says, and leads you to meet the Merry Men. All is not well in Nottingham; Maid Marian has been captured and will be forced to wed Sir Guy of Gisborne. Robin Hood won't let this injustice proceed, but is a direct assault on the castle best, or a covert operation? If you opt for direct attack, a stranger known as the Black Knight arrives with Robin. None of the Merry Men can best the Black Knight in combat; is he the right man to lead the charge for Maid Marian? A clandestine rescue might be more fruitful, with you as the infiltrator tasked with locating Maid Marian. Go disguised as her elderly nurse, and you'll slip past dangerous foes everywhere in the castle. Talk your way into Maid Marian's bedchamber and the two of you can cook up a scheme to win the day. Disguising yourself instead as a lowly page provides an in-depth look at the castle, including one mysterious encounter. You must evacuate Maid Marian before the Merry Men give up on you, or you may get caught in the crosshairs when they lay siege to the castle. If all goes well you'll have a chance to help depose Prince John so his heroic brother, King Richard, can reclaim the throne of England.

If you ran from Little John before being properly introduced, the first of the Merry Men you officially meet is Robin Hood himself. You all gather around the campfire that night, but one aged man stands out to you. Can "old Nilrem" get you back to the modern world? Robin and Little John outline two different missions for the next day: you can accompany Robin to Brampton to distribute gold to the poor, or go with Little John to rob the dishonest taxman. If you play your role precisely in Little John's plot, all goes smoothly, but improvise and you'll be captured. Getting taken away by the guards places you in jeopardy of execution or lifetime imprisonment. Go with Robin rather than Little John, and you get to see him in action as a supposed beggar secretly distributing gold to citizens squeezed by Prince John's taxation. When a spy tips off the authorities, can you get Robin out of Brampton? You could lead an impromptu revolt, but what will you do after the Sheriff of Nottingham brands your townsfolk allies as traitors to the crown? Perhaps instead you and Robin can claim sanctuary within the church, but you'll be trapped there. Robbing the rich to pay the poor seems exciting, but a lot can go wrong.

For most of this book, I was prepared to declare it a failure. Internal continuity is spotty at best, Maid Marian's anachronistic behavior renders her cliché, and too many endings stop before the story is anywhere near completion. All of this is frustrating, but a short narrative path near the beginning somewhat changed my mind about the book. If you wait to search for your lost arrow under the moonlight instead of right away, and then get transported to Sherwood Forest and fall in with a minstrel named Raven, you have the chance to meet the Fair Folk queen. Her riddle to you is a shard of innovative storycraft that elevated my appraisal of this book. Outlaws of Sherwood Forest has so many flaws I would never call it a great Choose Your Own Adventure, but Ellen Kushner's propensity to surprise is just enough to make this a book I'll seek out again.

More reviews by KenJenningsJeopardy74