Item - The Dragons' Den

This is about as generic a fantasy as you can find; really the only things that make this book stand out at all are a few mildly humorous anachronisms. Other series have done this sort of thing a lot more interestingly. Speaking of other series, it's worth noting that Richard Brightfield also wrote some books in the Your AMAZING Adventures series featuring a dragon master similar to the one in this book.

More reviews by Demian

Well, despite what Demian said about this being a "generic" adventure, I enjoyed reading it. The dragons in this book are not evil per se, they are just extremely protective of the vast amount of treasure they are guarding within their mountain.

You play an adventurer who wants to find some of this treasure, and you travel into the mountain with a young woman, Virgana, and the wizard Zarkon. There is also a subplot involving bringing a dwarf named Gnali back to his village. And there is a time-displaced "dragon master" to watch out for as well. What point in history he comes from, the book doesn't say. But it's irrelevant, as he and his sorceress accomplice need to be defeated in order to stop the dragons from attacking the surrounding kingdoms, and that does happen in one positive ending.

I first read this about 20 years ago, and I remember it fondly. This is probably my favorite Richard Brightfield CYOA title, although Invaders of the Planet Earth and Planet of the Dragons were good as well, but the dragons in that book were mostly machines!

Anyway, I think this book is just fine. Read it today!

More reviews by drereichdude

One path goes (Not trusting them) Boom end, go on; End, go on... The other path (Trusting them) is more interesting: You can choose in the mountain, or taking another path. The wizard Zarcon is strange. Fun, but won't last long in my collection! 5/10

More reviews by Good

(Review based on the Spanish translation.)

This isn't a generic adventure at all; it mixes a setting like that of the The Flight of Dragons animated film with an alternate history where (apparently) the Nazis try to use dragons to win World War II. Cross-genre fiction of any kind is very unusual in gamebooks, so this is a nice change of pace. I would have enjoyed the book even more if the alternate history part was more fleshed out, but unfortunately Richard Brightfield's penchant for unnecessary vagueness got the best of him here as well. Still, the book has quite a bit to recommend it. It's worth noting that this is probably the only dungeon crawl in the entire CYOA series. Finding the optimal ending can be challenging, but several of the other endings are quite satisfying, making this book fun to read several times. As yunakitty mentions below, Paul Abrams' great illustrations help a lot to set up the tone (I recommend you also check out his work in the Your AMAZING Adventures series). Overall, this is a great gamebook.

More reviews by Guillermo

The Dragons' Den is one standard deviation removed from the typical Choose Your Own Adventure. It isn't a survival test, mystery, work of science fiction, or "What if?" scenario; it's a high fantasy set in the age of dragons and castles, an invitation to revel in a world of pure imagination. You have no home, always wandering from one minor kingdom to another, but are driven by the goal of discovering treasure, particularly the hoards kept by fire-breathing dragons. One day you visit a land deeply charred by dragon attacks, and decide to locate the dragon and steal his gold. A man named Reynald and his young friend Boke had the same thought, so you join forces. Can you trust these two, or should you be wary of throwing your lot in with them? Secrecy is key, for the king treats harshly those who hunt treasure in his domain.

Lack of trust in your new friends turns out to be a mistake. The king's guard catches wind of your plot and orders you arrested. You must choose lifelong banishment from the kingdom or a brief sentence laboring in the salt mines, but at least the latter will place you inside the mountain where the dragon is said to live. After patiently working most of the sentence, your big break comes: a "dragon run" tunnel was accidentally cut into in the mines, and the men are required to seal it for safety. If you head right for the breach, you may find your dragon. The tunnels are cramped, a scaly monster stalks you, and taking any wrong path could lead to horrific death, but dragon's treasure could be just around the corner. Beware disgruntled dwarfs in the low-ceilinged tunnels, but if you meet the king's wizard, Zarkon, and a dwarf named Gnali he is escorting home, you could earn your treasure without ever facing a dragon. Are extravagant riches enough without the peril?

If you show some faith in Reynald and Boke from the start, you can trek up Dragon Mountain without the king ever finding out. On the way you encounter Zarkon, guiding Gnali back to his home among the dwarfs. You could take the winding route up the mountain for easier access to the caves, but dragons are legion here; you're better off walking up the mountain's face. Inside, there are many directions to explore; you could end up in the lair of Tarlane the human "dragon master" and the sorceress Mordana. Tarlane is from centuries in the future, armed with technological weapons. Maybe you avoid an extended run-in with Tarlane, and make your way deep into the mountain. You might get trapped at the end of a ventilator shaft overlooking a chamber where a pair of titanic dragons guard unimaginable hoards of treasure, but the smallest slip-up here and you'll be burned to cinders. Zarkon may be able to trick the dragons into briefly leaving the chamber, but can you make it out with the treasure you've sought all your life?

A lot of this book is surprisingly devoid of action. You spend too little time matching wits with dragons and too much of it wandering lost inside Dragon Mountain engaging in storylines that aren't interesting enough to merit the author's departure from the point of the story. I found myself wondering when a real dragon showdown would occur, and by the time I reached every ending it hadn't happened. That's too bad, because this may be the best I've seen Richard Brightfield write; the atmosphere in some scenes captured my mind and had me fully buying into the narrative. Had there been more interaction with dragons and treasure, this could have been an excellent Choose Your Own Adventure. The Dragons' Den did a few things right, but overall is a disappointment, and it shouldn't have been.

More reviews by KenJenningsJeopardy74

This book was reminiscent of the HeartQuest books to me for some reason, particularly #1. And that's a good thing. I really enjoyed this book. All the different paths were interesting. I personally think that Tarlane, the dragon master from the future, was a Nazi. Something about the way he was drawn, that jacket and monocle. But I'm probably wrong. Anyway, the artwork is great in this one too. I wish Paul Abrams drew more of the illustrations in other books. Having well drawn pictures really adds to the story more than I think they realize. There are a lot of grim endings in this one, but since it's so well written, even those are enjoyable to read. I recommend this one for your collection, and it's pretty easy to find - I had 3 copies at one time from buying assorted lots to get other ones I needed!

More reviews by yunakitty