Item - Inside UFO 54-40

The main trick in Inside UFO 54-40 worked for me. I don't want to spoil it fully other than to say I felt it justified the way I read gamebooks. I would draw a grid of numbers and mark off the ones I got to. But to me it was much more than just one trick. It made me think about happiness. Which sounds pseudo-profound, but honest, it did. Plot first, though.

In 54-40, you are abducted from a flight on a Concorde by super-intelligent beings called U-TY who are searching for happiness. They demand to know the answer! They've kidnapped a bunch of species across the galaxy for interrogation! Why they kidnap you in particular, and the other random living things aboard their spaceship, is a bit tenuous. But they're rather funny antagonists. If you don't show them happiness or explain it or help them find it, well, big trouble. The variety of prisoners works well with Packard's scattershot approach (so many friends to make) and fits in with the U-TY being the sort of beings that, well, care only about knowledge.

You meanwhile are meeting up with all kinds of different beings: Kim Lee from medieval China, a dustball-teddybear golem called Bru, an argus-eyed beanbag with a ton of legs called Mopo, an old man named Angus and a vapor-creature named Incu. You seem to find more fun and happiness with them than the U-TY ever could. And, well, even some of the deaths are funny to the reader. Many endings revolve around trying to confuse the U-TY and failing, and one in particular where they mimic you back and send you to Somo (1 billion years sleep) made me laugh and creeped me out. Somo scared me as a kid, even though I wanted to see the distant future. Oh, there's a cool one where your upper and lower body get separated.

It's a little sad how the U-TY force things. But there's a lesson, not too didactic, in here. You can find happiness in captivity or tough times. Is that too corny? I hope not. But the general Don't Be a Jerk rule that Choose Your Own Adventure books apply is a bit heavier here. (Pro tip: don't use your alien friends for fame and publicity back on Earth! That won't lead to happiness.) There's some letting go you need to do with your alien friends, and it makes for a combination of interesting endings.

It's a book I reflected on before I found it at archive.org, and not just because I later heard 54-40 or fight as a slogan in history class. (CYOA snuck those details in a lot, my adult self realizes now.) I, like many others, cringe at direct reminders that happiness is something you find along the way, but here it is, as when I read this book years later, I was pleased to encounter old book friends. And of course the main point, the main twist that people remember this book for, is a sort of slap on the wrist to people who try directly to nail down happiness, because this way has to work, right?

And it made me think. The next book with the exact same trick wouldn't provide the same amount of happiness. You need that variety, too, and you (unlike the U-TY for all their knowledge) can't go forcing the same thing over and over again and expecting it to work better. You sort of get that with your fellow prisoners, or with the other upper-echelon Choose Your Own Adventure books out there. And on finishing 54-40, I was left thinking, this was one of my favorites. Is it downhill from here?

Well, not necessarily. I realized part of happiness was exploring new things and finding the good in them, etc., and being okay with moving on if they didn't work, not worrying if I've found the absolute best activity, and being pleasantly surprised when something works out better than expected.

Staring at the page with Ultima would, of course, get boring. And, cliche as it sounds, 54-40 (one of the first CYOAs I opened at archive.org) helped me enjoy a few of the clunkers I read later on and even made me realize I had a right and duty to go down nostalgia lane only as long as I still got something from it. When I stopped rediscovering mostly-forgotten cool stuff, I could move on. I guess that's the approach I'm taking to revisiting the CYOAs. I don't want to be a know-it-all like the U-TY and find what's wrong with every semi-random instadeath, or argue in my mind if I really deserved a bad end. Although, like the U-TYs, I want to see everything if I can--in this case, page through all the branches.

But I hope I'm different, and I suppose the difference is in being able to let go quickly if a CYOA is a bit silly. I'm not going to hold it captive, or let it hold me captive. That takes a lot of energy. And I suppose I got to that point as a kid -- expecting each CYOA to make me happy, because the first few were novel thrills. I didn't have the wisdom to move on. The U-TY seem unable to let go, and they also seem to be quite upset at the prospect of something less enlightened than them being happier. What right do those peons have? Why, it'd be out of order! (The logical flipside is, if they actually were the happiest beings in the galaxy, boy howdy what a miserable place it'd be!)

So I felt sorry for the U-TY, who on reflection reminded me of people quite sure they had more social skills than me, and I was quite selfish if I didn't explain what made me happy doing X, and then I was quite rude if I didn't listen to their explanations why it really shouldn't make me THAT happy. People the U-TY reminded me of on re-reading, well, I was able to let go of them a bit. But it wasn't just people--it was experiences that should've worked on paper, or ones that were fun but had run their course. I realized I didn't want to be like the U-TY and hold them close even though they no longer did me any good. There is a right way and a wrong way to wring a bit more happiness out of things, and even if I can't define it fully, the U-TY have it wrong. Knowing this is no guarantee of happiness, but I suspect it will help me avoid unhappiness. So I'm grateful for that.

More reviews by andrewschultz

As someone that took the 'rules' seriously, I felt robbed by the 'trick' in this book. As other reviewers have noted, the pages describing the planet of Ultima cannot be reached through any of the story paths in the book. The idea being that you just turn to those pages and somehow - you're there!

WHAT??

I've never understood how this is a cute trick. The book-within-a-book shenanigans in Hyperspace? Cute. Saying that the only way to reach the 'best' ending is by effectively cheating and cutting the Gordian Knot? Dumb, dumb, dumb. I was furious at the age of eight, and I'm still steamed about it. Other than that, I found the book mildly entertaining, and some of the bitter-sweet endings were well-thought-out.

More reviews by Aussiesmurf

UFO 54-40 is a lot of fun. There are lots of interesting characters to meet, both human and alien. The book explores many sci-fi themes and concepts such as space travel, alien life, and computer logic. Some of the choices present real moral dilemmas, and the U-TY Masters are formidable antagonists. I really like the idea of the Paradise Planet of Ultima, even though for once, the book actively encourages you to cheat to find it. As a unique concept it makes this adventure stand out. Granger's illustrations work well with the subject matter, my favorite being a nice cut-away drawing/map of the UFO itself at the start of the book. 3 out of 5 stars

More reviews by auximenes

Ratings: 2

Edward Packard is legendary, but by 1982 he'd yet to reach his peak abilities. Space fantasies generally pan out well in the series, yet UFO 54-40's earthling-abducted-by-alien storyline is just all-too-familiar. It's like thrusting 100 UFO stereotype storybooks into one piece, albeit with 30 endings. The lack of creativity, as well as a clear and challenging objective, makes entry no. 12 average at best.

More reviews by barryattles

I really enjoyed this book as a kid but did struggle to find Ultima until I realised there was no possible way to get there by choice but by a cheat (turning to the correct page). It was disappointing in that respect, but the choices and the prompting of imagination were very good!

More reviews by canadiandude007

This is a fairly interesting science fiction adventure, though it's certainly not the best of the series. The book also contains the rather annoying gimmick of making the reader search for the planet Ultima, a place which is in the book but completely unreachable by regular play. It's on page 101, in case you care....

More reviews by Demian

My brother and I had an opportunity to read this once during the 90s, courtesy of our local library. It's an awesome gamebook; of course, the real draw is the fact that you basically have to cheat to find Ultima (my brother found it by flipping through the entire book until he reached the two-page spread with the picture). A solid read, and definitely worth a look.

More reviews by DukeNukem 2417

Though I was excited when this book was first released, it was not a favorite of mine at the time. However, upon re-reading the book, and particularly on exploring choices that I never remember making back then, I am surprised by what a strong Choose Your Own Adventure book this is. Looking back, it seems that 1982 was the year that the series really came into its own, and - for me at least - the entries from that year (numbers 12-16) are among the strongest in the series.

More reviews by gergsnickle

29 normal ends, 1 cheat. Ugh.
But that don't matter none! 10/10. Best Space Travel book ever!
5 aliens
4 (I think) humans
And 3 or more escapes
Space is weird (of course) but this is one I'll come back to for sure.
Space Travelers, I HIGHLY recommend this book!
Oh--the cheat. Page 101 starts on Ultima--if you care. Besides, it's an ending. Very minor disappointment. Can not make choices to get here.

More reviews by Good

(Review based on the Spanish (Timun Mas) translation.)

Inside UFO 54-40 is one of the greatest gamebooks ever written. This is a science-fiction game where the science-fiction part is taken quite seriously, unlike the vast majority of gamebooks. Every choice in the book is meant to illustrate a specific philosophical point, and the end result is much more solid and satisfying than the New Age elucubrations of an R. A. Montgomery, for example. This means of course that readers expecting pure entertainment - such as several reviewers on this page - will be left disappointed; all I can respond is that they are seriously undervaluing the book (they will probably enjoy Cosmic Kidnappers in the Alien Adventures series, which is quite fun but much shallower). The "hidden ending" apparently irritated a few readers, but I found it to be a cool idea that was taken even further by Kim Newman in Life's Lottery. Finally, the book includes an innovative game mechanism in which the reader has to blank his or her mind in order to make good their escape; this is much more interesting than the "are you reading this book on a Thursday?" thing that readers of other gamebooks have had to suffer through. Overall, this is a book you absolutely have to experience if you want to call yourself a CYOA fan.

More reviews by Guillermo

Early Edward Packard was the author at his most innovative, and perhaps no entry in the original Choose Your Own Adventure series captures this better than Inside UFO 54-40. You are a passenger on the Concorde, a supersonic jet en route from New York City to Paris, France, when the space oddity crosses your path. A shining white disc streaks in your direction at high speed...and then you're sitting on a mat in an empty, sterile room. There's no time to gather yourself; a telepathic voice from an alien race known as the U-TY masters fills your head. You are their captive aboard the Rakma, a spaceship that will soon transport you to an intergalactic zoo far away. The U-TY masters allow minimal leeway when it comes to your response; will you demand they return you to Earth, or subtly try to learn more about these transcendent beings?

Angling for further information on the U-TY masters is precarious; if they decide you aren't worth their time you'll be returned to Earth immediately, but will they successfully wipe your memory of the day's events? The U-TY masters are searching for the legendary planet Ultima, a paradise they would give anything to attain, but leveraging this weakness to get yourself home is difficult. The Chamber of Earth People on the Rakma is filled with humans abducted over the centuries and held in chronological suspension; would you like to ask any of them for help? Kim Lee can get you a face-to-face meeting with the U-TY masters, who take the form of floating balls of light. They claim to have foreknowledge of everything you will ever say or do, but can you outsmart them and flip the balance of power?

If you decline to join forces with Kim, you could work with Incu, a shadowy alien from the planet Alara, who possesses a way to trick the U-TY masters into thinking you know the way to Ultima. If you use Incu's idea, you have the choice to honor your promise and get him back to Alara before you return to Earth, but keeping your word will cost you dearly. If you chose not to work with Incu at all, you could hatch a plan with a tentacled creature named Qally, of the planet Karim. The U-TY masters intend to steal valuable artifacts from Earth museums before departing for the intergalactic zoo, and you can volunteer to assist on a heist in hope of escaping. The U-TY masters can read minds, however; do you have the discipline to keep your thoughts a blank slate until you're on Earth? Failure to convince the aliens of your "pure" motives will land you in Somo, doomed to hibernate for a billion years. Maybe you chose from the beginning to team up with Angus, a wise-looking elderly man in the Chamber of Earth People. He offers the possibility of mounting a shuttlecraft with him and taking off before the U-TY masters realize you're gone, and here is a relatively easy path to success.

Maybe your first statement to the U-TY masters was a demand they return you to Earth. This could lead you to an alliance with a many-eyed alien named Mopo, but if you and Mopo make it to Earth together, you'll have more challenges to surmount. Will other humans treat your alien friend with respect, or exploitation? If you never meet Mopo, Ingmar the Swedish farm boy from three hundred years ago offers limited guidance on how to get off the Rakma before it leaves Earth. You'll meet a strange-looking furry alien named Bru, of Planet Six, who has found a way off the Rakma. Alongside Bru you face some of the same problems you do with Mopo on Earth, people wanting to exploit the alien for their own profit. Can you make it all the way home without losing Bru as a friend? Your time aboard UFO 54-40 is short, but there are many avenues to failure as you attempt to emancipate yourself from the U-TY masters.

"If we could not laugh, we could not bear to cry; if we could not cry, we could not bear to live." —Chinese philosopher Sung Chi, quoted on P. 76 of Inside UFO 54-40

There are moments of fascinating philosophy in this book; my favorite is when you and Kim Lee confront the U-TY masters on the subject of laughter. They have puzzled for centuries as to why humans laugh and cry; it seems irrational. When you and Kim Lee show the aliens that their inability to feel emotion means they aren't truly alive—that for all their comprehensive intelligence their existence is a sad, empty thing—it drains all power from them. What good is absolute knowledge if you will never feel anything? It's a powerful commentary for those who seek immortality at the expense of humanity, their one priceless asset. Despite this, Inside UFO 54-40 is too unfocused overall for me to consider it transcendent, though I appreciate the cheeky fun of how the reader is supposed to arrive at the planet Ultima since no choice leads to that part of the story. I love when gamebooks go outside the box. Maybe if the threat posed by the U-TY masters were more chilling or immediate, Inside UFO 54-40 would be a great work of interactive fiction, but as is, this is an above average Choose Your Own Adventure that had potential for much more.

More reviews by KenJenningsJeopardy74

This addition to the CYOA line was always interesting to read, and I still open it from time to time. Though the idea of Ultima was not one I could see myself actually caring about, even if I was on an alien space ship, the rest of the story was pretty unique and kept my interest.

More reviews by stevesterling

This book didn't really connect with me for whatever reason - I didn't like it. It just seemed... odd, not in a good or funny way like other CYOAs, but in a way that just left a bad vibe, so to speak, after reading it. That's more a personal taste thing than a judgement of the book's objective quality, though.

Maybe it was the illustrations by Paul Granger (Don Hedin), which seemed excessively dated and cartoonish - almost reminiscent of 1960s cartoon style and quite unlike those in later CYOAs. The writing style was also a little different, probably because this was an early book, but not in a way that I liked, either.

More reviews by Stockton