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Item - Spectral Stalkers

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(Third printing)
(Third printing)
(Third printing)
(Third printing)

Combined Summary

Series: Fighting Fantasy (1982-1995, Puffin) — no. 45
Translated Into: Les mondes de l'Aleph (French)
Author: Darvill-Evans, Peter
Illustrators: Miller, Ian (cover)
Hough, Tony (interior)
Date: July, 1991 (First printing)
ISBN: 0140343660 / 9780140343663
Length: 400 sections
User Summary: Out of nowhere, a strange creature gives you a magical sphere that contains the entire multiverse, and asks you to deliver it to its master for safekeeping.
Fireguard's Thoughts:

Some gamebook fans really don't like this book. That's all right for them, but this is easily one of my favorite entries in the Fighting Fantasy series. Rather than hacking your way through a slew of monsters to reach your goal (although battles do occur and you must be prepared), you instead need to hop through a series of strange dimensions to get closer to your ultimate destination. All the way you are dogged by a pack of strange, Lovecraftian terrors called the spectral stalkers, which sounds interesting but takes a lot of the fun out of the book if you're caught. I'll let you read it for yourself to find out why.

I like gamebooks that try to depart from the usual "dungeon crawl" feel, which to be perfectly honest I find dry and tedious. Spectral Stalkers tries to do that, and I felt it did a fairly good job coming up with strange and wonderful places to visit, although the last world on the trip leaves something to be desired. I won't say it's perfect, but it's unique enough to be worth a look-through.

More reviews by Fireguard

Gartax's Thoughts:

This book seems to be influenced by the stories of Jorge Luis Borges, particularly "The Aleph." It's more imaginative and varied than most of the other books in the series, with several recurring motifs and and interesting ideas. One common complaint with the book is that it's technically possible to win it in under 20 sections (if memory serves correctly).

More reviews by Gartax

Special Thanks:Thanks to Fireguard for the plot summary and Nicholas Campbell for the low-res cover scan used here previously.
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Known Editions

First printing
Third printing

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