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Item - Hero of Washington Square

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(Second printing)
(Second printing)
(Second printing)
(Second printing)

Combined Summary

Online Full Text: Internet Archive (Second printing)
Series: Endless Quest — no. 7
Contained In: The Endless Quest Collectors Set #2 (Collection)
Translated Into: O herói de Washington Square (Portuguese)
Hobii no Nyuu Yoouku daibouken [ホビーのニューヨーク大冒険] (Japanese)
Author: Estes, Rose
Illustrators: Elmore, Larry (cover)
Truman, Timothy (Tim) (interior)
Date: May, 1983 (First printing)
ISBN: 0880380225 / 9780880380225
Length: 157 pages
Number of Endings: 38
User Summary: The son of a secret agent is given some irradiated diamonds and gets involved in a conspiracy.
Demian's Thoughts:

This book uses first person narration, which seems a bit odd and causes some problems when the tense shifts from past to present. Other than that, this is a pretty good gamebook, with many different paths to take and a rather large number of endings.

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Guillermo's Thoughts:

This, the first Endless Quest book not based on Dungeons & Dragons, is quite enjoyable (and a nice return to form for Rose Estes after the unbearably dull Revolt of the Dwarves and Revenge of the Rainbow Dragons entries). It doesn't feel like the Top Secret RPG at all, since the protagonist is a kid. However, the kid you play this time around is almost as resourceful as a MacGyver, meaning that the adventure is a lot of fun to read. The quirky metropolitan New York setting is a nice change of pace from the fantasy worlds presented in most other books in the series. The text sections also don't feel as long as in other Endless Quest entries, and there are many instances where the book offers the reader more than two choices. The book therefore feels very interactive. The choices often require thought, making for an engaging gameplay experience (this despite the fact that successful endings are far more common than failure ones). I wholeheartedly recommend this adventure.

More reviews by Guillermo

Kveto's Thoughts:

This is an odd one. It is based on the TSR roleplaying game Top Secret, which is guess was the secret agent version of D&D (I always imagine the 80s film "Cloak and Dagger").

Although it was written by Rose Estes, the founder of the series, it follows a very different format. It is written in the first person, so it sounds like the main character is describing his life to you, and waxes back and forth between present and past tense throughout the story. I don't know if it's just me and I've been so conditioned to 2nd person narratives, but I found it distracting. Thankfully, I think this is the only book in the series that attempts this style.

The story itself feels much more like a Choose Your Own Adventure or Twistaplot style, with a young person solving a rather silly, forgettable mystery.

More reviews by Kveto

Errata:In at least some printings, page 61 is unreachable, which also renders pages 28-29 unreachable.
Users Who Own This Item: 20FacesOfFate (First Printing), Alatar001, andrewholt, Ardennes, auximenes, B0N0V0X, Belgarath, bigcobra, bonhomme, bookwormjeff, Chanticrow, convict7421, Crazyscotsman, CSquared, Cyan, damieng, dArtagnan, datastorm, dave2002a, Demian, Eamonn McCusker, Ed, EegahInc, Erikwinslow, exaquint (1st, 2nd), Ffghtermedic, firefoxpdm, fraze, fushek, Garrick Muttley, Gartax, gebuzuki (1st printing, May 1983), Grifter, gryff, hadlee73, Himynameistony, hoops4ever, horrorbusiness, Icedlake, jdreller, Jubal, katzcollection, Khellendros, killagarilla, kinderstef, KJB, kleme, knginatl, Lambchop, Lionday, LordJR, MacbthPSW, marnaudo, mattender, mcd, mlvoss, momaw27, Naniyue, nelsondesign, Nomad, ntar, outspaced, PlanewalkerGroup (Signed: First Printing), plowboy, Pseudo_Intellectual, qazplm, redpiper05, Ronie1976, Ryuran333, Sheridan77, SherlockHolmes, spragmatic, stock, strawberry_brite, ThaRid, ThisIslandEarth, toadhjo, twar, Virtua Sinner, Von Scotty, waktool (US 1st; US 2nd), xinuz, Yalius
Users Who Want This Item: anagramsci, hanbaoge, lek, NEMO, snakefire77, SonicBlaze, Trachalio (Used to own), utfanatic, zat
Users with Extra Copies: bookwormjeff
fushek
Nomad
ntar - 2
redpiper05
Yalius

Known Editions

First printing
Second printing

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