Item - Invasion of the Black Slime

The slime and mad doctor stories are pretty typical. The haunted house one tries to represent the endurance test of spending the night by making you read 17 pages of text with no choices. Unfortunately, this isn't particularly effective, and simply makes the book a lot less interactive. On the up side, this book contains some scenes which are actually fairly horrific; most gamebooks for this age group are much weaker in their attempts to be scary.

More reviews by Demian

I thought this was a pretty good book, especially as a lot of things that happen in it are genuinely scary/gruesome. I still get chills reading this book, which not even Beneath Nightmare Castle has ever managed to do.

More reviews by Fireguard

This book really, really scared me when I was a kid, yet I kept re-reading the damn thing. The artwork was particularly gruesome and freaky and added to the overall terror I felt. Especially scary art: The skulls in the broken mirror, the monster hand under the bed, Garth and his flashlight (you'll have to see it to understand that bit). I also thought the 17 page sequence with no choices was unique and since each part was increasingly more stressful it worked for me, but it is rather counter to what a gamebook is. I recently acquired another copy of it and re-read it and was quite pleased to see that it's held up quite well. Obviously I am older and don't frighten easily now, but I did feel my inner child feeling some chills again at times. I recommend reading it!

More reviews by kevmp

Invasion of the Black Slime... very well done!

I only recently read it and am glad I did. I enjoyed it and think the storywriting and creativity makes this one of the best, if not the best, in the Which Way series.

Again, three main story plots...

The main story involves being warned about the town you want to visit and deciding if you really want to go there. This was the best plot, and I liked being able to visit different venues while in the town. While ultimately they lead to the same conclusion, I like how each vein unfolded and let you learn more of what happened, have a chance of learning how to fix everything and feel the mystery of it.

Side note: that was freaky being in the hotel room and putting the pillowcase over your head to prevent the black bugs from going into your mouth!!

The next plot, the Frankenstein-esque one, is still pretty meaty and enjoyable. The doctor is kind and unassuming; he leaves you alone unless you start poking around and getting into his business. He is even pretty cool when his son busts into your room and you are looking at that freak.

A turn off was the big giant heart the guy has sitting in the spare bedroom. What’s up with that and what did he make it out of? Papier-mâché? Play dough?

The last plot was the haunted house... While I can concur with the 17 page non-stop marathon, I think the writers were trying something different... and it does add to the suspense... but part of me thinks the authors got bored and got sick of figuring out how to further cut up the story. Some story lines have the house actually starting out as a challenge and another has it that evil has taken over the place and the main guy disappeared somehow.

Side note: where was that clown who hides the check for $1 mil on the tree if you get out? If I was in the house and had to risk getting killed by snakes or other mishap, and I come out and find a check magically in my name... I'd take the check and try to find the guy to punch him in the face!!

All in all, I highly recommend this book.

More reviews by noonxnoon

If you're looking for genuine horror in the gamebook world then this will be down your alley. There are three distinct story arcs in this book: 1. A town with zombielike inhabitants (courtesy of the titular black slime), 2. A haunted house, and 3. A mad doctor with a Frankensteinian son. I agree with Demian that these are genre cliches but to me it's a matter of how original one can be within these cliched genres and this is where the book does well. In my opinion R. G. Austin's writing style is not as good as Edward Packard or Jay Leibold's but she's still better than many others writing in this space, including R. A. Montgomery, at painting pictures with her words. Joseph Smith's illustrations do the job but it's not quality craftsmanship. Rating: 8.0/10.0

More reviews by tonylachief