Item - The Magic of the Unicorn

The fantasy adventures in this series always tend to feel a bit flat when compared to the more interesting competition (like the Endless Quest or Forgotten Forest books). This book is no exception, though it certainly isn't the worst of its kind. It's just a bit bland, and its unremarkable story isn't helped much by its disappointing gameplay -- victory is far too easy (it's amazing just how many different ways you can find to purify the water), and when death comes, it tends to come at random, without warning. As a result, the decision-making doesn't feel particularly meaningful, and the whole book is rather unsatisfying.

More reviews by Demian

This book is a bit better and more serious than I expected. Rather than set in a fantasy world, it takes place in Flanders of 1507AD. I tend to enjoy fantasy stories set in the "real world". You play a young blonde girl (according to the artwork which is pretty good) who is trying to purify the tainted drinking water of her village by finding a unicorn.

It contains a relatively high number of paths and darker elements, like leprosy and corrupt rulership. Overall, a better read than I had expected.

More reviews by Kveto

This is one of the best structured books in the series, so much that I like it in spite of its flaws. The earliest entries have so much branching that the stories don't have time to breathe. They are fast-paced and plot-driven but narration, setting, and characterization suffer. Later books have too few choices and too much text between them so the interactive aspect is neglected. This is one of the books that has the right balance. There are on average two pages of text between choices, and never more than four. As a result, the narration never feels either too rushed or too slow. Every path through the book requires at least three decisions, but never more than seven. The book has a clear goal and every decision is related to fulfilling that goal. The consequences of your choices generally make sense, but the endings are a bit random. Success or failure depends more on luck than on making good choices. Perhaps this is the consequence of dabbling in magic with no experience. Another flaw is that "winning" the book is too easy, with fully half of the endings being successes. I counted four ways to save your village by bringing back a live unicorn, two ways that involve bringing back a unicorn horn, five ways that involve finding another way to purify the well, and three ways that involve finding an alternative water source. There are a similar number of ways to die or otherwise fail.

Overall, this is a fun and satisfying book to read, except for most of the endings.

More reviews by Scrumptious

Well, this book certainly went against my expectations! Rather than being a light, fluffy tale, this fantasy adventure contains several dark elements. I normally love things like this, however, it's far too easy for its own good, and a lot of the outcomes of your choices are incredibly random. These two flaws hinder the book as a whole and keep it from being the great gamebook it could've been. Oh well.

More reviews by Waluigi Freak 99