Item - Spectral Stalkers

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.

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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