Series - Be an Interplanetary Spy - Demian's Gamebook Web Page

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Language:	English
Publisher:	Bantam -- United States
Categories:	Complexity Level : Intermediate (Some Game Elements) Format : Paperback Game System : Visual Puzzles Genre : Science Fiction Target Age Group : Older Children Target Age Group : Younger Children Writing Style : Present Tense Writing Style : Second Person
Translated Into:	Du är en rymdspion (Swedish) Du er en rumspion (Danish) Haz de Espia Interplanetario (Spanish) Seja Um Espião Interplanetário (Portuguese)

These books, designed by Byron Preiss (also known for their work on Explorer and Time Machine), cast the reader as a spy who travels through space tracking down various alien criminals. The books are very visually oriented, having a style that feels like a mix between comic books and early eighties video games. Puzzles like mazes and visualization problems are common, and what text there is is very brief. Although the books are not heavy on plot, there is continuity between them, with some foes recurring from book to book and the reader’s character gaining in rank as the series goes on. Although not as influential as Choose Your Own Adventure or Fighting Fantasy, this series is generally held in high esteem by fans and was an important force in the early days of the American gamebook market Because the books encourage the reader to write in them, it's somewhat difficult to find "clean" copies.

Collections

Be an Interplanetary Spy Box Set

Gamebooks

1. Find the Kirillian!
2. The Galactic Pirate
3. Robot World
4. Space Olympics
5. Monsters of Doorna
6. The Star Crystal
7. Rebel Spy
8. Mission to Microworld
9. Ultraheroes
10. Planet Hunters
11. The Red Rocket
12. Skystalker

User Comments

BaIS's "better than a video game" hooked me in, and then the puzzles to advance kept me in. Oh, the death scenes if you answered a problem were pretty cool and creative, too. The puzzles usually push the plot well, and some are very creative indeed, both for the reasoning needed and for how they're rarely dry. I know as a kid it never felt like there were just two or three choices. There are also recurring characters between the books, friend and foe.

The text is sparse compared to CYOA due to the graphics, but they both work well together, and I still enjoy quickly rereading my very favorites. The entire series is up on archive.org and is well worth your time at (sadly) only 12 books total.

I was particularly wowed as a kid by the puzzles where you needed to fold a page over. I was also proud I avoided temptation to draw in the books even though the books gave me permission. It felt like desecration!

My rough rankings, from best to enjoyable, are (6-3-8-4)-2-(11-9-7-5)-1-10-12. But they're best read straight through since some books reference and possibly even spoil earlier ones.

--andrewschultz

Back in the day, this series was my #1 alternative to the kind of gamebooks that kill you randomly. Though the stories are pretty linear, I was pleased to be rewarded for making the right decision (or killed for the wrong one) in a bunch of pattern recognition, maze, decoding and other interesting puzzles.

--Dtar

I LOVED this series as a kid, and still enjoy it now. It is so profusely illustrated and filled with puzzles and games, that its catch phrase, "Better than a Video Game" isn't entirely off the mark. Recommended!

--Naniyue

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Series - Be an Interplanetary Spy

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