1. Invitation to Murder
Author: Allen Sharp
Illustrator: Laszlo Acs
First Published: 1982
ISBN: 0-516-08903-X (North American edition)
Length: 37 sections (each two pages long)
Number of Endings: 6
Plot Summary: You've been invited to the reading of the will of a
man that you've never heard of. Alas, all is not as it seems, and you are
soon trapped in an isolated spot with a murderer.
Translation: Danish
My Thoughts:
I hesitated at using the word "you" in the
plot summary above; it's not really very accurate, since the book is written
in the first person, past tense, but since the narrator remains anonymous
throughout the story and the reader controls his or her actions, it's really
no different from a second-person gamebook. Actually, though the book's
chosen voice seems a little odd at times (especially when the first-person
narrator dies in the past tense), it's only awkward by gamebook standards; it
actually helps to make the book more readable -- if I have to feel a little
uncomfortable about the tense in a gamebook, I'd rather feel that way at
choice points, when the flow of the book is interrupted anyway, than during
the reading of the text segments, when distractions are more upsetting.
Speeches on tense selection aside, this is a solid book. It's not
groundbreaking in terms of story or gameplay, but it works well enough in
both areas to be worth reading. The story is classic murder mystery
material, using lots of classic genre elements and doing a decent job of
keeping you guessing about the murderer's identity. The gameplay is almost
totally linear, with events happening in the same general manner no matter
what you do, but this linearity is handled in such a way that it never feels
frustrating or restrictive, so I can't honestly complain about it.
I'd certainly be interested in reading more of these books, if only I could
get my hands on some. If, like me, you're a frustrated Storytrails
collector with an undersized collection, my best advice is to pick up the
(almost equally rare, I fear) Have Your Own
Adventure book that I reviewed a while back. It seems to be aimed at the
same audience, and it's written in much the same style as this book.
2. Terror in the Fourth Dimension
Author: Allen Sharp
Illustrator: John Storey (cover and interior), Laszlo Acs (interior), Stephen Sparks (photography)
First Published: 1982
ISBN: 0-521-28501-1 (British edition)
Length: 37 sections (each two pages long)
Number of Endings: 3
Plot Summary: Time travel has been discovered! Unfortunately, the
matter of selecting the time and place to visit remains a bit random....
Translation: Bulgarian, Danish, Hungarian
My Thoughts: Although its subject matter is vastly different, this
book is quite similar to the previous one. It is well written, it makes good
use of the first-person, past-tense format, and it features a somewhat
restrictive structure that is presented so effectively that it disguises its
linearity. The most unusual thing about the book is the "Time Zone
Selector Panel." Since there is no way of determining where the time
machine will end up, whenever it comes time to jump through time, a graphic
showing buttons with page numbers is presented. The reader must pick a
random page from those presented and hope for the best. If this leads to an
environment unsuitable for human exploration, a graphic of the time machine's
interior (complete with viewing screen) is provided along with an opportunity
to jump elsewhere. If a habitable environment is reached, the adventure
continues in text format. This initially confused me a little (I was
expecting text no matter what and tried to find something to read on the page
following the graphic), but once I realized what was going on, I found it
enjoyable. I also can't help but wondering if this book helped to inspire
the later Time Machine series -- the similarities
in structure and graphic design are striking.
Errata: In section 36 of the British edition (and possibly also the
North American edition, though I have never seen a copy), the protagonist
sees a sign that says "Drug Store and Ice Cream Parlour" and thus
decides that the time machine has ended up in America... but if that's the
case, it really should be spelled "Parlor."
3. The Evil of Mr. Happiness
This book is not part of my collection.
4. The Haunters of Marsh Hall
This book is not part of my collection.
5. The King's Mission
This book is not part of my collection.
6. The Stone of Badda
This book is not part of my collection.
7. Night of the Comet
This book is not part of my collection.
8. The Deadly Trap
This book is not part of my collection.
9. The Dirty Dollars
This book is not part of my collection.
10. The Tomb of Amenosis
This book is not part of my collection.
11. Conspiracy of Blood
This book is not part of my collection.
12. Return of the Undead
This book is not part of my collection.
13. The Sicilian Contract
This book is not part of my collection.
14. The Unsolved Case of Sherlock Holmes
This book is not part of my collection.
15. Shadow Over the Marsh
This book is not part of my collection.
16. The Eye of Heaven
This book is not part of my collection.
17. The Hands of Pablo Santos
This book is not part of my collection.
18. The Second Conquest
This book is not part of my collection.
19. Sherlock Holmes: The Meyringen Papers
This book is not part of my collection.
20. The Dark Awakening
This book is not part of my collection.
21. Island of the Walking Dead
This book is not part of my collection.
22. The Busting of Frankie Da Mora
This book is not part of my collection.
23. The Wolf with No Tail
This book is not part of my collection.
24. Sherlock Holmes: The Case of the Dancing Bees
This book is not part of my collection.
25. Death's Drum
This book is not part of my collection.
26. To Catch a Bunyip
This book is not part of my collection.