1. Secret of the Knights
Author: Jim Gasperini
Illustrator: Richard Hescox
First Published: February, 1984
ISBN: 0-553-23601-6
Length: 124 pages (plus data bank and data file)
Number of Endings: 1
Plot Summary: You must travel back to 14th century England to become a
knight and to discover the secret of the Order of the Garter, a group of
outstanding knights with a mysterious symbol and motto.
Translations: Danish, French, German, Hungarian, Portuguese, Spanish
My Thoughts: This isn't a terribly challenging book, but it's well-written
and interesting.
2. Search for Dinosaurs
Author: David Bischoff
Illustrators: William Stout (cover), Doug Henderson and Alex Nino (interior)
First Published: February, 1984
ISBN: 0-553-23602-4 (early printings), 0-553-27154-7 (later printings)
Length: 120 pages (plus data bank and data file)
Number of Endings: 1
Plot Summary: To prove that birds evolved from dinosaurs you must travel
back to prehistoric times and photograph an Archaeopteryx.
Translations: Bosnian/Serbocroatian, Danish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish
My Thoughts: While this isn't as well-written as the previous book in the
series, it is more interesting in terms of gameplay. The choices aren't
always as obvious, and there are a few interesting twists.
3. Sword of the Samurai
Authors: Michael Reaves and Steve Perry
Illustrator: William Stout (cover), Steve Leialoha (interior)
First Published: July, 1984
ISBN: 0-553-24052-8 (early printings), 0-553-25619-X (later printings)
Length: 127 pages (plus data bank and data file)
Number of Endings: 1
Plot Summary: You must travel back 350 years to Japan to recover the sword
of Miyamoto Musashi, a famous samurai.
Translations: Bosnian/Serbocroatian, Danish, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish
My Thoughts: This is a good book. It is most notable for being the
first in the series to require the reader to choose what to take along on the
journey through time.
4. Sail with Pirates
Author: Jim Gasperini
Illustrators: Dave Stevens (cover), John Pierard and Alex Nino (interior)
First Published: August, 1984
ISBN: 0-553-23808-6 (early printings), 0-553-25616-5 (later printings), 0-553-26497-4 (even later printings)
Length: 125 pages (plus data bank and data file)
Number of Endings: 1
Plot Summary: You must find the wreck of Our Lady of the Pure and
Immaculate Conception, a Spanish treasure ship which hit a reef in 1641,
and bring back some of its cargo of silver.
Translations: French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish
My Thoughts: Like many of the books in this series, this is a very
well-written gamebook. It's also quite challenging, with lots of
opportunities to get stuck in a loop.
5. Civil War Secret Agent
Author: Steve Perry
Illustrators: Steve Fastner (cover), Alex Nino (interior)
First Published: December, 1984
ISBN: 0-553-24183-4 (early printings), 0-553-25606-8 (later printings), 0-553-27200-4 (even later printings)
Length: 125 pages (plus data bank and data file)
Number of Endings: 1
Plot Summary: You must travel back to the Civil War era to find if
Harriet Tubman was responsible for the rescue of a slave named Thomas Dean.
Translations: Danish, French, German, Spanish
My Thoughts: This is a fairly average book for the series. It's
fairly well-written and designed but not exceptional. Its most notable
feature is that, like Sword of the Samurai, it allows you to choose
which items to bring along before you begin.
6. The Rings of Saturn
Author: Arthur Byron Cover
Illustrators: William Stout (cover), Brian Humphrey and Marc Hempel (interior)
First Published: March, 1985
ISBN: 0-553-24424-8 (early printings), 0-553-25797-8 (later printings)
Length: 125 pages (plus data bank and data file)
Number of Endings: 1
Plot Summary: You must travel into the future in an attempt to make
first contact with an alien race.
Translations: Portuguese, Spanish
My Thoughts: This is probably the most unusual book in the series.
The option of visiting the future is certainly a change of pace from the
rest of the series, though the book manages to maintain a similar style to
the other books - the future world feels almost as well developed as the
historically-based pasts of other volumes. There aren't any entirely new
ideas here, but this is still one of the best sci-fi gamebooks I've read by
far.
7. Ice Age Explorer
Author: Dougal Dixon
Illustrators: William Stout (cover), Doug Henderson and Alex Nino (interior)
First Published: June, 1985
ISBN: 0-553-24722-0
Length: 123 pages (plus data bank and data file)
Number of Endings: 1
Plot Summary: You must travel back to the Ice Age and discover what
inspired a unicorn-like cave painting.
Translations: Portuguese, Spanish
My Thoughts: This is a fairly interesting book; it's not all that
different from the earlier dinosaur-related book in structure, but the
subject matter is less familiar.
8. The Mystery of Atlantis
Author: Jim Gasperini
Illustrator: Kenneth Smith
First Published: August, 1985
ISBN: 0-553-25073-6
Length: 123 pages (plus data bank and data file)
Number of Endings: 1
Plot Summary: You must travel through time to find the historical
basis for the story of Atlantis.
Translations: French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish
My Thoughts: Like the first book in the series, this is a fairly
easy book to get through, but it's definitely an entertaining read.
9. Wild West Rider
Author: Stephen Overholser
Illustrator: Steve Leialoha
First Published: October, 1985
ISBN: 0-553-25180-5
Length: 125 pages (plus data bank and data file)
Number of Endings: 1
Plot Summary: Your assignment is to travel to the American West in
the 1860s to discover why the Pony Express only lasted eighteen months.
Translations: Bosnian/Serbocroatian, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish
My Thoughts: This is a good book, though it's just about average
quality for this series. There's a bit of challenge towards the end, but
it's not too hard to get through the book fairly quickly.
10. American Revolutionary
Author: Arthur Byron Cover
Illustrators: Walter P. Martishius and Alex Nino
First Published: December, 1985
ISBN: 0-553-25300-X
Length: 125 pages (plus data bank and data file)
Number of Endings: 1
Plot Summary: You must find out who fired the first shot of the
Revolutionary War and retrieve his musket.
Translations: Spanish
My Thoughts: This book bears a certain resemblance to Sword of the
Samurai both in its mission (to retrieve a weapon of historical
significance) and in the way it forces the reader to choose an item to take
along before beginning the adventure. The portion of history covered by the
book is perhaps a bit familiar (at least to survivors of the American public
school system), and the facts presented don't cover much new ground, but
this is made up for by good writing and a few effective moments of humor.
11. Mission to World War II
Authors: Susan Nanus and Marc Kornblatt
Illustrators: Darrel Anderson (cover), John Pierard (interior)
First Published: March, 1986
ISBN: 0-553-25431-6 (first printing), 0-553-26962-3 (second printing)
Length: 125 pages (plus data bank and data file)
Number of Endings: 1
Plot Summary: You must travel back to the Warsaw ghetto during World
War II and discover the location of a milk can containing historical
documents gathered by Emanuel Ringelblum in defiance of the Nazis.
Translations: Italian, Spanish
My Thoughts: This is an excellent entry in the series. The subject
matter is dealt with effectively and the gameplay is somewhat challenging
without being frustrating; wrong choices sometimes lead to interesting
situations.
12. Search for the Nile
Author: Robert W. Walker
Illustrators: William Stout (cover), José Gonzalez Navaroo (interior)
First Published: May, 1986
ISBN: 0-553-25538-X
Length: 127 pages (plus data bank and data file)
Number of Endings: 1
Plot Summary: In order to find out who discovered the source of the
Nile, you travel back in time and participate in the expeditions of Henry M.
Stanley.
Translations: Italian, Spanish
My Thoughts: This book is of somewhat mixed quality. It isn't as
strong as it could be as far as characterization and dealing with sensitive
issues are concerned, though it's certainly not terrible. It's also one of
the most challenging books in the series to get through, though not
necessarily for particularly logical reasons. Finally, it allows at least
one law of time to be broken, and it seems to bend one or two others; this
is interesting, but it strains the book's believability a bit. All in all,
this is pleasantly different and interestingly educational, but its flaws
are definitely noticeable. The blue-covered picture above is a Perma-Bound
library edition of the book.
13. Secret of the Royal TreasureAuthor: Carol Gaskin
Illustrator: Ernie Colón
First Published: August, 1986
ISBN: 0-553-25729-3
Length: 126 pages (plus data bank and data file)
Number of Endings: 1
Plot Summary: You must travel back in time to find out the source (and ultimate fate) of a gold and sapphire ring worn by Queen Elizabeth I on her deathbed.
Translations: Spanish
My Thoughts: This is Carol Gaskin's first entry in this series (and her first gamebook to follow the Forgotten Forest books). It shows the same love of rhyme and wordplay displayed in some of those books, though the context of Elizabethan England makes these tendencies feel considerably less jarring. The book is also notable since it rather unambiguously suggests that the reader's character's gender is male (though at one point you can successfully impersonate the voice of a female ghost). This lack of gender neutrality is particularly interesting considering the book's female author. On a whole, the book isn't exceptional, but it is good, and its final revelations are definitely satisfying and, to a degree, thought-provoking; Queen Elizabeth's life certainly wasn't simple...
14. Blade of the Guillotine
Author: Arthur Byron Cover
Illustrators: Steranko (cover), Scott Hampton (interior)
First Published: October, 1986
ISBN: 0-553-26038-3
Length: 125 pages (plus data bank and data file)
Number of Endings: 1
Plot Summary: You must discover what happened to a diamond necklace
that was an important part of the beginning of the French Revolution.
Translations: Spanish
My Thoughts: This isn't a bad gamebook, but it's slightly weak for
this series. Some of the jumps to previously read sections are a bit
awkward and the option before the story begins of bringing or not bringing
a red scarf is pointless and wastes time.
15. Flame of the Inquisition
Author: Marc Kornblatt
Illustrators: Paul Rivoche (cover), John Pierard (interior)
First Published: December, 1986
ISBN: 0-553-26160-6
Length: 124 pages (plus data bank and data file)
Number of Endings: 1
Plot Summary: You travel back in time to discover why the famously
kind and sensitive Queen Isabella permitted the Spanish Inquisition to take
place.
Translations: Italian
My Thoughts: This book is quite good; it takes a refreshingly direct
approach to an ugly topic, and it doesn't sweeten things excessively just
because it's a children's book. Its storyline is also nicely constructed,
allowing all of its pieces to fall into place in a satisfying manner even
though they are revealed non-linearly. All of this is helped by the
attractively-shaded illustrations, which are a nice change of pace from the
line drawings found in so many gamebooks. Like some other books in the
series, this one requires the reader to select an item to take along before
beginning the story. Unfortunately, this is the source of the book's biggest
flaw -- unless the right item is picked, the book becomes an infinite loop
(and yes, I have a map to
prove it). This certainly increases the challenge of the book, but it also
seems more than a little arbitrary, and it renders later references to
different items totally pointless since the reader could not possibly have
more than the one necessary object. Perhaps this whole aspect of the book is
the result of an error somewhere along the line...
16. Quest for the Cities of Gold
Author: Richard Glatzer
Illustrators: William Stout (cover), José Gonzalez Navaroo (interior)
First Published: February, 1987
ISBN: 0-553-26295-5
Length: 125 pages (plus data bank and data file)
Number of Endings: 1
Plot Summary: Your mission is to discover the truth about the Seven
Cities of Gold sought after by explorers of the New World.
Translations: Italian, Spanish
My Thoughts: This book finally deals in depth with a topic that has
been briefly visited in several previous volumes: the exploration of the
New World. For some reason, this isn't a subject which I've ever found
terribly exciting (I just can't tell any of those explorers apart!), and
perhaps this is why the book failed to grab my attention for the first half
or so. Eventually, though, I did enjoy the story and find this to be a
fairly satisfying read. Strangely enough, though, I have the same gameplay
complaint about this book that I did about its predecessor -- unless you pick
the right item before the story begins, you are doomed to be stuck in an
infinite loop! I can't help feeling that the series would have been better
if it had contained a few rules on picking up items during the course of the
story; this way, players could have searched for necessary equipment rather
than simply being out of luck... After all, that's what a real time traveler
would most likely end up doing.
17. Scotland Yard Detective
Author: Seymour V. Reit
Illustrator: Charles Vess
First Published: April, 1987
ISBN: 0-553-26421-4
Length: 125 pages (plus data bank and data file)
Number of Endings: 1
Plot Summary: You must travel back to early twentieth century London
and help Scotland Yard rescue a kidnapped Indian prince.
Translations: Bosnian/Serbocroatian, Spanish
My Thoughts: This book, written (rather surprisingly) by the man
responsible for Casper the Friendly Ghost, is quite good. It doesn't stand
out from the other books in the series in any notable way, but it's still
an above-average gamebook.
18. Sword of Caesar
Authors: Robin Stevenson and Bruce Stevenson
Illustrator: Richard Hescox
First Published: June, 1987
ISBN: 0-553-26531-8
Length: 126 pages (plus data bank and data file)
Number of Endings: 1
Plot Summary: Your mission is to discover the ultimate fate of the
battle sword of Julius Caesar.
Translations: Spanish
My Thoughts: This is a good entry in the series; not only does it
deal with a number of important Roman historical figures, but it also gives a
good first-person look at Roman life in various periods and social classes.
This diversity of educational content more than makes up for the fairly
familiar subject matter. My biggest criticism of the book is that its
artwork seems rather rushed in places and is definitely below average for the
series.
19. Death Mask of Pancho Villa
Authors: Carol Gaskin and George Guthridge
Illustrators: Steranko (cover), Kenneth Huey (interior)
First Published: August, 1987
ISBN: 0-553-26674-8
Length: 125 pages (plus data bank and data file)
Number of Endings: 1
Plot Summary: You have to find the plaster death mask of Pancho
Villa, a Robin Hood-like bandit who was an important fighter in the Mexican
Revolution.
Translations: Spanish
My Thoughts: This book is quite good most of the time, but there are
a few points where it has writing bad enough to be slightly cringe-inducing.
Perhaps this is the weaker of the two writers showing through. In any case,
despite these flaws of writing, it's a pretty good story and, like Sword
of the Samurai, it deals with significant historical figures unfamiliar
to many Americans (particularly the children this series is aimed at).
20. Bound for Australia
Author: Nancy Bailey
Illustrators: Steve Fastner (cover), Julek Heller (interior)
First Published: October, 1987
ISBN: 0-553-26793-0
Length: 125 pages (plus data bank and data file)
Number of Endings: 1
Plot Summary: You must find out who the first successful Western
settler of Australia was.
Translations: Spanish
My Thoughts: While I found this book interesting and enjoyed reading
it, it unfortunately has a lot of flaws. First of all, its mission is less
than compelling -- finding the first Western settler of Australia is a
somewhat vaguely-defined goal, and the ultimate solution has little to do
with most of the adventure that leads up to it. Additionally, the book's
portrayal of reality is a little more black and white than it is in the
better books of the series -- Captain Cook, for example, practically glows
with goodness, and while he may well have been a great man (I'm not historian
enough to offer an opinion), his portrayal here still seems like it must be
awfully exaggerated. Finally, the transitions between sections of the book
aren't always smooth -- at one point, for example, you can jump ahead several
months on a sea voyage without anyone (including your employer) asking where
you were! Despite all of these flaws, though, the book is worth reading if
only for the unique option it allows the reader when it becomes necessary to
learn more about British convicts...
21. Caravan to China
Author: Carol Gaskin
Illustrators: William Stout (cover), José Gonzalez Navaroo (interior)
First Published: December, 1987
ISBN: 0-553-26906-2
Length: 125 pages (plus data bank and data file)
Number of Endings: 1
Plot Summary: In order to discover why no Europeans followed Marco
Polo's route to China for three hundred years, you must travel back in time
and follow the route yourself.
Translations: Bosnian/Serbocroatian, Spanish
My Thoughts: This is an excellent book with lots of interesting
details and well-described settings. Some of the themes from this book
were revisited in the seventh entry of the Earth
Inspectors series. In an e-mail received long after reviewed this book,
Mark J. Tilford commented on something I hadn't noticed at the time: there
are no loops in this book, so no matter what choices you make, you can't
help but reach the ending eventually. In most of the other entries in this
series, you could theoretically at least get stuck by making the same choices
over and over again.
22. Last of the Dinosaurs
Author: Peter Lerangis
Illustrators: Mark Hallett (cover), Doug Henderson (interior)
First Published: February, 1988
ISBN: 0-553-27007-9
Length: 113 pages (plus data bank and data file)
Number of Endings: 1
Plot Summary: To explain the disappearance of the dinosaurs you must
travel back to the Great Extinction and observe the last surviving dinosaurs.
Translations: Spanish
My Thoughts: This book really didn't need to be written. It covers
a lot of the same territory as the other dinosaur-related book in the series;
I suspect it was only written because dinosaurs sell and by this time the
series was most likely waning in popularity. Among other problems there are
a lot of arbitrary decisions which can send you in circles and a couple of
largely pointless and uninteresting trips to the 20th century. The ultimate
solution to the mystery is believable and realistic, however, and makes up
for a number of the book's flaws.
23. Quest for King Arthur
Author: Ruth Ashby
Illustrators: Charles Vess (cover), Scott Caple (interior)
First Published: April, 1988
ISBN: 0-553-27126-1
Length: 124 pages (plus data bank and data file)
Number of Endings: 1
Plot Summary: You travel back in time and search for the real man
behind the legends of King Arthur.
Translations: Italian, Spanish
My Thoughts: The writing of this book was more or less inevitable;
how long could a time travel series go without bringing King Arthur in
somehow? Fortunately, despite the somewhat familiar subject matter, the book
is well-done and interesting, even managing to have something of a message at
the end. The game design is also quite challenging, requiring the reader to
think carefully about where and when to go on several occasions. My biggest
complaint is one that I've had about a couple of previous volumes -- if you
pick the wrong item before starting the adventure, you get stuck in an
infinite loop with no hope of escape! Once again, I wish the books had made
better use of inventory management...
24. World War I Flying Ace
Author: Richard Mueller
Illustrators: Steve Fastner (cover), George Pratt (interior)
First Published: June, 1988
ISBN: 0-553-27231-4
Length: 125 pages (plus data bank and data file)
Number of Endings: 1
Plot Summary: You must discover who it was that shot down the Red
Baron during World War I.
Translations: Spanish
My Thoughts: It's not too surprising that a book about World War I
would deal with the Red Baron, and this one does a pretty good job of it,
though it might have been stronger had the reader been given an opportunity
to know Richtofen better and thus be more emotionally affected by his
ultimate demise. Perhaps that's a bit much to ask, though. The book's
gameplay is decent; it does a nice job of avoiding the inventory-related
infinite loop that I keep complaining about, and its choices often relate
back to the data bank in meaningful ways. The book also happens to feature
some interesting (and moodily dark) artwork.
Special Edition: World War II Code Breaker
Author: Peter Lerangis
Illustrators: Steve Fastner (cover), Alex Nino (interior)
First Published: September, 1989
ISBN: 0-553-28157-7
Length: 159 pages (plus data bank and data file)
Number of Endings: 1
Plot Summary: You must investigate the role of code-breaking in both
theaters of World War II and bring back a copy of a cracked code from each.
Translations: Spanish
My Thoughts: This is the second World War II adventure in the series,
but it is very different from its predecessor. While the earlier WWII story
concentrated on a few people in a small area, this one details the entire
war! The book is the longest volume in the series, though it's still rather
short when you consider the size of the conflict it describes. Nonetheless,
it successfully covers a lot of territory and portrays the war in an
interesting fashion without overly glorifying it. The only complaint that
could really be raised about the storyline is that the reader often takes an
active role in events -- perhaps not entirely in line with the laws of time.
This flaw aside, though, the book is a success. Game design is also good,
with the mission being divided into two parts which can be tackled in a
non-linear manner. Probably the strangest thing about the book is its manner
of illustration; half of the pictures are hand-drawn while the other half are
historical photos. It might have looked better if it had been more
consistent. In any case, the book is a respectable end to the series, though
it still seems a shame that the series had to end at all; there's a lot more
history that could have been made into great gamebooks!
