1. The Time Raider
Author: R. L. Stine
First Published: 1982
Reissued: January, 1995
ISBN: 0-590-32637-6 (original), 0-590-48555-5 (reissue)
Length: 94 pages
Number of Endings: 28
Plot Summary: Your uncle Edgar builds a time machine and you get to
test it out!
Translations: Dutch, Portuguese
My Thoughts: Here's a familiar plot... Fortunately some interesting
things have been done here. This book features some use of random numbers,
optional endings, multiple endings on single pages and other unusual gimmicks
which make it an entertaining read. There's also an almost Monty Pythonesque
adventure involving a maniacal leader who wishes to force slaves to lay eggs.
The biggest problem with this book involves the terrible quality of its
interior illustrations.
2. The Train of Terror
Author: Louise Munro Foley
First Published: 1982
ISBN: 0-590-32499-3
Length: 107 pages
Number of Endings: 31
Plot Summary: Your train trip to a relative's house turns out to be
rather stressful due to the presence of spies from conflicting nations.
Translations: Portuguese, Swedish
My Thoughts: This book doesn't have the unconventional options or
humor of the previous entry in the series, so it's not nearly as much fun.
It's not too bad, though.
3. The Formula for Trouble
Authors: Megan Stine and H. William Stine
Illustrators: Richard Williams (cover), David Febland (interior)
First Published: 1983
ISBN: 0-590-32683-4
Length: 110 pages
Number of Endings: 26
Plot Summary: Your friend (a chemistry teacher) invites you to see
his new discovery and (obviously) everything goes terribly wrong.
Translation: Portuguese
My Thoughts: This is a fairly amusing book; it has a few gimmicks
like coin flipping and word decoding and is written in a fairly silly
manner with a lot of tongue-in-cheek humor. It's not entirely effective,
but it's pleasantly different.
4. Golden Sword of Dragonwalk
Author: R. L. Stine
First Published: 1983
Reissued: 1995
ISBN: 0-590-32724-0 (original), 0-590-48557-1 (reissue)
Length: 94 pages
Number of Endings: 23
Plot Summary: While visiting your grandmother's house you are
recruited to save a fantasy kingdom from evil magic.
Translations: Dutch, Portuguese, Swedish
My Thoughts: This book has some interesting design elements, the most
notable of which involves choosing your companion. Depending on which you
choose, different things happen at several points in the story. Despite this
little innovation, the book isn't all that entertaining. It relies on too
much random number picking and in many ways shows itself as an obvious
predecessor to the weaker Give Yourself Goosebumps
books.
5. The Sinister Studios of KESP-TV
Author: Louise Munro Foley
Illustrators: Walter Velez (cover), David Febland (interior)
First Published: 1983
ISBN: 0-590-32827-1
Length: 92 pages
Number of Endings: 29
Plot Summary: Your Career Counseling class gives you a chance to work
at a local TV station during spring break. This proves a dangerous endeavor,
however.
Translations: Portuguese, Spanish
My Thoughts: This is almost identical to Foley's earlier book in this
series; lots of silly espionage stuff with very little plot. My copy of this
book (a first edition) seems to be missing something on page 22; the page
doesn't seem to be an ending nor does it have any instructions on where to
turn next...
6. Crash Landing!
Author: Arthur Roth
Illustrators: Mark Tocchet (cover), David Febland (interior)
First Published: 1983
ISBN: 0-590-32726-7
Length: 94 pages
Number of Endings: 26
Plot Summary: On the way back from South America your plane crashes
in the Andes...
Translation: Portuguese
My Thoughts: At first this book seems like a typical
Choose Your Own Adventure book, but then it starts
getting weird. It has some really horribly named characters, a few bizarre
endings and lots of choices based on things the reader has seen or done. The
overall result is very strange, and not necessarily in a good way.
7. The Video Avenger
Author: Douglas Colligan
Illustrators: Leslie Cabarga (cover), Ray Lago (interior)
First Published: 1983
ISBN: 0-590-32869-7
Length: 93 pages
Number of Endings: 25
Plot Summary: The wrong computer gets delivered to your house and
when you turn it on you are sucked inside and forced to play potentially
fatal video games.
Translations: Portuguese, Swedish
My Thoughts: This gamebook is basically a weak ripoff of the movie
Tron, and like that film it is rather badly dated at this point. It
has a sort of eighties nostalgia charm to it, but really it's pretty awful.
8. Race into the Past
Authors: Megan Stine and H. William Stine
Illustrators: Mark Watts (cover), David G. Klein (interior)
First Published: 1983
ISBN: 0-590-32868-9
Length: 93 pages
Number of Endings: 27
Plot Summary: After riding in your uncle's high-speed race car you
find yourself transported to 1915 where your name is Jamie and you have a
different uncle with a different race car.
Translations: Portuguese, Swedish
My Thoughts: The two Stines seem to have a good sense of how to make
gamebooks that stand out. This isn't as silly as their earlier entry in this
series but it is fairly creative and different. I can't help wondering about
the mysterious connection between uncles and time travel that seems to exist
in interactive fiction...
9. Horrors of the Haunted Museum
Author: R. L. Stine
Illustrators: Tom Stöerrle (original cover), uncredited artist (reissue cover), David G. Klein (interior)
First Published: 1983
Reissued: September, 1994
ISBN: 0-590-32930-8 (original), 0-590-48556-3 (reissue)
Length: 93 pages
Number of Endings: 19
Plot Summary: You accept a dare to spend the night in a supposedly
haunted museum.
Translation: Portuguese
My Thoughts: This horror adventure is somewhat less obnoxious than
the average Give Yourself Goosebumps book, but
that doesn't make it a classic. Both the Which Way
and Choose Your Own Adventure series have had
considerably better excursions into this genre.
10. Mission of the Secret Spy Squad
Authors: Ruth Glick and Eileen Buckholtz
Illustrators: John Hyatt (cover), Ray Lago (interior)
First Published: 1984
ISBN: 0-590-32867-0
Length: 93 pages
Number of Endings: 24
Plot Summary: Your U.S. Junior Track and Field Team trip is disrupted
by international espionage.
Translation: Portuguese
My Thoughts: Like most books of this genre, this is extremely silly.
While there are a few nearly successful attempts at humor and some choices
based on unusual things (thinking of rhymes, holding your breath and decoding
messages are all used), this doesn't really rise above average.
11. Camp-Out on Danger Mountain
Author: Barbara B. Hiller (credited as B. B. Hiller)
Illustrators: Kazumiko Sano (cover), David Tommasino (interior)
First Published: 1984
ISBN: 0-590-33102-7
Length: 93 pages
Number of Endings: 23
Plot Summary: You go camping with a group from your school in an
area presently inhabited by bank robbers (among other dangers).
Translation: Portuguese
My Thoughts: This book is slightly above average for the series,
mainly due to some non-linear design elements. It still has a lot of flaws,
the biggest being absolutely no sense of internal consistency.
12. Journey to Vernico 5
Authors: Megan Stine and H. William Stine
Illustrators: Kirk Reinert (cover), Robert Roper (interior)
First Published: 1984
ISBN: 0-590-33213-9
Length: 93 pages
Number of Endings: 26
Plot Summary: When you flee your laser piano lessons by stowing away
on a spacecraft, all manner of bad things happen to you.
Translations: Dutch, Portuguese
My Thoughts: This is another good book from Stine and Stine. It's
rather dated and not consistently wonderful, but it does have a few genuinely
amusing moments... Some highlights include the list of ways to stay sane
when locked in an isolated cell and an incident involving a head transplant.
13. Midnight at Monster Mansion
Author: Steven Otfinoski
Illustrators: James Warhola (cover), Michael Racz (interior)
First Published: 1984
ISBN: 0-590-33230-9
Length: 93 pages
Number of Endings: 36
Plot Summary: You run low on gas and decide to find someplace to
make a phone call. Sadly for you, the place you ultimately get stuck
with is a rather sinister-looking mansion...
Translation: Portuguese
My Thoughts: All the monster movie cliches you can think of manage
to pop up in here, but the ultimate result is considerably more charming than
it could be. This actually is one of the better books in the series.
14. Instant Millionaire
Author: R. L. Stine
Illustrators: Charles Moll (cover), Jowill Woodman (interior)
First Published: 1984
ISBN: 0-590-33231-7
Length: 93 pages
Number of Endings: 20
Plot Summary: You've just won a million dollars! If you can spend
it fast enough, you'll get five million more!
Translation: Portuguese
My Thoughts: This book is essentially rather pointless, but it's an
entertaining read. Everything that happens is pretty much random and
unrelated, but it's all strange enough to be fairly amusing... The character
of Uncle Clyde is priceless.
15. Spellcaster
Author: Katy Brown
Illustrators: James Warhola (cover), Ray Lago (interior)
First Published: 1984
ISBN: 0-590-33232-5
Length: 93 pages
Number of Endings: 26
Plot Summary: You purchase a genuine magic book for a dollar at a
tag sale at the Old Puritan Inn...
Translation: Portuguese
My Thoughts: This is a fairly good gamebook, though it has its flaws.
The biggest problem is with the characters -- they're completely undefined
and seem to have different personalities and goals depending on which path
the reader takes. This is somewhat made up for by a nice variety of choices
and a couple of novelties like the use of a secret code.
16. Secrets of the Lost Island
Author: Lynn Beach
Illustrators: Glenn Harrington (cover), Michael Racz (interior)
First Published: 1984
ISBN: 0-590-33233-3
Length: 93 pages
Number of Endings: 23
Plot Summary: You run into nasty weather while out searching for
your missing aunt Louise with your uncle Dave.
Translation: Portuguese
My Thoughts: This is definitely an above-average entry in the series.
There are a variety of paths and some of them are quite long and satisfying.
There's also a section in which you are asked to memorize a map. While it
ultimately doesn't really serve a purpose, the idea is an interesting one.
17. Ghost Riders of Goldspur
Authors: Barbara Siegel and Scott Siegel
Illustrators: Bart Jerner (cover), Ray Lago (interior)
First Published: 1985
ISBN: 0-590-33235-X
Length: 93 pages
Number of Endings: 24
Plot Summary: After hearing a century old legend about three outlaws
trapped in time you find yourself one hundred years back in time on the day
the outlaws robbed and burned the town of Goldspur.
Translation: Portuguese
My Thoughts: This is a rather uninteresting book. Almost everything
that happens occurs for no apparent reason and most of the deaths are pretty
much unjustified. This isn't a very satisfying read.
18. Calling Outer Space
Authors: Jean Nugent
Illustrators: Kirk Reinert (cover), Robert Roper (interior)
First Published: 1985
ISBN: 0-590-33236-8
Length: 93 pages
Number of Endings: 22
Plot Summary: Your science fair radio telescope project attracts the
attention of aliens...
Translations: Dutch, Portuguese
My Thoughts: This is a rather disappointing end to the series. It
could have been far worse, but it's not terribly interesting. No new ground
is covered in terms of plot or gameplay and the various plot threads are so
unrelated to each other that there's no sense of exploration gained from
reading the book multiple times.
