1. Ride the Blue Bazoo
Author: Laurie B. Clifford
Illustrator: David Marty
First Published: 1983
ISBN: 0-8307-0901-0
Length: 97 pages
Number of Endings: 29
Plot Summary: You wake up only to realize that you've forgotten about
an important history test; in the adventures that follow, you often have an
opportunity to ride the titular Blue Bazoo, a nerd's strangely modified
moped.
My Thoughts: This book is almost good, but it doesn't quite make it.
The writing style is more flavorful than your average Choose Your Own Adventure, but its flavor isn't used
to much advantage. Similarly underused is the book's frequent inclusion of
more than two choices at the end of many sections, a fairly unusual practice
in a genre where two choices seem to be the common standard. The problem is
that most decision points, regardless of how many choices they provide, only
lead to one section that isn't a dead end. This makes most of the other
choices seem like pointless filler. Speaking of pointless filler, I also
object to the fact that the same full-page illustration is printed twice in
the book (see pages 26 and 85). It's also a little cheesy that every single
choice begins with the words "what if." Another problem is that,
since many decisions are of a moral nature, and "bad" decisions are
always punished with an immediate ending, the whole adventure begins to feel
preachy and predictable. In the end, despite the cover of slightly colorful
language (I bet the publisher, and possibly the author, had no idea what
"dorky" actually means) and some outrageous choices (you have to
love the "what food do you force down in order to simulate stomach
flu?" decision), the book's moral agenda ends up being a little too
obvious for the reader's comfort, and this, combined with its other flaws,
brings the whole book down.
2. Follow the Lone Cry
Author: Laurie B. Clifford
Illustrator: David Marty
First Published: 1983
ISBN: 0-8307-0913-4
Length: 99 pages
Number of Endings: 26
Library of Congress Summary: The reader makes choices dealing with
going to the Yukon in search of treasure.
My Thoughts: This book is a little bit unusual, as it could be best
described as a character study. The reader is given a backstory, some family
obligations and even a gender and nickname, and the choices often involve
balancing obligations and desires. It's quite interesting, because it takes
some old Choose Your Own Adventure standbys
(globetrotting parents, treasure hunting) and treats them more as emotional
obstacles than as fun plot devices. It also stirs up a moderate amount of
childhood nostalgia and occasionally displays a mildly twisted sense of
humor. Sounds interesting, doesn't it? It almost is, but it has all the
same problems as the last book. There's one long path through the book, and
if you don't make the right choices, the story just ends abruptly. I'd much
rather have had more detailed but shorter paths in place of this "one
strike and you're out" design. It also really bugs me that the reader
can't get away with making choices that aren't entirely mature, responsible
and selfless. This would be a much stronger book if you could do something
wrong and see how your actions impact your friends and your future. Instead,
we're treated to logic like "you tried to hurt your parents' feelings,
so you got run over by a truck." Oh well; you can't have everything.
3. Sneak Behind Enemy Lines
Author: Laurie B. Clifford
Illustrator: Uncredited
First Published: 1984
ISBN: 0-8307-0939-8
Length: 129 pages
Number of Endings: 43
Library of Congress Summary: By entering a contest advertised on the
back of a cereal box, the reader is launched on a series of adventures whose
outcome is governed by the choices he or she makes at the bottom of each
page.
My Thoughts: This is the worst book of the series thus far. For the
most part, it's more of the same -- the same basic lopsided structure, the
same writing that's almost effective but not quite, the same unconvincing
moralizing. Where the last two books had some interesting features to help
compensate for their failings, this one really doesn't. Although the
reader's character has something of a background, it's completely irrelevant
to the story, which itself is just a series of cliches. The decision-making
isn't very interesting either, since most of the choices aren't very
meaningful and there's often no way of predicting which choice will work out
and which will bring the adventure to a screeching halt. It's also a little
irritating that, though this is the longest book of the series, much of its
length comes from story sections that could have fit on a single page but
which were instead pointlessly cut in half. The only saving grace is the
book's sense of humor, which is occasionally mildly amusing. It's not nearly
enough, though, and I wouldn't really recommend wasting much time on this
thing.
4. Accept the Royal Challenge
Author: Laurie B. Clifford
Illustrator: Uncredited
First Published: 1984
ISBN: 0-8307-0940-1
Length: 114 pages
Number of Endings: 36
Library of Congress Summary: The reader chooses the development of
the plot while dealing with a difficult neighbor lady. Can she possibly be
royalty?
My Thoughts: Like the rest of the series, this book is a mixed bag.
It's kind of amusing at times, and it's probably the most unusual book of the
series plot-wise (which is not to say it is free of cliches). At the same
time, though, the decision-making is meaningless as usual; most of the time,
it's obvious which choice is the one needed to move forward (there are way
too many "give up and back out of the adventure" opportunities),
but when the right answer isn't obvious, it doesn't necessarily make any
sense. It seems pretty clear that no real effort was made to make this story
truly interactive. Perhaps even more disappointing, though, is the book's
near-total lack of closure. The entire story feels like the very beginning
of a much longer tale, and not a single ending is satisfying; at least it can
be said that the author was consistent in this regard! As in the previous
book, the reader's character is assigned an identity (well, just a name this
time) which has no particular bearing on anything but manages to dissociate
the player from the protagonist. In any case, I have to say that it's kind
of a shame that the series ended here. What with the linear nature of the
stories, it would have been easy to create a sequel and continue this
storyline, thus achieving something that was rarely done in books as
mechanically simplistic as these.