1. The Forces of Krill
Author: S. Eric Meretsky
Illustrator: Paul Van Munching
First Published: August, 1983 (American edition), 1984 (British edition)
ISBN: 0-812-57975-5 (American edition), 014 03.1755 4 (British edition)
Length: 126 pages
Number of Endings: 20
Plot Summary: Bivotar and Juranda must find the three Palantirs of Zork in
order to defeat an evil sorcerer named Krill.
Translation: Spanish
My Thoughts: The third person writing gets rather awkward sometimes and the
humor which makes the Zork computer games so great is missing, but this isn't
a bad gamebook. The use of familiar locations and a scoring system do bring
the games to mind, and, as a cute touch, page 83 includes a trap to catch
those who would cheat.
2. The Malifestro Quest
Author: S. Eric Meretsky
Illustrator: Dell Harris
First Published: September, 1983
ISBN: 0-812-57980-1 (American edition), 0-812-57981-X (Canadian edition)
Length: 127 pages
Number of Endings: 18
Plot Summary: The great hero Syovar is being held for ransom by Malifestro,
an evil wizard. Bivotar and Juranda must rescue him with the help of two
bumbling elves named Fred and Max.
Translation: Spanish
My Thoughts: This book is significantly better than the first book in the
series; the tone is considerably sillier, and silliness is important in
anything Zork-related. Also, for those who appreciate in-jokes, the magic
sneakers used as a cheater trap in the previous book are actually present
here. The only real problem with the book is that if you fail to stop at
the cabin (page 63), the continuity gets messed up because you don't get
to talk to a character who is mentioned later on.
3. The Cavern of Doom
Author: S. Eric Meretsky
Illustrator: Dell Harris
First Published: September, 1983
ISBN: 0-812-57985-2
Length: 127 pages
Number of Endings: 17
Plot Summary: People have been disappearing into a mysterious,
newly-discovered section of the Great Underground Empire. Since Max and Fred
are among the missing, Bivotar and Juranda decide to explore the mysterious
Cavern of Doom where they disappeared.
Translation: Spanish
My Thoughts: This is another good book in the series... This captures the
"dungeon crawl" style of gaming quite entertainingly. For those
who care, page 87 includes another cheater trap.
4. Conquest at Quendor
Author: S. Eric Meretsky
Illustrator: Dell Harris
First Published: October, 1984
ISBN: 0-812-55989-4 (American edition), 0-812-55990-8 (Canadian edition)
Length: 127 pages
Number of Endings: 17
Plot Summary: Bivotar and Juranda must find the Helm of Zork in order to
bring peace to the Land of Frobozz. Unfortunately, they are opposed by a
riddle-spouting demon named Jeearr.
Translation: Spanish
My Thoughts: This book isn't quite as good as the previous two, though it's
certainly not bad. It simply suffers from some fairly lame riddles and a
rather illogical and underused opponent. The book has the requisite trap for
cheaters, but it doesn't work right, probably because of a copy editing
error; it should keep returning to page 68 forever, but it instead leads on
to page 70.