Gamebooks (Choose Your Own Adventure Style)

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

La Isla de los Dodos Alternate Endings Part 35


Only a few endings left!  Let's go to CHOICE #31 and take the "safe" option of returning to Malé in the Maldives.


"Ben, this is useless. Let's go back to land.'


You go to the south towards Malé, sailing in parallel to the atolls, that more ore less are placed in a north-south line of 900 miles.  During the atolls used as garbage dumps (vertedero).  Plastic containers and other waste (desecho) form mountains.  It's a shame.


When you are tired of sailing, you anchor (fondear) the boat and snorkel in crystalline water.  You never tire of contemplating the marvelous coral, fish of every color and size, hawksbill turtles, and green turtles migrating.  In a shallow lagoon, Ben and you discover that one of them has a hook in its mouth.  While Ben holds the turtle down, you free it from the hook.  It's hurt you on the hand, but it's a superficial injury.


In the following days, you note that the wound hasn't healed and your hand is swollen and painful.  Ben gives you an injection of penicillin.


At night, your fever reaches 41 degrees Celsius.  You begin to be delirious, and looking for fresh water, you launch yourself into the sea.  Your dazed mind cannot find the way to make you swim.  END."


This is why you don't help sea turtles, kids!


Results So Far


9 Good Endings

14 Deaths

6 Bad Non-Death Endings

4 Neutral Endings

3 Inconclusive Endings

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

La Isla de los Dodos Finale:  THERE IS NO END  


The presentation of the "visit Bandula" option in CHOICE #30 is unique, and almost seems as if it were made very early in the writing process.


Bandula is living with his children and grandchildren in a small seaside house.  He's very happy to have visitors.  "His small and wrinkled face wringles even more when he smiles upon seeing the dodo drawing". 


Bandula speaks in his language, moving his hands frequently and pointing towards the sea.  Salman translates for us:  "He found the bird many years ago, some miles from his atoll, floating on a trunk hidden among palm leaves.  The poor bird was then very small and almost dead.  Bandula only says 'It came from the navel of the sea".


I give the bird to Bandula, who says 'Baraka fik'.


Now here's the weird part.  The text says "Pass directly to Option 40".  No mention of any other "Options" can be found earlier in the book.  But the only place left to go is Page 93 and onward.  Good thing I keep track of this stuff in Microsoft Word!  Then I realize Page 92 with the sea turtle fever is the last page of the book.  I manually flipped through every page afterwards, only to find out nothing corresponded with this route.  Perhaps it's meant to go to Page 82, but the other CHOICE #30 leads there.


To quote an infamous page from The Mystery of Chimney Rock:  THERE IS NO END.



Final Results


9 Good Endings

14 Deaths

6 Bad Non-Death Endings

4 Neutral Endings

3 Inconclusive Endings

1 Frozen For Eternity Because the Author Forgot to Finish Her Book Ending


La Isla de los Dodos is not a good gamebook.  Typographical errors are frequent and obvious, such as 2 Page 70s and 2 page 80s, and Madame Clotilde being male for a few lines.  CHOICE #30 has one option that leads to nothing at all, with only a cryptic page direction left over from some earlier draft.  Some options give you good or bad endings with no warning, and sometimes the book's hints seem to outright lie to you (e.g. CHOICE #8, CHOICE #31).


But reading it was funny for me, and possibly my Realms Beyond pals too.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Herman Gigglethorpe's Gamebook Scoreboard #2


Time Machine 6:  The Rings of Saturn


-NO SCORE.  The only ending is victory, so failure is a minor setback at worst.



You Say Which Way:  Deadline Delivery


-GOOD ENDING.  I saved the under-city from the slave trading Piranha gang by crashing the Rusty Rhino into a concrete column before they could destroy Big Pig's Wall.  I'm still a Deadline Delivery courier, but I have enough money to buy almost-new shoes and dinner, and I don't have to pay Big Pig's toll.



La Prisión:  Elige Tu Propia Aventura


-GOOD ENDING (possibly the best).  I got ingredients for Félix so he can send a message rocket to his friends outside of prison.  ARTUS's conspiracy is unraveled, and both of us are set free.  It's implied that we retire to a tropical island by finding Félix's gold stash.



Isla de los Dodos


-BAD ENDING.  Vijay tricked me into going to a house full of Mauritius mobsters who bound and gagged me.  My final fate is unclear, but the line about being a "pawn in a game of mafia chess" isn't promising.



Mardoc wanted to see You Say Which Way:  Dragon's Realm, so that'll be the next gamebook Let's Play.

[sunrise089]

Overall I liked the prison much more than the dodos, though the latter does get some points for sheer craziness. The problem for me with the dodos was the story sprawled geographically AND there was no in-universe continuity as you point out above. In the prison I felt like I got to know certain characters and they had predictable actions, while in dodos it felt almost like different roles being played by the same actors.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

You Say Which Way:  Dragons Realm Part 1


The book begins with several bullies shouting "Hey, Fart-face!" at me.  They're the Thomson twins:  Bart, Becks, and Bax.  According to the narration, they're too stupid to understand the concept of "triplets", so they call themselves "twins".


Bart "grins like an actor in a toothpaste commercial".  Perhaps he could have a future in advertising?  Becks "sneers", following in the tradition of Victorian sensation novel villains and evil wizards. 


They want the "ten chocolate bars and two cans of tuna fish" in my backpack.  I can understand them wanting to beat up a kid to get free candy.  But why does my character have a tuna fish craving?


A girl walks between us, distracting the bullies for long enough so I can make my move.  CHOICE #1 is to either dash through the park towards a hole in the fence, or hide from the "twins" in a grove of trees.


Since crawling through holes served me well in Deadline Delivery, I'll take that path.


But something else happens when I rush through the park.  "In the air in front of you is an oval, swirling with colors, like a bubble shimmering in the sunlight".


A voice can be heard nearby saying "Help!  Help me!"  I like to imagine it as sounding like the scene from The Fly.


I go through the magical portal and end up in a "forest beside a river".  The portal disappears, and I see what seems to be a dragon flying overhead.


The same voice says "Help me.  Hurry", but I can't tell where it's coming from.  CHOICE #2 is to follow a trail into the forest, or go along the riverbank instead.



I'll follow the river, because I suspect it'll take me to a town.  Besides, if these dragons can breathe fire, the forest will likely be in flames soon. 


Chances are my CHOICE #2 option wasn't a good idea.  I've fled from the bullies, only to run into an archer named Mia who wants to steal my backpack anyway.  She points an arrow at my chest and asks about my "strange garb" and "rucksack".  Mia realizes I'm not from Dragons Realm when I tell her I don't know about Master Giddi. 


The plants here are different from those at home (New Zealand?).  Trees are wide and have gray bark.  The bushes have "vivid orange and yellow flowers shaped like parrot beaks".  My character suspects being on a movie set, or a "virtual reality show". 


Mia suddenly becomes pale and shoots an arrow at the tree.  The victim is a spider, and chances are Mia's afraid of them.  She makes me clear the way with a stick just to get rid of cobwebs.


Mia eventually takes me to a man who "reminds you of a toilet brush", and wears a cloak that changes colors from green to brown.  This is Master Giddi, Head of the Wizard Council.


Like most wizards, Master Giddi is not to be trusted.  "Without warning, the man raises his hand.  Sparks shoot from his fingertips.  Halfway across the clearing, they burst into green flame.  You duck.  The flames narrowly miss your ear, leaving a warm glow as they pass.  He waves his hand, and a ball of green flame rushes towards you, aimed at your chest.  You try to duck, but can't move fast enough.  In panic you raise your hands.  A flash of light shoots from your palms, extinguishing the fireball.  The cloaked man's deep laughter bounces across the clearing".


So what happens if Master Giddi shoots a fireball at someone who turns out not to have any magical powers?


According to Master Giddi, I defended myself with a "flash-shield", showing "raw talent".  He wants new apprentices, and asks me if I want to learn magic.  But a bronze dragon interrupts him when it flies over me.  A man named Hans is riding this dragon, and asks if Master Giddi needs any supplies.  When Hans sees my strange clothes, he asks if I came through a "world gate".


CHOICE #3 is to either train under Master Giddi, or ride with Hans on his dragon Handel.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

You Say Which Way:  Dragons Realm Part 2


Any of my readers will probably know how I feel about Master Giddi's unprovoked magical attacks, so I'll take my chances with dragon riding in CHOICE #3.


The dragon smells like leather.  We fly over the trees, and my character is greatly impressed with the dragon ride.  Like in other dragon riding books, dragons have telepathy in this CYOA.  Handel thinks "It was a pleasure giving you your first ride.  I can sense you enjoyed it.  Let me know any time you'd like another".


I ask if the town is named Horseshoe Bend is named after the number of horses there, but Hans says it's because the Spanglewood River has a horseshoe bend nearby.  I think the pigs smell even worse than "Bart Thomson's feet in gym class".


Some kids tug at my t-shirt, which I received from my cousin "before he went missing two months ago".  How much do you want to bet he'll show up later as a major supporting character?


A pig starts chewing on my t-shirt, then a whole group starts chasing me.  "A boy with a broad chest and huge well-muscled arms" starts tossing the pigs around to protect me.  Hans says the pigs flew almost as far as his dragon, and this strong boy is named Mickel.


Mickel says another "other-worlder" visited Dragon's Hold with Hans.  Mickel does "sumo squats" while other kids are holding his thighs.  My character thinks it's ridiculous.  Mickel says Hans, Handel, and hundreds of dragons live at Dragons' Hold.  Zaarusha the Dragon Queen and Anakisha the Queen's Rider are their leaders.  (This book owes everything to Dragonriders of Pern. . .)


My character wants to get stronger in case of another encounter with the Thomson "twins".  Mickel recommends either training with Giant John in the woods, or learn a special "strength-building secret".  This is CHOICE #4.


I have my suspicions about the source of Mickel's strength, so I'll visit Giant John. 


Mickel lifts me over his head and charges through the forest "at breakneck pace".  I have to duck under the branches as Mickel easily moves through boulders and streams. 


His secret isn't magical steroids like you'd expect.  No, it's actually training "in the shade of a strongwood tree", which is 100 times faster than a traditional workout.  "Mickel swings you into the air, using you like a dumbbell to do overhead presses".


We both do push-ups.  I manage to do hundreds because "a jolt goes through you, like touching an electric fence, and your muscles buzz with energy".  The catch is that I have to exercise every "second day", though not necessarily under a strongwood tree. 


Mickel tells me to grab my enemy's arm with both hands, pull them towards me, and trip them.  He demonstrates this by using the trick on me.  After a few attempts, I manage to spar with Mickel this way.


At Giant John's house, several people are sparring with staves.  But my character realizes with horror that Giant John's trainees are none other than the Thomson "twins"!


But my strongwood strength combined with the tripping trick easily defeats the bullies.  Giant John praises my strongwood training, and asks me if I want to learn some of his wrestling moves.  Bart's nervous and polite now that he knows I'm stronger than him. 


Bart appears to be scared of Handel, since he says "Is that thing safe?"  Bex says Bart was afraid of animals his whole life.  Handel thinks "He's been a little annoying, has he?  Let me know if he gives you more trouble, and I'll sort him out".


Hans suggests that I live with other-worlders.  He says there's a boy living at Dragon's Hold, and I can come to meet him.  The other CHOICE #5 option is to have Handel make a world gate and go back to Earth.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

You Say Which Way:  Dragons Realm Part 3


Before going to Dragon's Hold, Hans warns me to "wear something warm" because gray clouds are coming.


I start to slip in the saddle, and the elevation makes the wind cold.  Soon I can't see Hans or Handel at all as we're going through the clouds.  "Your hands are freezing cold.  Even your socks feel wet through your sneakers".  Rain and wind make the ride miserable, and the narration suggests that I should have stayed with Mickel in Horseshoe Bend, because at least then there would be a fire.


Two mountains covered with ice and rock appear, which Hans says are the Dragon's Teeth.  Hans says I could climb into a saddlebag to keep warm, but the CHOICE #6 alternative is to remain in the saddle.


Hans's ellipses when he mentions the saddlebag make me suspicious, and I'll have to learn how to deal with bad weather if I'm going to be a dragon rider.  I'll stay in the saddle.


"It would be an awkward clamber around Hans, over a damp saddle, on a slippery dragon to reach the saddlebag.  Looking at the very hard ground far below, you say, 'Um, thanks, Hans, but I, um. . ."


Hans says he was "only teasing" about climbing into the saddlebag.  He pulls out a magical cloak that has a "drying spell".  Why didn't he do this before?  And the potentially deadly saddlebag prank makes Hans as untrustworthy as Master Giddi.


My cousin Peter is easily recognizable, as he's still wearing a "faded baseball cap".  Peter appreciates that I'm wearing his t-shirt.  When I ask Peter how he's grown so much in 2 months, he responds that he's been in Dragons Realm for almost 5 years.  So this fantasy world runs on Narnia Time.  I tell Peter I got here 8 hours ago, according to my watch.  Peter's family offered a monetary reward for finding him, and he says he hates his family being worried.  But Peter has a dragon named Astera, though my character initially assumes she's his girlfriend before learning what species the "best friend" is.


Astera almost sends me into a lake when I ride her, but this is just another "prank".


Peter misses "Dad's cooking" and "chocolate", so I give him a candy bar.  Another world gate appears in front of us, and Peter says he's going back to Earth.  CHOICE #7 is to either return with Peter, or remain at Dragon's Hold.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

You Say Which Way:  Dragons Realm CANONICAL ENDING


I tell Peter I'm going to stay.  But I'll have to jump off and hope Astera will catch me.  Peter is such a jerk, like most characters in this book.


Fortunately, Astera grabs me with her talons, and I land on the gravel.  Peter and Astera go through the portal, and Hans says he's glad I'm staying in Dragons Realm.


"Hans chuckles.  'Peter's been here a long time.  It's good for him to have a visit home.'  He places his arm across my shoulders.  'But your adventure is only beginning.  Let's find you a place to sleep and, in the morning, a dragon to ride.  Before you know it, your dragon will be your new best buddy.'


'A dragon of my own, that's amazing!'


Hans chuckles again.  'I thought you'd say that".


The epilogue text gives us further detail:


"Your new life at Dragon's Hold is full of adventure and your dragon becomes your best friend.  Every day you practice the fitness routines Mickel has taught you.  Now and then, you go back through a portal to see your family, amazed at how little time has gone by on Earth.  Whenever you see the twins at home, they are always utterly respectful, which makes you smile. 


Sometimes Peter comes to Dragon's Hold and you race through the skies together.  Who knows, maybe one day you'll convince your family to come too."


Another epilogue sentence suggests in another route I could "meet Giant John".  But I already did that! 


Oh well.  Becoming a dragon rider who still gets to see people on Earth occasionally is a good CANONICAL ENDING, even if this raises questions about how I'll explain the "rapid aging" to my family.  "Never trust wizards" is the main survival tip for fantasy worlds.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

You Say Which Way:  Dragons Realm Alternate Endings Part 1


Let's find out what happens if we go home with Peter in CHOICE #7.


Peter and Astera go through the portal with me.  Astera breathes some fire near the Thomson "twins" to intimidate them.  Peter says "I have to see my family and get Astera back before the portal closes", suggesting he'll go back to Dragons Realm.


Curiously, few people seem to notice a purple dragon flying overhead on Earth.  Bart apologizes for his bullying, and Bax offers to sit with me on the bus to the picnic.


"You glance at your watch.  Almost no time has passed since you went through the portal to Dragons Realm.  'Thanks, Bax, but I can manage getting to the bus.'  Striding away, you grin, reminding yourself to exercise your new muscles regularly as Mickel has taught you. 


Looking at your hands, you wonder if a little practice will help you to summon another magical flash-shield.  Your grin grows wider as the twins scamper after you, nearly tripping over themselves in an effort to be nice.  Maybe you won't need that flash-shield after all."


Dragons Realm is one of the few CYOA style books I've read where both paths of a CHOICE lead to Good Endings.


This scenario proves that magic didn't exist on this version of Earth before merely because it wasn't native to that world, not because physics make it impossible.




Results So Far


2 Good Endings

0 Deaths

0 Bad Non-Death Endings

0 Neutral Endings

0 Inconclusive Endings

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

You Say Which Way:  Dragons Realm Alternate Endings Part 2


Will climbing into Handel's saddlebag in CHOICE #6 give us our first Death?  Stay tuned!


My character thinks Hans wouldn't have suggested the saddlebag if it were risky.


But I slip off the dragon and start falling.  "Plummeting through the cold air, the field below rapidly grows larger.  Tiny beehives turn into cottage roofs.  Small blobs of yellow become haystacks.  Pale blue ribbons become rivers, with stones and dangerous-looking tree stumps along their banks".


Before I break every bone in my body by landing, Handel picks me up with his talons.  Then the dragon drops me intentionally, and later slaps me with his tail back into the saddle.  Hans says he was only joking about the saddlebag.  The biggest challenge in Dragons Realm is finding a character who isn't trying to kill me with pranks or magical training.


"You handled that tail bounce pretty well for someone who is new to dragon riding.  I think you'll make a fine rider".  Hans gives me the drying spell cloak just like in the other CHOICE #6 path.


Hans apparently has a crush on a woman named Marlies in Dragon's Hold.  Meanwhile, Handel is washing his toes in a lake.  In another flight with Handel, Hans tells me to jump off and "show those kids some acrobatics".


CHOICE #8 is to either "become a dragon acrobat" or "ask Handel to take you home".  Hans reassures me that I could take a world gate back to Earth occasionally.


Let's see what a stunt dragon rider is like!


"Riders crowd around as you climb out of the saddle, patting your back and congratulating you on your stunt jumps.  Hans winks at you, and Handel nudges you with his snout.  Marlies comes over to shake your hand, smiling.  'Now I can welcome you properly'.


The crowd parts as a dragon lands nearby.  You are awestruck.  This dragon is even more beautiful than Handel and Liesar.  It's larger, and each of its scales gleam with all the colors of the rainbow.  The dragon's yellow eyes gaze at you.  A middle-aged woman grabs a strap and swings out of the saddle, landing nimbly on her feet.  Her piercing blue eyes stand out in her tanned face.  Those eyes are turned on you as she walks over.


She glances at Hans, and he bows, then kisses her hand.  'Anakisha, Honored Rider of Queen Zaarusha.' He introduces you to her.  You shake her hand, unsure what to do.  'You're a fine acrobat in the making.'  She smiles.  'How would you like to become a dragon rider?'


Grinning, you answer, 'Would I ever!'  The riders around you cheer.  Marlies comes to stand beside you.  Hans puts an arm over your shoulders, and says, 'We'll find you a dragon tomorrow".


My new dragon is named Zeebo (like the failed video game system?), who has the "perfect shade of green".  After a while, my family from Earth comes to Dragons Realm.


Results So Far


3 Good Endings

0 Deaths

0 Bad Non-Death Endings

0 Neutral Endings

0 Inconclusive Endings