Gamebooks (Choose Your Own Adventure Style)

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

U-Ventures Through the Black Hole Alternate Endings Part 24


Nick's gravity wave idea in CHOICE #11 fails in a horrifying manner.  Can our heroes entertain themselves for eternity in a spaceship?


"You apply reverse thrusters, slowing descent into the hole, but almost immediately you get conflicting signals.  Your body is wrenched as if you were in a giant washing machine.  'I don't get it, Nick.'  Your voice is trembling.  'What's happening to us?'  The Athena is in the grip of swirling space-time.  Nick reports:  'The computer says we're moving and we're not moving!'


'What you say makes no sense.  But what's happening makes no sense!  It's as if we're moving, but the space we're in is moving too, so we can't get anywhere.'  'I don't understand', Nick wails.  'It's like an eddy in a fast flowing river, where the current whirls you and won't let go.'


'Are we stuck here forever?'  'I don't know.  Time may have stopped.'  'What?'  'That's what the computer readout means.  Time has stopped.'  'So that's what happens in a black hole?'  'Can happen.  At least we won't be getting any older.'  'That's all the worse', says Nick.  'We could be here years, centuries!  I can't imagine anything worse.'


You try to look for a bright side to the picture, and you will be trying forever.  THE END".


Don't black holes evaporate after eons?  Maybe our heroes will be allowed to die then.


The ship's computer has so many problems it must have been designed by Bill Gates.


Results So Far


5 Good Endings

11 Deaths

2 Bad Non-Death Endings

2 Neutral Endings

5 Inconclusive Endings

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

U-Ventures Through the Black Hole Alternate Endings Part 25


If we abandon planet Marabou and continue through space in CHOICE #19, we see comets and meteors that probably came through the black hole like we did.  Nick sees "an object that looks like a gigantic flying whale!".  It's half a mile long, and it has a mouth half the size of its body.  The drawing on Page 102 is different:  a Dimetrodon style "fan" on the back, a large toothless mouth that's not half its size, and a single earlike organ on one side.


CHOICE #27 is whether to approach the space "whale" on Page 145, or stay away from it on Page 104.


The space whale seems to be a predator.  It pursues us, and Nick says it's a dangerous universe, and my character says ours is too.  We see a glowing spiral object, but are too slow to approach it.


"A buzzer sounds.  You look at screen two.  Fuel pump failure.  Not remediable.  You and Nick exchange glances.  Your engine has quit, so you're coasting at what is about one million miles a second in your new universe, headed toward a gigantic cavern three hundred trillion miles away.  You'll get there in about ten years-nine and a half years after your oxygen runs out.  THE END".


That sardonic last line looks like it came from a Space Quest death scene too.  Will the book ever explain what the cavern is if we follow the whales?  So far they do not seem like they're associated with the mind of Marabou.


Results So Far


5 Good Endings

12 Deaths

2 Bad Non-Death Endings

2 Neutral Endings

5 Inconclusive Endings

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

U-Ventures Through the Black Hole Alternate Endings Part 26


As we stare down the space whales, the final CHOICE in the book, #28, is appropriately a "quantum divergence".  This is what happens if we pick the wrong number:  Page 146.


"You steer the Athena toward the closest gigantic flying whale.  It's about thirty times as big as your spaceship and it looks dangerous, but the Athena can travel thousands of times faster than a whale.  You can easily outrun it if it chases you.  So you think!  But this is not a whale, it's a whalelike creature.  It's not in an ocean, it's in space.  And it's not in your own universe, it's in a very different one.  You realize this as the creature's incredibly enormous teeth crunch down on the Athena's hull.  THE END".


What do these space whales normally eat?  There can't be much prey in outer space, even in a universe with opposite gravity.


Results So Far


5 Good Endings

13 Deaths

2 Bad Non-Death Endings

2 Neutral Endings

5 Inconclusive Endings

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

U-Ventures Through the Black Hole FINALE


The final ending starting on Page 147 has us escape the predator "like a small fish that barely manages to swim free of the jaws of a whale".  Nick and I are still in shock about our near "extinction".  The computer says we have 120 seconds of fuel left, and Nick sarcastically comments that we could travel an infinite distance since we're flying at infinite speed according to the computer's faulty readings.


We can't steer the ship, and we're rapidly approaching a "great rose-colored object shaped like an enormous open mouth".  It's implied the mind of Marabou is behind this, as it's a surprise Good Ending:


"You and Nick are alive and awake, sitting on lounge chairs by a tropical lagoon.  Birds are singing; butterflies are fluttering through the air; sweet music is playing in your ears; happy thoughts are running through your brain.  Soon you will learn more about where you are and what experiences you will have, ones that you could never have imagined, arranged by an intelligence more advanced than any in your universe.  THE END".


Why is my character still in the spacesuit while lying in the lounge chair under an umbrella and holding a drink with an umbrella?  In this picture, the protagonist looks like a white man with dark hair.


Through the Black Hole is unusual for a Choose Your Own Adventure (or U-Ventures) in that there is a singular goal to achieve.  Other books in the series that I've played were more like branching short stories, but this is a forerunner of Ultimate Ending, down to some decisions being based on luck.  Where Ultimate Ending differs is that the luck CHOICEs are more like mulligans for mistakes.


In Through the Black Hole a total of four decisions are blind "quantum divergences", including the final one that leads to the "ultimate ending"!  Several other CHOICEs have something to the effect of "think of something else" as the clear solution, which is the opposite problem of making the book too easy.  As a book, it can be entertaining with its stories of the Comet of Retribution or talking sunflowers, but as a game Through the Black Hole is frustrating.  Perhaps it's for the best that I wanted to go for a silly Death at the beginning rather than play it honestly.  The high proportion of Deaths is suitable for this story, since flying into a black hole is about as dangerous of an activity as you can pursue.


Final Results


6 Good Endings

13 Deaths

2 Bad Non-Death Endings

2 Neutral Endings

5 Inconclusive Endings

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

U-Ventures:  Through the Black Hole CHOICE Map
 
CHOICE #1, Page 7
-Athena, Page 8-14:  Go to CHOICE #4 (CLEAR)
-Nimrod, Page 31-32:  Go to CHOICE #2 (CLEAR)
 
CHOICE #2, Page 32
-Save Athena, Page 34-36:  Go to CHOICE #3 (CLEAR)
-Too risky, Page 42:  DEATH (CLEAR, Athena crew crushed in black hole, comet destroys Nimrod as punishment)
 
CHOICE #3, Page 36, QUANTUM DIVERGENCE
-Page 56:  INCONCLUSIVE ENDING (CLEAR, end up at Earth 10,000 years later, unsure what it will be like)
-Page 50:  DEATH (CLEAR, skeletons may go through black hole in millions of years)
 
CHOICE #4, Page 14
-Earthlike planet, Page 15:  Go to CHOICE #5 (CLEAR)
-Black hole, Page 26:  Go to CHOICE #7 (CLEAR)
 
CHOICE #5, Page 17
-Land on Terra, Page 18-21:  Go to CHOICE #6 (CLEAR)
-Return to Earth with antigravity, Page 22:  NEUTRAL ENDING (CLEAR, turns out Terra will be destroyed in black hole, assigned to ice core gathering in Antarctica after disobeying orders)
 
CHOICE #6, Page 21
-Antigravity, Page 24:  DEATH (CLEAR, realize too late you were only supposed to use it for black hole)
-Live on Terra, Page 25:  INCONCLUSIVE ENDING (CLEAR, send message to Earth, start to explore Terra but don’t know what will happen)
 
CHOICE #7, Page 28
-Gravity wave, Page 29:  Go to CHOICE #8 (CLEAR)
-Think of something else, Page 30:  Go to CHOICE #10 (CLEAR)
 
CHOICE #8, Page 29
-Weak gravity wave, Page 86:  Go to CHOICE #9 (CLEAR)
-Hold out for strong gravity wave, Page 33:  DEATH (CLEAR, “tidal forces” in black hole)
 
CHOICE #9, Page 86, QUANTUM DIVERGENCE
-Page 87:  GOOD ENDING?  (CLEAR, merge with other minds in a white cloud)
-Page 88:  DEATH (CLEAR, particles split apart and enter other universe)
 
CHOICE #10, Page 30
-Go through black hole, Page 79:  Go to CHOICE #11 (CLEAR)
-Try to return to Earth, Page 80-81:  INCONCLUSIVE ENDING (CLEAR, Earth covered with clouds, NASA no longer exists, don’t know what will happen in 2360
 
CHOICE #11, Page 79
-Nick’s gravity wave suggestion, Page 82:  BAD ENDING (CLEAR, trapped forever in the black hole and will never age)
-Your full speed ahead suggestion, Page 84-85:  Go to CHOICE #12 (CLEAR)
 
CHOICE #12, Page 85
-Repair it yourself, Page 43-49:  Go to CHOICE #17 (CLEAR)
-Make Nick repair it, Page 37-41:  Go to CHOICE #13 (CLEAR)
 
CHOICE #13, Page 41
-Starboard, Page 52-55:  Go to CHOICE #14 (CLEAR)
-Port, Page 59:  DEATH (CLEAR, Nick sucked into space, then Athena ripped apart)
 
CHOICE #14, Page 55
-Reverse and look for Nimrod, Page 76-78:  Go to CHOICE #15 (CLEAR)
-Planet Nicron, Page 95:  INCONCLUSIVE ENDING (CLEAR, Nicron’s sun will be supernova in 50 years, but Nick and you stay there for a while anyway)
 
CHOICE #15, Page 78
-Try to go home, Page 108:  NEUTRAL ENDING (CLEAR, Lian Lee rescues you, you vow to try mission again)
-Reenter black hole’s gravity, Page 143:  Go to CHOICE #16 (CLEAR)
 
CHOICE #16, Page 144
-Antigravity with pi, Page 110:  GOOD ENDING (CLEAR, cheered on heroes on Earth after testing antigravity)
-Keep going through black hole, Page 150:  DEATH (CLEAR, get plaque in your honor)
 
CHOICE #17, Page 49
-Blast door open, Page 60:  DEATH (CLEAR, laser is bent and makes liquid hydrogen explode)
-Think of something better, Page 61-69:  Go to CHOICE #18 (CLEAR)
 
CHOICE #18, Page 69
-Return through white hole, Page 70-73:  Go to CHOICE #19 (CLEAR)
-Explore new universe, Page 74-75:  BAD ENDING (CLEAR, go to backwards time universe, then to one where all time has stopped)
 
CHOICE #19, Page 73
-Burrow into possibly hollow planet, Page 98-100:  Go to CHOICE #20 (CLEAR)
-Look for something else, Page 101-103:  Go to CHOICE #27 (CLEAR)
 
CHOICE #20, Page 100
-Back out of reverse gravity planet, Page 112:  Go to CHOICE #21 (CLEAR)
-Consider other options, Page 116-123:  Go to CHOICE #22 (CLEAR)
 
CHOICE #21, Page 114
-Reverse antigravity generator?, Page 115:  DEATH (CLEAR, activate antigravity, but die before you know what happens)
-“Think of what else to do”, Page 116-123:  Go to CHOICE #22 (CLEAR)
 
CHOICE #22, Page 123
-Inspect plants, Page 124:  DEATH (CLEAR, spike-toothed bears eat you)
-Water, Page 127-130:  Go to CHOICE #23 (CLEAR)
 
CHOICE #23, Page 130
-Stay away from river, Page 135-141:  Go to CHOICE #24 (CLEAR)
-Wade into river, Page 142:  DEATH (CLEAR, pink crocodile eats you)
 
CHOICE #24, Page 141
-Return through white hole, Page 151:  Go to CHOICE #26 (CLEAR)
-Stay in hollow planet, Page 131-132:  Go to CHOICE #25 (CLEAR)
 
CHOICE #25, Page 132
-Help talking sunflower, Page 133:  GOOD ENDING (CLEAR, begin to discuss ideas for utopia)
-Don’t think you can help, Page 134:  GOOD ENDING (CLEAR, live pleasantly on Marabou, hope humans will find you eventually)
 
CHOICE #26, QUANTUM DIVERGENCE
-Page 93-94:  INCONCLUSIVE ENDING (CLEAR, sent to universe like our own, but in intergalactic space with little hope of finding a planet)
-Page 89-92:  GOOD ENDING (CLEAR, receive Medal of Supreme Achievement, mind of Marabou still contacts you)
 
CHOICE #27, Page 103
-Investigate space whales, Page 145:  Go to CHOICE #28 (CLEAR)
-Stay away from space whales, Page 104:  DEATH (CLEAR, oxygen runs out before going to cavern trillions of miles away)
 
CHOICE #28, Page 145, QUANTUM DIVERGENCE
-Page 146:  DEATH (CLEAR, eaten by space whale)
-Page 147:  GOOD ENDING (CLEAR, what may be mind of Marabou sends you to tropical beach)

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Choose Your Own Adventure:  Hijacked! Part 1


This one comes as a surprise to Realms Beyond, no?  Hijacked! by Richard Brightfield isn't either a Chooseco reprint or a U-Ventures remake, but one of the old CYOAs that are out of print.  I'll have to thank Thriftbooks for that and a couple of other Choose Your Own Adventures that will come shortly.


Hijacked! is #106, over halfway through the original series.  Richard Brightfield is better known for his Master of [Martial Art] series.  The cover shows two boys in jeans and solid color t-shirts hiding behind cover on a pier.  At the end of the wooden pier is a terrorist in tan camouflage holding an assault rifle who stands in front of an old-fashioned seaplane with propellers.  The background has tropical trees below a cloudy night sky.  The title page has a black and white drawing with three frightened kids holding their hands up as if they're about to be arrested.  Beside the WARNING!!! page is a school bus speeding down a curved dirt road with all the children looking towards the back with their mouths open in fear.


"Even if you do manage to escape from the hijackers and alert the authorities, it doesn't necessarily mean that you'll be safe!"  In a scenario like this where the protagonist is captured from the start, a Neutral Ending in another gamebook would count as a Good Ending here.


On Page 1, kids on a schoolbus are throwing paper planes at each other.  One boy facing the back of the bus wears a jacket that says BUZZY with a horizontal lightning bolt below, and is grabbing another kid by the area just below the collar on their shirt.  The bus driver is a woman with dark hair and a bun in the back wearing round glasses and large earrings.  She's reaching over to what I guess is the transmission, and not paying much attention to the road!


The book beings on Friday afternoon, and I'm bored with the teacher's lesson about "international terrorism".  Based on my school experience, these students are probably 6th graders:  the book calls the class "social studies", which is more of an elementary school term, and they change classes instead of having one teacher, which began in 6th grade for me.


My friends Sally and Dan want to sit in the back of the bus with me in order to stay away from Buzzy Hargrove.  "He always gives Mrs. Wilson a hard time while she's driving", says Sally.  Dan remarks that Buzzy will be banned from the school bus if he keeps causing problems.  He already is, but his alibi is "I just wanted to get some class notes from Tom.  I'm doing my homework on the bus".  Or more likely, Buzzy's trying to force Tom to do his homework.


"Anyone who lives closer than six blocks is officially a 'walker' and can't use the bus".  Is that how it worked in 1990?  I don't know:  I never took the bus to school in my time.  We must live in at least a medium sized town, since we have a Main Street.  Mrs. Wilson suddenly has to come to a full stop, which sends my papers flying.  A truck blocks the road, and "several armed men wearing khaki fatigues and ski masks are running toward the bus".  I think at first they're here to film a movie, but I know they're serious when they fire a warning shot at the bus's roof with a machine gun!


(You can probably guess by now why this book hasn't been reprinted.)


Mrs. Wilson gives one of the hijackers "the same distasteful look she usually gives to the students", but he isn't intimidated.  He orders her to drive down a side road to an abandoned train station.  We're about to hit the back of a parked furniture van, which will probably send me flying without a seat belt.


Why am I turning to Page 9 from Page 3 now?  That doesn't make much sense before the first CHOICE.  Page 8 has an illustration of the school bus being loaded into the back of the van.  I have to admit these terrorists come prepared.  "The back door of the van swings closed, plunging all of you into total darkness".  Mrs. Wilson says "I won't put up with this, I simply won't" just before the hijackers gag her and tie her to the steering wheel.  Hopefully they'll give her hazard pay after the rescue!


The van turns down a bumpy road for what may be hours until the back opens and we see light again.  "Turn to Page 113".  Okay, there has to be numerological significance or something to this seemingly random page flipping.  I've read too many CYOAs now that I'm inventing conspiracy theories for them.


Near the end of the book, we finally get to see CHOICE #1.  The hijackers order everyone to get out of the bus in single file.  Buzzy panics more than everyone else as he's pulled out from under a seat:  "Don't touch me!  Don't touch me!"  How long before he sells us out to the terrorists?  I'm imagining his personality as sort of like Pokey from Earthbound.


Sally wants to hide under the bus on Page 4, and Dan thinks the terrorists will just find us and that we should obey their orders for now on Page 75.  Don't know if the expression "thrown under the bus" was common in 1990, but that's a bad omen for Sally's path.  I'll actually try to win in this book for the CANONICAL ENDING.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Choose Your Own Adventure:  Hijacked! Part 2


Buzzy is shoved into a separate car from the rest of us, and we're sent to a truck.  About half an hour later, the hijackers load us onto a plane similar to an army transport and we take off.  No use looking through the windows since it's covered with a black curtain.  The narration on Page 75 never says that Sally was recaptured, so for all we know she might be free.


I try to take a peek through the corner and then pretend to fall asleep.  The glance through the window tells me we're flying over the ocean to a tropical island with palm trees.  This is an equal opportunity terrorist group, since both men and women separate the kids into different groups.  Dan and I are together.  "Each group will be assigned to an instructor.  It will be explained to you in time why you were brought here".  Presumably we'll be indoctrinated rather than killed.


These must be the friendliest hijackers in the world:  they give us free doughnuts in an illustration on Page 90, and they are pointing their guns upward instead of directly at us!  A blonde woman named Lania tells us we're at the headquarters of the "International Fighters for Freedom", and that they will free us from the lies our schools and families teach us.  A nameless kid takes it well:  "This is great-just like summer camp.  I hope it keeps up this way".  Dan says "This is what I call being kidnapped in style".  Only my character is concerned, wondering what we'll have to do for the terrorists in return.


Our first "reeducation" class begins tomorrow.  Are we to read the "Little Red Book"?  So far it seems that they're Maoists.  I paid enough attention in Mrs. Myers's social studies class to explain the concept of "brainwashing" to Dan.  That word must not have been quite as common in 1990, since I'm sure everyone knows what it means today.


Dan and I walk on the beach to relax and try to think of an escape plan.  Dan's impulsive idea is to jump over the rope and run to safety, but I point out to him that this island is the IFF's headquarters.  A plot twist happens when Lania claims she's a hostage too.  Is she genuine, or is this a trap?  I suspect it's a ruse in-character as well, but Dan thinks it might be better to trust her.  Lania tells us to go out the back window of the dormitory at night, then walk to this part of the beach without telling anyone else.


CHOICE #2 happens after bouncing around pages:  75, 21, 91, 26, 81, and finally 44.  I can either trust Lania on Page 83 or be suspicious of her on Page 93.  To me, Lania is probably a trap. . .


I'm irritated with the book now.  Nothing about CHOICE #2 said that we would try to escape at night, but in the opposite direction from Lania.  I thought we were going to wait for a while and try to flee in a different way.  It feels like when you click a dialogue option in Mass Effect, and then Shepard says something completely different.


We see some flashlights drawing near, and hide behind a tree and accidentally step on someone's foot.  The foot says "Don't either of you say anything until the beach patrol goes by.  They make hourly checks at this time of night".  We overhear some noise from the IFF's walkie-talkies.  The voice is a boy named Jimmy, and he was captured when he hitchhiked with a couple that offered him a drugged soda.  Perhaps the IFF has ties with ARTUS from La Prisión? 


Jimmy says the IFF has a helicopter, a seaplane, and a transport plane, and that he's aiming for the seaplane because he doesn't think the terrorists would know he could fly a plane.  Or rather, Jimmy flies a Cessna with his dad, but has never flown any aircraft solo.  Even Dan is uneasy about this idea. 


(Is it just me, or is "Jimmy" only a nickname for old men?  Any James in my age group just went by James. . .)


CHOICE #3 is on Page 49 immediately after Page 48, unusually for this book.  To go with Jimmy and reenact the scene on the cover, turn to Page 102.  To refuse to follow Jimmy, go to Page 104.  But you know what option I'm going to pick if you've been reading these posts!

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Choose Your Own Adventure:  Hijacked! Part 3


Jimmy thinks the seaplane is always prepared for take off since the IFF always posts a guard at the end of the pier.  The plan is to push him into the lagoon as Jimmy starts the engine.  Dan doesn't trust Jimmy at all:  "Oh great.  You take off while we're left holding the bag".  I hadn't even considered that possibility out-of-character, but it would be hilarious if Jimmy really does leave us for dead.


The guard betrays his presence with a cigarette, and I take off my sneakers to approach him.  He hears me too late and sprays machine gun bullets uselessly into the air in the drawing.  My character is either a white short-haired boy or a masculine-looking girl in the picture.


Fortunately, the seaplane has a full tank of fuel.  Jimmy thinks the mainland is an hour to the north-northwest based on the compass.  Ten minutes later, a helicopter pilot orders us to return to the island or we'll be shot down in 30 seconds.


"What are we going to do?' Dan asks.  'One of these switches on the control panel is supposed to send out an emergency signal to the U.S. Coast Guard', Dan says.  'But I'm not sure which one.  I didn't pay too much attention when my father was showing me.'  'What about this one here?' you say, pointing to a knob on the control panel.  'I'll bet-'


'I don't know, but let's try it', Jimmy says, pulling the knob.  You feel a sharp jar inside the plane, and something whooshes from underneath.  Suddenly a huge ball of flame erupts in front of you.  Jimmy veers the plane off to the side to miss it.  'Wow!' Jimmy exclaims.  'We just eliminated our unfriendly local helicopter.  I think this plane was equipped with an air-to-air missile.'


'Jimmy, when we get home, we're going to throw one heck of a party for you', you say.  When you get to the mainland, you tell the authorities about the island.  They quickly dispatch a Coast Guard ship and storm ashore, rescuing the other kids who were hijacked.  The terrorists are arrested and brought back to the mainland to stand trial.  THE END".


When I told someone about the seaplane CHOICE, she wondered how many characters would die.  This Good Ending does have a body count, but not in the way that we expected.  Usually children's gamebooks tend to be more pacifistic, but not Hijacked!  Good thing Jimmy wasn't flying next to a Coast Guard helicopter when he tried random actions on the control panel.


The illustration shows Jimmy, Dan, and me inside the cockpit.  Jimmy has freckles and wears a striped shirt with long sleeves.  I'm pointing at the missile launch knob, and Dan is staring in wonder at the knob.  Dan has longer hair than the other characters.


Results So Far


1 Good Endings

0 Deaths

0 Bad Non-Death Endings

0 Neutral Endings

0 Inconclusive Endings

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Choose Your Own Adventure:  Hijacked! Alternate Endings Part 1


Jimmy is gracious even when we reject his offer in CHOICE #3:  "All right, I'll go by myself.  I understand.  And to show you that there's no hard feelings, I'll help you out.  Go all the way down the beach to the end of the island.  There's a jungle area there.  When I get to the mainland, I'll tell the police.  You can hide there and wait".


We walk close to the ocean so the tides will destroy any footprints.  We hear gunshots and a seaplane taking off, implying that Jimmy survived.  Dan questions whether it's safe to hide in the jungle, to which I reply that it's better than the beach.


Vines are tied tightly enough together that we don't have to make a hammock.  We fall asleep until daytime, and we notice a man with a cabin cruiser looking at the shore with binoculars.  We duck down and suspect he's an IFF member.  I propose CHOICE #4:  Stay here and hope we'll be found by the authorities on Page 109, or go further into the jungle and eat wild fruit.  "Whatever your decision, you realize it may be your last".


"You decide to stay where you are.  You continue to lie there in the hot sun near the shore all day and throughout the night.  The following morning Dan says, 'I'm going back.  I don't care what they do to me.  It can't be as bad as starving to death out here.'  'All right', you say.  'Let's go back.  I guess Jimmy didn't make it.'


It takes you most of the day to hike back.  As you get close to the IFF camp, you see men in uniforms carrying rifles running up and down the beach.  They are rounding up the hijackers.  Then you see Jimmy.  'Hey', he calls over, 'I was just going to come and look for you.  I just landed with the Coast Guard.'  'You made it!' you say, running over and shaking his hand.


You're free, and before long you are sitting with your family eating a nice homemade meal, telling them everything that happened.  You can hardly believe it yourself.  THE END".


Jimmy once again saves the party, but the protagonist isn't as proactive here.  Dan isn't cut out for any wilderness survival CYOA, that's for sure.  No illustration here.


Results So Far


2 Good Endings

0 Deaths

0 Bad Non-Death Endings

0 Neutral Endings

0 Inconclusive Endings

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Choose Your Own Adventure:  Hijacked! Alternate Endings Part 2


It wouldn't be a proper tropical CYOA without some kind of Death related to fruit.  It either kills you directly, or you're too distracted to look out for bears from another universe while eating it.  Dan picks a fruit from a vine that's shaped like a plum.  My character worries that it's poisonous, but Dan thinks the way Nick does from Through the Black Hole:  "Not if it tastes good.  I'll taste a tiny bite".  He likes the flavor but thinks it's weird.


"You and Dan sit there on a damp log, eating the strange fruit.  'It's sort of a cross between a lime and a kiwi fruit', he says.  'A kiwi fruit?' you ask.  'Sure, they come from New Zeal-'


Suddenly Dan's eyes get glassy and he seems paralyzed.  You try to help him, but you can't move either.  The fruit was tasty, no doubt about that, but you were right-it was also deadly!'  THE END".


They look more like eggplants to me.  One nice touch in the drawing is that one fruit has a bite taken out of it, and a small puddle of what must be saliva is on the ground beside it.  Is it based on any real plant?  I'd like to know.


You can tell this book wasn't written recently because Dan has to tell me what a kiwi is.  My local grocery store has them prominently displayed.


I must have seen this ending before reading Hijacked!  It was on a site that featured Deaths from CYOAs.


Results So Far


2 Good Endings

1 Deaths

0 Bad Non-Death Endings

0 Neutral Endings

0 Inconclusive Endings