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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Joshua Randall" data-source="post: 9632117" data-attributes="member: 7737">Let's get some more negatives out of the way before I turn to the fun part of our overtime coverage.---One thing that makes book 2 exhausting is the IMMENSE amount of wishy-washy language. I previously ranted about this, so consider that rant reiterated tenfold. The limp language creates the impression that no-one knows anything; no decision is made with resolve; and maybe nothing matters because after all, who can say what’s true?I wonder why Morris Simon wrote this way? If it was a subtle way to depict the teenage nihilism that afflicts everyone at some point in our lives — then my hat is off to Dr. Simon. If it was a deliberate stylistic choice to convey the stupidity and lackadaisical-ness of Carr and company — then again, he nailed it.Personally I believe the wishy-washy words were written unconsciously. Perhaps the plot never gelled as much as it should have. Perhaps Dr. Simon was going through a rough personal patch. Perhaps I'm reading too much into it!---The Sorcerer’s Crown depicts an unpleasant and uninspiring main character. Carr, a young man of twenty-two, squabbles with Dalris like a petulant boy; is rude to his loyal familiar; ignorant of his own specialty; and physically clumsy. Carr is absolutely not the heroic stand-in for the reader that one would normally enjoy in a gamebook.Indeed, Carr himself accomplishes nothing: an NPC reveals that path into the cathedral (wherein Carr gets to watch an admittedly cool scene, but emphasis on the word “watch”); the key piece of information about the twin crowns is delivered by another NPC only after Carr fails in attacking it; and a third NPC is the keeper of the book’s titular McGuffin.Along the way, Dalris saves Carr from a manticore; her kinsmen provide transportation; Wendel redirects Carr onto the One True Path when he strays; and the big magic that Carr attempts to wield is only there to show his incompetence. Enchant an Item is a no-go; Contact Other Plane leads either to insanity or to a useless conversation; and the Polymorph Other transformation of Rufyl into a roc is a near disaster: Carr and Dalris survive by luck when Carr’s spell is not as powerful as it could have been — i.e., the reader-player must roll low on an INT test.---Bleh! I'll punch my pillow a few times, take a run around the block, and return later with a more positive attitude towards what is FUN in this gamebook.</blockquote>

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