I loved those dearly, ten years before I knew there was anything called D&D. So great... terrific stuff for kids.
The only thing I didn't like was getting into deadly peril that you couldn't really see coming. For example: There are two doors- one on the left, one on the right.
TO CHOOSE THE LEFT DOOR, GO TO PAGE 68.
TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT DOOR, GO TO PAGE 15.
Eenie meenie... okay, left. Page 68...
You walk through the door- into the open air! You've plummeted into a pit trap. Your bones will lie at the bottom of the pit for all eternity. THE END.
That stuff always bothered me.
I had a GREAT Choose-your-own-adventure book once... in the beginning of the book, you walk out your door into the woods behind your house. The trail splits into three paths. In the first path, there lies a sword. In the second, a ring. In the third, a unicorn. It was terrific... I think that book might be most responsible for shaping my impressions of what fantasy should be. I'd love to read that again. Maybe it's time to visit Ebay...
