Season's Readings

 I tried to get started on my spooky season reading in August to get in more books. I didn't get quite as many as I wanted but here's what I did read this year.

 

Note: All title links below are Amazon affiliated where I may earn from qualifying purchases.

 

Twisted Tales to Tell in the Night: A Halloween Horror Anthology

Twisted Tales to Tell in the Night: A Halloween Horror Anthology is filled with spooky stories by new trick or treaters to the big kids that know which streets give out the best candy. All of these stories capture the storytelling style of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark with each author's own twist. 

 

 Does what it says on the box. It's an anthology. There's some hits, some misses, and the rest fall between but they're all Halloween-centric.

 

 Long Live the Pumpkin Queen (Graphic Novel)

 

After escaping from Dr. Finkelstein and marrying her true love, Jack, Sally has become the realm's official Pumpkin Queen. But as much as she adores her skeletal husband, the spotlight of popular attention and the weight of her many new royal obligations have left Sally wondering if she might have actually just traded one form of captivity for another. To make matters worse, when Sally and Zero discover a hidden doorway leading to the previously unknown Dream Town, the resulting cascade of calamities threatens not only her new position as Pumpkin Queen, but also the very foundations of her world! 

 

I've had the e-book sitting in my Kindle TBR for at least a year. I picked up the Graphic Novel adaptation and was so glad I did! They did an excellent job with the art and having the visuals to go with the story really added to the feeling of going back into the movie world. Looking forward to the sequel but just might wait for the graphic novel.

 

 The Bystander: A Horror Movie LitRPG (The Game at Carousel, 1

 

 When horror-obsessed Riley Lawrence and his group of college friends arrive in the small town of Carousel for their Centennial Celebration, the few decrepit cars parked in the street don’t scare them. But when they enter a dimmed theater, the animatronic usher hands them each a ticket, and the lights dim, Riley realizes they’ve entered the inescapable patchwork of a horror movie set. And they’ve each been assigned an archetype―Scholar, Athlete, Eye Candy, Final Girl―to play out as the curtains rise.

 

 This was a little slow to layout the groundwork but it was fun once it got into the groove. The characters are essentially trapped in a realm of horror movies where they're expected to act their roles. But they have the meta knowledge that they're in a horror movie and have tropes (traits) to help them survive. As a horror fan, it's fun to watch them figure out how to survive. I plan on continuing the series but wanted to explore other things before Halloween.

 

  

 

The Pumpkin Princess and the Forever Night

&

 The Pumpkin Princess and the Buried Castle

 

On Halloween, it is always wise to expect the unexpected, but no amount of planning could have prepared Eve for that particular night. Fleeing an unpleasant orphanage, she’s saved by someone who she never believed was real…the fabled Pumpkin King himself. Throwing caution aside, Eve accepts the offer to become his daughter and is whisked away to the misty Hallowell Valley—home to witches and vampires, ghosts and goblins, and all that go bump in the night. But just when she believes she’s found her place among the undead, a sinister scheme unearths itself, threatening to take everything from Eve unless she can stop it.

 

On the other hand, I loved the first book so much, that I immediately dove into the sequel. The books are aimed at the 9-12 set but I really enjoyed them. They're not written to be scary but they have things that are usually supposed to be scary. It's sort of like Nightmare Before Christmas' Halloweentown. It's a fun kids adventure with cozy Halloween vibes.

 

 

Pick Your Own Quest: The Haunted Manor

 

When your great-uncle Lord Thornebury Vexley III dies, you inherit more than his creepy estate—you inherit a challenge. Spend one night inside the Haunted Manor, and the fortune (and the family name) could be yours. Sounds simple, right? Except the house is bursting with ghosts, cursed objects, and desserts that bite back. Every room forces a choice. Some draw you closer to survival; others trap you forever in portraits, endless staircases, or attics stuffed with regrets. 
 

Obviously this is a Choose Your Own Adventure style book. I picked it up because it's using a similar font to Disney's Haunted Mansion and the similarities don't stop there. It doesn't follow the "story" of the ride but there's definitely references that fans will enjoy like instead of 999 ghosts, there's 499.

 

Still Reading

 

 

Thirteen Tales for Halloween

 

 Collecting twelve original short stories first published on the seasonal Halloween blog Your Best Halloween Ever with an exclusive thirteenth story that’s unlike any other, Thirteen Tales for Halloween is filled to the brim with Halloween spirit like a jack-o-lantern candy bucket packed with tricks, treats, and a few surprises for good measure. Featuring stories with magic and frights both familiar and new, these tales are bound to become Halloween favorites that you can revisit again and again.

 

 Almost done, I just started the 13th story this morning and I can already tell it's going to be my second favorite tale! From what I have read so far, I give it a high recommend. There's a good variation between stories and they're all great at setting a Halloween mood.

  

The 31st Trick-or-Treater

 

I posted about this last month. It's an "advent book" with each of the 31 chapters intended to be read every day in October. I'm surprised I've managed to only keep to one chapter a day so far because a couple of them end with you wanting to keep reading!

 Click the image to see the full list of Countdown to Halloween blogs!

 

Terror T.R.A.X

  Think you've got a tough job? 

Try being the "person in the chair" for a hunter of supernatural creatures in the field.

 

 

This horrific interactive audio drama puts the listener/player in the role of a dispatcher-supervisor at an X Files-type security agency that handles paranormal-related calls to 911 and instructs its agents how to proceed in encounters.

The calls are presented through the interface of the "T.R.A.X." (Trace, Research, Analyze, and eXterminate) computer system, a female-voiced A.I. who will solicit the player for input in the form of selecting which of two options to follow (by directly guiding them to the appropriate track in the CD listing.)

 

The T.R.A.X. series was released in 1994 by TSR. There were four "Track of the ___" CDs released: Vampire, Werewolf, Mummy, and Creature. And in '96, a Full Motion Video (FMV) computer game adaptation of Vampire was released. A few years after the CDs came out, Wizards of the Coast made the first two CDs available as online browser games. Unfortunately, they have since been taken down.

I actually owned the Werewolf CD and let me tell you, doing Choose Your Own Adventure by having to manually forward to specific audio tracks is not as fun as simply turning pages or clicking the corresponding number.

Originally, I had found the Vampire CD that I was going to make available. While researching this post, I found The Collection Chamber's post which includes a download of Vampire, Werewolf, and the FMV Vampire game! Because the game is so old, it runs in DOSbox to simulate Windows 3.1. I tested it and while I got it to install and run, I found I wasn't able to make choices for the live action part. It's still a fun, cheesy watch.

 

If you visit the site above and scroll down there's a Download link just before the screenshots. In the top left corner, click Download then Download as zip. Extract the file and run the exe. From the start menu, if you select Extras, it will take you to the Vampire and Werewolf audio games. 

If you don't feel like downloading, you can watch the full video on YouTube.

Click the image to see the full list of Countdown to Halloween blogs!

 

Choose Your Own Indiana Jones Adventure (Find Your Fate)

Maybe role-playing games aren't your thing, maybe you don't like complicated rules, or can't strong arm enough of your friends to sit down to play. Maybe you don't have any friends (it's ok, we've all been there). There was still another way you could go on a globe trotting archeology adventure aside from, you know, actually going outside to play: the Find Your Fate series of books! 

Image from the Indiana Jones Wiki

As a pre-teen, the Choose Your Own Adventure books had a big imapct on me. Over the years I'd try out any CYOA style book series that came along. When you add a pop culture icon to that style of storytelling, you've got an instant buy from me!

Book Report - You Are (Not) Deadpool

 Thanks to NetGalley and the cool kids at Aconyte Books, I was lucky enough to get a review copy of one of the upcoming Marvel Multiverse Mission Adventures Gamebooks. Whew, say that five times fast! This copy was provided for free in exchange for my honest review.

While Marvel Gamebooks are new for Aconyte, they've put out 20 Marvel fiction novels to date with more on the way. I haven't read any of them yet but there are a pair of Doctor Doom books I've got my eye on.

You may ask yourself, what is a Multiverse Mission Adventure Gamebook? First, I'd say you've got a very wordy brain. Second, it's like a Choose Your Own Adventure but with dice and note taking.

Choose Your Own IT Adventure

Just to set expectations, the IT in the post title is indeed Information Technology. There are no murderous clowns or spiders from outer space in this post.

I've had this for awhile and never got around to sharing it. It all started back in BC (Before Corona) when I was talking to one of my managers in his office. I happened to see just enough of the book corner sticking out from a pile of books and papers to know it was a CYOA book. At first I thought it was a parody because it didn't look or sound like a typical CYOA book.

When I (excitedly) asked what it was he said I could take it as it was just a promo item he got at a tech trade show. As I started looking at it, there was no doubt it was an official book after seeing the ChooseCo logo. What a cool way to promote your company!

Here is the back cover text:

Palo Alto Networks next-generation firewalls provide a security architecture that protects, scales and evolves with data center needs. Our firewalls are designed to safely enable applications by user, application and content without compromising performance. We support physical, virtualized and mixed-mode date center environments, with consistent next-generation firewall features managed with a single centralized management platform.

There's also mention of a secret online ending but since the book is around 8 years old, that page no longer comes up with anything.

I think my favorite thing about the book is this Books You May Have Missed section. CYOA fans will no doubt recognize the original inspirations for some of these tech parody titles.

So, what's the book about? You take the role of a network Security Architect at a pharmaceutical company that is on the verge of going public. Sounds like a thrilling adventure, right?

Your day starts off noticing network traffic from R&D is being routed to Georgia (the country) and from there your choices begin.

You can try to chase down the mysterious R&D network traffic.

You could end up giving a presentation to the Chief Information Security Office about Palo Alto firewalls, which would have prevented the whole R&D data thing to begin with.

You may find yourself heading off to the Amazon to find out what happened to another tech that was going to visit the company's latest acquisition.

It's not all as boring as you think it might be, but then some of it is. My first run through followed the Amazon plot and it was fun. The corporate stuff, not so much and I don't know if someone that isn't into IT would even enjoy those parts.

For the heck of it, I checked eBay for this book and if the current listings are to be believed, it's on the rarer side. I couldn't find any completed auctions but there are two for sale right now, both asking over $70!

Choose Your Own Adventure - The Game

No matter how I old I get, there will always be a little rush of nostalgia any time I see a Choose Your Adventure (CYOA) cover. So when Z-Man Games put out a CYOA game, there was no question that I'd be checking it out.

As you can see, they didn't mess with success and stuck with the iconic cover design. The box comes packed with a lot of cards which I'll discuss as I explain the game part. The worst thing about the game is the box insert that's supposed to keep everything organized. If I weren't a collector minded person, I would just toss it out and put everything in Ziploc bags.

I should note that although this is billed as a "cooperative adventure game" adaptation of a CYOA book, it plays the same solo or with a group.

The basic story is that you are detective and psychic investigator that has been having  recurring nightmares that lead you to said house. Your mission is to get to the bottom of these visions!

Playing the game is like reading the book. You start with the chapter one card and then follow your choice to the indicated number card. The story is broken down into five chapters which provides good places to stop if you don't have time to do it all in one sitting. Each chapter has it's own deck of story and clue cards to go with it.

Story cards

Just like a CYOA book, the cards offer you choices during the story. But there are a few additions that make it more interesting than just reading aloud. Some parts of the story have challenges (upper right) that have to be overcome. There are different items you can find on your journey, represented by clue cards, that might help with certain challenges. The icon on the bottom of the saber below shows that it gives you +2 in fighting challenges.

Clue cards

As you play through the story, you'll be instructed to adjust your psychic scale and the danger meter. To take on a challenge, you roll a die and have to roll equal to or greater than your current danger meter level. As the game goes on, the danger meter creeps upward, making it harder and harder to beat any challenges. If the danger meter gets to the top, you reduce your psychic score by 2 and reset the danger level to where the arrow points.

Your psychic level can help you out during the story by allowing you to discover things, giving you additional story choices, or even premonitions!

If you remember anything about CYOA books, it's probably that you died (or failed) a lot. I know when I used to read these I always kept one finger on the page before turning to the next section in case I made a bad choice. Here, a premature ending will reduce your psychic score and let you pick up at the previous story. Death is only a minor setback.

I played through the first chapter on my own and had a pretty good time with the additional mechanics. I especially liked the clue cards which give you a physical representation of your item inventory. The danger meter can make you feel like the game is stacked against you as it creeps higher but it eventually resets itself.

This is made as a party game and I could see it being fun with a few more people to share the experience. If you grew up with CYOA, I'd say it's definitely worth checking out. It will hit all the nostalgia buttons for you from the box cover to the card art on down to the font used on the cards, this is CYOA. The only "downside" for me is that it is more of a game because you have to have a play area so it's not something you can pick up off the nightstand for a quick adventure before bed. But I could always just pick up a book or two for that.

You could just as easily get a couple CYOA books and read them aloud as a party game. The extra game elements do make this something different and give you more options but I don't see it as something I'd return to once I finish it. More than likely, I'd skip the game parts and just read through the cards like I was reading a CYOA book to explore the possible choices.

House of Danger retails for $25. In stores so far I've only found it at Target. It's also available online at retailers like Amazon.

Choose Your Own Erotic Adventure?

While browsing Amazon a few weeks ago, the "customers who bought this also bought" section totally blew my mind when I saw an adult Choose Your Own Adventure (CYOA) inspired book. Having had an almost life-long history with CYOA books, I naturally had to find out more.

"You’re young, adventurous, and horny. And you have the day off. Outside your door, a world of possibility awaits; all you need to do is decide what –and who—you want to do. In your quest for love you’ll traverse catacombs while fending off vampires, outwit a seductive spy aboard Air Force One, tangle with a lecherous ghost, and even travel to Hell and back. Make the wrong decision and you’ll end up in a casket. Choose wisely, however, and you might get laid and still make it home in time to feed your cat."

I'm thinking this sounds like a Leisure Suit Larry adventure, could be fun to check out. This page, of course, leads to another "customers who bought" section that had even more adult CYOA books. And not just a handful (no pun intended), there are a ridiculous number of titles crossing into every genre!

Author Callista Hawkes has a few that sound like porn parodies...

Stroken? This must be high caliber literature. I probably would have gone with something like Shaven, Not Spurned but I guess I can see where they were going.

Then there's some that get into a very specific fetish...

"Step into the backyard fighting zone - a small circle of grass where the crowd has gathered to watch you box. Today you're the hero of a choose your own adventure erotic boxing story - the world's first and probably only male/female interactive erotic boxing novel."

First, and probably last, erotic boxing novel I'm guessing.

Shon Richards has the Choose Your Own Pleasure series.

"You are a normal woman just trying to get a good night’s sleep but one strange light in the sky later, you find yourself on board an alien spaceship. Creepy aliens want to do weird experiments with your private parts! Fearsome robots want to keep you from escaping! Something with tentacles wants to do something really nasty with you! Mysterious Men in Black assure you that none of these sensations are real! Wait, maybe you have something that you want to do to your fellow human captives?"

As you keep going down the rabbit hole of similar books you start getting into Fifty Shades type stuff and this is a family-friendly blog so the bus is going to stop here. If you've got some holiday Amazon cash burning a hole in your pocket, you can click on any of the covers to purchase them. And if you do, please come back and tell me about it.

Kickstart(er) My Heart

I'm afraid Kickstarter is starting to become an addiction for me. When I see something cool that's $20 or less, I rarely pause to think about it. Boom, pledged! Before I start looking for a support group, I wanted to shine the spotlight on a couple of projects.

The first one is from a series I'm sure many of you are familiar with...

There are some things from your childhood that much such an impact on you that you never grow out of them. I have a very strong memory of sitting on the cement steps outside my apartment building and showing my friend this amazing book I got at the library. It was The Cave of Time, the very first CYOA book. I've loved reading ever since I can remember but having a book where you could not only change the story but go back and re-read it to make different choices was mind blowing!

I checked out a lot of those books over the years. Eventually I "graduated" to gamebook series like Fighting Fantasy and Lone Wolf  which had basic game mechanics that involved rolling dice or choosing a random number to test your character's skills and make it feel more like a game. The Lone Wolf series is a particular favorite of mine as you played an evolving character throughout a continuing story.

This Kickstarter is aimed at a much younger audience and is mostly animated. I know some of you out there have kids and probably have fond memories of CYOA books. I think this is a great first step to get kids hooked on the idea of interactive fiction. And when they get older, the can move on to the books, or the iBook versions if they can't put the iPad down.

Check out Choose Toons!

The second project, called Mystery Box, I only found out about today thanks to a banner ad on the Axe Cop site. Also, if you're not watching Axe Cop Saturday nights, do it!



If you've frequented this blog long enough, you know I love posting vintage mail order ads from the comic books of yesteryear. The book Mystery Box supposes those ads actually deliver on the promises they made. But it turns out not everything is fun and games.

This project has some really neat bonus stuff available. Not only can you get the book itself but you can also get a copy of the fictional comic the kid in the book finds the mail order ads in. Whoa, meta! There's also some spiffy t-shirts with ad inspired artwork. The book, and comic, are available in print and digital format. If you've got an extra $95 burning a hole in your pocket, you can even get yourself drawn into one of the comic ads!

They've already hit their goal, if they make another $500 everyone that gets their reward shipped to them will get a free hovercraft schematic poster. And if they do another $500 on top of that, free Alien Eye t-shirts!

Fighting Fantasy Hits the Big 3-0

If you're a nerdy kid of the '80s/'90s you were probably introduced to the Choose Your Own Adventure series of books. I know I couldn't get enough of them when I discovered them in the local library. That's what we did back in them pre-internet days, we rode our bikes to go to a big building with lots of books that you could borrow.

In 1982, the Fighting Fantasy series of  solo RPG books made their debut and I was hooked. It added a simple dice-based combat system to give the story more of an interactive gaming feel. I dont' recall exactly, but I suspect these books were the bridge that got me to check out D&D while still in middle school.

Over the years, some of the books have been turned into computer and board games. In 2002 and again in 2009, Wizard Books began republishing the original books alongside new stories to keep the line going. To keep up with those mythical Joneses, some of the books have been turned into apps for your mobile device as well.

The entire series has fantastic covers like this in the US

August 27th marks the 30th Anniversary of the release of the first book, Warlock of Firetop Mountain. As part of the celebration, original series co-creator/author Ian Livingstone has just released his latest entry in several years: Blood of the Zombies. It will also be e-released on August 27th as an app for iOS and Android. Unfortunately for us Yanks, Blood of the Zombies is only currently available through Amazon UK.

While it looks different, it does resemble the original series covers that were published in the UK

I'm very happy to see something I greatly enjoyed in my childhood is still going strong. In a time when kids are more likely to pick up a control pad to get immeresed in a story, it's nice to see the series make the jump into the 21st century in e-format.

The site MCVUK has a great  interview with Ian Livingstone.
I also highly recommend the You Chose Wrong Tumblr.
May Your Stamina Never Fail is doing series book reviews.

Visit the Official Fighting Fantasy site and follow them on Twitter and Facebook for updates.

The League: When I Was 12

The League of Extraordinary Bloggers is celebrating its 12th week with an interesting challenge.

Grab Rufus and head to the phone booth, because this week, we’re going back in time! Dial up the year you turned 12, and revisit the last official year of your “childhood.”

While posts to the weekly topics are always varied, I think this week will be especially interesting because we weren't all 12 at the same time...well, I'm guessing most of us weren't. By the way, if you didn't get the "Grab Rufus and head to the phone booth" reference above, you need to see Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure!