I succumbed to nostalgia and re-read Return to Brookmere (1982), mostly because of Tim Truman’s interior art, though Elmore’s cover is fine. I…like this way more than I remember.

Like Dungeon of Dread, this is a pretty straight dungeon crawl in pursuit of treasure, so, like, we’re not looking for an earth shattering narrative about the human condition or anything. But for what it is, it is pretty clever. For starters there are no good endings. Rather, any ending in which you escape is counted as a good ending. Which is super interesting for a gamebook – it puts the focus of the book on what you do in the story, not what you are hoping to achieve at the end of it.

Another thing: there is clearly a big boss, the were-rat king (he’s on the cover), but I’ll be damned if I can find a way to meet him or fight him. He seems to just exist in the world, out of your reach. And I absolutely love that.

Also, there is a gelatinous cube with an orc skeleton inside. Absolutely classic. Maybe I am being too hard on Endless Quest…