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Dungeons & Dragons: Endless Quest #13
Dragon of Doom
The reader's decisions will determine whether Morgan, a young magician, can defeat the evil sorcerer, Zed, and the black dragon he has conjured up
157 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 1983
2 people are currently reading
156 people want to read
About the author
Rose Estes
51 books57 followersRose Estes is the author of many fantasy and science fiction books, including full length novels and multiple choice gamebooks. After contributing extensively to TSR, Inc.'s Dungeons and Dragons Endless Quest series (of which she wrote the first six, as well as others later down the line), she wrote her first full length novel, Children of the Dragon (1985). She continued to write for TSR by writing six volumes in a series of Greyhawk novels. She contributed to other series, but continued to write books and start series of her own that, like Children of the Dragon, take place in a fantasy or science fiction world created by her own imagination. She also wrote the Golden Book Music Video Sing, Giggle and Grin.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
June 5, 2020
I used to read the Endless Quest books as a kid. I recently got a copy thanks to my local HPB. (Love those guys). Anyway, it was cool to read again because it was a time capsule and really enjoyable. Yes, it's geared towards kids, but I still find the choose-your-own-adventure format very appealing. It was old-school D&D (when they called the wizards and such "magic-users").
The best part is I can go back to it, read it again, make different choices and still have fun.
The best part is I can go back to it, read it again, make different choices and still have fun.
May 15, 2018
Una trepidante historia en la que te ves tentado de usar el Anillo de los Deseos de tu tío Zed, hacer como que no te ha visto una hidra, lanzar un repugnante hechizo de la Araña Trepadora y vencer al Dragón Negro gracias a un semidragón japonés de mierda que va en tu party.
Emoción asegurada, 100% recomendable.
Emoción asegurada, 100% recomendable.
February 19, 2018
Another decent entry in an old series. There were a good number of different endings, and the way the book is written it's much harder to "cheat" because the choice page you turn to often has a "turn to this page" at the end so you have to mark extra pages. The story itself is a good one, and in a first for a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure style books that I've read, it has cut scenes.
September 18, 2016
My enjoyment of this “Endless Quest” choose-your-own-adventure-style book was limited by the book’s weaknesses and also by my own assumptions for many years. The author actually did a better job than I had thought, but I refused to take one of the pathways and thus missed out on a good deal of the book.
The basic story is both typical for the series, but also unusually dark. As is often the case, it is written from the point of view of a young adult male, in this case an apprentice magic user, being sent on his first quest by the elders of his community. However, in this case you are being sent on a mission which involves you with a much more powerful magic user bent on destroying the world by summoning Shen, the Dragon of Doom, whose very passage causes plants to wither and die, and whose breath weapon destroys all life in an area for 100 years. During the course of the adventure, we occasionally get flashes of the ancient mind of Shen, as it wings its way reluctantly to the meeting-point, and these can be very dark indeed.
The structural problem with much of the book is a lack of choices. It’s twelve pages before you get an actual decision (there’s no way to avoid the accident that makes you late to meet Zed, the evil magic user), and then many of the paths are “forced” on you from that point. There are two monsters you fight if you go through the swamp, for example. One of them gives you three choices, two of which result in “go back and choose again,” while the other gives you four choices, two of which allow you to proceed (to the same place), one of which is a “choose again,” and one kills you. This is actually far less satisfying than a more dangerous situation in which death lies around many corners (and is described entertainingly) and successful choices lead to different paths. Another odd thing is that in this same storyline, you have the choice to heal a wounded creature, who promises to go get help, but no choice I found allows you to have that creature return in time. That is a surprising lack of payoff – I assume that an alternate ending got edited for space, and they forgot to edit the setup.
Anyway, then there is my personal oversight. I missed about half of this book for most of my life, because I assumed a decision-point led to a dead end when it didn’t. The first choice you get, after that unavoidable accident, is a choice whether to proceed or to return and admit your failure. I assumed that the second choice would be a dead-end, when in fact it leads to a much more interesting dungeon scenario than the other pathway. In fairness to my adolescent self, I made this assumption because when pretty much the same thing happens in “Mountain of Mirrors,” the result is a dead end, and I may have thought I had read it already, based on that experience. I wonder how many other people literally never read half the book because of this.
Anyway, the book is therefore somewhat better than I thought. When I was a kid, I hardly ever read it, because the “proceed” pathway was so limited and boring. But, I can get some interest out of it now, because there’s a whole line of choices I never made.
The basic story is both typical for the series, but also unusually dark. As is often the case, it is written from the point of view of a young adult male, in this case an apprentice magic user, being sent on his first quest by the elders of his community. However, in this case you are being sent on a mission which involves you with a much more powerful magic user bent on destroying the world by summoning Shen, the Dragon of Doom, whose very passage causes plants to wither and die, and whose breath weapon destroys all life in an area for 100 years. During the course of the adventure, we occasionally get flashes of the ancient mind of Shen, as it wings its way reluctantly to the meeting-point, and these can be very dark indeed.
The structural problem with much of the book is a lack of choices. It’s twelve pages before you get an actual decision (there’s no way to avoid the accident that makes you late to meet Zed, the evil magic user), and then many of the paths are “forced” on you from that point. There are two monsters you fight if you go through the swamp, for example. One of them gives you three choices, two of which result in “go back and choose again,” while the other gives you four choices, two of which allow you to proceed (to the same place), one of which is a “choose again,” and one kills you. This is actually far less satisfying than a more dangerous situation in which death lies around many corners (and is described entertainingly) and successful choices lead to different paths. Another odd thing is that in this same storyline, you have the choice to heal a wounded creature, who promises to go get help, but no choice I found allows you to have that creature return in time. That is a surprising lack of payoff – I assume that an alternate ending got edited for space, and they forgot to edit the setup.
Anyway, then there is my personal oversight. I missed about half of this book for most of my life, because I assumed a decision-point led to a dead end when it didn’t. The first choice you get, after that unavoidable accident, is a choice whether to proceed or to return and admit your failure. I assumed that the second choice would be a dead-end, when in fact it leads to a much more interesting dungeon scenario than the other pathway. In fairness to my adolescent self, I made this assumption because when pretty much the same thing happens in “Mountain of Mirrors,” the result is a dead end, and I may have thought I had read it already, based on that experience. I wonder how many other people literally never read half the book because of this.
Anyway, the book is therefore somewhat better than I thought. When I was a kid, I hardly ever read it, because the “proceed” pathway was so limited and boring. But, I can get some interest out of it now, because there’s a whole line of choices I never made.
July 4, 2017
I came across this book in a box someone had passed our way and decided I'd try it simply because I used to love "Choose Your Own Adventure" books. The format is the same - read through plot elements and, as the main character, face several options on how to advance the story. My first journey through the story involved decisions I would've chosen at each intersection, ending accordingly. Then I went back and, for the sake of curiosity, made alternate decisions to see how other versions of the story would turn out.
This was no better or worse than similar 'choice' books I remember, although I do have a gripe about some editing errors that are present. My rating is three stars rather than two, as I think I probably would've liked it more at a younger age... Although I love children and young adult books, this is not one that aged well in that sense. There's nothing exactly wrong with it, other than arbitrary monsters and elements thrown in just to lengthen the story while doing nothing for plotting... It just failed to be very fulfilling regardless of which course of action I followed.
This was no better or worse than similar 'choice' books I remember, although I do have a gripe about some editing errors that are present. My rating is three stars rather than two, as I think I probably would've liked it more at a younger age... Although I love children and young adult books, this is not one that aged well in that sense. There's nothing exactly wrong with it, other than arbitrary monsters and elements thrown in just to lengthen the story while doing nothing for plotting... It just failed to be very fulfilling regardless of which course of action I followed.
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July 31, 2009Nobody has reviewed thsi thing, so I guess I should.
This book is abotu a boy "magic-user", the D&D word for wizard, who has a tiny pet dragon that he communicates with telepathically. He is supposed to go and get his uncle, another wizard, of of a prison he has been in for a thousand years and bring him home. unfortunately the uncle has escaped on his own and plans on destroying the world using an all powerful dragon.
The parts of this book that involve the plot are interesting. But there is the inevitable "random monster" parts of the book where your character meets a bunch of different random monsters that serve as obstacles (and filler) but don't advance the plot one iota.
This book is abotu a boy "magic-user", the D&D word for wizard, who has a tiny pet dragon that he communicates with telepathically. He is supposed to go and get his uncle, another wizard, of of a prison he has been in for a thousand years and bring him home. unfortunately the uncle has escaped on his own and plans on destroying the world using an all powerful dragon.
The parts of this book that involve the plot are interesting. But there is the inevitable "random monster" parts of the book where your character meets a bunch of different random monsters that serve as obstacles (and filler) but don't advance the plot one iota.
December 13, 2010
A lot of fun if you're under the age of 13 and you can still find a copy in print!
April 29, 2014
This was always my favorite Endless Quest book as a kid. It's still a hoot. : )
November 26, 2015
I escaped an evil innkeeper, tricked a hydra with cheese, charmed a log monster, and reasoned with a grumpy old dragon. This would have been a 5 star book, but the protagonist is mean to a cat.
August 13, 2022
Recuerdo que leí esta serie en paralelo al Elige tu propia a aventura original. Tenía como novedad que había pequeños detalles que lo hacían más parecido a una partida de rol, aunque no tanto como los de la serie de Lucha ficción, por ejemplo. A partir de la primera entrega eran básicamente los de ETPA pero con temática fantástica. Su calidad literaria era tirando a baja pero mantenían el interés y había bastantes finales, por lo que las relecturas daban para muchos ratos dentro de lo que en este tipo de libros era habitual. Entretenidos, sin duda.
January 20, 2024
A young adult "choose-your-own-adventure" type of book that I found in my parent's attic. I seem to remember always dying in these books, but I made it through this time. Dumb luck or the wisdom of being in my fifties?
December 1, 2024
I love these great, old CYOA books... if you don't ask any reasons why. So a new mage who just turned of age gets one of the most important quests right off the bat... alone? Ok. :) It was a fun read though! The characters were interesting enough and I liked the ending we made it to.
July 12, 2019
The dragon of doom with a heart of gold! Made it through to a positive ending first try! Love to choose my own path!
November 20, 2021
Never knew that i could read and get into the quests of the main character. Reader & Player.
March 11, 2022
This gamebook got a little bit of philosophy. It´s good.
I played several times with success.
Good memories from tha past.
It´s a fair game.
I played several times with success.
Good memories from tha past.
It´s a fair game.
December 3, 2016
I tricked a hydra by giving it all my food.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews