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Dungeons & Dragons: Endless Quest #8
Villains of Volturnus
The reader faces the deadly dangers of the mystery planet Volturnus with only the electronic Compu-pal Ting as a companion.
157 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 1983
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116 people want to read
About the author
Jean Blashfield Black
14 books4 followersJean Blashfield Black
See also: Jean F. Blashfield
See also: Jean F. Blashfield
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
November 21, 2016
While continuing my Choose Your Own Adventure review saga I found myself in the mood for sci-fi, so it was a perfect time to turn to an old favorite of mine, Villains of Volturnus!
Unlike many of the Endless Quest series of CYOA styled books, V of V did not rely on the Dungeons & Dragons game system as a basis world for the book's characters to inhabit. No, instead they went with Star Frontiers. Basically it's the same as D&D, but science fictiony.
In V of V you are a (somewhat androgynous, as per usual) youth traveling with your praying mantis-like tutor Jac and Ting, your personal computer with a personality. The story begins with the ship you are in crashing through Volturnus' atmosphere. You are told to exit the ship immediately and must decide to go with or without your tutor. We'd better go before it's too late!!! --->>>
1) In my first adventure I jumped into a rescue/escape pod immediately without my tutor Jac. Ha! I found an Ouroboros (the snake that eats its own tail) loop right off in which, if you choose to, you could stay with your pod infinitely night after night waiting to be saved. I did not wish to reread the same pages ad infinitum, so instead, I wandered off and ended up finding a time machine. I didn't get to use it much before an annoyed blob told me I was not and should not be in existence on Volturnus' surface, so it sent me home.
2) The next go round I accompanied my tutor. We landed on the planet, investigated the area, found weird little creatures, and came across the time machine again. This time we foiled some pirates and saved the day, huzzah!
3) I was getting bored of futzing around, so this time Jac and I jumped on a hovercycle and took off to check out the planet. In a fun twist, my tutor turned out to be an impostor! I made an escape and ran into a long-eyelashed novepus (nine-legged octopus type creature) herding some flightless birds. She connects our minds with one of her tentacles and I (I mean me, not the character) feel repulsed yet oddly aroused…It's sort of like watching weird Japanese porn. Huh. Anywhooo, she takes me back to her people's village where there is a welcoming ceremony and the elders decide what to do with me. It's all very Native American.
4) Curious to see where this apparent kidnapping scenario would lead, I went along with the stranger on my next adventure. I was taken to and held captive at a rock palace of sorts in some hills. I sat around waiting/hoping my dad would rescue me. This is a long, slow section, which gave me time to reflect on how these Endless Quest books are more involved (Mature? Yeah, I guess so) than actual CYOAs. Maybe there's fewer endings in the EQs, but the passages are longer, which gives the story a chance to breathe. That's kinda nice. Back to the story! So, I turned into a hologram of the kidnappers' boss, trick the guards, radio for help and get rescued by daddy.
This is pretty fun, but rereading it (about 30 years after the last time!) brought back a feeling I had as a kid. I didn't like the kidnapping plot which runs throughout many of the story lines. Kids don't read fantasy so they can escape into a world in which they are at the mercy of adults. Too many of the endings ended with me being chastised for not obeying adults. Even today, as a boring middle-aged man, I raise my fist in solidarity with repressed youth everywhere and shout some ineffectual and absolutely un-profound slogan like, "We're not gonna take it!" or "Another brick in the wall, you fascists!" There, that'll show 'em!
Unlike many of the Endless Quest series of CYOA styled books, V of V did not rely on the Dungeons & Dragons game system as a basis world for the book's characters to inhabit. No, instead they went with Star Frontiers. Basically it's the same as D&D, but science fictiony.
In V of V you are a (somewhat androgynous, as per usual) youth traveling with your praying mantis-like tutor Jac and Ting, your personal computer with a personality. The story begins with the ship you are in crashing through Volturnus' atmosphere. You are told to exit the ship immediately and must decide to go with or without your tutor. We'd better go before it's too late!!! --->>>
1) In my first adventure I jumped into a rescue/escape pod immediately without my tutor Jac. Ha! I found an Ouroboros (the snake that eats its own tail) loop right off in which, if you choose to, you could stay with your pod infinitely night after night waiting to be saved. I did not wish to reread the same pages ad infinitum, so instead, I wandered off and ended up finding a time machine. I didn't get to use it much before an annoyed blob told me I was not and should not be in existence on Volturnus' surface, so it sent me home.
2) The next go round I accompanied my tutor. We landed on the planet, investigated the area, found weird little creatures, and came across the time machine again. This time we foiled some pirates and saved the day, huzzah!
3) I was getting bored of futzing around, so this time Jac and I jumped on a hovercycle and took off to check out the planet. In a fun twist, my tutor turned out to be an impostor! I made an escape and ran into a long-eyelashed novepus (nine-legged octopus type creature) herding some flightless birds. She connects our minds with one of her tentacles and I (I mean me, not the character) feel repulsed yet oddly aroused…It's sort of like watching weird Japanese porn. Huh. Anywhooo, she takes me back to her people's village where there is a welcoming ceremony and the elders decide what to do with me. It's all very Native American.
4) Curious to see where this apparent kidnapping scenario would lead, I went along with the stranger on my next adventure. I was taken to and held captive at a rock palace of sorts in some hills. I sat around waiting/hoping my dad would rescue me. This is a long, slow section, which gave me time to reflect on how these Endless Quest books are more involved (Mature? Yeah, I guess so) than actual CYOAs. Maybe there's fewer endings in the EQs, but the passages are longer, which gives the story a chance to breathe. That's kinda nice. Back to the story! So, I turned into a hologram of the kidnappers' boss, trick the guards, radio for help and get rescued by daddy.
This is pretty fun, but rereading it (about 30 years after the last time!) brought back a feeling I had as a kid. I didn't like the kidnapping plot which runs throughout many of the story lines. Kids don't read fantasy so they can escape into a world in which they are at the mercy of adults. Too many of the endings ended with me being chastised for not obeying adults. Even today, as a boring middle-aged man, I raise my fist in solidarity with repressed youth everywhere and shout some ineffectual and absolutely un-profound slogan like, "We're not gonna take it!" or "Another brick in the wall, you fascists!" There, that'll show 'em!
January 30, 2023
This was another delightful find through a used bookstore that let me reconnect with the younger me. When I was a kid I had a core group of pencil and paper RPGs I loved. Star Frontiers was was one of them. Loooooved that game. The Endless Quest books were usually D&D oriented, which was great, but I loved this one too. It captured the sci-fi essence of Star Frontiers, down to Volturnus being such a big part of of the game to the four core races (Dralasite, Vrusk, Yazirian, and Human).
Re-reading it was an absolute pleasure. The story was simple, kid friendly without being sappy and had good stretches of narrative action, while still having plenty of parts to choose. The art is quite enjoyable. My current brain remembered some of the images from when I read it as a teen.
This second-hand book I got from the internet now has a good home and I look forward to pulling it out periodically to return to some adventures on this alien planet with its nine-tentacled, telepathic aliens.
Re-reading it was an absolute pleasure. The story was simple, kid friendly without being sappy and had good stretches of narrative action, while still having plenty of parts to choose. The art is quite enjoyable. My current brain remembered some of the images from when I read it as a teen.
This second-hand book I got from the internet now has a good home and I look forward to pulling it out periodically to return to some adventures on this alien planet with its nine-tentacled, telepathic aliens.
July 20, 2016
Welcome to an endless quest!
You are about to embark as Kyiki, a young child (who could give Undertale's hero a run in terms of a gender-neutral appearance) who is about to crash land upon a strange planet. Will you survive in the wilderness you find yourself in? Will your rich, yet distant Father attempt to rescue you? Or will you succumb to the dangers all around you?
How could anyone not love this? How? This thing is great.
This book includes time-travel, space pirates, giant squid-jellyfish hybrids, evil mining corporations, an insectoid alien who just so happens to be your tutor/overseer, and numerous opportunities to completely disrespect the alien societies you find yourself in like the tactless person you've always been tempted to be.
(I WAS THIRSTY FOR AGUA, OKAY?)
This book is an absolute blast. I've always loved choose-your-own adventure books, and I was proud to find this one on sale in a used library for a quarter or two. Highly recommend reading it aloud to others for maximum hilarity and enjoyment.
10/10, would choose again.
You are about to embark as Kyiki, a young child (who could give Undertale's hero a run in terms of a gender-neutral appearance) who is about to crash land upon a strange planet. Will you survive in the wilderness you find yourself in? Will your rich, yet distant Father attempt to rescue you? Or will you succumb to the dangers all around you?
How could anyone not love this? How? This thing is great.
This book includes time-travel, space pirates, giant squid-jellyfish hybrids, evil mining corporations, an insectoid alien who just so happens to be your tutor/overseer, and numerous opportunities to completely disrespect the alien societies you find yourself in like the tactless person you've always been tempted to be.
(I WAS THIRSTY FOR AGUA, OKAY?)
This book is an absolute blast. I've always loved choose-your-own adventure books, and I was proud to find this one on sale in a used library for a quarter or two. Highly recommend reading it aloud to others for maximum hilarity and enjoyment.
10/10, would choose again.
May 17, 2022
A silly sci-fi Choose Your Own Adventure romp. Found at a neighborhood Little Free Library (which made me wish it included a prior owner tag!) it is a light-hearted middle grade book. It is by no means fantastic literature but it is what it sets out to be.
Plus, I'll always be a sucker for an Elmore cover.
Plus, I'll always be a sucker for an Elmore cover.
May 21, 2023
I had never read this TSR “Choose Your Own Adventure”-style novel based on “Star Frontiers” before, although I read many of the “Endless Quest” series back when I was young enough to be, or close to, the target audience. This one seems really distant from its ostensible source material, not least because no one plays a middle-school-aged child in “Star Frontiers.” It always seemed to me that most of the series missed the point of role-playing by not having the protagonist be the kind of adult adventurer that fans of the game would actually create as characters. But in this case, it seems especially egregious – this adventure could take place in almost any universe, without really needing the minimal trappings of “Star Frontiers” that results from some character at least being identifiable races (Vrusk, Sathar, Yazirians, Dralasites) established in that game.
I’ve only played it through a couple of times, and like a lot of these it seems like there are only a few important decision points. One time I had a pretty extensive adventure, by taking what seemed like the most adventurous paths without doing anything obviously stupid. The next, I made fairly boring decisions and had a predictably boring story. Not surprising, but not terribly engaging either.
I’ve only played it through a couple of times, and like a lot of these it seems like there are only a few important decision points. One time I had a pretty extensive adventure, by taking what seemed like the most adventurous paths without doing anything obviously stupid. The next, I made fairly boring decisions and had a predictably boring story. Not surprising, but not terribly engaging either.
July 1, 2009
You play a young man stranded on an alien planet with a computer to talk to. You can go in circles in thsi one, where a choice leads you to a second choice which leads you to a third which can lead you back to the first choice again. I can't decide if that is a good or bad thing, but it can make ofr some silly plots, as you lose your comptuer than myteriously gain it back.
September 28, 2013
Making the "right" decision will have you reading in circles. On my first attempt, I unwittingly ended up with a happy ending. It shouldn't be so easy, so I tried to make all the stupid choices I could and still ended up up with another bland happy ending. Managed to get killed once. I remember these as being a lot more fun.
December 13, 2010
Anybody remember the choose your own adventure books? As a teenager, I read and reread this one until I had it memorized. It was a little hokey and definitely *not* for anyone over the age of 16. (Ahh, Star Frontiers... and those crazy ten-sided dice!)
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews