Tenopia Island

Escape from Tenopia #1

by Edward Packard, David Perry (Illustrator)

Vintage paperback

Genres: Young Adult

133 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

About the author

Edward Packard attended and graduated from both Princeton University and Columbia Law School. He was one of the first authors to explore the idea of gamebooks, in which the reader is inserted as the main character and makes choices about the direction the story will go at designated places in the text.

The first such book that Edward Packard wrote in the Choose Your Own Adventure series was titled "Sugarcane Island", but it was not actually published as the first entry in the Choose Your Own Adventure Series. In 1979, the first book to be released in the series was "The Cave of Time", a fantasy time-travel story that remained in print for many years. Eventually, one hundred eighty-four Choose Your Own Adventure books would be published before production on new entries to the series ceased in 1998. Edward Packard was the author of many of these books, though a substantial number of other authors were included as well.

In 2005, Choose Your Own Adventure books once again began to be published, but none of Edward Packard's titles have yet been included among the newly-released books.

Reviews

[Weathervane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not half bad. I think the one big problem with "gamier" gamebooks like this one is that there's a lot less attention paid to the characters and story. The writing effort has clearly been directed towards the interactive element. Sometimes this turns out rather poorly, as in the case of Fighting Fantasy, a series whose formula I am not fond of -- but in Tenopia Island it works well, mainly because Edward Packard seems to have an instinctive understanding of what makes a gamebook satisfying to the reader. The author simply has to play fair. In so many gamebooks I've read, death is always one unlucky choice away, but Packard almost always gives you clues as to which choice is best. When reading an Edward Packard book, an attentive reader can usually discern the difference between a path that will lead to his death, and a path that will lead to victory. The best part of Tenopia Island is that Packard left out death entirely this go around. The challenge lies in successfully finding one's way around the island, using maps and a variety of clues given to him by the local inhabitants and the surroundings.

It's a game, and it has challenge, but it's fun rather than frustrating. That's what I like to play.

[Remo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Primero de la serie de Tenopia. Los autores de esta serie de cuatro libros sobre la fuga de Tenopia escribían también libros de la serie de Elige tu propia aventura, y estos cuatro juntos no son más que una versión hormonada de cualquiera de aquellos. Hay un reino de fantasía con monarquía amenazada, hay buenos, hay malos, hay aventura y peligro. Estándar. En su día me gustaron los cuatro que componen esta serie y su tetralogía hermana, la fuga de Frome

[Vishnu Brahmandam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I suddenly remembered how many Choose Your Own Adventure books I'd read as a kid and tried to find any copies online. I found out that Edward Packard authored many of them. Then I found a copy of "Tenopia Island".
Pretty nostalgic. :)

[Benjamin Stahl · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the best, most challenging and sophisticated CYOA books I have read so far.

[Trent · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun, but there needed to be way more illustrations in the book.

[Tizzz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like it

[Cassey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I made some pretty good decisions here!