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Stray Thoughts: A Psychological Horror Game Book
This book is only suitable for 15 and over
For as long as you can remember, you have had a voice in your head that forces you to say and do things of an offensive and violent nature. You’ve tried to resist it, but when you do, the urges just seem to grow stronger, until eventually you lose complete control and those around you pay the price. Because of this, it has been difficult for you to hold down a job or stay in the same town for too long. Only recently you found a way to silence the voice, by acting as a vigilante, hunting and murdering criminals to satiate its hunger for mayhem. So far this seems to have worked for you, but things are about to change. A supernatural force is awakening on the streets; one that links to the origin of your condition, and the only way to face it may be to give in to the voice entirely. The question is, do you have the strength to face these enemies and come back from the brink or will the goodness in you be lost forever.
In the day, play through a number of real-life scenarios in and outside work. Choose when to avoid a situation, when to try to be diplomatic or when to give in to that voice in your head. Be careful though, because every time you deny the voice it will grow that much stronger until you eventually lose control, and depending where you are at the time, this could have serious consequences. Then by night, use your skills of observation and deduction to locate serial killers, kidnappers, rapists and thieves.
For as long as you can remember, you have had a voice in your head that forces you to say and do things of an offensive and violent nature. You’ve tried to resist it, but when you do, the urges just seem to grow stronger, until eventually you lose complete control and those around you pay the price. Because of this, it has been difficult for you to hold down a job or stay in the same town for too long. Only recently you found a way to silence the voice, by acting as a vigilante, hunting and murdering criminals to satiate its hunger for mayhem. So far this seems to have worked for you, but things are about to change. A supernatural force is awakening on the streets; one that links to the origin of your condition, and the only way to face it may be to give in to the voice entirely. The question is, do you have the strength to face these enemies and come back from the brink or will the goodness in you be lost forever.
In the day, play through a number of real-life scenarios in and outside work. Choose when to avoid a situation, when to try to be diplomatic or when to give in to that voice in your head. Be careful though, because every time you deny the voice it will grow that much stronger until you eventually lose control, and depending where you are at the time, this could have serious consequences. Then by night, use your skills of observation and deduction to locate serial killers, kidnappers, rapists and thieves.
297 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 22, 2024
About the author
Joseph Daniels
18 books6 followersMy background is mainly in theatre and film, where I originally pursued careers in acting, directing, producing, editing and screen writing. Most of this work was writing screenplays for independent companies, some of which were made into low budget films and others which remained on the page.
Eventually after settling down with my partner, I left the theatrical life behind and decided to concentrate my efforts on writing fantasy novels. In time this reignited my passion for all things fantasy, including the fighting fantasy books from the 80s and led to me discovering my true calling in writing game books.
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Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review
July 20, 2026
Stray Thoughts by Joseph Daniels - 600 entries
All of the books of Joseph Daniels are great. He is probably the creator of the most intricate and well thought out gamebooks that I've ever come across. All of his books really push the genre and given just how superb the previous The Ghosts of Greenwood Asylum is, I'm massively surprised that he's not edited it to make it a standalone and used it as a teaser marketing book, because at 200 entries it really shows off his talents.
Regarding Stray Thoughts, though. This is as painstakingly constructed as the rest of his books, which is no surprise. You have story altering events to note, a numerical table for suspect descriptions and an involved combat system that gives you more agency in fighting than just rolling dice and hoping for the best. Having different endings, rather than the one adds replayability as well as a level of maturity beyond simply winning or not.
Whilst the depth of the book is no surprise, the ostensible subject matter was, though. It's the apparently mundane task of not losing one's temper as you bimble on through the day. There is a twist to this, because should you lose control some REALLY unpleasant things happen to people. Hence there's a balancing act between letting off just enough steam to release pressure, but not acting like the chap in that old Spectrum game, How to be a complete B*stard and just causing mayhem.
However, the further you progress in the book the more this premise alters and the directions it goes in are so much more than what you would have initially expected. What begins as something I found quite depressing, actually turned out to be far more interesting. There is an excellent level of world building here that all comes together very well (picture The Stranger Things books world by the comedian CK McDonnell) and you really do get the feel that there is a world of things occurring at the margins of the real world.
I really enjoyed one of the baddies having their own dungeon, which is pleasingly described as a death trap dungeon. Grim Shakespearean was another nice nod to a game book. Similarly the fountain pen incident was a lovely call back to Casino. I think it's great when authors chuck in easter eggs like these.
I initially put off buying this book because it sounded so cheerless and depressing. The reality is very different and perhaps if the marketing had reflected this more obviously, then I'd have bought it yonks ago. This book is well worth a buy.
All of the books of Joseph Daniels are great. He is probably the creator of the most intricate and well thought out gamebooks that I've ever come across. All of his books really push the genre and given just how superb the previous The Ghosts of Greenwood Asylum is, I'm massively surprised that he's not edited it to make it a standalone and used it as a teaser marketing book, because at 200 entries it really shows off his talents.
Regarding Stray Thoughts, though. This is as painstakingly constructed as the rest of his books, which is no surprise. You have story altering events to note, a numerical table for suspect descriptions and an involved combat system that gives you more agency in fighting than just rolling dice and hoping for the best. Having different endings, rather than the one adds replayability as well as a level of maturity beyond simply winning or not.
Whilst the depth of the book is no surprise, the ostensible subject matter was, though. It's the apparently mundane task of not losing one's temper as you bimble on through the day. There is a twist to this, because should you lose control some REALLY unpleasant things happen to people. Hence there's a balancing act between letting off just enough steam to release pressure, but not acting like the chap in that old Spectrum game, How to be a complete B*stard and just causing mayhem.
However, the further you progress in the book the more this premise alters and the directions it goes in are so much more than what you would have initially expected. What begins as something I found quite depressing, actually turned out to be far more interesting. There is an excellent level of world building here that all comes together very well (picture The Stranger Things books world by the comedian CK McDonnell) and you really do get the feel that there is a world of things occurring at the margins of the real world.
I really enjoyed one of the baddies having their own dungeon, which is pleasingly described as a death trap dungeon. Grim Shakespearean was another nice nod to a game book. Similarly the fountain pen incident was a lovely call back to Casino. I think it's great when authors chuck in easter eggs like these.
I initially put off buying this book because it sounded so cheerless and depressing. The reality is very different and perhaps if the marketing had reflected this more obviously, then I'd have bought it yonks ago. This book is well worth a buy.
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