Escape the Underdark

Dungeons & Dragons: Endless Quest

by Matt Forbeck, Various (Illustrator)

Welcome to the Forgotten Realms Endless Quest books, where you don’t just read a fantastic tale. You become the hero — and choose your own fate.

You awaken in an underground cell, stripped of your armor and your sword. Your fellow prisoners inform you that you’re trapped in the Underdark, soon to be taken to the great drowcity of Menzoberranzan and sold off as a slave. But word is that demons are stirring in the underworld’s depth. Perhaps you can use that to break free, fighter.

Genres: Fantasy, Choose Your Own Adventure, Dungeons and Dragons, Fiction, Forgotten Realms, Gamebooks, Childrens

128 pages, Paperback

First published August 7, 2018

About the author

I'm an award-winning, New York Times-bestselling author and game designer and happily married father of five, including a set of quadruplets. For more on my work, see Forbeck.com.

Reviews

[Jeffrey Caston · Rating 4 out of 5]

I went into this one with very low expectations. I loved the classic Endless Quest Books as a kid. I figured this newer ones wouldn't measure up.

Well, I was wrong. The story was good. Even though it is geared toward kids. But still, you had to think. If you made dumb choices, you got worked. Badly. And the art... good grief the art in this is GORGEOUS.

Worth a quick afternoon's escapist read, especially if you are a fourth or fifth edition D&D fan.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

#1. Do you like adventure? Are you a treasure hunter trapped in an average Jane or Joe’s body? Go to #3. If not, go to #6

#2. Are you ready to encounter drows, gnomes, orcs, dwarfs, goblins, and huge hairy spiders? Yes? Continue to #5. If this is getting too scary for you, go to #6.

#3. Did you grow up on Choose Your Own Adventure books? Did you ever play Dungeons and Dragons? Do you like fantasy books/ games/ movies? If you answered yes to any of these questions, go to #2. If you’re actually like, kinda-sorta boring, go to #6.

#4. You’re stuck in a dungeon, deep underground. Bound by chains and surrounded by a scary bunch of inmates, you need to decide what to do… Will you try to escape? Will you fight for your freedom? If you want to begin your journey, go to #7. If you are still trying to figure out what end of the sword to hold… Go to #6.

#5. Are you ready to make all the choices? Become a master of your fate? Decide your destiny? Go to #4. If you have better things to do like count tree rings or twist straws and make them do that pop thing, go to #6.

#6. You trip, hit your head, and wake up back in first period Algebra. The End.

#7 Go pick up Matt Forbeck’s Escape the Underdark. It’s a fun trip into nostalgia for some and a new trek into the awesome world of D&D and the Forgotten Realms for others. No matter how you enter the dungeon, you will come out changed. You will be The Fighter!

For all my reviews: https://paulspicks.blog

[Quintin Zimmermann · Rating 3 out of 5]

The "Choose Your Own Adventure" books sold millions of copies in the 1980s and as a child of the 80s, I devoured them.

I can fondly recall the proverbial "five-fingered bookmark" as you grip the book in multiple sections, thus enabling a back step, should your ill-fated choice prove fatal.

Regrettably, this was a short-lived genre that was soon supplanted by video games, but The Lone Wolf series by Joe Dever as well the incomparable Fighting Fantasy series by Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson brings back fond memories.

My daughter is now following my footsteps by playing Dungeons and Dragons, so I was rather excited to share Escape the Underdark with her. Alas, the Kindle version provided is presently incompatible with following the page choices so we are left stranded in that cold, dank cell.

Accordingly, I presently unable to properly review this novel, but hope that this issue is resolved soonest by the publisher. I have tentatively allocated a three star rating so as to enable this post and I hope to return in future with a full, nostalgic laden review.

[Cindy Mitchell *Kiss the Book* · Rating 3 out of 5]

Escape the Underdark by Matt Forbeck, 122 pages. Candlewick Entertainment, 2018. $8.99

Language: G (0 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: G; Violence: PG

BUYING ADVISORY: EL – ADVISABLE

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

You are the main character of this story, and you have a lot of difficult decisions to make as you try to find your way back home from the Underdark. While it may not be easy, your adventure will never be boring as you find the right creatures to ally with and the right creatures to slay before they eat you!

Choose your own adventure books are the video games of literature. This story is compelling as you make escape plans and figure out if you would survive such a predicament. I was surprised how some choices led me in directions I didn’t expect—Forbeck kept me on my toes the whole time.

Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen
https://kissthebookjr.blogspot.com/20...

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love choose your own adventure books...but I am really bad at them. I thought I would have made it through this one pretty easily, considering that I DM the Out of the Abyss campaign, which is the same basic storyline as this book, but nope. I believe I ended up making wrong choices about 5 or 6 times and dying. But I eventually found the right path, and I had such a great time with this adventure.

[Kylie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Partly a nostalgia read, I have fond memories of the choose your own adventure books of my youth, and partly read to test the age suitability of the writing. As a D&D player the writing and flavour did not disappoint.
Suitable for confident readers, moderate d&d violence

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of fun to read and figure out every ending in sequence. Feels like a campaign on paper. I like feeling like the hero of the story. Some great artwork as well.

[Shannon McLean · Rating 4 out of 5]

All manner of Underdark creatures, friendly goblin brothers, and a baby dragon! This book was a lot of fun.

[Angela Blount · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally reviewed for YA Books Central: http://www.yabookscentral.com/yaficti...

Told in second-person present-tense, this fantasy is styled after the beloved choose-your-own-adventure books of yore. It also features a vast array of renowned D&D art, with works ranging from sepia to full color.

As the story opens, readers know two things: that you are a human fighter, and that you’ve been captured and imprisoned by the Drow in the subterranean world of the Underdark. Slavery is in your near future, so escaping is a no-brainer. But how you go about that is your call. Do you resist immediately? Plot with the other captives? Feign being a model prisoner until a good opportunity arises?

The larger print, abundant imagery, and vagueness in regard to violence all culminate to make this material ideally suited to the lower range of Middle Grade. Readers are given no background on the main character in question outside of their class, so it’s easy enough to insert oneself into the storytelling. Fortunately, not all roads lead to a gruesome death! But… a few of them might.

If you, dear reader, are anything like me… you can count on needing at least a half-dozen bookmarks to note the pages you may want to return to if your storyline’s ending strikes you as less than ideal. >.> (Why yes, I did go back and try every single fork in the non-linear option tree. You live your life and I’ll live mine. ;P)

I didn’t enjoy this one quite as much as To Catch A Thief. Primarily because the fact that you are a fighter doesn’t seem to have much bearing on the plot or how things turn out. There’s a lot of running and escaping involved, for which there’s no class or race advantage. And you don’t seem any more likely to stumble upon a positive outcome if you stick to all the possible fighting options.

My primary suggestion for future installments would be the inclusion of a character sheet at the beginning. I think this would help readers with their decision-making, as well as introduce a foundational concept that could later transfer to the tabletop game. (It would also be neat to have a playable character ready-made. Just saying.)

A solid option for reluctant readers, budding D&D fans, and kids who generally appreciate having more engagement and agency in their reading material.

[Gabriele D'Amato · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un ritorno ai primi libri gioco che lessi da bambino: non ci sono regolamenti e meccaniche di gioco particolari. Leggi e fai la tua scelta. Il testo è pensato prettamente per ragazzini: lo si evince dal tipo di scrittura e dalla narrativa. Peccato per i percorsi a volte quasi obbligati, che inficiano negativamente l'andamento della lettura. Il valore aggiunto è sicuramente l'ambientazione di Forgotten Realms.
Carino e piacevole per un'oretta spensierata tra drow, duergar e demogorgone.

[Rajit · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is basically a Choose Your Own Adventure book, based on a Dungeons & Dragons campaign (Out of the Abyss). This book loosely covers the first three chapters of the book, and cuts out around half the NPCs. Pretty fun, but please beware that it could spoil you for the pen & paper game.

[C.E. Crowder · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the 1980s, Edward Packard's CYOA series flew off the shelves with its gimmick about choosing which page to turn to, based on how you'd like to direct the action. The D&D chain cashed in with its Endless Quest series, a limited version of the idea that stuck with the fantasy, dungeon-crawling theme but still successfully ran to nearly fifty books. This was later overshadowed by competitors like Fighting Fantasy that were more elaborate and introduced character generation, a combat system, etc. Eventually all of these ran their course as improved video games cornered the self-directed adventuring market.

My impression is that Matt Forbeck sold a resurrection idea for the Endless Quest series on spec, and now it's being relaunched as four volumes (all written by him) to see if it still has any legs. I've not encountered Mr. Forbeck before, but a bit of research shows he has a strong D&D background so he knows his genre. Reviews suggest he doesn't write well for the adult market, but I think his style suits the target age for this series very well so this may rank among his best work. I caught a logic error and repetition here and there, but the kids won't even notice.

All the hallmarks of the original EQ series are back: more focus on story than choices, with long scenes. Given the entertainment factor hinges on intriguing choice and a variety in story outcomes, this hits the mark. As simple as some of those choices are (e.g. "Fight!", which crops up often since you are the Fighter character, after all), a few oddity options present themselves too ("Curl up in a ball", "Make friends with the monster", etc.). You can opt to be a coward almost as often as you can be brave, and a fair percentage of the time that's the better option. The illustrations and in-text violence are just at the right boundary-pushing level for kids, creepy without extending into gross.

The original series was a decent entry-level taste of D&D's themes and flavour, and that's echoed well here. I can't imagine this concept will find anything approaching the same popularity as its heyday, but it can help during that long camping trip your kids have to endure without wi-fi access.

[Sylvain Martel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Being a fan and having read almost all of the old gamebooks(Fighting Fantasy,Lone Wolf, Way of the Tiger-man that was a good series-) back in my teens, I was eagerly awaiting this book. My plan was to read this with my almost 5 year old boy(and that's what I did). But I admit I was let down after doing so.

First, it takes about 30 minutes to read through one of the paths given to you in the book. Yeah, that means that you get alot of different paths to finish it, but they are so short that it's not really fun.

Second, there is absolutely no fighting system! You read right, an AD&D book without any fighting system!! Even my son asked me why he couldn't fight the buergars.

Third, the choices offered are very weak sometimes. Like the way you can escape your cell in the first part, I was all... whuuuuaaat?

Fourth, I am not sure who is the demographic for this book. I had to tone down some scenes for my son(scared a bit), so it's not geared toward youngsters, but the paths are so short, and the lack of fighting make this book not suited for teens either. I know I would have been bored to death had I read this back in high school. It's certainly not to get people into D&D either, beside the setting, there is nothing D&D in this. So, who is the target?

All in all, meh.(that's the score my son gives it too.)

This was an advanced copy of the book for review purpose.

[Doc · Rating 4 out of 5]

Drow, Duergar, and Demogorgon, Oh my!

You are the fighter but your adventure, though it started in a tavern, really begins deep underground as a captive of the dreaded dark elves known as the Drow. Along with an assortment of other prisoners each decision you make brings you closer to the surface and freedom or to fate best left for the unfortunate. Along the way you will see many things in the Underdark many of which are dangerous and a few which are very strange (like a sentient gelatinous cube which is probably Glabbagool {which I hear is from the Out of the Abyss adventure}.) One thing is for sure...As a fighter you are a skilled combatant but unarmed and unaware of how to escape you will need every bit of luck and skill to survive the challenges of the Underdark.

As you choose various paths in the book you will be treated to an assortment of artwork which although I am pretty sure is not new (seeing as I recognize some of it from game books) is still really nice to help you imagine the various sights of a world alien to what the average adventurer might know. I wish you the best on your own journeys and hope you enjoy this book like I did. :)

[Carolina Colleene · Rating 3 out of 5]

Language: G (0 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: G; Violence: PG
You are the main character of this story, and you have a lot of difficult decisions to make as you try to find your way back home from the Underdark. While it may not be easy, your adventure will never be boring as you find the right creatures to ally with and the right creatures to slay before they eat you!
Choose your own adventure books are the video games of literature. This story is compelling as you make escape plans and figure out if you would survive such a predicament. I was surprised how some choices led me in directions I didn’t expect—Forbeck kept me on my toes the whole time.
Reviewed for https://kissthebook.blogspot.com/

[Sean McGurr · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reminiscent of the Choose Ygeour Own Adventure (CYOA) books from my childhood, I was looking forward to a book with a distinctly D&D feel. I've also seen a number of improvements on the CYOA books, including some actual character development or danger (hit points, leveling up, etc.) and was hoping that would be included here. Instead it is a fairly straightforward (and not that engaging) story of escaping a prison in the Underdark.

This is probably suited more towards a YA audience than me. But if it encourages any kids to get involved with D&D, it will be worth it. Regular D&D players are better suited for finding a session to join or looking for some of the recent solo adventures created.

[Destiny Bridwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book for a fair and honest review. I am not good at those chose your own adventures since did not matter how many times I tried to go through the book I died, but that is just how it happens. I am going to keep trying to see if I can make it through. I don't want to say too much it will ruin the choices that we can make. It is a lot of fun and takes me back to my childhood when I had a lot of books like this. 

[Colin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A choose-your-own-adventure style book (I remember the Endless Quest imprint from TSR when I was a kid!) - my kids are just learning D&D and don't know much of the lore of the Forgotten Realms or the Underdark, but it actually didn't take them long to find a way to escape the Underdark (I'm kind of proud of them!). In the story you begin as an enslaved prisoner of the drow and have to try to escape and find a way to the surface.

[LelandraTheLazyReader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decently fun. I've always wanted to read a choose your own adventure book, though this one had one part where in the span of five sentences it said "the door slammed behind them" twice. Which is a little weird, like did he write that on two different days and just never proofread? But there was a great monologue from a dragon that I just had to highlight in my copy. All in all it was an entertaining way to spend 2 hours.

[Adriana · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love the idea and the concept, but the execution feels like the notes a dungeon master of a D&D game would have. It's the bare minimum of story with not a whole lot of development or exposition. I had a fun time going back and taking the other options and reading all the posibilities but it was more gimmick than actual story enjoyment.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

A dungeons & dragons choose-your-own adventure that literally starts with you getting a drink in a tavern. Things go downhill from there and you spend most of the rest of the book underground, with no guarantees you ever get out. The names were all very silly.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual Rating 3.5

Your traditional "Dungeon Crawl" campaign with all the myriad of outcomes. Quite a bit of inspiration to run this as an actual campaign, would be good for quick sessions or or new players to give them a taste.

[Melvin Marsh · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this for LibraryThing Early Reviewers, it was an advance copy and still needed to be checked for grammar errors. It's basically a Choose Your Own Adventure book but D&D. It wasn't too bad although some of the choices do make for a quick ending.

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

the book was interesting and different to read, although i liked it i will stick to playing rather than reading it.

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are really cute books. This is actually based on the Underdark campaign I’m currently running for my Ladies D&D group, so it’s pretty entertaining for me 😂

[The Bookish Austin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well that was fun! ha.

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is fun. Easy read, you die a lot.

[Lydia · Rating 5 out of 5]

You'll find the review for this book and two others of this series in:

https://cupcakesandpopcorn.wordpress....

[Billie Flaming · Rating 3 out of 5]

As someone just starting Out of the Abyss, this felt like a good trial run. I survived, so here’s hoping it lasts!

[Faith Beck]

I really liked it and it was fun to read