Escape from Castle Ravenloft

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 have entered the mist-shrouded realm of Ravenloft, where you attract the attention of Count Strahd, who decides to make you one of his vampire spawn. After awakening to find yourself alone within the walls of Castle Ravenloft, you must figure out how to escape the vampire lord's Gothic lair before you are doomed to become his slave for all time. Keep your wits about you, cleric.

Genres: Fantasy, Dungeons and Dragons, Choose Your Own Adventure, Gamebooks, Middle Grade

128 pages, Paperback

First published September 3, 2019

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

[maya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting adventures that I can read many times.

[Johan Thilander]

Strahd von Zarovich kastade mig nerför slottsmuren till min död.

[Colin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A modern version of the "Endless Quest" D&D choose-your-own-adventure books from the 80s - this one set in the legendary Castle Ravenloft. I read it to my little kids before they were old enough to read it themselves, and now they can read it pretty well themselves. It took several tries before they successfully escaped from Castle Ravenloft!

[Christina Getrost · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved "Choose Your Own Adventure" books as a kid, so whenever there's a new version of that type of book--containing multiple endings, where you have various decision points to "Attack! Go to page 10" or "Flee! Go to page 20!" and so forth--I just have to check them out. This one, set in the Dungeons and Dragons fantasy world, is a lot of fun. The reader is a cleric who wakes up in the guest room of a spooky castle, with the castle's owner, a creepy vampire named Strahd, there to greet them. What ensues is a lot of skulking around the castle, climbing steep winding stone staircases or dropping into gloomy dungeons, trying to escape but encountering other vampires, a mechanical clockwork creature, wolves, werewolves, a ghost, a supposed damsel in distress, and even zombies! Of course, that's only if you, like me, keep reading the book even when your character has met an untimely end. I always end up reading ALL of the possible endings to the story, just to see what all of the options were. I liked the illustrations in this book, too, they were mostly full color paintings and really nice fantasy-style art. The book is listed as for ages 8-12, and I'd agree with that; the typeface is a little large and while it's got some spooky content it's certainly fine for any 3rd or 4th grader who loves monsters!

I received an advance reader copy of this book from the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program.

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

In Escape from Castle Ravenloft, readers take the role of a cleric attempting to escape their capture by a merciless vampire. Re-reading a selecting new paths is not very rewarding as there is only a sliver of an overarching story that does not offer much motivation in discovering more about the world; it instead becomes a practice in finding new ways for your character to die or fail with at least one being an illogical choice for the character altogether. The characters and setting itself are interesting, but little effort is given over to explore them further. Overall, this was a disappointing installment.

[Claudia Landry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve always been a fan of « You are the hero » books and this is a nice variation on that! It reads more like a linear story than I expected and I definitely enjoyed how there are multiple endings that brings various levels of satisfaction.

I ended up escaping without being able to save Gertruda and it was the first time I was able to survive! Definitely died a couple of time before I got a somewhat good ending but I still enjoyed it.

I wish there was a little more dnd elements to it: dice rolls or dc or saving throws. It was still very enjoyable and I’m excited to try another one.

[Jan Goard · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is my first read of a book of this type. Admittedly it's geared towards a much younger audience. However I enjoyed the experience. I was determined to find the way out of Castle Ravenloft. I eventually did but found it to more challenging than expected. An enjoyable book and I believe it would be a good one for children interested in Dungeons and Dragons or a "choose your own adventure" type read.

[Brie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Received this in a giveaway in exchange for an honest review.
It was ... ok. Sort of felt like there was only one good option (where you didn't die) for almost every choice, so not sure why the author didn't just write a novel. The art was pretty neat, but the character descriptions didn't usually match the artwork of the same characters (especially the clothing being totally different than what was described). Still, was entertainment for an evening.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another choose your own adventure type book set in a Dungeons & Dragons inspired world. This one was more scary than the other I read, and some illustrations were definitely horror inspired. Much fewer endings that were happy as well - although that might make this a good read to expand to the Goosebumps crowd!

[Nathaniel Voll · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fun, thrilling, creepy adventure from Matt Forbeck. The Endless Quest books remind me of the choose your own adventure books of my youth, while keeping a fire burning for the magical world of Dungeons and Dragons.

While my 8-year-old wasn't ready for the scary vampires in this one, I'm sure he'll love it in a few years too.

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, I read this out loud for my fiance as we drove home from the bookstore, so I need to go through the options myself, because I would have chosen a bit differently. But it was still entertaining to watch him die...twice. I very much love these choose your own adventure books.

[Pat · Rating 3 out of 5]

A "choose you fate" book. Never having played Dungeons and Dragons. I had difficulty following the story line. I did not finish the book, but can see a gamer drawn to it. Graphics were excellent -- bright colors and well drawn.

[Billie Flaming · Rating 3 out of 5]

You know, considering that I’ve spent the past 2 years playing Curse of Strahd with my friends and our game is coming to its end in the next few weeks, I expected to be good at this? But instead I died like seven different times before I survived. Thems do be the breaks on occasion.

[Nate Balcom · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m half-way! Book #15 of my #30BookSummer Challenge! After making mistakes and dying many horrible deaths (and reawakening in my bed to start the story all over again) I finally found my way out of Castle Ravenloft!!

[Nicola · Rating 3 out of 5]

Miss 8 enjoyed her second Endless Quest adventure. I wish our library had more of these as she likes being in Forgotten Realms. I have put in a request they purchase more of the series but I'm not sure they're in print anymore.

[Madison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mechanics in audio edition could have been better—and it was NOT clear this was a choose your own path book (which is so fun!! Why wasn’t that clear
! The description makes it seem like it’s just second person!) But overall fun read that gave me a fun time.

[Heidi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This series has been a good bit of fun.

[Shannon McLean · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was pretty bleak and dark. Gotta love Count Strahd, though!

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pleasant experience: listened to this on audio book while painting - and just let it run straight through rather than making choices, which was actually a fun way to do it :)

[Ryk Stanton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun, but a nuisance to click on chapters as you make your choices.

[Shoshana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Choose your own adventure, perfect for gamers.

[Ken · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun gothic horror romp as a cleric, though sometimes it felt more like a tour of the 2016 module, with characters pointing out environmental details that ultimately played no role in the narrative.

[AChristianNerd · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first "choose your own adventure" audiobook! Really fun story. It took me a few weeks to find a way out. Definitely worth a try!

[Tracie Simer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun throwback to choosing your own adventure, but this time in Barovia. Recommended for people who have played Curse of Strahd because there are spoilers for the story.