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Choose Your Own Adventure #4
Space and Beyond
WHAT IF YOU COULD CHOOSE THE PLANET OF YOUR BIRTH? Born aboard a deep space cruiser on a dangerous research mission, you are asked to choose your home planet. Your parents are from different planets in different galaxies. Their planets are alike enough so that you will not be a freak on either one. But they are different enough so that YOUR choice will have a huge effect on your life. The planet Kenda is visible on the galaxy scanner. Now that you have chosen, your parents announce that Kenda is your father's home. The crew of the spaceship carefully prepares a spacepod for the journey to Kenda. Seating yourself at the controls and positioning the programmed flight path, you disengage from the mother ship and drift off into space... Something is wrong! You look at the scanner and see a nebula that is not supposed to be on your course. Suddenly the gases and particles of the nebula surround you. If you try to return to the mother ship, turn to page 4. YOU choose what happens next!
117 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1979
37 people are currently reading
1058 people want to read
About the author
R.A. Montgomery
156 books121 followersRaymond A. Montgomery (born 1936 in Connecticut) was an author and progenitor of the classic Choose Your Own Adventure interactive children's book series, which ran from 1979 to 2003. Montgomery graduated from Williams College and went to graduate school at Yale University and New York University (NYU). He devoted his life to teaching and education.
In 2004, he co-founded the Chooseco publishing company alongside his wife, fellow author/publisher Shannon Gilligan, with the goal of reviving the CYOA series with new novels and reissued editions of the classics.
He continued to write and publish until his death in 2014.
In 2004, he co-founded the Chooseco publishing company alongside his wife, fellow author/publisher Shannon Gilligan, with the goal of reviving the CYOA series with new novels and reissued editions of the classics.
He continued to write and publish until his death in 2014.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 127 reviews
August 10, 2013
My first ever Choose Your Own Adventure book. I was so excited to get Space and Beyond and to learn about the existence of these strange tales that you could control as the reader...so excited in fact that my review/rating is completely biased and should be taken with a HUGEMONGOUS grain of salt.
No offense to Montgomery, but this ain't Shakespeare. It is however good, light-hearted fun. And honestly, for kids, Space and Beyond delves into some relatively heady stuff, such as contemplation of the beginning and end of the universe.
In this book you play a lantern-jawed hero (who could moonlight as an Elvis impersonator) born on a spaceship traveling so fast that it only takes three days and two hours to age 18 Earth years. So with a little over three days worth of accumulated wisdom and training time you set off to establish your citizenship on either your mother or your father's home planet. It's YOUR choice! <--That last part is pretty exciting when you're a wee lad like I was when I first read this!
When I was a kid I remember feeling pretty darn smart for getting the main character out of more than a few tight fixes! Rereading it as prep for review, this time around the results were more of a mixed bag...
1) I got picked up enroute by the Lodzots, negotiated a peace and ended a 3000 year old war.
2) I got caught up in some swirling gas, picked up by amoeba-like people...er, persons...thing?...helped them/it to find a new planet, went on a life-form collecting mission, was caught by a politician and made to live out the rest of my life on Earth as a curiosity.
3) Stuck around to study hippie philosophy, then went way back in time, turned into a Protosaurus for some unexplained reason, got chased by a T-Rex and then hung out at the dawn of man.
4) Attended research school, went back 62 million years into Mars' past to explore alternatives to a revolt happening there at the time.
5) Flew directly into a black hole and was never heard from again.
No offense to Montgomery, but this ain't Shakespeare. It is however good, light-hearted fun. And honestly, for kids, Space and Beyond delves into some relatively heady stuff, such as contemplation of the beginning and end of the universe.
In this book you play a lantern-jawed hero (who could moonlight as an Elvis impersonator) born on a spaceship traveling so fast that it only takes three days and two hours to age 18 Earth years. So with a little over three days worth of accumulated wisdom and training time you set off to establish your citizenship on either your mother or your father's home planet. It's YOUR choice! <--That last part is pretty exciting when you're a wee lad like I was when I first read this!
When I was a kid I remember feeling pretty darn smart for getting the main character out of more than a few tight fixes! Rereading it as prep for review, this time around the results were more of a mixed bag...
1) I got picked up enroute by the Lodzots, negotiated a peace and ended a 3000 year old war.
2) I got caught up in some swirling gas, picked up by amoeba-like people...er, persons...thing?...helped them/it to find a new planet, went on a life-form collecting mission, was caught by a politician and made to live out the rest of my life on Earth as a curiosity.
3) Stuck around to study hippie philosophy, then went way back in time, turned into a Protosaurus for some unexplained reason, got chased by a T-Rex and then hung out at the dawn of man.
4) Attended research school, went back 62 million years into Mars' past to explore alternatives to a revolt happening there at the time.
5) Flew directly into a black hole and was never heard from again.
September 18, 2022
Definitely one of the better CYOAs. I remember this one as a kid. It's very trippy and windy and there are times you are directed all the way back to the beginning. The illustrations of who "you" are are hilarious. Lots of endings. Lots of little branches starting out with you having to decide to go explore either the planet Phonon or Zermacroyd. Geez, that brings me back. (I remember my parents confused and slightly terrified looks when my, oh maybe 10 year old self, got a goldfish and named it Zermacroyd.)
Anyway, playing fast and loose with astronomy, physics, time travel, and human development didn't (to me) detract from this delightful reminisce. The extremely battered and well-used copy I got at the bookstore has a nice home now.
Anyway, playing fast and loose with astronomy, physics, time travel, and human development didn't (to me) detract from this delightful reminisce. The extremely battered and well-used copy I got at the bookstore has a nice home now.
November 24, 2018
In my continued quest to finish one of these fuggers, I tried making a flowchart in hopes that a pattern or something would emerge.
I took every possible path, and here's what I came up with:
Now, that's pretty hard to see here, but it doesn't really matter. There are a few important points to be made.
1. Green means good endings. 6 possible good endings came up, which equals about a 14% shot at a good one.
Yellow means medium endings. Maybe not horrific death, but it's obvious that this isn't a prime ending. 16 of these. More than double the good endings.
Red means bad endings. These are endings where you either died, or I assume you died, or you were, as we put it in the industry, "boned hard." Also, I put in here endings where you obliterated a planet or something. 19 of these.
What I've learned is that the odds are stacked against you something fierce. By my calculations, the chances you'll get a less-than-good ending are about 83%. It's HIGHLY unlikely you'll succeed. I don't think this is new knowledge, but whatever. Now I know for a fact.
2. If you made the wrong choice on the very first choice, there was exactly one good ending to be found, giving you a 10% shot. The very first choice was crucial. This is cruel.
3. There were a few repeats, endings that came up the same from different paths. But surprisingly, not many of them worked this way. I thought this whole format was a cheap scheme to recycle content, but it turns out it only happens a couple times, not including bullshit where a choice gets you swept up in a timestream and sent back to the beginning of the story.
4. You can make a choice that puts you on a path with no possible victories, but you'll still be allowed to make another choice or two before the axe falls. You're backed into a corner, you don't know it, and this thing is just TOYING with you!
5. Twice there were paths where you literally flipped a coin. In one path, it made the difference between a yellow and a red ending. In the other, however, it was a green ending or IT RETURNED YOU TO THE BEGINNING OF THE BOOK! This is so cruel, but weird too. When you play a board game and go back to the start, you see how much progress you've lost. But in these books you have no sense of progress or how close to the end you are, so the fact that you could taste victory and had to start all over would be completely lost on any average player who didn't take a ridiculous amount of time to map the whole thing out.
6. This is weird and hard to explain, but I'll try: Your decisions in the book not only change the story, but alter the universe of the story. For example, there's a disease situation. If you assume you're immune, make that choice, you find that you are, in fact, immune. If you play it safe, assume you aren't immune, it turns out you're NOT immune, and you get sick. So your choice, to believe you're immune or not, alters the story. There are multiple choices like this, which is really weird. It's like the book is changing the rules depending on player actions. Or promoting magical thinking. I'm not sure.
7. My second-favorite part was when you came upon a race of people torn between the past and the future. The illustration is of baby bodies with grandma faces. It's disturbing as hell.
8. My FAVORITE part, however, is an ending where you become a space pirate, but after a couple years it turns out the universe went commie and everyone just shares everything, so all your plundered booty is worthless. It's pretty hilarious.
For the record, when I read/played organically, I made it about 3 decisions deep.
I took every possible path, and here's what I came up with:
Now, that's pretty hard to see here, but it doesn't really matter. There are a few important points to be made.
1. Green means good endings. 6 possible good endings came up, which equals about a 14% shot at a good one.
Yellow means medium endings. Maybe not horrific death, but it's obvious that this isn't a prime ending. 16 of these. More than double the good endings.
Red means bad endings. These are endings where you either died, or I assume you died, or you were, as we put it in the industry, "boned hard." Also, I put in here endings where you obliterated a planet or something. 19 of these.
What I've learned is that the odds are stacked against you something fierce. By my calculations, the chances you'll get a less-than-good ending are about 83%. It's HIGHLY unlikely you'll succeed. I don't think this is new knowledge, but whatever. Now I know for a fact.
2. If you made the wrong choice on the very first choice, there was exactly one good ending to be found, giving you a 10% shot. The very first choice was crucial. This is cruel.
3. There were a few repeats, endings that came up the same from different paths. But surprisingly, not many of them worked this way. I thought this whole format was a cheap scheme to recycle content, but it turns out it only happens a couple times, not including bullshit where a choice gets you swept up in a timestream and sent back to the beginning of the story.
4. You can make a choice that puts you on a path with no possible victories, but you'll still be allowed to make another choice or two before the axe falls. You're backed into a corner, you don't know it, and this thing is just TOYING with you!
5. Twice there were paths where you literally flipped a coin. In one path, it made the difference between a yellow and a red ending. In the other, however, it was a green ending or IT RETURNED YOU TO THE BEGINNING OF THE BOOK! This is so cruel, but weird too. When you play a board game and go back to the start, you see how much progress you've lost. But in these books you have no sense of progress or how close to the end you are, so the fact that you could taste victory and had to start all over would be completely lost on any average player who didn't take a ridiculous amount of time to map the whole thing out.
6. This is weird and hard to explain, but I'll try: Your decisions in the book not only change the story, but alter the universe of the story. For example, there's a disease situation. If you assume you're immune, make that choice, you find that you are, in fact, immune. If you play it safe, assume you aren't immune, it turns out you're NOT immune, and you get sick. So your choice, to believe you're immune or not, alters the story. There are multiple choices like this, which is really weird. It's like the book is changing the rules depending on player actions. Or promoting magical thinking. I'm not sure.
7. My second-favorite part was when you came upon a race of people torn between the past and the future. The illustration is of baby bodies with grandma faces. It's disturbing as hell.
8. My FAVORITE part, however, is an ending where you become a space pirate, but after a couple years it turns out the universe went commie and everyone just shares everything, so all your plundered booty is worthless. It's pretty hilarious.
For the record, when I read/played organically, I made it about 3 decisions deep.
March 25, 2019
PopSugar 2019 Reto Avanzado #44. Un libro “elige tu propia aventura”
Meh. Thanks the literary gods, it was library's borrowed.
Well, and maybe I'm not the adequate kind of reader for this kind of books. cofbutienjoyotherchildrensbookscof.
A person born in space have to choose a planet to go, what to do, and choices in there.
I never remember reading one of this books before. But this has a very simple story line and the ending was very lame.
Meh. Thanks the literary gods, it was library's borrowed.
Well, and maybe I'm not the adequate kind of reader for this kind of books. cofbutienjoyotherchildrensbookscof.
A person born in space have to choose a planet to go, what to do, and choices in there.
I never remember reading one of this books before. But this has a very simple story line and the ending was very lame.
October 24, 2017
This one had some fun options, but we ended up driving a spaceship into a star while trying to help an alien civilization.
June 11, 2013
I read this Choose Your Own Adventure book as a kid and I think it was the first one that almost always weirded me out with the endings. I never knew when I would get a choice that just wanted to lead me to an ending just so it could get another ending on the roster and advertise how many endings it had. There were about ten or eleven endings that led to a fate not at all indicated by the choice you'd made--for instance, if you're in a space war and you choose to stand and fight with your side, you don't really expect that choice to lead directly to all your instruments and spaceships inexplicably losing power and forcing your entire military unit to live the rest of their lives as--literally--cavemen. Got that? I chose to fight a space war and suddenly with the loss of power my unit reverted to primitive lifestyles. Okay? I also wondered whether the author had an anti-war agenda and wanted to spoon-feed "fighting is bad, this is no kind of life at all" platitudes into my impressionable brain. I actually agree with most anti-war sentiments but a galactic war seemed like a silly place to randomly make character-willingly-participates choices lead to character-realizes-war-is-stupid-without-any-obvious-provocation endings. I kinda liked the idea of "me" in the book being cast as an alien teenager whose parents were from different planets, and I remember the idea of one of the planets orbiting around a dying sun being really scary to me because I actually studied stars' life cycles and knew what a red giant was for real.
January 22, 2014
The book Choose your own adventure: Space and Beyond by R.A. Montgomery was a good book. I think that the author that rights this series sometimes writes really good books and sometimes writes not so good books. I also think that this author is unpredictable. In this book my favorite character was probably me because in this book they have a character that is supposed too play you. I also think that I was the main character because I was basically the only character. I think that this series of books is a really good series of books.
February 9, 2012
You woke up from nothing. Your feet hit the cold floor of your bunker; it's always cold and it's always a surprise. It's not exactly morning. For that, you'd have to be orbiting something that dictates relative time. There used to be a sense of urgency, back on Earth at least. Things to get done, places to go. But in space, such a pull is immaterial.
Still, there is a wanderlust in your bones.
The recreational room is empty as always. By the looks of it, you would think humans didn't require daily nourishment. Then again, the Captain always ran a tight ship.
There was that one time he almost piloted you and the crew into a black hole. But that was so long ago. People make mistakes. You still like him a lot. You would like him a lot more if he was less smug and more genuine. As it stood, he was too intelligent for his own good. Often he made decisions based on the most inane logic; but you had to abide because he's the captain and it's his ship.
You didn't like the way he spent so much time down in the engine room with April, the spunky and all-too-cheerful-for-what-she-does mechanic. Aaaand you also didn't like the way he didn't specifically say goodnight to you before the hibernation instances. Not that you cared, it would just be nice sometimes.
We're off track here.
Okay, you like the Captain. His authority goes a long way. But you can be a woman without the contingency of a male. April, not so much.
At least your office will never be lonely. The biology bay houses scores of multi-cellular eukaryotes being tricked into photosynthesis. Even after years aboard the Insirrina plants still had a way of making you feel comfortable and relaxed.
Most days were all the same. Biology research, occasional gene splicing, and more Angry Birds than you were likely allowed. Actually, you could probably do nothing for two months before anyone noticed anything. It wasn't boring but it wasn't very exhilarating. Only people of a certain disposition would take a job in space where leisure activities were limited to board games and competitive rationing. You were of this disposition.
Space travel was exciting your first few months. The weightlessness of space. The stunning views. Even the unique sounds of poorly propagating soundwaves was fascinating. Now none of it was new. Basic needs were accounted for, and desires were... minimized.
By the time work sequence was complete, the crew had all gathered in the main hall. It was unusual. Despite being a small ship there were some days where you wouldn't see some of the members at all. Today, and at this moment, just about everyone was there. Everyone except the captain. And then, upon seeing the candle topped pie, it hit you. It was Fred's birthday. This was a crew party.
Drinks containing ethanol were reserved for very special occasions. Close calls with meteorites and the anniversary of someone's birth were of the same value apparently. You didn't care. You liked having a excuse to drink.
Of all the necessary things to bring aboard an "exploration" vessel, someone thought it wise to include champagne flutes. Silly.
You clutched it close but drank it slowly. Suddenly you began to realize just how unflattering the gravitometric belt looked on you today. And with superb and refined timing, the captain showed up. You thought it was a little odd that he went directly to you. It was even odder when he asked to talk to you out on the observatory window. Then it all stopped being odd when he looked at you like he was about to reprimand you. It was a familiar look.
"I don't know what I'm doing." He said.
"Well, first, I think you have the wrong girl, April is back there- she's wearing her GM belt rather loose. Kind of suggestively..." You replied.
"What?" He answered back.
"Nothing," you countered. "So.. ah I was assembling the uhm Reserpine data and uhh, what I found was that the-"
"Wait" He interrupted your change of subject. "Did I bring you here to discuss botanics?"
"It's botany", you said.
"Oh right, did I bring you here to discuss botany?"
"Mmm, No, I don't actually know why you brought me here" You answered.
He quickly regained his composure. "Right, the New Seattle Research Institute is looking for a new 'Botanist' and I think you'd be a good fit."
"Oh." You replied, "NSRI... on Leerdon IV... off the ship..."
"Correct" the captain said. "You're a fantastic scientist and your work there would be greatly appreciated."
"Wow, so when?"
"We'll pass Leerdon IV in a weeks time. I know it's short notice, but I haven't gotten a chance to speak with you in some time. Congratulations are due, I know it's Fred's birthday but this champagne might as well be for you."
It was good news. Finally, you would be getting off this ship. Other than your personal collection of Hellebore's you wouldn't even miss your lab. Nope, there was nothing about this ship you were going to miss.
The day before the ship was to arrive on Leerdon, the crew threw another party for your farewell. Two parties in as few weeks? No one partied as averagely as the crew of the Insirrina. Out came the flutes- and away went the doubts of their inclusion.
This time you wore a dress that was better suited to handle gravitometric belts. You put some makeup to use, choosing lipstick over chapstick. You were in fine form.
This time the Captain was hidden in plain view. He did spend most of the night talking to April, but that didn't bother you. She needed the attention, even though this was your night. Your last night.
Farewell parties are good for two things: drinking with no regard, and cathartic expressions of emotion. So it was no surprise when a couple of the male crew members who have been doing too much of the former, presented themselves with propositions of the latter. It was a good night.
By the time most of the crews' sleep sequence should have began you were packing up the last of your possessions. Eventually you slept.
You woke up from nothing. As you walked along the hall you could tell it was morning on the planet. The captain was waiting for you at the dock port. He shook your hand and you asked him: "What was your favorite thing about me?"
"You laugh at all my jokes." He replied.
It was sad to see the Insirrina take off so suddenly. But you were smiling. Not because of the cute captain; it was a new start in a new place.
There is a wanderlust in your bones.
Still, there is a wanderlust in your bones.
The recreational room is empty as always. By the looks of it, you would think humans didn't require daily nourishment. Then again, the Captain always ran a tight ship.
There was that one time he almost piloted you and the crew into a black hole. But that was so long ago. People make mistakes. You still like him a lot. You would like him a lot more if he was less smug and more genuine. As it stood, he was too intelligent for his own good. Often he made decisions based on the most inane logic; but you had to abide because he's the captain and it's his ship.
You didn't like the way he spent so much time down in the engine room with April, the spunky and all-too-cheerful-for-what-she-does mechanic. Aaaand you also didn't like the way he didn't specifically say goodnight to you before the hibernation instances. Not that you cared, it would just be nice sometimes.
We're off track here.
Okay, you like the Captain. His authority goes a long way. But you can be a woman without the contingency of a male. April, not so much.
At least your office will never be lonely. The biology bay houses scores of multi-cellular eukaryotes being tricked into photosynthesis. Even after years aboard the Insirrina plants still had a way of making you feel comfortable and relaxed.
Most days were all the same. Biology research, occasional gene splicing, and more Angry Birds than you were likely allowed. Actually, you could probably do nothing for two months before anyone noticed anything. It wasn't boring but it wasn't very exhilarating. Only people of a certain disposition would take a job in space where leisure activities were limited to board games and competitive rationing. You were of this disposition.
Space travel was exciting your first few months. The weightlessness of space. The stunning views. Even the unique sounds of poorly propagating soundwaves was fascinating. Now none of it was new. Basic needs were accounted for, and desires were... minimized.
By the time work sequence was complete, the crew had all gathered in the main hall. It was unusual. Despite being a small ship there were some days where you wouldn't see some of the members at all. Today, and at this moment, just about everyone was there. Everyone except the captain. And then, upon seeing the candle topped pie, it hit you. It was Fred's birthday. This was a crew party.
Drinks containing ethanol were reserved for very special occasions. Close calls with meteorites and the anniversary of someone's birth were of the same value apparently. You didn't care. You liked having a excuse to drink.
Of all the necessary things to bring aboard an "exploration" vessel, someone thought it wise to include champagne flutes. Silly.
You clutched it close but drank it slowly. Suddenly you began to realize just how unflattering the gravitometric belt looked on you today. And with superb and refined timing, the captain showed up. You thought it was a little odd that he went directly to you. It was even odder when he asked to talk to you out on the observatory window. Then it all stopped being odd when he looked at you like he was about to reprimand you. It was a familiar look.
"I don't know what I'm doing." He said.
"Well, first, I think you have the wrong girl, April is back there- she's wearing her GM belt rather loose. Kind of suggestively..." You replied.
"What?" He answered back.
"Nothing," you countered. "So.. ah I was assembling the uhm Reserpine data and uhh, what I found was that the-"
"Wait" He interrupted your change of subject. "Did I bring you here to discuss botanics?"
"It's botany", you said.
"Oh right, did I bring you here to discuss botany?"
"Mmm, No, I don't actually know why you brought me here" You answered.
He quickly regained his composure. "Right, the New Seattle Research Institute is looking for a new 'Botanist' and I think you'd be a good fit."
"Oh." You replied, "NSRI... on Leerdon IV... off the ship..."
"Correct" the captain said. "You're a fantastic scientist and your work there would be greatly appreciated."
"Wow, so when?"
"We'll pass Leerdon IV in a weeks time. I know it's short notice, but I haven't gotten a chance to speak with you in some time. Congratulations are due, I know it's Fred's birthday but this champagne might as well be for you."
It was good news. Finally, you would be getting off this ship. Other than your personal collection of Hellebore's you wouldn't even miss your lab. Nope, there was nothing about this ship you were going to miss.
The day before the ship was to arrive on Leerdon, the crew threw another party for your farewell. Two parties in as few weeks? No one partied as averagely as the crew of the Insirrina. Out came the flutes- and away went the doubts of their inclusion.
This time you wore a dress that was better suited to handle gravitometric belts. You put some makeup to use, choosing lipstick over chapstick. You were in fine form.
This time the Captain was hidden in plain view. He did spend most of the night talking to April, but that didn't bother you. She needed the attention, even though this was your night. Your last night.
Farewell parties are good for two things: drinking with no regard, and cathartic expressions of emotion. So it was no surprise when a couple of the male crew members who have been doing too much of the former, presented themselves with propositions of the latter. It was a good night.
By the time most of the crews' sleep sequence should have began you were packing up the last of your possessions. Eventually you slept.
You woke up from nothing. As you walked along the hall you could tell it was morning on the planet. The captain was waiting for you at the dock port. He shook your hand and you asked him: "What was your favorite thing about me?"
"You laugh at all my jokes." He replied.
It was sad to see the Insirrina take off so suddenly. But you were smiling. Not because of the cute captain; it was a new start in a new place.
There is a wanderlust in your bones.
May 21, 2021
Okay, so I found this book in the library while organizing books for my school. Almost anything with a dinosaur and a spaceship on the cover will get my attention, so I decided to give it a try. Now I loved these books as a kid, but I don't remember them being this horrible. Luckily for me, I made it to the dinosaurs on my first shot. However, the story died immediately after I made a decision (no matter which I chose). I tried my hand again. I was sent back to the beginning of the book! Frustrating. Tried a different path. Dead. A different one. Blown up. One story gave me an interesting ending working in a space circus. Finally, there was one story that lasted more than three pages, but the outcome was not favorable. Gosh the 80s was a really rough time for books, wasn't it? All in all, I don't know if I can in good conscience recommend this.
March 25, 2018
I used to like these books as a kid. Only as an adult English teacher did I realize that it is the second person which speaks to me. I'm trying something new here: Read one plot at a time until all plots have been exhausted. I did not have the stamina as a child to do this research. Now I am curious where it will lead and what I will learn. I believe these books were marketed as books for kids who don't like to read. 'Twas true in my case, but they seem not to have made the explicit connection of why second person would appeal to children who otherwise prefer not to read. There are gaping rhetorical holes in my first adventure. Research question: What is going on here betwixt book and reader?
June 18, 2012
In space, no one can hear you sigh..
Space and Beyond (CYOA #4) by R.A. Montgomery. This is the first (and so far only) Choose Your Own Adventure book I didn't finish. It reads like dull gibberish from an aging hippie. I stopped reading after coming across my fifth ending of nonsense. The initial plot is that you have just turned 18 (in apparently 3 days and 2 hours) and must now choose your home planet for citizenship. You were born in space and can choose either your father's planet, with its troubled past and dying sun, or your mother's mysterious planet, also with a troubled past but a bright future. On my reading I had the chance to go back to the space academy for lessons, to command a starship, to become a research scientist, and to fight in a shadow vs light war. It sounds terribly exciting. But nothing really happens. And you have a friend follow you around who does so little the writer has to keep reminding you he's there. Now I'm just going to quote the endings I reached so you can fully appreciate the level of writing.
After being taught during a private lesson about the 'infinity of knowledge to explore within ourselves' I was given the choice to either travel to the era of dinosaurs or to some unknown point in the past. I chose the latter and on the next page got: "A chance to go to the unknown is probably really risky, but there is that desire in most people to take risks. You race back in time toward the edge of eternity, the beginning of the entire universe. You achieve an elastic weightlessness, and a sense of complete peace and calm. There is no sound, no light. But no darkness either. You race back to the very beginning, to the pulsating, exciting start. You return to the big bang that started the whole thing. You are and you have been a part of everything, always. The beginning is the end. THE END" Wasn't that fun!?
My next path lead me to investigating the cause of war by time traveling to a Mars in the past. Sounds exciting, right? After traveling back this is literally all there is: "When you arrive on Mars, you are invisible and can travel through space, through solid matter, and even into the thoughts of people. What is the cause of revolt on Mars? Who knows. Greed? Famine? Envy? Jealousy? Maybe just an instinctive need to battle, a basic drive to test and fight for the sheer sense of fighting. It's too complex. Everyone has a different answer. They all point to the other guy. All you know is that creatures get killed, cities get destroyed. What a way to live. That's why there is a new way- if only it will work. You are part of the new way, a way of sharing. THE END" What!? This 'way of sharing' hadn't been mentioned even once the entire story.
And if you join the side of the shadows, who are fighting against beings of light, you are given the choice to either be a ground soldier or a pilot. Both sound pretty exciting. And after choosing the latter this is all I got: "The rocket ship forces sound the most interesting, and besides, you are trained as a space pilot. Ground forces would be difficult for you. You are promoted to a command rank and put in charge of a large spacecraft with laser rocket weapons. From then on you are in space searching out and destroying alien ships. But you think to yourself, is this any kind of life, forever destroying things? Maybe you will quit. THE END" Why bother giving the reader lots of choices just to keep wrapping them up in one page philosophies. I'm not reading this for half-baked philosophies, I want adventure!
In the same shadows vs light war after choosing to retreat in battle as a soldier the next page reads: "Retreat is not always a bad thing. After all, you should go with what feels right. To fight now would only create further destruction. Enough damage has been done. Level off, give way. Let the other side realize what has been happening, too. As you retreat, the enemy seems to let up in amazement. The smoke clears, the noise stops. They retreat also. There is no more fighting. THE END" ...
And if I didn't retreat right away this was my other choice and ending: "There is a chance to get away. During a quiet moment, your group escapes to some remote hills far away from the battle area. Then something happens. The energy source for the lasers, the spacecrafts, the communications systems, mysteriously vanishes. There is no more energy except your own human energy. Weapons are useless. Radios and transporters are just pieces of metal and plastic. They are not working either. To survive now, you will have to hunt for food and support each other. THE END" I have no idea what happened. And I don't care. This is when I stopped reading. By the way, this page is accompanied by a picture of a caveman fighting a sabertooth tiger with a spear. It's a fine picture but seems like it's from another book. There are 44 (lousy) endings in 117 page book (including full page pictures).
The ONLY positives to this book are that there are a lot of choices, though they end up leading to gibberish, and the art by Paul Granger is pretty good. Unfortunately the art choices are kinda dull and/or small and few take advantage of the artist's skill for detailed drawings. Doubly unfortunate is the fact that in this reissued version (#3) the art's been replaced by hideous scratchy art. It looks terrible.
Space and Beyond (CYOA #4) by R.A. Montgomery. This is the first (and so far only) Choose Your Own Adventure book I didn't finish. It reads like dull gibberish from an aging hippie. I stopped reading after coming across my fifth ending of nonsense. The initial plot is that you have just turned 18 (in apparently 3 days and 2 hours) and must now choose your home planet for citizenship. You were born in space and can choose either your father's planet, with its troubled past and dying sun, or your mother's mysterious planet, also with a troubled past but a bright future. On my reading I had the chance to go back to the space academy for lessons, to command a starship, to become a research scientist, and to fight in a shadow vs light war. It sounds terribly exciting. But nothing really happens. And you have a friend follow you around who does so little the writer has to keep reminding you he's there. Now I'm just going to quote the endings I reached so you can fully appreciate the level of writing.
After being taught during a private lesson about the 'infinity of knowledge to explore within ourselves' I was given the choice to either travel to the era of dinosaurs or to some unknown point in the past. I chose the latter and on the next page got: "A chance to go to the unknown is probably really risky, but there is that desire in most people to take risks. You race back in time toward the edge of eternity, the beginning of the entire universe. You achieve an elastic weightlessness, and a sense of complete peace and calm. There is no sound, no light. But no darkness either. You race back to the very beginning, to the pulsating, exciting start. You return to the big bang that started the whole thing. You are and you have been a part of everything, always. The beginning is the end. THE END" Wasn't that fun!?
My next path lead me to investigating the cause of war by time traveling to a Mars in the past. Sounds exciting, right? After traveling back this is literally all there is: "When you arrive on Mars, you are invisible and can travel through space, through solid matter, and even into the thoughts of people. What is the cause of revolt on Mars? Who knows. Greed? Famine? Envy? Jealousy? Maybe just an instinctive need to battle, a basic drive to test and fight for the sheer sense of fighting. It's too complex. Everyone has a different answer. They all point to the other guy. All you know is that creatures get killed, cities get destroyed. What a way to live. That's why there is a new way- if only it will work. You are part of the new way, a way of sharing. THE END" What!? This 'way of sharing' hadn't been mentioned even once the entire story.
And if you join the side of the shadows, who are fighting against beings of light, you are given the choice to either be a ground soldier or a pilot. Both sound pretty exciting. And after choosing the latter this is all I got: "The rocket ship forces sound the most interesting, and besides, you are trained as a space pilot. Ground forces would be difficult for you. You are promoted to a command rank and put in charge of a large spacecraft with laser rocket weapons. From then on you are in space searching out and destroying alien ships. But you think to yourself, is this any kind of life, forever destroying things? Maybe you will quit. THE END" Why bother giving the reader lots of choices just to keep wrapping them up in one page philosophies. I'm not reading this for half-baked philosophies, I want adventure!
In the same shadows vs light war after choosing to retreat in battle as a soldier the next page reads: "Retreat is not always a bad thing. After all, you should go with what feels right. To fight now would only create further destruction. Enough damage has been done. Level off, give way. Let the other side realize what has been happening, too. As you retreat, the enemy seems to let up in amazement. The smoke clears, the noise stops. They retreat also. There is no more fighting. THE END" ...
And if I didn't retreat right away this was my other choice and ending: "There is a chance to get away. During a quiet moment, your group escapes to some remote hills far away from the battle area. Then something happens. The energy source for the lasers, the spacecrafts, the communications systems, mysteriously vanishes. There is no more energy except your own human energy. Weapons are useless. Radios and transporters are just pieces of metal and plastic. They are not working either. To survive now, you will have to hunt for food and support each other. THE END" I have no idea what happened. And I don't care. This is when I stopped reading. By the way, this page is accompanied by a picture of a caveman fighting a sabertooth tiger with a spear. It's a fine picture but seems like it's from another book. There are 44 (lousy) endings in 117 page book (including full page pictures).
The ONLY positives to this book are that there are a lot of choices, though they end up leading to gibberish, and the art by Paul Granger is pretty good. Unfortunately the art choices are kinda dull and/or small and few take advantage of the artist's skill for detailed drawings. Doubly unfortunate is the fact that in this reissued version (#3) the art's been replaced by hideous scratchy art. It looks terrible.
October 23, 2022
My adventure in this book was quite short, but ended with a bang. I am proud to announce I am a successful spaceship captain, going to explore the deepest depths of space. Ask me ab the Space/Time Continuum.
November 20, 2024
If you don't obsessively document all the endings you've gotten and track every path unfollowed, can you really say you "read" this?
November 17, 2021
I probably would've enjoyed this when I was a kid, but this "Choose Your Own Adventure" does not seem to be of the highest quality. It felt disjoint, and the multiple "endings" that had one looping back through time to the start of the book were overused (one would be cool, multiple are lazy), and the endings that actually ended were not satisfying.
Update to add: maybe I probably wouldn't have liked it when I was a kid, since DS1 also said it wasn't very good.
Update to add: maybe I probably wouldn't have liked it when I was a kid, since DS1 also said it wasn't very good.
February 21, 2011
So it's not the most structured book, to say the least. And sure, you never reach your home planet, no matter what path you take. Yeah, the endings are completely random and pulled out of a hat. But come on. It's R.A. Montgomery; the man specializes in unpredictability, and sometimes that's what one wants from a CYOA.
December 15, 2015
It's a good CYOA book, it has got a lot of very diverse finals, time travel, cultural diversity, metaphysical and environmental thoughts, and it contains confluences and loops. I enjoyed reading it very much with my 5yo son (who's now mad at me because I only give it 4 stars). We even made a map.
March 10, 2022
La colección de libros de Elige tu propia aventura marcó mi infancia y la de muchos otros chicos, allá por los años '80. Por fortuna hoy se han reeditado, con los títulos de entonces pero también unos cuantos nuevos. Cada vez que los veo en alguna librería, siento que la nostalgia me embarga.
Fueron una moda afortunada, que consiguió que muchos chicos se acercaran a los libros por primera vez. Aún recuerdo las conversaciones de recreo: “¿tenés éste?”, “mi papá me compró tal otro”, "¿me prestás aquel?" Parecía que fueran figuritas, más que libros, de lo que hablábamos.
Viaje por las galaxias fue mi primer libro de la colección, y mi favorito. No sólo por ser el primero -aunque confieso que algo ha tenido que ver- sino porque era el que más finales tenía, 44, y por lo tanto el que te permitía mayor número de aventuras.
Algo que nunca me gustó de la colección, es que a medida que avanzaba los libros venían cada vez con menos opciones, que era donde radicaba su gracia.
Seguramente, si hoy lo releyera le encontraría muchísimos defectos, pero no puedo separarlo de lo que significó en mi niñez.
Fueron una moda afortunada, que consiguió que muchos chicos se acercaran a los libros por primera vez. Aún recuerdo las conversaciones de recreo: “¿tenés éste?”, “mi papá me compró tal otro”, "¿me prestás aquel?" Parecía que fueran figuritas, más que libros, de lo que hablábamos.
Viaje por las galaxias fue mi primer libro de la colección, y mi favorito. No sólo por ser el primero -aunque confieso que algo ha tenido que ver- sino porque era el que más finales tenía, 44, y por lo tanto el que te permitía mayor número de aventuras.
Algo que nunca me gustó de la colección, es que a medida que avanzaba los libros venían cada vez con menos opciones, que era donde radicaba su gracia.
Seguramente, si hoy lo releyera le encontraría muchísimos defectos, pero no puedo separarlo de lo que significó en mi niñez.
June 28, 2021
I loved these books growing up, but also remember getting really frustrated with them and ultimately deciding that I must not be very "good" at them. So I've been wanting to try one as an adult. I think I learned two things:
1. The real problem with these books is that nothing is quite as magical as your first run through. After that, you're just dog-earing pages and flipping around to explore the different possibilities and it kind of kills the vibe. The major issue with that is that, as one other reviewer pointed out, the odds are very stacked against you getting a satisfying ending, even as an adult. My other issue is that...
2. On my first attempt my personality naturally guides me into the safest, dullest possible ending every time.
1. The real problem with these books is that nothing is quite as magical as your first run through. After that, you're just dog-earing pages and flipping around to explore the different possibilities and it kind of kills the vibe. The major issue with that is that, as one other reviewer pointed out, the odds are very stacked against you getting a satisfying ending, even as an adult. My other issue is that...
2. On my first attempt my personality naturally guides me into the safest, dullest possible ending every time.
December 6, 2021
"(...) te recibe un grupo de seis criaturas que ante tus ojos cambian de edad y de aspecto, transformándose de bebés en ancianos. (...) Es aterrador. Es mirar al pasado convertirse en presente y al presente en futuro. Es un calidoscopio viviente repitiendo eternamente el ciclo de nacimiento y de muerte."
"El presente no existe realmente."
*crisis existencial*
3,5/5
November 5, 2017
In Space and Beyond I went straight to Earth and stayed there. The end.
Read
October 24, 2022yeah im an intergalactic circus performer who trains quarks and particles, so what?
November 16, 2025
hard to know when to stop reading this one. maybe time is all just a circling wormhole that never ends except where it begins.
January 18, 2019
Love this series! It’s really great for kids who don’t like to read. Full of action and excitement!
January 4, 2024
A lot of space communism.
February 2, 2025
I picked this up on impulse at the library because I wanted something quick and easy to read. I love mapping out all the possible scenarios on a notepad while I explore each route. I can fill up a whole page chasing all the different endings. Space and Beyond was a straightforward Choose Your Own Adventure and nothing too groundbreaking. My favorite sections were the various aliens the protagonist encountered in outer space. This was rather creative, but it became repetitive trying to make sure I didn't forget any pages. I'll pick up future CYOA books if I feel the urge, but I'm in no hurry. I can always count on these for fast novels to zoom through like a rocket!
February 8, 2025
I've heard Space and Beyond described as the worst of all one hundred eighty-five original Choose Your Own Adventures, but is it that bad? Because you are born on a starship between galaxies, you get to choose your home planet: Phonon in the galaxy Pineum, or Zermacroyd in the galaxy Oophoss. Phonon has a bleak history, and scientists speculate its ancient star is burning out. Zermacroyd's history isn't much brighter, but the future is hopeful. Many intergalactic travelers would gladly go there. You must decide where to claim citizenship.
Zermacroyd is your mother's planet. You could depart for it immediately, but attending the Space Academy first might be wise. You can train as either a captain or researcher; if you choose the latter career, you jet off to study planets currently in the midst of bloody revolution. You might mediate a quarrel between the forces of light and the shadow people they wish to eradicate by creating a world of endless light. Maybe rather than enroll in the Space Academy, you choose to explore metaphysical awareness with Pherantz, the head of research. You could leave the ship you were born on without any education, but the route to Zermacroyd is pocked with black holes. You won’t survive in wild space long.
Is your wanderlust for Phonon instead of Zermacroyd? Your spacepod hits immediate turbulence, but do you want to send an S.O.S. hail so soon? The first living entity that shows up is a gelatinous blob. The creature or creatures want your help finding a new planet to inhabit. They may take you to planet Orgone, where you'll be asked to evaluate the citizenry, or zoom directly into a star with you in tow. Refuse to accompany the gelatinous blob and you're likely to fall in with space pirates. Will you join their pillaging trek? Resist the blob forcefully, and they might be more accommodating. You never run into the blob if you refrain from sending that initial S.O.S.; you could steer toward a light/island phenomenon and meet creatures with the power to teleport you to the future or distant past. Alternatively, you could be discovered by a starship on its way to treat a pandemic on the planet Axle. Volunteer for this mission, and you'll either save Axle or perish in diseased agony yourself. Other story options include hooking on with a caravan that may be bound for Phonon, or joining a ship of novelty entertainers. In space, adventure waits in every direction.
"We can experiment with the past...The past is not lost. It is just changed into a different form."
—Pherantz, P. 17
Space and Beyond isn't irredeemable as many say. True, R.A. Montgomery often forgets to write narrative endings and instead just explains what your final decision entails. Internal continuity is ridiculously bad at times, and the author overindulges his weakness for self-important ramblings and political utopianism. It's weird how many decisions are based on your feelings instead of choosing an action to take, and weirder still that your feelings redefine reality. Space and Beyond needed way better artistic discipline, which is frustrating because the book had potential. The plight of the shadow people is intensely relevant: a world in which one type of person decides another shouldn't exist, and takes steps to wipe them out. Too bad their story is treated with zero depth. It’s intriguing that you never reach Phonon or Zermacroyd; I used to consider this a black mark, but perhaps it is commentary on pursuing childhood goals all your life and never reevaluating. You can spend a lifetime chasing a dream that hasn't been yours in decades. I rate Space and Beyond one and a half stars; it's Choose Your Own Adventure's first failure, but I have fun even if the book should have been quantum leaps better.
Zermacroyd is your mother's planet. You could depart for it immediately, but attending the Space Academy first might be wise. You can train as either a captain or researcher; if you choose the latter career, you jet off to study planets currently in the midst of bloody revolution. You might mediate a quarrel between the forces of light and the shadow people they wish to eradicate by creating a world of endless light. Maybe rather than enroll in the Space Academy, you choose to explore metaphysical awareness with Pherantz, the head of research. You could leave the ship you were born on without any education, but the route to Zermacroyd is pocked with black holes. You won’t survive in wild space long.
Is your wanderlust for Phonon instead of Zermacroyd? Your spacepod hits immediate turbulence, but do you want to send an S.O.S. hail so soon? The first living entity that shows up is a gelatinous blob. The creature or creatures want your help finding a new planet to inhabit. They may take you to planet Orgone, where you'll be asked to evaluate the citizenry, or zoom directly into a star with you in tow. Refuse to accompany the gelatinous blob and you're likely to fall in with space pirates. Will you join their pillaging trek? Resist the blob forcefully, and they might be more accommodating. You never run into the blob if you refrain from sending that initial S.O.S.; you could steer toward a light/island phenomenon and meet creatures with the power to teleport you to the future or distant past. Alternatively, you could be discovered by a starship on its way to treat a pandemic on the planet Axle. Volunteer for this mission, and you'll either save Axle or perish in diseased agony yourself. Other story options include hooking on with a caravan that may be bound for Phonon, or joining a ship of novelty entertainers. In space, adventure waits in every direction.
"We can experiment with the past...The past is not lost. It is just changed into a different form."
—Pherantz, P. 17
Space and Beyond isn't irredeemable as many say. True, R.A. Montgomery often forgets to write narrative endings and instead just explains what your final decision entails. Internal continuity is ridiculously bad at times, and the author overindulges his weakness for self-important ramblings and political utopianism. It's weird how many decisions are based on your feelings instead of choosing an action to take, and weirder still that your feelings redefine reality. Space and Beyond needed way better artistic discipline, which is frustrating because the book had potential. The plight of the shadow people is intensely relevant: a world in which one type of person decides another shouldn't exist, and takes steps to wipe them out. Too bad their story is treated with zero depth. It’s intriguing that you never reach Phonon or Zermacroyd; I used to consider this a black mark, but perhaps it is commentary on pursuing childhood goals all your life and never reevaluating. You can spend a lifetime chasing a dream that hasn't been yours in decades. I rate Space and Beyond one and a half stars; it's Choose Your Own Adventure's first failure, but I have fun even if the book should have been quantum leaps better.
June 25, 2023
Within 5 minutes I was dead, lol! Glad there are more adventures to choose from!
August 14, 2022
La serie de Elige tu propia aventura es, literalmente, un clásico de nuestra infancia. He releído algunos, años después, y me parecen un poco cortos de miras, limitados en las posibilidades, pero cuando tenía 10 años cada uno de ellos era una maravilla lista para ser explorada hasta que hubiera dado todo lo que tenía dentro.
Al final siempre sabías que ibas a recorrer todos y cada uno de los caminos posibles. La emoción estaba, por tanto, en ganar y pasarte la historia al primer intento. Si no podías, pues nada, seguro que en el intento 18 acababas encontrando el camino. A veces los autores iban "a pillar", poniéndote los resultados buenos detrás de decisiones que eran claramente anómalas.
Recuerdo haber aprendido tanto palabras como hechos y datos en estos libros. No nadar contra la corriente cuando quieres llegar a tierra, dónde colocarse cuando un avión va a despegar, un montón de cosas interesantes y un montón de historias vividas, decenas por cada libro, que convirtieron a las serie en una colección fractal, donde cada vez podías elegir un libro nuevo entre los que ya tenías.
Llegué hasta el tomo 54 y dejé de tener interés por la serie, pero la serie siguió hasta superar los 100 títulos. Tal vez mis hijos quieran seguir el camino que yo empecé. Si quieres que lo sigan, pasa a la página 7.
Al final siempre sabías que ibas a recorrer todos y cada uno de los caminos posibles. La emoción estaba, por tanto, en ganar y pasarte la historia al primer intento. Si no podías, pues nada, seguro que en el intento 18 acababas encontrando el camino. A veces los autores iban "a pillar", poniéndote los resultados buenos detrás de decisiones que eran claramente anómalas.
Recuerdo haber aprendido tanto palabras como hechos y datos en estos libros. No nadar contra la corriente cuando quieres llegar a tierra, dónde colocarse cuando un avión va a despegar, un montón de cosas interesantes y un montón de historias vividas, decenas por cada libro, que convirtieron a las serie en una colección fractal, donde cada vez podías elegir un libro nuevo entre los que ya tenías.
Llegué hasta el tomo 54 y dejé de tener interés por la serie, pero la serie siguió hasta superar los 100 títulos. Tal vez mis hijos quieran seguir el camino que yo empecé. Si quieres que lo sigan, pasa a la página 7.
June 2, 2012
Our oldest has been bringing home various You Choose books from her elementary school library. And now at our local library we've discovered some of the books from the original Choose Your Own Adventure series that I read when I was a child. I remember loving books like this in my childhood and I am excited that our girls are discovering them as well.
This book centers on a space journey to different galaxies and planets, where various civilizations experience sickness, wars, pollution and other troubles. The choices made throughout the story can aggravate the problems, solve them or lead to an inconclusive future. This book seems to be more random than others we've read, but the unpredictable twists and turns that the story takes are interesting at least.
Overall, these are entertaining, though sometimes graphically violent stories. I tend to prefer the "You Choose" series over these because they have an educational and historical context, but the books in this series appeal to children, too. We enjoyed reading this book together.
This book centers on a space journey to different galaxies and planets, where various civilizations experience sickness, wars, pollution and other troubles. The choices made throughout the story can aggravate the problems, solve them or lead to an inconclusive future. This book seems to be more random than others we've read, but the unpredictable twists and turns that the story takes are interesting at least.
Overall, these are entertaining, though sometimes graphically violent stories. I tend to prefer the "You Choose" series over these because they have an educational and historical context, but the books in this series appeal to children, too. We enjoyed reading this book together.
February 7, 2012
So far, of all the newest edition books in the series this has been the worst. It has a good flow of story arcs, and the endings are well spread out but the writing is just really sub-par.
The space techno-babel is pretty incomprehensible as are the made up names for planets and aliens. It's not necessarily that they are so obviously made up that's bad, they just all seem so half arsed and random that it makes the stories hard to follow. I think above all this books biggest flaw was that it was hard to follow through most of it, even within the frame work of someone who has read a ton of these choose your own adventure books.
It's one we are not keeping on our book shelf but taking to trade in at our local used book store, and for me whether a book was good or not really comes down to would I read it again. Both my son and I agreed we wouldn't want to go through this again.
The space techno-babel is pretty incomprehensible as are the made up names for planets and aliens. It's not necessarily that they are so obviously made up that's bad, they just all seem so half arsed and random that it makes the stories hard to follow. I think above all this books biggest flaw was that it was hard to follow through most of it, even within the frame work of someone who has read a ton of these choose your own adventure books.
It's one we are not keeping on our book shelf but taking to trade in at our local used book store, and for me whether a book was good or not really comes down to would I read it again. Both my son and I agreed we wouldn't want to go through this again.
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