Haley’s review of At the Mountains of Madness (Choose Your Own Adventure New Classics) > Likes and Comments
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Jacopo wrote: "Hi Haley! Thanks so much for your kind review.
Just for clarity, you're quite right regarding the scene with the laptop! You are very much supposed to flip to page 141 instead 190. That was just a..."
Sorry, I returned the book to my local library and can't recall that specific path. However, I did go through every page and path, and was keeping track of everything on a notepad as I was reading. I am happy to report I only died 2-3 times.
In my opinion, the decision to remain at Camp Starkweather is the "Safe" option. While it is a decent storyline, and extremely creative with the zombie animal corpses (I did kinda want more of that. It was super cool and I wished for the book to be a graphic novel to get better visuals.), I hate that by the end of it - if you survive - is escaping the Artic without your parents. You can feel how horrible the character feels about the situation, but as an outsider reading it, I couldn't understand why. Based on the little information given about the protagonist's parents, you're almost led to believe they used their own child as part of this evil experiment. There's also this feeling of detachment from them.
This is why I prefer the main decision to go to Camp Moore, return to collect the campers, then move on to the alien city. Not only is there more adventure for the thrill seeker in us all, but you get a better understanding of the parents that was sorely lacking in the previously stated option. Don't get me wrong, I understand why the information is lacking in the Camp Starkweather decision since we're given limited background information and never have communication with the parents. I just prefer the story decision that provided all that as it made the story feel more complete.
And one more thing, I liked that the AI was named BROTHR. The reason given by the protagonist's mother was a great reason for its name, but it also creeped me out because I got 1984 Big Brother vibes. It certainly added to the horror element for me.
Only 2-3 times? Impressive! I hope one of them was when you and Sky took a stand against the Shoggoth. (It's one of my favorite endings in the book.)
That said, you're absolutely right. The Camp Starkweather path is more action-oriented, and the Camp Moore path is more adventurous. I wrote it that way, which is why the latter is the only path that takes you to the mountains and your parents. (We even had a deleted branch where You could investigate Camp Vostok, but my editors and I agreed it was way too voilent. It was basically DOOM in Antarctica, and while Guy and Sam survive it, You would not.
Ultimately, the only way to find your parents—short of reading every page in the book from start to finish—is to turn to the page your mother wrote onto the Necronomicon in Roman numerals when Moon guides you to "follow your mother's hand." If you do, then and only then will you rescue your parents, escape the city, and learn the truth about You, the campers, BROTHR, and why your parents weren't so evil after all. (I deliberately made them morally ambiguous at first, but by the end of this pathway, you understand what they had been through.)
And correct again! BROTHR is meant to evoke memories of Big Brother from '1984,' MU/TH/UR 6000 from 'Alien,' and thE HAL 9000 supercomputer from '2001: A Space Odyssey.' In short, you shouldn't trust it!
Again, thanks so much for reading this! Please feel free to email Chooseco your suggestions. I'd love to see this book made into a graphic novel. In the meantime, if you choose to explore that hidden route into th book's secret ending, please let me know your thoughts!
Sincerely,
J
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Jacopo wrote: "Hi Haley! Thanks so much for your kind review.Just for clarity, you're quite right regarding the scene with the laptop! You are very much supposed to flip to page 141 instead 190. That was just a..."
Sorry, I returned the book to my local library and can't recall that specific path. However, I did go through every page and path, and was keeping track of everything on a notepad as I was reading. I am happy to report I only died 2-3 times.
In my opinion, the decision to remain at Camp Starkweather is the "Safe" option. While it is a decent storyline, and extremely creative with the zombie animal corpses (I did kinda want more of that. It was super cool and I wished for the book to be a graphic novel to get better visuals.), I hate that by the end of it - if you survive - is escaping the Artic without your parents. You can feel how horrible the character feels about the situation, but as an outsider reading it, I couldn't understand why. Based on the little information given about the protagonist's parents, you're almost led to believe they used their own child as part of this evil experiment. There's also this feeling of detachment from them.
This is why I prefer the main decision to go to Camp Moore, return to collect the campers, then move on to the alien city. Not only is there more adventure for the thrill seeker in us all, but you get a better understanding of the parents that was sorely lacking in the previously stated option. Don't get me wrong, I understand why the information is lacking in the Camp Starkweather decision since we're given limited background information and never have communication with the parents. I just prefer the story decision that provided all that as it made the story feel more complete.
And one more thing, I liked that the AI was named BROTHR. The reason given by the protagonist's mother was a great reason for its name, but it also creeped me out because I got 1984 Big Brother vibes. It certainly added to the horror element for me.
Only 2-3 times? Impressive! I hope one of them was when you and Sky took a stand against the Shoggoth. (It's one of my favorite endings in the book.)That said, you're absolutely right. The Camp Starkweather path is more action-oriented, and the Camp Moore path is more adventurous. I wrote it that way, which is why the latter is the only path that takes you to the mountains and your parents. (We even had a deleted branch where You could investigate Camp Vostok, but my editors and I agreed it was way too voilent. It was basically DOOM in Antarctica, and while Guy and Sam survive it, You would not.
Ultimately, the only way to find your parents—short of reading every page in the book from start to finish—is to turn to the page your mother wrote onto the Necronomicon in Roman numerals when Moon guides you to "follow your mother's hand." If you do, then and only then will you rescue your parents, escape the city, and learn the truth about You, the campers, BROTHR, and why your parents weren't so evil after all. (I deliberately made them morally ambiguous at first, but by the end of this pathway, you understand what they had been through.)
And correct again! BROTHR is meant to evoke memories of Big Brother from '1984,' MU/TH/UR 6000 from 'Alien,' and thE HAL 9000 supercomputer from '2001: A Space Odyssey.' In short, you shouldn't trust it!
Again, thanks so much for reading this! Please feel free to email Chooseco your suggestions. I'd love to see this book made into a graphic novel. In the meantime, if you choose to explore that hidden route into th book's secret ending, please let me know your thoughts!
Sincerely,
J
Just for clarity, you're quite right regarding the scene with the laptop! You are very much supposed to flip to page 141 instead 190. That was just an error.... Or was it?
You see, 190 is an angel number—which I honestly had just learned about while working on the book. And as demonstrated earlier, Guy has a unique interest in angels. The number 190 is supposed to encourage self-reliance and exploration, such as searching through the book to find the proper ending to that particular story... which you did! (Just so you know, the other documents on the laptop and the plot-map on the back cover would have similarly taken you to page 141.)
The exercise should prime readers for the second and more consequential time when they have to find their own path through the book. Specifically, during its climax, which you mentioned in your review.
Have you tried turning to the page written in Roman numerals on the Necronomicon by "your mother's hand"? If not, please do so! I'd love to hear your thoughts about what happens if you choose that path.
Thanks again!