Status Updates From The Cave of Time (Choose Yo...

I suppose in the end, most of us find ourselves pining and searching for a time other than our own. For this man with tuberculosis, finding it meant the difference between life and death.

Freaked out though I am by water, I can't stay stranded in this grotto forever. I have to bet my life that I can swim out the tunnel before I drown...

One of the coziest endings in the book, even if it shares little information on the historical background of 1940 London.

I love The Cave of Time. The book isn't without flaws, but it's a magnificent pacesetter for this groundbreaking series, executed stunningly by Edward Packard. Reading it is a treat I try to indulge in a few times per year, but not so often that I become overly familiar with the narrative branches and lose that aura of mystery.

Since we made it back home, I guess the moral is: don't mess with forces beyond your reckoning unless you're prepared to be taken places beyond your control.

Has my blackout perhaps caused the cave entrance to revert to its normal state?

A powerful ending, this one. It so effectively contrasts what actually happened to the Titanic with the possibility for survival that you pitch to the captain and get rejected on.

It's about time for my trip aboard the Titanic. I've never read Jim Wallace's Choose Your Own Adventure specifically set on that ship, but I will someday. Maybe in 2026?

My first ending of this read through the book. It's among the more political and ridiculous endings, a fantastical indulgence for Mr. Packard, but I do like that Paul Granger illustration to punctuate it.

Under the strange circumstances surrounding my exit from the cave, I'd do best to make it home soon as possible.

I don't plan to read any other books that require a new review before the Newbery awards are announced Monday. So...let's revisit one of my Choose Your Own Adventure favorites, among the finest interactive stories Edward Packard penned.

An intriguing, thoughtful ending.

A good, strong ending, left ambiguous but with purpose.

Seeing as this ending is set in the future year of 2022, I can say that Edward Packard's ideological biases here feel more ludicrous than ever. Most of this book avoids political fever dreams, though.

A minor typo on this page that's fixed in later editions.

I made it back to Red Creek Ranch! Until The Forbidden Castle, that is...

Ice has sealed the cave entrance, so I'll choose to follow the tunnel on the right.

I would definitely be too panicked to wait in this dark cave until morning.

I'm gifting this copy of the book to a dear friend for his birthday on Friday. I want to read it first and see if there are differences from the edition I've read most of my life, which has James Warhola cover art. I assume Paul Granger did the cover for this edition.

Wow! Even when you don't pursue the Loch Ness monster, he pursues you.

Nice! An ending of succinct ambiguity.

No way am I going to break open the egg to prove to my uncle I saw a real sea serpent!

Shall we leap from the tower into the king's murky moat?

Making the most of life where you are, wherever you are, is definitely the central theme of this book.

Another opportunity to grow where you're planted In a foreign time and place, this time the year 982.

I can't swim, so jumping from the tower into the deep moat is not advisable. I'll wait and hope for a better escape chance.

Oh, my, what faces! Paul Granger, you are a genius.