Status Updates From Elevator to Nowhere (Give Y...

Finally, a semi return to form… and I’m just getting to the juicy arc

Yup, walking alongside the bug zombie people was just as foolish a notion as I'd anticipated. And that brings us to the last ending of Elevator to Nowhere. My review will be here as soon as I'm able to sit down and thoughtfully craft it.

I'll join the zombie parade. I'm curious how long the BUGGY universe experience will prolong. Is this the final branch before the book ends?

Well, yeah...I could have guessed it would end something like that. But why didn't I read the print on the can until it was too late? Why did I just charge into the Transvator spraying, with Jamie's and my own life on the line? Kind of silly.

Let's give the bug spray a whirl and see what happens. I expect to be turned zombie...

Success! And back into the Transvator we go. It's worth noting that, aside from TRAPPER, BUGGY is the most detailed universe experience other than TRUANTS.

Do we try bug spray or boiling water to kill the insidious bugs inside the Transvator? I think Jamie had a point before, that this universe would not have bug spray as we know it sitting around. I'm opting for boiling water.

I don't think joining the "zombie parade" sounds like a good way to stay alive here in BUGGY world. Maybe I'm biased because I know the real Uncle Darius is in the TRAPPER universe, but I'm going to look for a way to clear the zombie-fying bugs out of the Transvator and resume my search for Darius ASAP.

Wearing long sleeves? Let's find my fate.

Ah. It turns out, wearing short sleeves in BUGGY universe, where everyone has thousands of bugs crawling all over themselves, is a dead giveaway that I'm different, and now I'M dead. I'll see what happens if I'm wearing sleeves.

Hmm...I'm wearing short sleeves right now. Is that a good or bad thing...?

My foray into FLIP world was rather quick; so far the only extended stay other than TRAPPER was TRUANTS. Last world, now: I'm headed for BUGGY...

THAT was an interesting way to die. Falling into outer space? Elevator to Nowhere has a LOT of creative diversity in its narrative options.

I suppose I'll go outside. I didn't come to this universe of reverse gravity just to immediately hop back into the Transvator and choose again!

Back to the initial Transvator choice. Two buttons remaining: FLIP or BUGGY? I'm choosing FLIP because it strikes me as more interesting on its face.

Goodness, I should have run with Jamie when I had the chance! Sapphire and friends had no good plans for us...

Sapphire the cat can speak intelligibly in this universe? I COULD jump back into the Transvator and choose again, but why not explore FAUNA world a bit?

Flipping back to where I first entered the Transvator, I still have three buttons I can use to explore other universes. I know the headhunter universe is in TRAPPER, but I'll select FAUNA.

I'm glad I didn't choose THAT on my first try! Give Yourselves Goosebumps can be way too random for its own good, but sometimes being logical does pay off.

If I attack the headhunters who captured Jamie instead of going inside for an invention to fight back with, will my life end as quickly as I expect? Let's see.

Yep, just as I thought. A sizzling and sudden ending to my adventure in the headhunter universe.

I have a feeling I know the result if I forgo looking for the flashlight and just grope blindly for the switch inside the basement door. But let's find out!

Hey, I didn't turn out the lights on purpose! I was flying blind. How was I to know what ANY of the buttons on the controller did?

Heck, let's see what happens if I push the lightbulb button on the control device rather than the electricity bolt.

I have a feeling that was THE satisfying ending for this book. Not a bad one: adventure, atmosphere, a well-defined quest, and it didn't fly off the rails with silliness.

Okay, THAT did exactly nothing. I'm left with a narrowed-down choice of two...and I'll go for the little electricity bolt insignia.

I have little to go on in selecting which of the three control device buttons I'll press. Maybe the one with the clock face sends me back a bit in time so I can avoid Uncle Darius and Jamie falling in the pit?

I think I know better than to grope in the dark for a light switch in the secret lab of a headhunter who surely wants to defend his stash of inventions. I'm going for a flashlight before entering.

Well, yes, that DID seem the obvious end to charging five grown, experienced hunters with a machete. But I've read too many Give Yourself Goosebumps books that have silly endings when you presume something foreign to be a weapon. I was NOT going to select that sprayer, but...here we go.