Item - Challenge of the Pegasus Grail

In many ways, I found this to be the best book so far in the series. As before, the setting is familiar enough to make it easy for any reader accustomed to fantasy tales to understand what's going on, and, as an added bonus, the writing is decent and the choices feel meaningful. What made the book stand out for me most, though, was its effective characterization -- I found the characters more likeable and believable than those in past adventures, and the romantic element of the story actually makes sense here. Unlike the "romance by default" found in all too many romantic stories, the relationship here is actually based on the characters' history together. It's amazing what a difference a believable context makes. My only major complaint is that the book is rather short. While some paths are longer than others, most are shorter than one would like them to be, and all too many end without resolving the whole story. I would probably have enjoyed myself more if there were fewer (but longer) pathways. A sequel wouldn't have hurt either, though considering the many possible endings here, there would be no easy way to follow this story up, which I suppose demonstrates an inherent problem (though not necessarily a flaw) in gamebooks that don't have a single, predetermined happy conclusion.

More reviews by Demian

A nice solid entry in the series. Like the other novels, it is a nice substitute for Endless Quest books, but the female protagonist versions seem more like HeartQuest novels.

In this one you play a young village girl, childhood playmate of the young prince of the kingdom. Both characters are likable, the prince suffering from a childhood injury which forces him to limp. You can help him on his quest, to help the dryads who guard your kingdom from Blackthorn and his evil kobolds. There are multiple paths, giving the book high replayability, and the choices were not always obvious, to me at least. Most of the endings are relatively happy. The romance angle is stronger than the last book but feels fairly realistic. It also has a wide range of monsters.

A good book overall.

More reviews by Kveto

[Rating: 3/10]
[Recommended? NO]

Rhondi Vilott's "Dragontales" gamebooks are a pleasantly refreshing exploration of the limitless potential of the epic fantasy genre, providing within each title an adventurous sort of excursion into danger with a bit of romance on the side. It shouldn't come as a surprise that the same approach returns in "Challenge of the Pegasus Grail", what with its fairly lengthy quest of a familiar nature and the way readers are intended to play through it. Distinctively different enough in tone yet reminiscent of both the "HeartQuest" and "Endless Quest" series in more ways than I predicted, this is a moderately paced story with a commendably well-conceived setting and cast of characters (for the most part), and while the narrative and set-up are admittedly on the predictable side of things, the eloquently fashioned tone is quite readable. It's a seamless experience overall, but I couldn't help finding myself strangely dissatisfied by the end of it; perhaps I was hoping for something a little more ambitious or innovative, since I thoroughly enjoyed reading good portions of the book and found it ended before it made much use of what the experience had going for it. Is that a bad thing? Not necessarily - but it made me more analytical upon my next few re-reading exercises, to which I came to the conclusion that, alas, some paths are more satisfying than others, and that the intuitive incompleteness was owing to the fact that not every path was... well, completely written.

This title is recommended to a precisely particular extent: a majority of fantasy readers and gamebook lovers alike will relish in the refreshing feel and thoughtfully designed adventure offered here. But a few warnings are to be had (which keep me from recommending this title wholly) - not all copies are created equal! Original printing editions feature proper passage pointing, well-formatted pages and some absolutely stunning cover artwork by the brilliant Tom Hallman... while reprintings and reissues are cheap, shallow, incorrectly embedded and outright ugly to look at, if not unreadable and inaccessible (numerous errors, omissions and problems with the writing itself). Furthermore, don't be surprised if the entirety of the book is not as good as the best parts (ex. alternative routes)... but don't be afraid to give this one a shot if this sounds up your alley! ^^

(Mysteriously disappears into the shadows.)

More reviews by Shadeheart