Bantam, $1.75, ISBN 0-553-2@49-3
Fantasy, 1979
Much speculation has been made as to whether D Terman, the fellow behind By Balloon to the Sahara, is a pseudonym for RA Montgomery, but apparently the simplest explanation is true in this case: D stands for Douglas, and it is just happy coincidence that D Terman sounds just like “determine”. You determine your destiny in a Choose Your Own Adventure gamebook, get it?
However, it is also possible that Mr Montgomery might have fiddled with Mr Terman’s draft heavily before it went into publication, as the style and even self-inserts in this one are very similar to Mr Montgomery’s. Plus, at one point, the ending of a route sends you off to Journey Under the Sea, which is by Mr Montgomery himself.
Such speculation overshadows the gamebook itself, which can be a bit of a shame, because it is Baby’s First Acid Trip for little tykes. Yes, the campaign makes little sense, and while the cover of the reissue is more flashy but generic, the delightfully kooky original cover by Paul Granger reveals the truth: there are aliens, submarines, and more waiting for you here.
Oh yes, you’re on a trip by hot air balloon to the Sahara, and there are submarines and aliens.
This is because your trip, which you undertake with your friends Paul and Sarah, oh and the dog Harry too from France, floats right into a storm as you guys are over the Mediterranean sea. The first big decision you have to make is whether to cut the ropes and plummet into the sea, or take a gamble and keep going anyway. Whatever you decide will send you to various short bizarre routes that more often than not come to abrupt ends, with you wondering whether Mr Terman is laughing at you when you run splat against such ends.
This campaign is very Mr Montgomery-ish in that it pushes a very similar twisted take on whatever hippie principles that fellow believes in at the moment. For example, you can opt to join a Captain Nemo-ish fellow on his submarine to blow up ships in order to protect the whales, but if you opt to change your mind and believe that people’s lives should be valued over whales’, you die. On the other hand, being an eco-terrorist lands you onto the lap of fame and fortune. It’s hilarious in a a stupid way.
You are also often given choices to be lawful stupid, such as running off into more danger should you believe that your potential rescuers are people that are not aligned with your principles. Hilariously, or cringe-inducing, depending on how you look at it, taking the lawful stupid option is often the “right” thing to do here.
The end result is a larger-than-life dumb campaign that is fun to laugh at. The While it may not be worth the cover price of the 2005 reissue, it’s probably worth a peek should you find an older edition in a used bookstore or garage sale. Have fun figuring out whether you are being trolled or the whole thing is misguidedly earnest!
