CYOA02: Journey Under the Sea

Written by R.A. Montgomery - Illustrated by Paul Granger

I've always been a sucker for interesting gamebook art and even though you're told not to from such a young age, I can't help but judge books by their covers. The Choose-Your-Own-Adventure series has always been known for its insane artwork and Journey Under the Sea does not disappoint.

We have a crazy underwater vortex sucking up a deep-sea diver and a menacing looking great white shark about to eat him. There's a futuristic submarine, like something from a 1960s Sci-Fi movie, and what looks to be the ruins of a long lost underwater city.

You'd be right if you were thinking that it might be Atlantis, as this adventure is all about you searching for the long lost city in your submarine.

I played this through so many times in one sitting, as I do with all CYOA books. The thing about these gamebooks is you can find an ending in a matter of minutes if you pick well. You can find many of the funny and obscure death scenes too if you choose badly! But that's why they're great, you can play through nearly every choice, every path and find every ending in about an hour (if you log your previous attempts).

On your journey to find Atlantis you can come across a number of different enemies and obstacles that will challenge you to make the right choice. From battling Great White Sharks, a Giant Octopus, Swordfish, Underwater Volcanoes, there's even a whole storyline about a government conspiracy in the lost city and how you can help in the assistance of a revolution. It's all pretty crazy.

The writing is fantastic, always witty and humorous, and always a pleasure to read. There are some really detailed scientific passages too, which could be complete rubbish from an academic point of view but to the average Gamebook-Joe, they sound pretty awesome.

The artwork inside the book is incredible. As always, these old gamebooks paint a wonderful picture of the scene you're playing through, it's nice to have a visual representation of certain things too (especially when they are so bizarre, you find it hard to imagine).

I try not to give too much away when reviewing gamebooks, as that would ruin the experience of actually playing through yourself. It's pretty hard not to start listing all the awesome deaths and failures as well as the cool achievements and triumphs I came across while playing. But what I can say is that Journey Under the Sea is a short and sweet adventure that's jam-packed with gruesome deaths, hilarious scenarios, and very stylish illustrations.

If you enjoy those old 1950s-60s Science Fiction monster movies, you'll adore this one.


Reviewed by Harrison Marchant