Escape from Fire Island! a Date With Destiny Adventure

by James H. English | Gay & Lesbian |
ISBN: 1931686408 Global Overview for this book
Registered by wingGoryDetailswing of Nashua, New Hampshire USA on 4/5/2003
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This book is in the wild! This Book is Currently in the Wild!
11 journalers for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by wingGoryDetailswing from Nashua, New Hampshire USA on Saturday, April 5, 2003
I don't usually register a book I don't have in hand yet, but I couldn't resist posting this one; I saw a review of it in a magazine, swung by the local bookstore to see if they had it, and when they didn't I dashed home and ordered a copy. Will update when it arrives - but at this point I figure it's worth the trouble for the concept alone. Basically, it's a choose-your-own-adventure book set on Fire Island... Stay tuned!

(From the Amazon book description: "This hilarious sci-fi parody chronicles one man’s weekend vacation on Fire Island, where—amid all the cocktails, Speedos, and circuit parties—he’s hoping to find true love. But these amorous plans are foiled when a vat of toxic waste washes ashore—and it’s up to him to save Fire Island from a plague of zombie drag queens!")

Journal Entry 2 by wingGoryDetailswing from Nashua, New Hampshire USA on Friday, April 11, 2003
OK, I liked this - I really liked it! Toxic waste is turning everyone on Fire Island into homicidal zombie drag queens; do you flee to the ferry, attempt to find a way to defeat the tottering-on-platform-heels undead, or try to score at the nearest bar? [Think of your favorite cheesy zombie flick, but where the girlish screams come from your buddy the drama queen instead of a cheerleader.]

As a choose-your-own book it's quite well done: the choices are plentiful and varied - sensible choices, libido-driven choices, the "I know this is a bad idea but I want to see what happens" choices, just plain unlucky choices - and the possible endings cover a pretty wide swathe, with a few that may be regarded as "successful" and lots of opportunities for disaster.

And it's funny. Silly/campy/funny: when the hero's swimsuit is shredded he exclaims "Damn it! That was Versace!" And there are hunky lifeguards, and glory holes, and mermen, and... well, as one of the cover-blurb reviews puts it, "All the excitement of a Fire Island vacation - for just $7.95. You can't even buy a *drink* on Fire Island for $7.95!"

If I had one quibble it would be that the illustrations are a wee bit tame - but I suppose that's in keeping with the style of the book, so I won't fuss too much. [They're tame enough that they might puzzle, but probably won't shock, anyone who opens this book under the impression that it's a traditional choose-your-own adventure book.]

The cover also lists future releases in the "Date with Destiny" line, and I sincerely hope they're really in the works. I can't wait to read "I Know Who You Did Last Summer"... There appear to be adventures aimed at straight women as well; "Night of a Thousand Boyfriends," by Miranda Clarke, is already listed on the bookseller sites. I do not know, however, whether the "future Date with Destiny Adventure" entitled "Journey to the Bottom of Ben Affleck" is, in fact, an actual planned release or a bit of a hack. {grin}

*** Later: I found a copy of Night of a Thousand Boyfriends; if anything, I liked it even better than this one. Looks like a good series!

Journal Entry 3 by wingGoryDetailswing from Nashua, New Hampshire USA on Monday, April 14, 2003
This one's on its way. Bookray mailing order:

N8an (Ottawa, ON)
ottawabill (Ottawa, ON)
mojosmom (Chicago, IL)
cj (Florence, AZ)

Please journal when you get the book, and PM the next in line for their address. Oh, and when you're "playing" the book, make sure to check the "turn to page X" numbers and get the correct page, or the story can get rather confusing. [Not that I would know about this from personal experience, mind.] And no cheating!

Journal Entry 4 by N8an from Ottawa, Ontario Canada on Friday, April 25, 2003
"Just like the Choose Your Own Adventure books I used to read growing up. Only with hotter guys. In speedoes. And blow-jobs!"

Heh.

I rest my case.

It just arrived, will devour said book, then pass it on to the next in the ray, OttawaBill.

Journal Entry 5 by ottawabill from Ottawa, Ontario Canada on Tuesday, July 15, 2003
Got this Thursday past form N8an while attending a GLBT literary related event.

Looks like a hoot and am looking forward to reading it. Will move it up on the TBR pile so as not to hold the ray up too long.

Journal Entry 6 by ottawabill from Ottawa, Ontario Canada on Monday, August 18, 2003
Well I was right about one thing and wrong about another.

The book was a hoot..or as I like to say..a hoot and a half. It was also just what I needed. I got news yesterday that my office would be closed today due to the power outage not being 100% fixed, so I could stay up a little later than usual for a Sunday night. And I was in a bit of a funk so i needed something fun. BINGO.

It didn't take me long to have my errant hunk melted by glowing drag queens and then later drown in the ocean, torn to bit by zombies, and other mishaps as I started over and over again. Of course a ong the way he also had some fun times and managed not to kill Jose..although I'm not sure I could have had the same restraint.

After I had re-run the adventure routes four or five times I browsed through the remaining pages to see what I had missed. Although I have never been to Fire Island it sounded much like I would expect a spoof /parady of the place to be and once you suspend reality enough to go with the story it all sounded quite plausible and amusing. I even substituted local drag queen's faces for the ones in the story and misbegotten boyfreinds became the faces of the doomed tourists...bet they wish now they had been nicer to me before :-) LOL.

I stayed up later than I planned but feel alseep in a much lighter mood. Thanks GoreyDetails..your gentle prod to read the book came at just the right moment.

As of the thing I was wrong about. I kept the book longer than planned. As soon as I secure mojomom's address it goes off to her.

Journal Entry 7 by ottawabill at -- By Hand Or Post, Ray/Ring, Meet-Up, RABCK in Chicago, Illinois USA on Monday, September 15, 2003
Released on Monday, September 15, 2003 at By mail to another bookcrosser, mojosmom in Chicago, Illinois USA.

I thought this had already gone in the mail but found it this afternoon under some documents. Off it goes in the morning.

Journal Entry 8 by mojosmom from Chicago, Illinois USA on Sunday, September 21, 2003
Received from Ottawabill along with a very cool postcard! (See image)

Will read and report!

Journal Entry 9 by mojosmom from Chicago, Illinois USA on Friday, October 3, 2003
Decisions, decisions! How can one make these life- and world-altering choices when surrounded by hunks? Not to mention temptation! (Or is that redundant?)

It's certainly fun along the way. This book has now been passed on to cj to join in the fun.

Journal Entry 10 by cj on Thursday, October 9, 2003
rec'd the book Tuesday. Tried it once right away and was promptly killed off by zombie drag queens. Looking forward to some more adventures.

Journal Entry 11 by fanclub on Saturday, November 15, 2003
ohmigod! I had *no* idea that this was a choose your own adventure book! Those were my favorite things to read as a kid. Although the subject matter was surely different! :) I can't wait to read this, then I will pass it on to The Center.

Journal Entry 12 by fanclub at The Center on Beretania Street in Honolulu, Hawaii USA on Thursday, April 1, 2004
Released on Thursday, April 01, 2004 at The Center on Beretania Street in Honolulu, Hawaii USA.

This is a truly hilarious, twisty little read! Definitely a departure from the "Dungeons and Dragons" Choose-Your-Own-Adventure books I read as a geeky kid...not that there's anything wrong with that. ;)

Journal Entry 13 by fanclub on Sunday, April 25, 2004
Oops! This book was actually still in my car, so I loaned it to librelover. When she's finished it will make its way to The Center!

Journal Entry 14 by teamcorizzo from Leavenworth, Kansas USA on Wednesday, May 12, 2004
I too, am a CYOA fan and can't wait to read this one. Will return it at next meeting for freedom at the center.


Journal Entry 15 by teamcorizzo from Leavenworth, Kansas USA on Thursday, May 13, 2004
Funny, clever. I, however, kept dying. I never found love. I make a terrible gay man.

Journal Entry 16 by allysther from Makakilo, Hawaii USA on Monday, May 31, 2004
Ok, I've gone through the story once, and I'm in love. I really don't remember choose your own adventure books like this when I was young!

After reading as many combinations as I could, I have to say that this is my favorite choose your own adventure of all time. This book was SOOOOO much fun! Thank you for sharing it.

Journal Entry 17 by skeeterbess from Waianae, Hawaii USA on Monday, July 19, 2004
Very silly & a lot of fun. Zombie drag queens show up just in time to ruin tourist season at the gay mecca, Fire Island. Choose-your-own format allows multiple options for the reader to choose from each time the hero must make a decision.

Will be redistributed among TOC members at our next meeting.

Journal Entry 18 by SiniMeri from Alameda, California USA on Monday, August 23, 2004
An interesting concept, but not much content. Got this as a controlled release at a BC meeting.


Journal Entry 19 by Purple58 from Honolulu, Hawaii USA on Sunday, September 26, 2004
This one gets old VERY fast. I rarely leave a book unfinished-- but made an exception for this one. However, reading the comments below I wonder what's wrong with my literary acumen. Jaded by too many gay zombies early on? Qui sait?

Released on Monday, December 27, 2004 at about 12:00:00 PM BX time (GMT-06:00) Central Time (US & Canada) at University of Hawaii LGBT Student Center in Honolulu, Hawaii USA.

RELEASE NOTES:

Leaving in the lending library.

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