Played the Game? ... Now Read the Book!

                        by Dave Barker

One evening last autumn I was in a local bookshop, browsing along
the shelves of science fiction and fantasy paperbacks, when my
attention was caught by the spine of one particular book that made
it stand out from the rest. It was grey and had very thin
horizontal yellow lines evenly spaced down it. Deep in my
subconscious a voice whispered INFOCOM in recognition. I removed
the book and looked at the front cover; the title read THE ZORK
CHRONICLES! A quick check of the inside of the book confirmed the
INFOCOM connection and that there were four other titles
available, ENCHANTER, PLANETFALL, STATIONFALL and WISHBRINGER.
During the early part of this year a sixth book was released
entitled THE LOST CITY OF ZORK.

Hard facts with regard to these titles and how the INFOCOM book
label came about are very difficult to come by. However, some
back-issues of QUESTBUSTERS, an American adventurers' journal,
have offered a few items of information. In September 1987 it was
announced that BYRON PREISS VISUAL PUBLICATIONS, who devised and
produced many of TELARIUM'S graphic adventures, were going to
produce a line of novels based on INFOCOM'S best-selling titles.
These titles were to be published by AVON BOOKS. In May 1988 a
definite number of six titles were mentioned and it was said that
the first two titles, PLANETFALL and WISHBRINGER, were due for
imminent release. However it was not until August 1988 that
PLANETFALL and WISHBRINGER were released. Two more titles followed
in 1989, with ENCHANTER being released in May and STATIONFALL in
December. The full complement of six titles was made with the
release of THE ZORK CHRONICLES in July 1990 and THE LOST CITY OF
ZORK in February 1991.

ENCHANTER by Robin W. Bailey

The basic storyline in the book is the same as in the computer
game. It follows the adventures of a young enchanter, by the name
of ANESI, in his quest to defeat THE GREAT TERROR. This evil being
can see into the very fabric of the magical universe and can sense
both magic users and their spellcasting. The older and more
experienced the spellcaster the more in tune they are with the
magical universe and the more susceptible they are to the
corrupting influence of THE GREAT TERROR. Therefore it falls to
ANESI, an inexperienced enchanter but with good potential, to seek
out and the defeat the evil one. As he sets out on his journey
ANESI is joined by his best friend FIDGET who is the first to aid
him in his cause. Following the usual fantasy theme they are soon
joined by other characters who constitute the obligatory "party".

Those well-versed in INFOCOM'S early adventures will feel
completely at home within the covers of this book as both ZORK
geography and history are frequently mentioned. Also recognisable
is the magic system and the spell names that form the basis of
ENCHANTER. ANESI begins his journey with a new spellbook and a few
spells which include FROTZ - the light spell, and GNUSTO - which
writes a new spell into a spellbook. I found that although
ENCHANTER was enjoyable it was not that gripping. Whilst the text
was well-written and easy to read I personally thought it was

rather pedestrian and seemed to go by the numbers, probably a
product of the storyline being too closely tied to that of the
game.

PLANETFALL by Arthur Byron Cover

The central character in this book is HOMER B. HUNTER, a member of
the Stellar Patrol and a First Lieutenant aboard the SPS Our
Lady's Hornblower. This character and a few other supporting
characters are taken directly from the computer games PLANETFALL
and STATIONFALL. However the storyline is completely new and
therefore can be described as being the further adventures of Lt.
HUNTER rather than a book of the original computer game. Lt. HUNTER
is not a particularly distinguished officer but he does have his
moments. There are times when he is required to put his life, limb
and other parts of his anatomy on the line, all in the cause of
duty. The text is written in a humourous, if not black, style and
is very much in a Terry Pratchett vein. It proved to be a far more
enjoyable read than the previous titles. This is largely due to the


fact that the author had fewer restrictions placed on him as how
the storyline should develop and ultimately how it should end.
Actually the story does not end, it only pauses, and then continues
in STATIONFALL.

The following titles have not been read and any impressions voiced
are those formed by reading the sleeve notes and flicking through
the pages.

STATIONFALL by Arthur Byron Cover

As mentioned above, these are the further adventures of Lt. HUNTER.
The book being written by the same author as PLANETFALL appears to
be in the same style. Although this book also bears the name of
its computer forebear it, like PLANETFALL from which it follows,
has a completely different storyline. This book ends with the
promise of the story continuing in FUTUREFALL....


WISHBRINGER by Craig Shaw Gardner

This book appears to follow the main theme of the computer game
very closely. The central character is a con man called Simon who,
when caught by the authorities, is made to undertake a kind of
community service as punishment. Thus Simon is sentenced to
deliver the mail in the lovely town of Festeron. Suddenly Festeron
is not lovely any more and has been turned into the distinctly
nasty town of Witchville which is policed by the Boot Patrol.
Skipping through the book I noticed the following names - Sergeant
MacGuffin, Mr Crisp, Miss Voss, Princess Tasmania and King
Anatinus. Now where have I heard those names before!

THE ZORK CHRONICLES by George Alec Effinger

These writings chart the adventures of two heroes by the names of
Glorian and Mirakles as they explore the GREAT UNDERGROUND EMPIRE.
Once the pair have met and set off, the knowledgeable reader is
soon hit by a sense of deja vu when they find a white house in a
clearing. The door is locked but they discover an open window.
Once inside they find a room with a large oriental rug on the
floor. And what's under the rug? A trapdoor, of course! As one
would expect from a book of this title it has frequent references
to both ZORK geography and history.

THE LOST CITY OF ZORK by Robin W. Bailey

This is another in the line of the reluctant hero and his party on
a quest to do good. Dark days have come to Quendor and the Borphee
Guild of Wizards is in great peril. So it falls upon Casper
Wartsworth, a would-be adventurer and part-time barbarian, to put
all the evil to right. This appears to be the first book that has
no direct link with any of the computer adventures, apart from
being set in the world of ZORK, that is!

None of the afore-mentioned American authors is that well-known
outside the science fiction and fantasy sphere. Only the works of
Craig Shaw Gardner are available in general bookshops such as W H
Smiths on a regular basis. George Alec Effinger is responsible for
the storyline and most of the game text of CIRCUIT'S EDGE, the
most recent adventure to carry the INFOCOM logo. Although
well-received, CIRCUIT'S EDGE is currently only available for the
PC though it will run on the ST using an emulator.

Any INFOCOM addicts who might be interested in buying these titles
are in for a hard time. The problem is that none of the books is
printed in this country and they are only available as American
imports. Even in the Charing Cross Road area of Central London, an
area noted for being the national book centre and which boasts two
large paperback stores and several specialist fantasy book and
comic shops, they are difficult to find.

They tend to appear randomly and in very small numbers. Also they
seem to only appear in one shop at any one time! I have given up
speaking to the sales staff as no-one seems to be able to provide
any answers to the questions that I have asked with regard to the
supply and ordering of these books. A manager of one of the
specialist fantasy book and comic shops admitted he had no idea
about the books and that they seem to have been used to fill up
the spaces in the last crate of goods that he had received from
his American distributor. Another manager proclaimed that all but
the most recent titles, the ZORKS, were out of print and that
there were no plans for a reprint.

The only remaining question to ask is what about future titles?
And when will FUTUREFALL appear, if at all? Considering that the
last two releases have been one a year it could well be next year
before a new book might be published. Meanwhile I shall continue
scanning the bookshelves for that distinctive grey INFOCOM spine
and hope that future issues of QUESTBUSTERS provide more positive
news.