The Case of the Silk King (Choose Your Own Adventure #14) [Paperback]

Shannon Gilligan (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up

In 1967, a famous American named Jim Thompson disappeared in Malaysia. He had connections to the OSS, which would later become the CIA. He also had made a lot of money in the silk business. You receive a mysterious package at your home office. In it, you find $2,000, a plane ticket to Bangkok, and a newspaper article saying Thompson may have been seen there - recently. Your curiosity won't let you ignore a thrilling case like this! But beware, you're not the only one searching for Thompson. Some people want to ensure that he'll never be found, dead or alive...

Editorial Reviews

Review

Choose Your Own Adventure books were born from role-playing simulation games; and soon the books, which allowed readers to pick many different routes that the story could take, caught fire with children. --The Burlington Free Press

About the Author

SHANNON GILLIGAN is a well-known creator of interactive, narrative computer games. She has spoken about interactive narrative and game design at conferences in Japan, Europe, and the United States. Gilligan got her start in this field by writing for the Choose Your Own Adventure series in the 1980s. Her books and games have sold several million copies around the world. She graduated from Williams College in 1981 and lives in Warren, Vermont with her husband R.A. Montgomery and her extended family. Gilligan returns to Asia at least once a year. She harbors a secret ambition to write a cookbook.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Chooseco (November 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 193339014X
• ISBN-13: 978-1933390147
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #834,558 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sheer fascination, November 20, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Case of the Silk King (Choose Your Own Adventure #14) (Hardcover)

The series certainly has gone downhill since the glory days. "The Case of the Silk King" is among the best CYOA ever produced.

I don't know if Shannon Gilligan ever wrote another CYOA book, but this one rivals Edward Packard. It loosely takes the real-life story of Jim Thompson, an American silk magnate who disappeared in Thailand, and has the reader pretend to be a young detective asked to track down Thompson years later.

There no real reason tendered for why so many people don't want you to discover the truth, but this minor quibble never distracts from the general quality of the book. It takes the hoary conventions of CYOA books -- especially the use of the exotic locale -- and plays them to the hilt. If I recall correctly (I'm nineteen...it has been years...), you can get killed off by everything from a Bengal tiger to a flash flood if you make the wrong choice.

This is rather unique in the series, in that it takes off on an actual historical happening. CYOA doesn't get any better than this.

(P.S. -- Check out my review of "Your Code Name is Jonah" -- another classic CYOA book. E-mail me...we can talk about the strange hold this series has on the imagination...)