Oh, no! Five friends have been captured and trapped in a castle by a wicked wizard. To free them from the torture chamber, the reader must battle vampire bats, break the magic mirror's spell, and disconnect the mechanical monster. Only the quickest and most daring can outwit the wizard. In each of Patrick Burston's Choose-Your-Challenge gamebooks, the reader is assigned a task, then put in control of the direction the story will take. Each page is a new opportunity to alter the course of destiny--at least for this adventure. Along the way, the brave pathfinder will encounter obstreperous obstacles, maddening mazes, mathematical enigmas, and puzzles to perplex even the most clever clue seekers. The way each problem is solved determines which page to turn to next. Often, the intrepid explorer will reach the brink of success, only to be banished to the beginning again, perhaps this time choosing more adroitly among the plethora of permutations for each story. Alastair Graham's dynamic illustrations invite the reader to linger, seeking out the secret details and imagining the lively action within. What better way to prepare children for the decision-making responsibilities they will be shouldering later in life? (Ages 4 to 10) --Emilie Coulter