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Choose Your Own Adventure #97
Through the Black Hole
You're The Star! 15 Exciting Endings!
Enter A Dimension That No Human Being Has Ever Seen !
You have been chosen for a mission that has never been attempted before - a journey to the center of a black hole. Scientists can only guess what will happen. You've been warned that you may not retum alive. The spaceship Athena will actually enter the hole; its sister ship, the Nimrod, will only go to the edge and observe. Which ship will you choose to pilot?
If you choose the Athena, turn to page 14. If you choose the Nimrod, turn to page 64. But be careful! Once you fall into a black hole you may end up as a few trillion neutrons scattered throughout space. Or you could be the first person to emerge from a black hole and retum to earth a hero!
What happens next in the story? It all depends on the choices you make. How does the story end? Only you can find out! And the best part is that you can keep reading and rereading until you've had not one but many incredibly daring experiences!
Enter A Dimension That No Human Being Has Ever Seen !
You have been chosen for a mission that has never been attempted before - a journey to the center of a black hole. Scientists can only guess what will happen. You've been warned that you may not retum alive. The spaceship Athena will actually enter the hole; its sister ship, the Nimrod, will only go to the edge and observe. Which ship will you choose to pilot?
If you choose the Athena, turn to page 14. If you choose the Nimrod, turn to page 64. But be careful! Once you fall into a black hole you may end up as a few trillion neutrons scattered throughout space. Or you could be the first person to emerge from a black hole and retum to earth a hero!
What happens next in the story? It all depends on the choices you make. How does the story end? Only you can find out! And the best part is that you can keep reading and rereading until you've had not one but many incredibly daring experiences!
116 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 1989
About the author
Edward Packard
170 books128 followersEdward Packard attended and graduated from both Princeton University and Columbia Law School. He was one of the first authors to explore the idea of gamebooks, in which the reader is inserted as the main character and makes choices about the direction the story will go at designated places in the text.
The first such book that Edward Packard wrote in the Choose Your Own Adventure series was titled "Sugarcane Island", but it was not actually published as the first entry in the Choose Your Own Adventure Series. In 1979, the first book to be released in the series was "The Cave of Time", a fantasy time-travel story that remained in print for many years. Eventually, one hundred eighty-four Choose Your Own Adventure books would be published before production on new entries to the series ceased in 1998. Edward Packard was the author of many of these books, though a substantial number of other authors were included as well.
In 2005, Choose Your Own Adventure books once again began to be published, but none of Edward Packard's titles have yet been included among the newly-released books.
The first such book that Edward Packard wrote in the Choose Your Own Adventure series was titled "Sugarcane Island", but it was not actually published as the first entry in the Choose Your Own Adventure Series. In 1979, the first book to be released in the series was "The Cave of Time", a fantasy time-travel story that remained in print for many years. Eventually, one hundred eighty-four Choose Your Own Adventure books would be published before production on new entries to the series ceased in 1998. Edward Packard was the author of many of these books, though a substantial number of other authors were included as well.
In 2005, Choose Your Own Adventure books once again began to be published, but none of Edward Packard's titles have yet been included among the newly-released books.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
November 27, 2017
I think this book was pretty good. I've been interested in the field of astrophysics and astronomy and I have gotten into black holes lately. This book is a Choose Your Own Adventure meaning you are the main character and you get to make the decisions. You can read this book over and over again and it will usually have a different ending depending on your decisions. I think this book is not bad and contained a little bit of astronomy facts. It lost a star because it wasn't as informational as I would wish it to be and also can sometimes be boring but overall, the Choose you Adventure books such as this one will appeal to many people who do not enjoy reading traditional books. All in all, a decent read and I recommend it to anyone who likes fiction, astronomy, and Choose you own Adventure type of books.
December 3, 2017
I went through a few endings of this with my son (9 years old) today and had to keep correcting things as I went along. The science is just terribly bad. The choices are also extremely sparse, most sections going 3-5 pages before reaching a branching point. In one of the choices, the character makes a mistake and doesn't actually do what the reader chooses, which loses all sense of agency.
My son seemed to enjoy it ok, but was bored by the lack of choices and that the story takes a long time to make any real progress.
My son seemed to enjoy it ok, but was bored by the lack of choices and that the story takes a long time to make any real progress.
August 29, 2024
Loved this book, I learned so much about black holes from this book, haha children’s book who! It’s my first time reading a book like this, where you get to make your own decisions with the plot. I wish it had more choices but it was fun going though. I went through one complete scenario and it took a while, I imagine going back to read would be very fun. Can’t wait to read more of these to pass the time.
October 27, 2019
I'm not sure "choose your own adventure" books are for me. I read it for the Advanced Popsugar challenge and it was OK, but I found it confusing going from page to page and then trying to make sure I read all the 'adventures'.
May 27, 2024
As a young astrophysics prodigy, you are given the option fresh out of Space Academy to embark on a mission like none other in Earth's history. The spaceship Athena has been designated for the extremely risky assignment of taking a live crew through a black hole, in hopes they will make it through alive and solve the mysteries surrounding the existence of black holes.
As a top student in your class (who also happened to write on your academy questionnaire that you were "ready for anything"), you have been given first crack at this mission. You also have the less risky option of going along on the companion ship Nimrod, which will observe the action from outside the black hole's event horizon. If Athena gets into danger, Nimrod may be able to help.
The opportunity to go on Nimrod is exciting, though most of the book's story possibilities come as a result of joining the ship bound for the heart of danger in the black hole. Even if all goes perfectly, your chances of survival are not great, but you have the satisfaction of knowing that you're the first human being to attempt anything like this.
The ways of dying in or around the black hole are many, and you're going to need a fair helping of luck to make it through the experience. If you do, you'll find a universe as different from ours as could be, in which basic physical laws are inverted. You'll have to navigate this new universe cautiously, and with a limited supply of fuel and oxygen. Your survival depends on whether you can grasp enough about this universe to understand what aspects of your survival instincts you need to ignore.
Edward Packard knows a great deal about theoretical science. He introduces radical concepts in Through the Black Hole, such as reverse gravity and the possibility of white holes being found on the other side of the black holes. The scenes that have to do with walking on the inside shell of a planet that has reverse gravity are quite scientifically advanced, pushing the limits of the reader's comprehension regarding space and time.
Through the Black Hole is a good book with some intriguing twists. It seems intended to spark interest in further research about space, and contains notably advanced subject matter for when it was published. In 1990, white hole theory hadn't entered mainstream cultural awareness, but Edward Packard includes the concept in ways that are exciting and scientifically sound. Choose Your Own Adventure fans should definitely read this book.
As a top student in your class (who also happened to write on your academy questionnaire that you were "ready for anything"), you have been given first crack at this mission. You also have the less risky option of going along on the companion ship Nimrod, which will observe the action from outside the black hole's event horizon. If Athena gets into danger, Nimrod may be able to help.
The opportunity to go on Nimrod is exciting, though most of the book's story possibilities come as a result of joining the ship bound for the heart of danger in the black hole. Even if all goes perfectly, your chances of survival are not great, but you have the satisfaction of knowing that you're the first human being to attempt anything like this.
The ways of dying in or around the black hole are many, and you're going to need a fair helping of luck to make it through the experience. If you do, you'll find a universe as different from ours as could be, in which basic physical laws are inverted. You'll have to navigate this new universe cautiously, and with a limited supply of fuel and oxygen. Your survival depends on whether you can grasp enough about this universe to understand what aspects of your survival instincts you need to ignore.
Edward Packard knows a great deal about theoretical science. He introduces radical concepts in Through the Black Hole, such as reverse gravity and the possibility of white holes being found on the other side of the black holes. The scenes that have to do with walking on the inside shell of a planet that has reverse gravity are quite scientifically advanced, pushing the limits of the reader's comprehension regarding space and time.
Through the Black Hole is a good book with some intriguing twists. It seems intended to spark interest in further research about space, and contains notably advanced subject matter for when it was published. In 1990, white hole theory hadn't entered mainstream cultural awareness, but Edward Packard includes the concept in ways that are exciting and scientifically sound. Choose Your Own Adventure fans should definitely read this book.
March 31, 2023
The view from the window is impressive. Your ship is so fast that the whole sky is distorted by relativistic effects. The planets and star clusters seem to ball up behind you. Everything shines in an eerie reddish orange. The stars in front of you have a violet shade. Located in the middle is a jet-black disc - the black hole.(Quote translated from German.)
Originally titled Through the Black Hole, this Choose-Your-Own-Adventure book by Edward Packard - who is basically the creator of the genre - was my favorite book of the kind when I was a kid. Revisiting this as an adult out of nostalgic curiosity, I was obviously skeptical that it would have the same effect as it had back then, especially after revisiting another book from the same series by another author which ended up being somewhat disappointing. Surprisingly though, I still absolutely loved Packard's space-travel adventure.
Despite the middle-grade prose and the brief chapters due to the nature of the Choose-Your-Own-Adventure mechanics, Through the Black Hole manages to build up a really fun scifi atmosphere and incorporates some very cool ideas in the different possible story pathways. It doesn't waste much time with a dry introduction either and offers up plenty of interesting endings.
During what I would call the canonical main storyline it even takes its time at points to really let the world breathe a bit, which is a bit unusual of these game books.
Additionally, this German publication of the book included some really cool illustrations by artist Felix Scheinberger that added a lot to the experience.
I genuinely recommend this wholeheartedly as a gift for a teenager. It can get a bit gnarly at points with some of the ideas of being stranded for dead in space, but it's not that graphic and it makes for some really engaging reading.
November 13, 2015
There is no shortage of space-themed entries in this series, and many of them embrace the weirdness (especially the ones written by R.A. Montgomery). However, this book by Edward Packard rivals some of Montgomery's books for weirdness. The plot is that you and your friend pilot a spaceship through a black hole to discover what lies inside. And trust me, it's strange (in the best way). In this story, you can walk on the inside of planets, be imbued with the mind of a god, and of course, find multiple ways to be crushed to atoms on your way through the black hole. Frank Bolle's super-detailed illustrations really serve to bring the story to life and Packard's writing is top-notch. There are two kinds of books in this series: the "reality-based" ones that deal with everyday issues or historical happenings and the ones like this that create entire new worlds that stretch your imagination. This book does a wonderful job of that and I recommend it as one of the top-tier entries of the series.
May 15, 2016
This book gives you options. It is super fun to travel into a black hole, but it is also dangerous. Many of the book endings are that the kids are killed by the black hole. Some of the endings are the kids went to a new universe. Only two of the endings say that they returned to Earth. In the black hole, there are gravity waves, and of course, super gravity. Only the antigravity generator can help them. The generator is so strong that it escaped the black hole's super gravity and took the spacecraft halfway to Earth! But this book is a bit hard to read because there are too many endings and I don't know which one is the first! A black hole is like a hole, but it is not a hole. But Einstein said that a black hole is a hole in space-time which is a piece of "fabric" in space. Near a black hole, light bends and time slows down.
April 6, 2009
I just read this with my daughter and this Choose Your Own Adventure was so-so -- fun idea, but too many pages in a row without decisions.
May 21, 2009
Blak Holes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
July 9, 2013
the adventures that I went through when I was bored I just read these books over and over again you would never get to the end of the story.
October 22, 2013
This book is where my dislike of books that take place on spaceships began.
January 2, 2016
This series is a great series, Because you get to chose what you do. And you are the main character!
January 7, 2016
I like That you can't read page by page.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews