The Zork Chronicles (Infocom) by George…

The Zork Chronicles (Infocom) (original 1990; edition 1990)

by George Effinger

Series: Infocom (5), Zork (5)

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Member:	John_Rounds
Title:	The Zork Chronicles (Infocom)
Authors:	George Effinger
Info:	Avon Books (Mm) (1990), Paperback
Collections:	Your library
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The Zork Chronicles by George Effinger (1990)

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What an absolutely delightful, hilarious, absurd, anachronistic adventure. Underneath the parody of the classic mythological/heroic story, however, is an incredibly smart, self-aware, logical structure crafted with expert precision and growth arcs for multiple characters. Despite frequent absurdity and anachronisms (like vending machines deep in a cavern in a fantasy world), nothing was included in a hand-wavy way just to get through the plot. It's an incredible homage to the hero's journey and just plain fun. (

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hissingpotatoes | Jan 27, 2022 |

Quite possibly the worst book I've ever read. It's basically just a novelization (and not a particularly good one) of the Zork game.

Effinger is a much better writer than this. He's on my list of "try to own everything he's ever written" authors; otherwise I wouldn't have this book in my collection. (

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bilbette | Sep 26, 2006 |

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Infocom (5)

Zork (5)

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Canonical title

The Zork Chronicles

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Original publication date

1990

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Epigraph

>Kill troll with sword.
>You can't see any sword here!

- Message in Zork 1

The composite hero of the monomyth is a personage of exceptional gifts. Frequently he is honored by his society, frequently he is unrecognized or disdained. He and/or the world in which he finds himself suffers from a symbolical deficiency. In fairy tales this may be as slight as the lack of a certain golden ring, whereas in apocalyptic vision the physical and spiritual life of the whole earth can be represented as fallen, or on the point of falling, into ruin. - Joseph Campbell, The Hero with a Thousand Faces

Dedication

To Rob Sears of Infocom, and Brett Sperry, Mike Legg, and the rest of the gang at Westwood Associates, who have made my own Infocom game, Circuit's Edge, a reality.

And to David M. Harris, the editor whom I tormented with this manuscript.

First words

There were supposed to be some eager acolytes meeting Glorian and taking him right to the hotel; but of course the acolytes never showed up, and Glorian had to find his way on his own through one of the hugest stations in the supernatural world.

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(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)

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