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Categories: Books
Tags: infocom, interactive fiction, zork
The Zork Chronicles
Author: George Alec Effinger
Publisher: Avon Fantasy
Released: 1990
I’ve read my share of video game novels and most of them have been fanboy wanks. Starting The Zork Chronicles, I had similarly low expectations, but this 1990 fantasy novel will probably end up being one of the best books I’ll read this year. It’s certainly one of the best fantasy books I’ve read, funny and imaginative, and reminiscent of Terry Pratchett’s work.
The Zork Chronicles references the three classic Infocom text adventures, but is set after “the adventurer” has plundered the remnants of the Great Underground Empire. Here amidst the File Restorer’s efforts to restock the Empire’s treasures and monsters, the hero Mirakles and his supernatural guide Glorian seek out a hidden item which will complete Mirakles’ hero cycle and put Glorian in a better position to win the Joseph Campbell Award for Best Semi-Actual Persona.
It doesn’t take long for Zork mainstays to make an appearance, but Effinger seemlessly combines classic Zork descriptions with self-referential humor. “To me, it seems like we’re just in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike,” complains one character. Another character pokes around in the Mirror room for half an hour, trying to figure out how it works before giving up. But those unfamiliar with the world of Zork can still appreciate a magic sword which warns its wielder of danger with the aroma of freshly baked bread, the wonder of Drawer Forwarding, and a pantheon which includes The Powers that Be, the Control Character, and the Autoexec.
Finally. beyond being a parody of fantasy while staying true to a high fantasy arc, The Zork Chronicles is refreshingly meta. Characters discuss C.S. Lewis and are aware that parts of the G.U.E. intentionally resemble Carroll’s Wonderland. The origins of Hell and construction of its pavement yield amazingly literate references. There’s even this passage late in the book which deals with the gamer’s experience in a more insightful way than academic literature on “digital games” offers.
There is a universe like this, in which the adventurer came to this house. But in that universe, the adventurer never even discovered how to enter the Great Underground Empire, grew restless and bored after half an hour, and went back outside never to return. There is a universe in which he climbed down the stairs, but was killed almost immediately by a troll. Every time the adventurer starts out on his quest, he creates a new universe, with new arrangements of people and treasures and monsters and outcomes.