Find Your Fate

Stoo

Well-known member
whipwarrior said:
Yes, the covers were printed on very thin paper, laminated onto the white hardback stock, and the titles on the spine were the plain red text of the First Edition printings. The Indy logo spines were introduced on the reprints (as most of my books are).
Thanks for the details, whipwarrior, and your reminiscings were enjoyable to read.:hat: Do you know if all 11 of the Indy titles were reprinted in 1994 (both soft & hardcover)?

If so, that means 7 cover paintings that many fans have never seen, myself included.
 

JuniorJones

TR.N Staff Member
Despite being aimed at a juvenile audience these are simply great products that are well produce and very collectable. For those who have not been converted have look inside...

000a.jpg


022.jpg


111.jpg

https://rapidshare.com/files/1392729000/IJCHI.cbr
200.jpg


...and with a leap of faith you might discover something cool.:cool:
 

whipwarrior

New member
The only FYF Indy books re-published in 1994 (with that godawful cover art) were the ones written by R.L. Stine, to capitalize on the Goosebumps craze. The other Indy books, to my knowledge, have never been reprinted outside of the 1980's. You can Google search to see all of the original covers. Most of mine, unfortunately, are too creased and worn to yield a decent quality scan. Junior Jones' FYF #1 looks pristine, although I'm puzzled by the Sphere ensign replacing the Ballantine Books logo. My guess is that it's a copy from overseas, where a different distributor might be used.

EDIT: Just noticed the spelling of 'harbour' on the jacket blurb (mine says 'harbor'), and the U.K. publisher's note at the bottom. Also, where the British text says 'summer holiday', the American version reads: 'summer vacation.'

Mystery solved! :)
 
Last edited:

Stoo

Well-known member
whipwarrior said:
The only FYF Indy books re-published in 1994 (with that godawful cover art) were the ones written by R.L. Stine, to capitalize on the Goosebumps craze. The other Indy books, to my knowledge, have never been reprinted outside of the 1980's. You can Google search to see all of the original covers.
Well, if that's the case, all the covers can be seen on The Raven's host site, TheRaider.net, but thank you very much for explaining why only the 4 titles from R.L. Stine were chosen for the reprints. (I've heard of "Goosebumps" but didn't realize they were books...thought it was a TV show.)

Though it must be said, the reprint cover of "Cult of the Mummy's Crypt" is very well done (even if Indy isn't there) and not 'godawful'.;)

6723698-L.jpg
 

whipwarrior

New member
The triangle portrait of Indy which adorns the reprints is actually taken from the original cover artwork of Cult of the Mummy's Crypt. I used the term 'godawful' simply to imply that I found the artwork particularly uninspired compared to the usual Indy standards. But that's just my opinion.
 
Stoo said:
Nice clue, Juggernaut.:cool:
I'm woefully stumbling in the dark...:confused:

I don't even know what I'm looking for!

.................................................................

Turn to Junior or Stoo for enlightenment.
 

Stoo

Well-known member
whipwarrior said:
The triangle portrait of Indy which adorns the reprints is actually taken from the original cover artwork of Cult of the Mummy's Crypt. I used the term 'godawful' simply to imply that I found the artwork particularly uninspired compared to the usual Indy standards. But that's just my opinion.
Oh, I agree with you, the artwork is sub-standard. Any idea who the artist/s were for the reprints?
Rocket Surgeon said:
Turn to Junior or Stoo for enlightenment.
Consider JJ's clue and read between the lines.;) (Nothing like a good treasure hunt but you'll kick yourself when you do find "it".)
 

Montana Smith

Active member
Stoo said:
Consider JJ's clue and read between the lines.;) (Nothing like a good treasure hunt but you'll kick yourself when you do find "it".)

Well, there's almost a Cruciform Sword on the native's shield...
 

IndyBr

Member
Just ordered four more Find You Fate Indy books, including Eye of the Fates, that is said to be the best.
Oh, and all four are papeback, couldn't find then in hardcover.
 

whipwarrior

New member
Revisiting this thread, I just hopped over to eBay and nabbed a rare slipcase set of FYF #1-5 and, separately, #8, all first editions in near-mint shape! Yeah, it was a nostalgia-fueled impulse buy (even though I already own the entire series), but it'll be a treat to enjoy the books in readable condition, without crackled, flaking covers held on with decades-old tape. Eventually I'll find new copies of the other books, excluding #16, which I found in virtually pristine shape on eBay back in 2001.
 

whipwarrior

New member
The boxed set arrived today, all glorious minty first editions! Seeing my favorite childhood books in pristine shape is almost like stepping back in time. The first thing I did was bring out my original set for comparison, and I could immediately tell the first editions from the later reprints because of the color change on the Indy logos, and also the logo appearing on the spines as opposed to the nondescript red block print titles. I obtained my vintage set from the order form in the back of Eye of the Fates, which I got at the school book fair in 1986, a mixed batch of originals (3,6,9) and re-issues (1,2,5,7,8). I picked up Mask of the Elephant separately in 1987, and didn't get Ape Slaves of Howling Island until later, although I had read a friend's copy back in the day. New copies of Dragon of Vengeance and Gold of Genghis Khan will be arriving this week, and I still have to track down mint copies of FYF #6, 7, and 17. Two of these are available on eBay at the moment, but I'm not about to shell out $45 per copy. In the meantime, check out my collection:

10495260924_baaf00af3e_z.jpg


Here's the hi-res image: http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3695/10495260924_0c39a0081a_o.jpg
 

S. Dakota Jones

New member
Great find!

I remember reading a few of these MANY years ago. I was pretty big into the "choose your own adventure" genre so throw Indy in there and I was sold. I couldn't tell you which ones I read it was so long ago, even after looking at your group pic there.

I do recall thinking some of them would have been better off being straight novels though, but I think that was out of spite after having "chosen poorly", on more than one occasion. On the flip side, it was interesting to see that Indy(or you, more precisely), did face consequences for being too reckless.
 

whipwarrior

New member
So far I've managed to acquire books #6-10. FYF #10 and 15 feature a female Indy-type character named Morgan Swift, obviously designed to appeal to girl readers. Based on my research, the Swift books are somewhat rare, but worth collecting simply for their obscurity. Book #15 will be arriving soon, while I'm still trying to find a good copy of Mask of the Elephant (note my well-worn original pictured below). The few copies available from online vendors are priced at ungodly amounts of money that no person in their right mind would pay for a vintage paperback. In fact, the paperback retailer that I contacted regarding the value did not return my e-mail. If anybody has a good lead on a decently-priced copy I'd really appreciate it.

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3757/10789736714_e50b04fd2b_c.jpg

Hi-res image: http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3757/10789736714_747dcd1696_o.jpg
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Plaristes

New member
It is ridiculous how Mask of the Elephant is priced. Most of the Find Your Fate books can be found for pennies, but this one is routinely priced at over $50. I finally broke down and bought a copy a few weeks ago when I saw it was priced at $12. That's still more than I think it's worth, but I paid it anyway just to complete my collection. :mad:
 

whipwarrior

New member
$12 is fair, given how scarce the book is, although still overpriced. Personally, I'd go as high as $20 just to have a new copy, but no more.
 
These books are very rare, though it seems the price has come down in the past few years. When I went looking for mine years ago they were running 30 or more. I spent months, probably more then 6, looking for copies of the higher numbers. I saw there were two that were recently sold on eBay for under $20.

There's also the Young Indiana Jones adventures, the Irish Rebellion, #8, was very difficult to get as well. Someone got a steal on it for $2 a few weeks ago it seems.

Guess I'll hold on to mine for awhile and see if the prices go back up.
 
Top