The debut gamebook from New Zealand author Dane Barrett, Children of the Painted Apple is a near-future mystery adventure mixing real events with fictional elements, set on the ‘land of the long white cloud.’
You are a police officer with an extraordinary power.
Your name is Hugh Hatch, and in the year 2045 you have been allocated to a unique department of the New Zealand Police Force; one which caters for and supports people with abilities above and beyond those of regular human beings.
You will find yourself embroiled in a high-stakes adventure which will see you arresting perpetrators, performing investigations and solving a mystery. Within the academy known as The Chrysalis lies a secret hidden from the world; one which may turn the human race against one another and ultimately put the planet in jeopardy. Will you become the leader needed to uncover this threat and change the fate of the Earth? Will you be able to handle your new partner, who struggles with a great affliction of her own? The next seven days could change everything.
But who is the real enemy? The man who manipulates living art? The killer from another world? The madman with links to organised crime? Or will the real threat be closer to home; among your own friends and colleagues?
Around 40 years before the book’s storyline takes place the city of Auckland experienced an infestation of the Australian Painted Apple Moth, a serious biosecurity incursion threatening the local agricultural and forestry industry (an actual event that occurred in May 1999).
Aerial spraying is implemented to eradicate the moth, and during the two years it takes to successfully accomplish this, many complaints about health concerns relating to the spray are made to the council and government. Health complications lead to birth defects due to human genes being mutated by possible chemical poisoning, though nothing can be proven. The children of those children are born with special abilities: some powerful, some mundane. The New Zealand government establishes a safe haven for those affected, as well as a mandatory police academy to train them in how best to use their powers to serve the community.
Constable Hugh Hatch, the player-character, has the power of uncontrolled probability manipulation, which means he tends to be incredibly lucky, but not without some risk. Hugh is partnered with another relatively new officer named Kora Kenehi, who, it turns out, is afflicted with vampire physiology. Her hunger for blood can only be negated by her ongoing consumption of particularly volatile alcohol.
These new officers start their first day on the job with a routine assignment where they are to question a witness to a minor crime. Events quickly escalate, with the two of them (as well as other members of the police force) embroiled in a much larger plot to save the world (or not, depending on the choices made by the reader over the following seven days).
Children of the Painted Apple features multiple branching paths, puzzles and 16 unique endings. There are no dice mechanics but you will be required to record statistics and keywords based on decisions made. Instant death scenarios will be encountered during an adventure, however, clues will usually be laid beforehand offering the opportunity to avoid an unwanted conclusion.
A 625-page paperback with vibrant cover art by Vincent Christ, Children of the Painted Apple is a substantial work of interactive fiction, containing 786 sections and approximately 190,000 words. Available now from Amazon.
* UPDATE * Children of the Painted Apple is now also available in Hardcover via Lulu, and on Kindle and Kindle Unlimited via the Amazon link above.