This article relies largely or entirely on a single source .(August 2015) |
The Puzzle Adventure book series from Usborne Publishing Ltd was first created in 1984 with the release of Escape from Blood Castle. The first three volumes of the series were originally released as "Usborne Solve It Yourself". Each book contains a vividly illustrated story, with a plot-related puzzle to solve on each double page.
The series's success inspired the creation of three related series: Advanced Puzzle Adventures, Young Puzzle Adventures and Science Puzzle Adventures.
Many of the Puzzle Adventures and Young Puzzle Adventures series have been re-released over the past few years. [1]
This is the original series of books, aimed at 8 to 13 year-olds.
No. | Title | Author | Illustrator | Published | ISBN |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Escape from Blood Castle | Jenny Tyler | Graham Round | 1984 | 9780746080603 |
2 | The Curse of the Lost Idol | Gaby Waters | Graham Round | 1986 | 9780746085851 |
3 | Murder on the Midnight Plane | Gaby Waters | Graham Round | 1986 | 9780860209522 |
4 | The Incredible Dinosaur Expedition | Karen Dolby | Brenda Haw | 1987 | 9780746080627 |
5 | The Intergalactic Bus Trip | Martin Oliver |
| 1987 | 9780746084366 |
6 | Time Train to Ancient Rome | Gaby Waters | Brenda Haw | 1988 | 9780746080610 |
7 | Danger at Demon's Cove | Karen Dolby | Graham Round | 1988 | 9780746088678 |
8 | Agent Arthur's Jungle Journey | Martin Oliver | Paddy Mounter | 1989 | 9780746084342 |
9 | Agent Arthur on the Stormy Seas | Martin Oliver | Paddy Mounter | 1990 | 9780746084335 |
10 | The Ghost in the Mirror | Karen Dolby | Brenda Haw | 1989 | 9780746088661 |
11 | The Haunted Tower | Susannah Leigh | Brenda Haw | 1989 | 9780746088685 |
12 | Agent Arthur's Arctic Adventure | Martin Oliver | Paddy Mounter | 1990 | 9780746084359 |
13 | The Vanishing Village | Sarah Dixon | Brenda Haw | 1990 | 9780746088319 |
14 | Search for the Sunken City | Martin Oliver | Brenda Haw | 1989 | 9780746088692 |
15 | Journey to the Lost Temple | Susannah Leigh | John Blackman | 1989 | 9780746088265 |
16 | The Pyramid Plot | Justin Somper | Peter Wingham | 1991 | 9780746080597 |
17 | The Invisible Spy | Mark Fowler | Peter Wingham | 1993 | 9780746005101 |
18 | The Emerald Conspiracy | Mark Fowler | Mark Burgess | 1993 | 9780746088302 |
19 | Agent Arthur's Desert Challenge | Martin Oliver | Paddy Mounter | 1994 | 9780746088241 |
20 | Voyage to the Edge of the World | Lesley Sims | Peter Wingham | 1994 | 0746016905 |
21 | Mutiny at Crossbones Bay | Mark Burgess | Mark Burgess | 1994 | 9780746074985 |
22 | Castle of Intrigue | Paul Stewart | Jane Gedye | 1994 | 9780746068922 |
23 | The Dark Dark Knight | Lesley Sims | Peter Wingham | 1996 | 9780746069110 |
24 | Agent Arthur's Island Adventure | Lesley Sims | Paddy Mounter | 1998 | 9780746088258 |
25 | The Crimebusters Investigate | Mark Fowler | Ann Johns | 1997 | 9780746020968 |
Agent Arthur's Mountain Mission (announced but never published) |
Some of these books were re-printed in the following omnibuses:
This is a more difficult series aimed at older children, currently out of print.
The series was reprinted in an omnibus edition.
The Science Puzzle Adventures series written by Clive Gifford contains science-related puzzles. Each tale pits the wits of Dr. Genius and his resourceful team against the world's most evil criminal superbrains. This series is also currently out of print.
This series uses softer illustrations and is aimed at younger children.
No. | Title | Author | Illustrator | Published | ISBN |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Lucy and the Sea Monster | Karen Dolby | Caroline Jayne Church | 1993 | 9780746088180 | |
Chocolate Island | Karen Dolby | Caroline Jayne Church | 1994 | 9780746088197 | |
Uncle Pete the Pirate | Susannah Leigh | Brenda Haw | 1994 | 9780746087442 | |
Dragon in the Cupboard | Karen Dolby | Caroline Jayne Church | 1995 | 9780746087435 | |
Molly's Magic Carpet | Emma Fischel | Teri Gower | 1995 | 9780746049211 | |
Halloween Surprise (previously Spooks' Surprise) | Karen Dolby | 1995 | 9780746087725 | ||
Lucy and the Sea Monster to the Rescue | Karen Dolby | Caroline Jayne Church | 1997 | 9780746088715 | |
Uncle Pete's Pirate Adventure | Susannah Leigh | Brenda Haw | 1997 | 9780746087459 | |
Wendy the Witch | Karen Dolby | Brenda Haw | 1998 | 9780746087466 | |
Land of the Lost Teddies | Emma Fischel | Daniel Howarth | 1998 | 9780746088722 |
Some of these books were re-printed in the following omnibuses:
In 1995 Usborne released a 3-in-1 collection of even more advanced puzzles, The Usborne Book of Superpuzzles by Sarah Dixon, Mark Fowler, Radhi Parekh (illustrator) ( ISBN 9780746007358 , 0746007353). This includes the books Maps and Maze Puzzles, Codes and Ciphers and Logic Puzzles.
James N. Aparo was an American comic book artist, best known for his DC Comics work from the late 1960s through the 1990s, including on the characters Batman, Aquaman, and the Spectre, along with famous stories such as "A Death in the Family" and "KnightFall".
Usborne Publishing, often called Usborne Books, is a British publisher of children's books. Founded by Peter Usborne in 1973, Usborne Publishing uses an in-house team of writers, editors, and designers. One of its sales channels is Usborne Books at Home, a multi-level marketing operation founded in 1981. In the United States, Usborne books are sold and distributed to the retail trade through HarperCollins. Direct customer sales are made through PaperPie, the home business division of Educational Development Corporation.
James Swallow is a British author. A BAFTA nominee and a New York Times, Sunday Times and Amazon #1 best-seller, he is the author of several original books and tie-in novels, as well as short fiction, numerous audio dramas and video games.
Rodney Matthews is a British illustrator and conceptual designer of fantasy and science-fiction.
Occult detective fiction is a subgenre of detective fiction that combines the tropes of the main genre with those of supernatural, fantasy and/or horror fiction. Unlike the traditional detective who investigates murder and other common crimes, the occult detective is employed in cases involving ghosts, demons, curses, magic, vampires, undead, monsters and other supernatural elements. Some occult detectives are portrayed as being psychic or in possession of other paranormal or magical powers.
Jeff Parker is an American comic book writer and artist. He is a member of Helioscope Studio.
Martin Oliver is a British author of children's books. He recently gained notoriety online via the Huffington Post, after an 8-year-old girl had his books "Girls Only: How to Survive Anything" and "Boys Only: How to Survive Anything" pulled from bookstore shelves for claims of sexism.
Murder on the Midnight Plane is book 3 in the Usborne Puzzle Adventure series of children's books. This was originally marketed as a "Solve It Yourself" book. Later this book series was renamed "Usborne Puzzle Adventures".
Daniel Way is an American comic book writer, known for his work on Marvel Comics series such as Wolverine: Origins and Deadpool, as well as the Deadpool video game.
Conan, the sword-and-sorcery character created by Robert E. Howard, is the protagonist of seven major comic series published by Dark Horse Comics. The first series, titled simply Conan, ran for 50 issues from 2004 to 2008; the second, titled Conan the Cimmerian, began publication in 2008 and lasted 25 issues until 2010; the third series, titled Conan: Road of Kings, started publishing in December 2010 and ended in January 2012 after 12 issues; a fourth series, titled Conan the Barbarian, continuing from Road of Kings, lasted 25 issues from February 2012 to March 2014; a fifth series, titled Conan the Avenger, started publishing in April 2014 and ended in April 2016 after 25 issues; a sixth and final series, titled Conan the Slayer lasted 12 issues from July 2016 to August 2017.
King Arthur & the Knights of Justice is an action-adventure game developed by Manley & Associates and published by Enix for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in May 1995. Based on the cartoon series of the same title, which was loosely inspired by the Arthurian legend, the game was released in North America exclusively.
Ghosts 'n Goblins, known in Japan as Makaimura, is a run-and-gun platform video game series created by Tokuro Fujiwara and developed by Capcom. The first entry in the series was Ghosts 'n Goblins, released in arcades on July 7, 1985. The series has subsequently been ported to and released on a variety of personal computers, game consoles and mobile platforms and spawned several sequels and spin-offs.
Jack Kirby was a prolific comics creator who created many American comic books and characters, particularly for Marvel Comics and DC Comics.
Lilli the Witch is a series of children's books by the German author Knister, illustrated by graphic designer Birgit Rieger. The series has been adapted for film and television.
Cavan Scott, is a New York Times bestselling comic writer and author. He is best known for his work on a variety of spin-offs from both Doctor Who and Star Wars, as well as comics and novels for Teen Titans Black Adam, Ghostbusters, Transformers, Back to the Future, Vikings, Pacific Rim, Sherlock Holmes, and Penguins of Madagascar.
Thomas Peter Usborne was a British publisher. In the early 1960s, Usborne co-founded the satirical magazine Private Eye. In 1973 he founded the children's book publisher Usborne Publishing.
Bibliography of British science fiction and fantasy writer Tanith Lee: