With Robbers and Robots (1983), Mike Carr arrests Endless Quests steady descent into the bottom of the trash bin. I like this one! Granted, it isn’t a crazy plot – someone is trying to steal a top secret robot from you’re uncle’s warehouse – but at least it isn’t doofy.  

This one is another Top Secret tie-in. In a nice addition, a map of the warehouse is provided, which makes decisions a bit easier to sort out. There is a nice veneer of 80s nostalgia here, with (Eastern European? Russian?) secret agents, arcade machines and robot fights throughout. Nothing spectacular happens here, but that is sort of the point. A couple of kids trying to outsmart a bunch of criminals is just low stakes enough to feel feasible while still being a summer daydream about adventure (and the core plot of The Goonies, I’d be remiss to not point out). Worth the read. Total cotton candy. Honestly, slight Tales from the Loop vibes.

Decent Elmore cover, again with shades of an Atari game box. Interiors by Vernon Posey. Never heard of him, but I think hes got a nice 80s sheen that makes an otherwise by the numbers book come alive.