Aprikanu Maha Wana Madin

Aprikanu Maha Wana Madin is a Sinhala translation of The Race Forever, an interactive adventure by R.A. Montgomery. It is the kind of book in which the reader is the hero, making the choices that decide how the story unfolds.

The title means 'through the great African forest', and the story puts the reader behind the wheel of a rally car racing across Africa. At each turn the road forks, and the choice made on the page leads on to a new stretch of the journey, through forest, rough country and whatever the next section holds.

Published as part of the Veeraya Obai series, whose name means 'you are the hero', the book follows the classic form of these adventures: short numbered sections and instructions to turn to a different page depending on what the reader decides. Translated by K.K. Saman Kumara, it brings that form to Sinhala readers.

At 116 pages it is a quick, lively read, and because the story branches it can be read several times over, each time following a different route through the same forest. It will suit younger readers who want a story they can take part in, and anyone who enjoys brisk, readable Sinhala prose.