A book in the 90's revival of the Endless Quest Gamebook series. More than simply that, it was based on the unreleased Wildspace board game, which would've been the sequel to the Dragon Strike game. It would've been a universe where characters sail through "Wildspace" in wooden ships.
The player is Jaxom Star, who works as a scavenger who sails his small ship to the wrecks of larger vessels to find salvage to sell in his grandfather's junk store on the Rock of Bral. One day the heroes of the Dragon Strike game come into the store looking for him, thinking he might've accidentally stumbled upon a clue to where a necromancer is hiding out among the asteroids, plotting evil. They ask Jaxom to lead them there, setting him off on the adventure of a lifetime.
A Wild Ride provides examples of:
- Adaptation Name Change: In previous books the thief's name was Keela, but here it's Arakeela, as if it always had been.
- Awesome, but Impractical: The trick to escaping a certain trap. Realizing that training a red dragon to guard a library is scary, but who the hell would go to the trouble to do it? Ergo, the dragon's only an illusion.
- The Faceless: Jaxom Star's face is never seen even when he appears in an illustration.
- One-Winged Angel: Malakeesh uses a spell to turn himself into an ogre for the climactic battle.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Prince Andru, ruler of the Rock of Bral. Near the end Jaxom crashes in yelling warnings that the necromancer Malakeesh is going to attack with an army of the undead. The prince's advisors are hesitant to listen, but Andru not only does listen, he demands they arm Jaxom at once because every brave man's going to be needed if they're really being invaded.
- Space Is an Ocean: In this setting outer space is full of a gas called "phlogiston" that people use boats to travel through.
