The Escape Artist
Book 1 from the UBU Adventure Series
[COVER IMAGE coming soon!]
Two legends. One day. Thirty ways your life could go.
You are Lester Honeycutt of Delaware, Ohio — amateur magician, tightrope walker, and dreamer. You've been practicing your whole life for a moment like this. Today, that moment arrives.
Oudini — the greatest escape artist alive — is performing in your town. So is Heinrich, the knife-thrower whose shows leave audiences shaken and volunteers occasionally missing. You can only be in one place at once. But that's just the beginning.
Before this weekend is over, you may find yourself on stage with a living legend. You may get yourself arrested. You may catch a knife with your bare hands. You may stow away to Europe, escape a burning building on national television, or walk a tightrope between two of the most famous towers in the world.
Or you may go home, help your mom at the library, and live a small, good, quiet life. Which is its own kind of escape.
The Escape Artist is unlike any interactive story you've read. The choices you make don't just decide what happens next — they decide who you become. Your success or failure can only be measured over an entire lifetime.
Of the 30 endings, only 4 are complete life cycles.
Can you find them all?
What Makes This Book Different
Most interactive fiction asks you to choose between tactics — pick the lock or break the glass. The Escape Artist asks you to choose between values. Do you tell Becky the truth? Do you pursue love or fame? Do you make the promise? Do you risk your life night after night in pursuit of the greatest escape of all time — or is the real escape something quieter, something you've been running from all along?
The choices are emotionally weighted. The consequences play out across decades. And the four best endings aren't the ones where you win — they're the ones where you live long enough to see what your choices ultimately made of you.
What's Inside
- 30 different endings — only 4 are complete life cycles
- 38–42 decision points across 180 pages
- Choices range from 2 to 5 options
- Set in mid-twentieth-century small-town America
- A vivid cast: Becky, the loyal girlfriend who sees through everything; Niles, the mechanical genius with a secret underground studio; the legendary Oudini, equal parts master and fraud; and the enigmatic Heinrich and his unreadable assistant Consuela
- 5×8 paperback, approx. 180 pages
[INTERIOR ILLUSTRATION Sneak Peak — when available]
Who This Is For
Readers 14–17 who want their choices to mean something — not just now, but for the long haul. The Escape Artist reads strongest at the upper end of that range and works equally well as a personal read, a creative writing text, or an ethics discussion starter in high school or freshman English.
This is the most emotionally ambitious and character-driven title in the IF/THEN Books catalog.
Get the Book
Buy on Amazon → (link)
Buy direct → Taking pre-orders now! Title due to start shipping by mid-May. Thank you for your support.
$14.99 paperback · Coming June 2026
Available through Follett and Mackin for school and library orders
Bulk orders (UBU titles — $14.99 retail):
10–24 copies: $11.99 per copy (20% off)
25–49 copies: $10.49 per copy (30% off)
50+ copies: $8.99 per copy (40% off)
Email cthomasprevost@gmail.com for bulk and purchase order inquiries.
More from the UBU Adventure Series
Point Zenith — Summer 2026 · Learn more →
Frankenstein: The Unchosen — Fall 2026 · Learn more [soon] →