Yes to both!

All Koont'z early books were good in my opinion. I haven't read many of the later ones though.

I love glow ball golf, ScarletDragon! So much easier to find my ball in the woods.

Thanks SD.

Thanks, flotsam !!
(And Draclvr.)

Finally someone mentioned MAZES!

They are a pet peeve. Normally they have nothing to do with the plotline, and are simply used to artificially extend gameplay.
Manuals are mentioned. I can live without them so long as there is a Prologue or similar on-screen device that provides instructions as to how various keystrokes are used in the game.
Pixelated games. Unless the game is really good, it is a deal-breaker. (Currently playing Kathy Rain: Soothsayer, and that is about the level of pixelation I will tolerate.
Lack of the ability to do manual saves is a deal-breaker.
Inventory that can't be used as expected. E.g. I need to break a pane of glass and I have a hammer in inventory ... but NO! I have to find a rock for that task.

Billy Budd and 1984 tick the right boxes!

...and to you, Sue!

Meet Riki, a would be truthmeister whose main strength is huggability. Not at all hard-boiled, nonetheless she is dispatched by the counic of rulers to investigate what occurred in the Kingdom of Knotgud. A creature called a Booglo has destroyed the castle, and the newly coronated king lies within. Other things are afoot, but the question about the Booglo remains - who summoned it?

Armed with a Scroll of Truth, on which only the truth can be written, Riki is dispatched to seek answers.

The game uses a 2D cartoonish animation style and is entirely point and click. You talk to other characters to learn information, which will put conversation topics in your index as well as build your vocabulary of relevant words. You use the conversation topics to learn more, and the vocabulary to complete fragmented statements on your Scroll. You will also accumulate lesser mysteries as you go. You read everything (there is no spoken word) and it is very wordy. A soundtrack accompanies things, and there are no manual saves.

Based on the 35 minutes I have played so far, completing the statements on the Scroll seems to be a key component. Click a mystery and then drag to words that complete the statement. Presumably if you haven't investigated or interrogated sufficiently, the relevant word/s won't be available. It's a bit like an interactive comprehension test.

According to the Steam page I will acquire a crystal ball that will enable me to see the past, get into tiny spaces with all-purpose-rats, and use an enchanted cat to smell the different colours of magic. All of that adds to the fairytale feel of things.

It isn't really my thing, but it might be yours.

You are most welcome! That is so nice to hear.

Thanks mucho flotsam !!
(And Draclvr.)

Thanks for clearing that up, Remi - "Plato" is what I was looking for:)

I am not sure they had a publisher/were widely distributed in the United States. I picked one up as a child from a UK publisher when I was in Europe, so maybe that's why; I had never seen them before. That is what got me started, though.

And yes, all hail the Snork Maiden, flotsam!