At some point during my childhood, early grade school I would guess though I can’t pinpoint further (so circa 20 years ago?), my older brother brought a book home from the college book store at his college, Harvey-Mudd in California.

It was mainly an art book, depicting various Indiana Jones-esque archaeological adventures. The one I most vividly remember was a battle on a rope bridge, with unfortunate explorers tumbling over the side into some great chasm. There was also an introductory page depicting the top of a desk or table, strewn with artifacts obtained from the scenes on the later pages. But beyond that, it was a sort of puzzle book: the pictures were overlaid with what looked like torn-up pieces of a journal or memoir. When pieced together, they provided… something. The backstory of the pictures and artifacts? Clues to some further puzzle or objective you needed to find by hunting for clues in the pictures? I don’t remember ever attempting what was needed to put them together; you’d have to either photocopy and cut up the pages, or trace the fragments with paper and pencil.

Via my own research I’ve discovered there was also a pulp space adventure in the same series. Both had a sort of “many explorers left on this perilous voyage; only I survived” feel to them, so it had to have been aimed at young adults at least.