Here it is. Hope you enjoy 😉
To download PDF and play Lair Of The Lunatic CLICK HERE
Authors
Calling all 80s gamebook fans and fantasy nerds!
Tickets for the the second dedicated Fighting Fantasy Fest are still on sale but time is running out. Click here if you wish to drop by this day long event organised by gamebook guru Jonathan Green, with guests of honour Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone, plus an army of the series’ authors and illustrators.
»»Warning, contains spoilers
Port Of Peril was always going to to be met with critique, with it being a brand new story in a brand new series relaunch. Many people including myself have already given their opinions but this post is to purely point out the bits I really enjoyed.
My first favourite bit was the delve into ‘the cellar’. Half expecting there to be something large and ravenous down there I never expected to find a zombie mooching around. Although these are never much of a threat on their own to a tough treasure seeking adventurer, Ian Livingstone incorporates a bit of character history behind the shambling wretch with a letter written by the unfortunate before they turned. It wasn’t just there for sword fodder there was a reason and a rewarding one at that. Given that this takes place in a single entrance/exit room, a greater threat comes along in another simple but cruel form.
Another piece I really enjoyed was exploring the Skullcrag. The bit in particular was the encounter with the Lavaworm. I had recently watched Tremors 5 with my niece and nephew from which I could vividly set the scene. Luckily I had a possession which could deal with this slimey brute and avoided hand to hand combat. The result was a pleasing descriptive demise for the creature and an even more pleasing discovery within the creatures innards.
Given that this was written for a younger audience, I still didn’t manage to complete it first go, I got captured once and didn’t have an essential item to complete the quest second time round. Though it isnt Deathtrap Dungeon or Crypt Of The Sorcerer, its above average and shows the series still has it’s flair for any gamebook fans.
This week I couldn’t have been luckier in the world of Fighting Fantasy. Last week I discovered I had pride of place in the You Are The Hero part 2 backers page. Saturday I was lucky enough to aquire a free copy of Ian Livingstone’s latest adventure Port Of Peril. Today I’m thrilled to inform that I have won a free NomadGames Fighting Fantasy Legends pack on android and a signed FF book. Jammy Jam or what? Would love to thank NomadGames for the wonderful prize and hope to see them at the Fighting Fantasy Fest in Ealing if they’ll be there.
Enter the Jam!
So today my copy of You Are The Hero part 2 arrived much to my excitement and delight…and then I woke up. Got you reading though right? There are still several weeks to go before SnowBooks get these sent out to Jonathan Green and I’m picking mine up at Fighting Fantasy Fest 2 anyway. But I’m sure we will be able to expect a lot of interesting articles especially what never quite made it to YATH one, and stories behind all other related FF ventures over the past three years, from comics to book and apps to video games. Here’s the promotional video.
Nomad games have done a terrific job on Fighting Fantasy Legends and you can purchase all three games – The Warlock Of Firetop Mountain, Citadel of Chaos and City Of Thieves – on both Steam and the Android market for around £5-£7. Great value.
Whilst many of us have still to get our hands on a copy of the Scholastic reissues of Fighting Fantasy, the gang have been circulating enough plot points and pictures to do a personal mini review here. We find that the illustrations are not really what us fanboys turned men (and women heheh) are used to. They are very angular and cheap looking which has come as a downer. The good news is Ian Livingstone’s new adventure is true to his usual form, with an enjoyable yarn in which you need to find a multitude of items to take along the way.
(The Ghoul in Warlock Of Firetop Mountain by Vlado Krizan. That’s a skeleton not a ghoul. “Semi decayed man…”? Theres nothing left of him grrrr!!!)
(Foiled again! Photos by Kevin Abbotts and Paul Berry)
People are already having trouble with the gold foil in the bookspines. They haven’t had their copies more than a day and its beginning to fray and peel already. All in all, production and design of the iconic book series’ new look is quite a hash. Personally I’m only interested in the new adventure and hope their are more thus I shall only invest in the limited edition of Port Of Peril at this point partially due to Iain McCaigs incredible cover for now. 
I very much doubt scholastic will care to actually give their audience what they want with their daft ‘we are selling to kids of today art’ approach …(this is bum cum, the cover and internal art are no different to some tacky Choose You Own Adventure books of the early 80s they’ve just gone for the cheap option) …while alienating a 30 year fan base of thousands. My gut reaction is this could all fizzle out soon like it did for Wizard books only much faster and that would be a great shame given the writing of the new adventure is on par. I hope not, but I’m listening out…
The artwork for the limited edition of Port Of Peril has been released. From the quills of Iain McCaig illustrator of many Fighting Fantasy pictures comes this lovely sandy toned setting from the titular Port… Port Blacksand. So far two familiar faces have been spotted. Spotted by Ben Parkinson on Twitter…Mungo, the doomed sailor from FF7 Island Of The Lizard King, can be seen in the bottom right hand corner. In the middle distance to the left we also see a FF6 Deathtrap Dungeon Easter egg represented by the elf maid with a boa constrictor.
This thrilling limited edition of Ian Livingstone’s Port Of Peril is going to be a rarity as only 500 are meant to be printed. They will be available at Fighting Fantasy Fest 2 in Ealing on the 2nd Spetember. Yes, I am going too 😉
Just finished reading David Jason’s autobiography which my fantastic fiancee gifted me on my 41st birthday several weeks ago. What can I say about it? Well, as Pa Larkin might say…Perfec’. David takes us right back to the 1940s telling us all the things he got up to in post war Britain, then takes us through his early days as an electrician right the way up to his Knighthood in the mid noughties. Several highlights include how many injuries he’s had over the years, having to avoid the advances of a gay actor in a small room, and unwittingly being in a film that turned out was rather rude. But all of this is eclipsed by the admiration he has always had for his own idol Ronnie Barker, and the final page is a beautiful tear jerking testimony to it.
Ok so im a couple of days late because I didn’t think I could really be bothered to talk about this. However, scholastic have released the cover art of Ian Livingstone’s brand new FF book, Port Of Peril. I first started reading FF during the greenspine era around 1988, and as such have been weened on the realistic lifelike strokes of such artists as Les Edwards, Ian McCaig, Jim Burns and a whole load more. The new cover art is somewhat more cartoonish, with bold colours rather than blended and angled lines rather than curved. Such is the style of the artists Robert M Ball who has taken on the project. They somewhat remind me of the old Tunnels & Trolls book coverart.
A lot of fans, myself included will take time to adjust to this entirely new look with the FF facebook threads being something of a debate on the matter. After a bit of research however I have found out kids today are favouring this new art format over the old. At least with one cover artist all the books will look consistently designed. Another nice touch Ian himself let slip is there are no more greenspines they have been upgraded to a very eye catching gold foil, as have the dagger logo and title. Who doesn’t like gold right? Apart from maybe the crap Cybermen off Doctor Who!
So as a purist, I’m going to miss the old cover art and swallow a rather bitter pill. But as for the series, I think its got a tough challenge ahead levering kids off of video games but if it works then the future of FF and likelihood of more new adventures will be in good stead. It’s a good time for us to all test for LUCK.
I need to try and remain unbiased for this one as I was a play tester once again for Jonathan Green’s latest fairy tale/ steampunk/ gamebook adventure The Wicked Wizard Of Oz. This adventure sees us flying back over the rainbow in an extremely clever way, in that you can play as a regular goody Dorothy Gale, The Scarecrow, Tin Woodman, Lion or maybe two bonus characters the Wicked Witch Of The West or the Wonderful Wizard himself!
The basic premise is that an automaton “Wizard” has become self aware and is wreaking havoc through Oz with an intention of bursting into Kansas as well. Due to the sheer number of references needed to cater for six different heroes…the adventure doesnt seem to be as long as most Jonathon Green works such as Alices Nightmare In Wonderland, but he utilizes what is left very well giving us plenty of foes and places to explore and tasks to complete. One of the things I love about this book is that your hero gets to meet up with others along the way. Each hero has special abilities and The Pen Is Mightier choices will get you out of sticky situations when used appropriately.
Once again the incredible pen work of Kev Crossley is weaved into the pages to bring the world of Oz to life. Even upon seeing his preliminary sketches I was taken in by the dark steampunk styled sketching of tje four main heroes. These are not dancers and singers anymore, just mean looking action heroes.
To summarize this is Jonathan’s most ambitious project to date. Arriving just a month after estimated release, it was proofread by playtesters and professionals alike in order to get it perfect as can be. Now available on Amazon, I would recommend it to any fan of Baum’s classic tale or game books alike, in order to experience the evolution of a typical 400 reference static hero book into an 850 reference multiple choice hero book. Click HERE to get yours.
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