World Octopus Day

Anyone who has read my work for a while, particularly my gamebooks, will know that I have a bit of a thing for cephalopods.

I have always been fascinated by these highly intelligent, boneless mollusks, starting with legends of giant squid. In fact, I even have a print of a giant cephalopod on my wall. I based this image from my map of Neverland on the self-same print.

The Terrorsquid, by Jonathan Green.

I should warn you that there are minor spoilers ahead...

There is a Giant Octopus in Bloodbones, the Abyssal Horror in Stormslayer shares some features with a giant cephalopod, there's the Terrorsquid in NEVERLAND - Here Be Monsters!, and a Kraken in Beowulf Beastslayer.

Giant Octopus, by Tony Hough.

One of my books - Doctor Who: Night of the Kraken - even has a cephalopod in the title. And there are squid or octopus-like creatures in 'TWAS - The Krampus Night Before Christmas, Dracula - Curse of the Vampire, and RONIN 47. And that's just the gamebooks.

Giant Squid vs. Ghost Whale, by Neil Googe.

Something very much like a giant squid gets a fair bit of screen time in the second Ulysses Quicksilver Pax Britannia novel Leviathan Rising, and there is a fantastic illustration of a Kraken in Heorot - Roleplaying in the World of Beowulf Beastslayer.

Kraken, by Heraldo Mussolini.

Will there be octopuses and giant squid in future books? Undoubtedly!

Gamebook Friday: La Oscuridad Sobre Arkham

The paperback edition of The Darkness Over Arkham, the first Arkham Horror Investigators Gamebook, was released in the UK just last week, but it will be out in Spanish, courtesy of Ediciones Minotauro, this September.

There are some other overseas editions of The Darkness Over Arkham in the works, and I will let you know more once all the appropriate Is have been dotted, and the relevant Ts crossed.

In other news, Jambô Editora have recently released the 40th anniversary Fighting Fantasy adventures Shadow of the Giants and Secrets of Salamonis. They have also reprinted the Portuguese language editions of Howl of the Werewolf and Bloodbones.

So, with three ACE Gamebooks now available in Brazil as well, my takeover of the South American gamebook market is proceeding apace...

Happy Birthday, Tony Hough!

M'colleague and occasional collaborator, fantasy artist Tony Hough, is 60 years old today!

Tony and I first worked together when Puffin Books commissioned him to illustrate my second Fighting Fantasy gamebook Knights of Doom, for which he also painted the cover.

We spoke for the first time, over the phone, not long after he became a father but didn't meet until some years later at Dragonmeet.

We worked together again when he provided the internal illustrations for Bloodbones, my fourth FF gamebook, which was published by Wizard Books.

I was privileged to visit an exhibition of Tony's art - much of it Warhammer 40K and Fighting Fantasy-related - in his home town of Luton, and he was one of the artists who attended the first Fighting Fantasy Fest in 2014. He has also attended every one since.

Since then Tony has provided a picture for the Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu short story anthology and he illustrated my fourth ACE Gamebook, 'TWAS - The Krampus Night Before Christmas. He is also the illustrator on the 'TWAS RPG line and our next collaboration will be The Box of Delights RPG.

So please raise a glass to Tony on this, his 60th birthday. May his STAMINA never fail!

Gamebook Friday: La Nuit du Nécromancien

Out now from Gallimard Jeunesse is the new edition of La Nuit du Nécromancien - or Night of the Necromancer, if you don't read French.

The original French translation used the same cover as the English original - the painting of a Death Cultist by Martin McKenna. However, the new edition features a secondary antagonist on the cover, the Lich Queen and her corrupted court of undead, as imagined by Regis Torres.

So Night of the Necromancer joins Bloodbones in this new format, which leaves me wondering which book will be next...

Gamebook Friday: Le Pirate de l'au-delà

Available now from Gallimard Jeunesse is a new edition of the French translation of my fourth Fighting Fantasy gamebook Bloodbones.

What makes Le Pirate de l'au-delà different from the original English edition - apart from the fact it's in French - is that it features bonus content focused on the setting of the adventure. On top of that, it also features cover art by the awesome Paul Mafayon.

So, if you're a fan or a Francophile, follow this link to pick up some fantastic pirate booty now!

Martin McKenna (1969-2020)

It was with great sadness that I learned this weekend that Martin McKenna had passed away at the beginning of September. He was just 51.

Martin was an incredible artist, his illustrations for the Fighting Fantasy gamebooks some of the most realistic of all. They also dripped atmosphere, with their fine pen and ink details and sinister gothic air.

I first encountered Martin's work via Fighting Fantasy but I soon discovered that his art peppered numerous Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay products as well, and it was with genuine pleasure that I pored over his immaculate vignettes and character portraits.

His illustrations really helped bring the grimdark corners of Warhammer's Old World to life, as they did Fighting Fantasy's own Old World.

Naturally, when I started writing my own FF gamebooks, it was Martin I requested to illustrate the adventures, but it didn't happen until Curse of the Mummy*, my third FF title. Unfortunately, the illustrations weren't quite what I had been hoping for and Martin later admitted himself that they had been rather rushed. In contrast, the cover painting he produced for Curse of the Mummy** was astonishing.

The digitally retouched cover for Curse of the Mummy that Martin McKenna produced in 2007.

However, when Wizard Books started publishing new titles, I got the chance to work with Martin again. We were clearly inspired by the same source material, and the illustrations he produced for Howl of the Werewolf and Night of the Necromancer are some of my favourites.

The cover for Howl of the Werewolf, by Martin McKenna.

The Werebear, Water Wyrd, Van Richten the Vampire Hunter, Serpensa the Serpent Woman, Werebat, and Count Varcolac***, from Howl of the Werewolf.

The Sea Demon, Grave Golem, Dread Knights, Wraith Queen, Hellfire Golem, and Shadow King, from Night of the Necromancer.

He also painted the stunning cover for my zombie-pirate adventure Bloodbones, which ened up being animated for Tin Man Games' digital edition.

The cover for Bloodbones, by Martin McKenna.

When I wrote YOU ARE THE HERO - A History of Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks, I knew there was only one artist who could produce the wraparound image I desired for the book.

The cover for YOU ARE THE HERO, by Martin McKenna.

And we were due to collaborate again on my new ACE Gamebook, Dracula - Curse of the Vampire, but sadly that is not to be now.

We never actually met and we didn't even speak on the phone, but I had huge respect for Martin and his work, and I think if we had met we would have got on very well.

However, my greatest regret is that is seems Martin did not have the same confidence in his own abilities as everyone who ever enjoyed any of his immaculate illustrations. I only hope that he had some inkling of the pleasure he brought to all those whose lives he touched through his art.

In memory of

Martin McKenna

1969-2020

Martin's close friends have set up a JustGiving page to raise money, to help disadvantaged children gain access to the arts, in Martin's memory. If you feel able to give something, no more what, follow this link.

* The upside of this was that I got to work with Alan Langford and Tony Hough instead, and Tony and I have a new RPG coming out this Christmas.

** His first FF cover!

*** Martin based Count Varcolac's face on his own.

Gamebook Friday: Vampires - The Dead and the Damned

Unusually,* this week I put out the call on social media for people to tell me what they would like to read in this week's Gamebook Friday blog post. There were a significant number of responses** - everything from where do I get my ideas from to how my approach to Kickstarters has changed over the last 8 years - but the suggestion that piqued my interest came from Ian Reynolds on Facebook who wanted this post to be about "Anything to do with Horror and particular Vampires!"

Since I am currently writing a gamebook about a vampire, I thought it might be fun to go back and look at how vampires have been portrayed in my previous gamebooks. However, before we proceed, I should warn you that this post will include SPOILERS!

Still here? Then let's get started...


Bloodbones (2006)

A vampire bat made an appearance in my second published gamebook, Knights of Doom, but the first full-fledged vampire didn't turn up until my fourth Fighting Fantasy adventure was finally published by Wizard Books in 2006.

Bloodbones was originally commissioned by Puffin Books in 1996. At the time, the publisher was intending to reprint the gamebooks but having edited them all to be only 300 sections long, so that's how long Bloodbones was. However, when Wizard Books agreed to publish it ten years later, they wanted it to be the traditional 400 sections long, so I had to add some new material.***

I did make up some entirely new encounters, including the Rainforest Sprite and the vampiric pirate Jolly Roger. Here is his flag-draped coffin, as illustrated by Tony Hough.


Howl of the Werewolf (2007)

Only a year later, another vampire turned up - or rather, a vampiress - in my gothic horror gamebook, Howl of the Werewolf. This was the Machiavellian Countess Isolde, a.k.a. the Lady of Maun and the illustration of her and her Werebat flunky by Martin McKenna is still one of my favourite images from any of my books.

Temple of the Spider God (2011)

Jump forward four years to 2011 and I was busy writing my contribution to Tin Man Games Gamebook Adventures series of digital interactive fiction apps. This is probably one of the most classically 'fantasy' adventures I have written and one of the encounters contained within it involved an island that was ruled over by a vampire.


Shadows Over Sylvania (2012)

Shadows Over Sylvania, the only Warhammer gamebook I have ever written, is also the most blood-soaked gamebook I have ever written, and is chock full of vampires. The reason for this is that you actually get to play as a vampire and can even choose which vampire bloodline you are from. This ultimately brings you into conflict with the blood-sucking thralls of other vampire factions, most notably at the climax to the adventure.

Good luck getting your hands on a copy of this, if you don't already own one - they are as rare as vegan vampires.

Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland (2015)

2015 saw the publication of Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland, which kicked off the ACE Gamebooks series.

In it, I re-imagined the well-known characters from not only Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventure in Wonderland but also Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There. And when you have an antagonist called the Red Queen, it is not hard to imagine where I went with that...

Here she is, as illustrated by Kev Crossley.


Dracula - Curse of the Vampire (2021)

Which brings me to the book I am currently writing, Dracula - Curse of the Vampire. Dracula is the ultimate vampire story, and I'm hoping that Dracula - Curse of the Vampire. will go down in history as the ultimate gamebook re-telling of the ultimate vampire story.

In the adventure you can either play as one of the Vampire-Hunters who are trying to stop the blood-sucking Transylvanian warlord, or you can play as Count Dracula himself, and try to stop Professor Van Helsing et al. before they stop you.

Dracula - Curse of the Vampire is scheduled to be published next March. If you missed out on the original Kickstarter, you can still place a Late Pledge here.

And remember - the blood is the life!

* In fact I think it was the first time I've ever done this.

** Which may well form the topic of other Gamebook Friday blog posts in the future.

*** Or more accurately, in some cases, re-instated material.