Gamebook Friday: Dracula - Curse of the Vampire reviewed in Fighting Fantazine #17

After a hiatus of half a decade, Fighting Fantazine is back with Issue #17, which was actually published on 27th August 2022 - the 40th anniversary of the publication of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain.

It has much to recommend it, including a cover by m'colleague Tony Hough, an interview with Dave Morris and an epic adventure by Andrew Wright called Barbarian Warlord. However, when my print copy was delivered, I was surprised and delighted to find that the magazine includes a detailed review of Dracula - Curse of the Vampire, by Paul Partington.

You can pick up Dracula - Curse of the Vampire from Amazon, and in PDF form from DriveThruRPG. The PDF of RONIN 47 is now available on DriveThruRPG as well, if that's how you best like to consume your interactive fiction.

Gamebook Friday: Fighting Fantazine #16 is here!

It's been over a year since the last edition of Fighting Fantazine was published, but now issue #16 of the fan-fuelled fanzine is here, and just in time for Scholastic's relaunch of the series too!

My books get a couple of mentions, specifically The Wicked Wizard of Oz and YOU ARE THE HERO Part 2, but also, curiously, Spellbreaker and Night of the Necromancer, in an article entitled Your adventure ends here...

To download the ezine for yourself - for free! - follow this link.

In other gamebook-releated news, this weekend is your last chance to pre-order an Adventurer's Backpack for September's Fighting Fantasy Fest 2. Don't delay - grab yours today!

Gamebook Friday: Alice's Nightmare at the UK Games Expo

This weekend I shall be attending the UK Games Expo, promoting my crowdfunded Choose Your Path Adventure Gamebook Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland - which is up for an award in the Best RPG category of the UK Games Expo Awards - as well as giving attendees the first glimpse of what I'm going to be working on next, in a similar vein.

If you're attending, look me up at Stand A23 in NEC Hall 1.

In other Gamebook Friday news, according to LinkedIn.com, this month I am celebrated 23 years at Penguin Books. To be honest, if it hadn't been for all the messages people have been sending me celebrating me on achieving this work anniversary, I think it would have passed me by.

I haven't worked for Penguin for the last 23 years without a break, but my most recently published book is Doctor Who: Choose the Future: Night of the Kraken came out through Puffin Books (an imprint of Penguin) as did my first published book, the Fighting Fantasy Gamebook Spellbreaker, which came out in June 1993! And both books are gamebooks, of one stripe or another.

Also out this week is Fighting Fantazine #15. My work gets a few mentions, in the form a piece about Tin Man Games' Bloodbones app, and two very pleasing reviews. The firsts of these is Brett Schofield's review of Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland, and the second is James Spearing's review of Doctor Who: Choose the Future: Night of the Kraken.

You can download your own copy of Fighting Fantazine #15 for free here.

Fighting Fantazine #14 available now!

Issue #14 of the hugely popular and highly professionally put together Fighting Fantasy fanzine Fighting Fantazine is now available for download - for FREE!

I have been particularly looking forward to this issue, because not one, not two, but three of my projects feature within its 104 pages!

First up is Bloodbones, or more specifically, Tin Man Games' adaptation of my fourth Fighting Fantasy adventure which was on hiatus for ten years until it was finally published by Wizard Books nine years ago*.

Bloodbones gets bigged up.

Second up is a report on Fighting Fantasy Fest 2014, written by Andrew Jones...

It's nice to see some pictures from the Fest from the other side of the table.

...and third is another glowing review of YOU ARE THE HERO, this time by Stuart Lloyd.

According to Stuart's review, if you're reading this you should also own a copy of YOU ARE THE HERO. 

The issue also includes a brand new Lone Wolf adventure this time, and an in depth interview with Marc Gascoigne, who was consultant editor on the series when I started writing for Fighting Fantasy... almost 23 years ago**!

Congratulations to Editor Alex Ballingall and the team, for another fantastic issue, and you can download your FREE copy by clicking this link.



* Crikey! Has it really been that long?

** It's actually nearer 25 years*** since I first started pitching ideas to Marc.

*** That's a quarter of a century!

FIGHTING FANTASY FEST around the Internet - Part 2

Word continues to spread about FIGHTING FANTASY FEST.

There's a piece here on Geek Syndicate...

Another post here on Lloyd of Gamebooks...

A mention here on Reddit...

And a post here on the Fighting Fantazine blog.

Check out the links, buy a ticket, and tell all your friends to buy a ticket too. ;-)

Fighting Fantazine #12 out now!

The incredible twelfth issue of the Fighting Fantasy fanzine - Fighting Fantazine - is available to download, for free, here!

You will also be able to read about the Fantazine in the forthcoming YOU ARE THE HERO - A History of Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks.

Fighting Fantazine #9 - available now!

Issue 9 of the Fighting Fantasy fanzine, Fighting Fantazine, is available now for download - and it's free!

There's a fantastic interview with artist Ian Miller, and included in the news section is a bit about my current gamebook projects.


Follow this link to grab your copy today!

Fighting Fantazine #8 - available now!

Fighting Fantasy fans will be pleased to hear that issue 8 of Fighting Fantazine is available now.

Included within its pages is a news item about Tin Man Games Gamebook Adventures, a very flattering review of Temple of the Spider God, and a piece by Jamie Fry (current Warlock of the official FF website) which includes a picture of myself alongside the likes of Ian Livingstone and Graham Bottley.

It seems that even when I'm not in the Fantazine, I'm in the Fantazine.

Fighting Fantazine #7 - available now!

Good news, Fighting Fantasy fans. The long-awaited Fighting Fantazine #7 is now available to download for free here.

The new issue features artwork by Nat the Rat and Alexander Ballingall, an extra-long 'mini' FF adventure by Paul Struth, an interview with the author of Midnight Rogue Graeme Davis, and I even get a couple of mentions in the (very) up-to-date News section.

Fighting Fantazine #6

The sixth issue of the phenomenal Fighting Fantasy fanzine Fighting Fantazine is out now. You can download it from here and what's even better is that it's free!

The Fighting Fantazine blog

Yes, they've only gone and done it!

The guys behind the Fighting Fantasy fanzine (Fighting Fantazine) have set up a blog to help promote their sterling work. And you can find it here.

Howl of the Werewolf - the Fighting Fantasy fans favourite gamebook!

The long-awaited Fighting Fantazine #5 is here and includes a fantastic cover by Natalie Gingerboom, an interview with one of my favourite (and most under-used FF artists) John Sibbick, the massive amateur adventure Bones of the Banished, news of the revised Advanced Fighting Fantasy range, and the readers' poll to find out the most popular Fighting Fantasy gamebook.

It's that last part that I'd particularly like to draw your attention to here.

Seventy different gamebooks feature in the readers' poll and mine are ranked as follows:

45= - Curse of the Mummy

31= - Knights of Doom

31= - Night of the Necromancer

30 - Spellbreaker

23= - Bloodbones

23= - Stormslayer

1 - Howl of the Werewolf

Yes, you read that right - Howl of the Werewolf topped the survey with an overall score of 84.6% (Plot 85.8%, Gameplay 82.5%, Atmosphere 88.3%, Illustrations 81.7%). I have to say that I am utterly thrilled (needless to say) but should also mention that without Martin McKenna's fantastic illustrations, I doubt Howl would have placed so high, so thank you to him.

It must have been a mammoth task collating all of the votes and working out the rankings so I would also like to extend my thanks to Alexander Ballingall and his team over on the Fighting Fantazine for all their hard work.

You can download Fighting Fantazine #5 from here, and, best of all, it's free!

Fighting Fantasy Fans

A quick update concerning all things relating to Fighting Fantasy fandom.

Issue 4 of the Fighting Fantasy fanzine Fighting Fantazine is out now, and you can download a copy for free here.

And if you are an avid collector of all things Fighting Fantasy, you could do a lot worse than pick up a copy of Jamie Fry's Fighting Fantasy Books Checklist & Price Guide 2010 here.

And, lastly, for all you fans of Curse of the Mummy out there, the new, improved edition of COTM will be able from February 2011.

FIghting Fantazine #2 - out now!

Rather late with this news, but I've very pleased to say that the second issue of Fighting Fantazine (the Fighting Fantasy fanzine) is out now and includes the second half of the comprehensive interview the editorial team carried out with me.

As well as reading about how I first got into writing Fighting Fantasy gamebooks, you can also indulge yourself with the frankly incredible Shrine of the Salamander original FF adventure, there are reviews and news of forthcoming titles and an article on FF maps, which includes a couple of mine! And it's all wrapped up in a superb Natalie Roberts (a.k.a Nat the Rat) cover.

The guys have done a fantastic job, once again, and you can download it here for yourself.

FIghting Fantazine - out now!

I am very pleased to pass on the good news that the inaugural issue of the brand new Fighting Fantasy fanzine - appropriately called Fighting Fantazine - is out now!

Inside you'll find an original mini FF adventure, Resurrection of the Dead by Alexander Ballingall, an article called the Fact of Fiction about the classic Steve Jackson gamebook Appointment with F.E.A.R. and an interview with me.

In fact it's the first part of a two-part interview. (My interviewer was very thorough.) So if you want to find out more about the process of creating a Fighting Fantasy gamebook or about my other current projects follow this link to download Fighting Fantazine #1.

Please direct any feedback about Fighting Fantazine to:

fightingfantazine@gmail.com