Happy Deathday, Mr Shakespeare!

Today - Saint George's Day - is William Shakespeare's deathday*, so it seemed like the perfect time to remind gamebook fans that Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come is available to buy now. You can even buy a signed hardback here.

Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu at Anne Hathaway's Cottage
in Shottery, Warwickshire.

However, before the Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come gamebook there was the Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu short story anthology. Check it out here and watch the video below to find out more.

 

* And possibly his birthday as well.

YOU ARE THE HERO: An Interactive History of Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks

YOU ARE THE HERO: An Interactive History of Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks is published today by Snowbooks, featuring brand new cover art by none other than Iain McCaig.

Fighting Fantasy gamebooks – the publishing phenomenon of the 1980s – has sold over 20 million books worldwide, in over 30 languages. But when Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone sat down to write the original Fighting Fantasy gamebook, The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, they could not have predicted that this one, simple adventure would go on to spawn over 100 titles, let alone begin to guess at the impact it would have on a generation of children growing up in the 80s.

Part history, part celebration, YOU ARE THE HERO chronicles four decades of the Fighting Fantasy phenomenon. Written by Jonathan Green (author of eight Fighting Fantasy gamebooks), this mighty tome will appeal to anyone who ever whiled away a washed-out summer holiday with only two dice, a pencil, and an eraser for company.

As well as updating and revising the text from the original two volumes of YOU ARE THE HERO, there is a significant amount of new content, particularly concerning the 40th anniversary of Fighting Fantasy in 2022.

Not only that, but you can either read the book from cover to cover, or you can read it as a gamebook. Those blue boxes you can see in the sample spread above give you the option of turning to different sections (there are 400 in total) that are in some way related to the paragraphs you have just read.

If you have read the book already, please consider posting a review here.

Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come

Today marks the 400th anniversary of the printing of the First Folio.

Published in 1623, seven years after the death of its author, it was the first printed edition of Shakespeare’s collected plays. Without this achievement, we would have lost half of his dramatic work. 

The 400th birthday of this foundational book seems as good a time as any to announce my next ACE Gamebook which will be coming to Kickstarter next year - Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come.

Some of you may remember the Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu anthology of short stories I edited back in 2016. At the time I teased the gamebook, saying that it would be coming to Patreon. But plans change and now I will be funding production of the book via Kickstarter.

To sign up to be notified of future developments, please click on the image below.

Gamebook Friday: World Dracula Day

Today is World Dracula Day, which commemorates the publication of Bram Stoker's Dracula on this day in 1897.

In honour of the day, I am running a Flash Sale of the yellow hardback 125th anniversary edition of Dracula: Curse of the Vampire. There are only 10 copies of the book up for sale at just £60 each, plus post and packing.

If you do want to buy one, please make sure you select the correct post and packing charges for your location.

Post and Packing

UK P&P £65.00 GBP Europe P&P £70.00 GBP Canada/South Africa £77.00 GBP USA/Australia/New Zealand/Rest of World £80.00 GBP

Dracula: Curse of the Vampire is an interactive gothic horror novel, in which YOU decide which route to take, which perils to risk, and which of the terrifying creatures you will meet along the way to fight. Play as Jonathan Harker, Mina Murray, and Dr John Seward… or even Count Dracula himself. But be warned – whether you succeed in your quest or succumb to the curse of the vampire will be down to the choices YOU make.

 

But do not tarry, for the dead travel fast.

Gamebook Friday: Alice in Bulgaria and Dracula in Hungary

The Bulgarian edition of Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland is now available to preorder courtesy of GENY-Gamebooks.

I love seeing how overseas publishers either commission their own cover artwork, or use different examples of Kev Crossley's illustrations, or even just the same cover as the UK edition.

The Hungarian edition of Dracula: Curse of the Vampire is almost ready to go as well. In this case, Chameleon Comix used the same cover are as Snowbooks did on the UK edition but with a slightly different arrangement of image and text.

Short Story Saturday: Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu

Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu is an anthology of short stories inspired by the works of Stratford's most famous son and the literary endeavours of cosmic horror master H. P. Lovecraft.

Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu includes stories by the likes of Adrian Tchaikovsky, Graham McNeill, James Lovegrove, Jan Siegel, Andrew Lane, Jonathan Oliver, and John Reppion. So, if you've not already picked up a copy, do so today and treat yourself to what one reviewer called "a fun concept, that delivered on its premise."

And if you have read the book, a review on Amazon is always much appreciated.

Dracula is back!

When Dracula - Curse of the Vampire was published last year, the response to the sixth ACE Gamebook was massive. So massive, in fact, that it completely sold out of its initial print run.

I'm delighted to be able to report that, as of today, Dracula - Curse of the Vampire is available once again, now in a print on demand edition from Amazon. And this one has cover quotes!

Over 160,000 words, spread out over 1,000 sections, you can play as the Vampire-Hunters Jonathan Harker, Mina Murray, and Doctor Seward, or you can play as the vampire Count Dracula himself.

To pick up your copy in time for Halloween, click here.

Gamebook Friday: YOU ARE THE HERO - An Interactive History of Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks...

... launches on Kickstarter on Saturday 8th October 2022, at 11:00am BST!

Check out the rewards and pledge your support on Kickstarter tomorrow.

Gamebook Friday: RONIN 47

RONIN 47, the seventh ACE Gamebook (to be published this summer by Snowbooks), now has a cover. And it's gorgeous!

Art and logo design by Neil Googe, colours by Len O'Grady, design by Emma Barnes.

I love how bright it is and the use of coloured text on the back, which you can see below.

Happy Dracula Day!

26 May 2022 marks the 125th anniversary of the publication of Bram Stoker's seminal gothic horror novel Dracula. 

To commemorate this momentous occasion, from today you can purchase a seriously limited collector's edition of Dracula - Curse of the Vampire, the gamebook based on Stoker's novel. And as an homage to the original, the cover is yellow with red text. To find out more, click this link.

Gamebook Friday: Dracula - Curse of the Vampire Collector's Edition

Coming soon, to mark the 125th anniversary of the publication of Bram Stoker's Dracula on 26th May 2022, the Dracula - Curse of the Vampire Collector's Edition. Limited to 50 signed copies in total.

Happy Birthday, Mr Shakespeare!

It's that time of year when I like to remind everyone that I edited an anthology of short stories called Shakespeare Vs Cthulhu, back in 2016, featuring tales inspired by the Bard and the literary endeavours of H. P. Lovecraft.

Shakespeare Vs Cthulhu includes stories by the likes of Adrian Tchaikovsky, Graham McNeill, James Lovegrove, Jan Siegel, Andrew Lane, Jonathan Oliver, and John Reppion. So, if you've not already picked up a copy, do so today and treat yourself to what one reviewer called "a fun concept, that delivered on its premise."

And if you have read the book, a review on Amazon is always much appreciated.

Gamebook Friday: Mechs Vs Kaiju!

Check out the new Kickstarter video for RONIN 47, and then - if you haven't already - pledge your support here.

RONIN 47 has funded on Kickstarter!

I am very pleased to report that earlier today RONIN 47 funded on Kickstarter! Thank you to everyone who has pledged their support to the project so far, and if you haven't, there's still time.

The Kickstarter funding means that not only can Snowbooks go ahead and publish the seventh ACE Gamebook next year, it will also feature 15 full-page illustrations by Neil Googe, as well as the filler pictures you may have already seen dotted around the Kickstarter project page.

There goes Tokyo!

If you are a fan of comics, especially the UK anthology title 2000AD, you will already be familiar with Neil's work from such strips as Survival Geeks and Cadet Dredd.

Now that RONIN 47 has funded, we can start talking about Stretch Goals. Many of these come in the form of special bonus pin-up pieces of art by other stalwarts of the British and international comics scene.

If we achieve the first two, it will mean that the collector's hardback edition of RONIN 47 will feature bonus art by Nikolai Dante's Simon Fraser, and Killing Time's Chris Weston.

So, you know what to do - go tell all your friends to back RONIN 47 on Kickstarter today!

Gamebook Friday: Mechageddon!

RONIN 47 has been live on Kickstarter for a week now and is already 90% funded, with three still to go!

But of course, £10,000 is merely the basic funding goal - what we really want is to be able to hit the art Stretch Goals.

With that in mind, and due to popular demand, a new retailer pledge level has been created. To find out more, click the image below...

Gamebook Friday: RONIN 47 is live on Kickstarter!

RONIN 47 - a Mech-vs-Kaiju ACE Gamebook - is now live on Kickstarter! Check out the video below to find out more, and pledge your support here.

Gamebook Friday: K-Day is coming!

It's official! RONIN 47, the seventh ACE Gamebook, is coming to Kickstarter a week today, on Friday 16 July 2021! Put the date in your diary now!

I hope you will check it out and pledge your support to RONIN 47 when it goes live, and it pays to back early. Back within the first week and you'll get a discount on your pledge price. Back within the first day and the discount doubles!

Rewards on offer to backers include signed hardbacks, custom dice and playing cards, and exclusive art prints, as well as a unique slipcase edition that includes both a paperback and a signed hardback copy of the book. And everyone who pledges to receive a physical reward will also receive a collectible ACE Gamebooks pin badge.

As well as paying for the production of the RONIN 47 gamebooks and backer rewards, the money raised by the Kickstarter will also pay for fifteen full-page illustrations and other filler images by Neil Googe.

We also have a whole host of incredible art Stretch Goals, and every piece of pin-up art unlocked will appear in the collector's hardback edition of RONIN 47. Whether you are a gamebook fan or a comics aficionado, you are going to want to back this Kickstarter! And then get all your friends to back it too, so that you can have even more incredible artwork in your copy of the book.

You can check the project page here, but please bear in mind that it is still a work in progress. That said, if you do notice any glaring errors, please do let me know.

Please spread the word far and wide, and I shall look forward to seeing you again next Friday, 16 July 2021.