Gamebook Friday: Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu - What Dreams May Come

Coming soon from ACE Gamebooks... Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come!

Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come
shown with rewards from the Kickstarter.

“We are such stuff as dreams are made on…”

The year is 1613, and England's foremost playwright is committed to finishing his latest magnum opus, Love's Labour’s Won, for his new patron, the Earl of Gloucester. However, after falling asleep while working late at the Globe, he wakes to find himself in a subtly altered world that is both familiar and yet strangely unfamiliar.

What follows is an epic quest through Shakespeare’s plays in which the Bard of Stratford is confronted by sinister eldritch forces in service of the Great Old Ones – malign beings of unimaginable power – the greatest of which is the cosmic entity known as Cthulhu.

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Shakespeare Vs. Cthulhu: What Dreams May Come is an interactive fantasy novel, inspired by the Bard’s most popular plays and the unsettling creations of the American pulp horror writer H.P. Lovecraft.

In this adventure gamebook, YOU take on the role of William Shakespeare himself, deciding which route to take, which perils to risk, and which of the villains and eldritch horrors you will meet along the way to fight. But whether you survive your ordeal or succumb to riotous madness, will be down to the choices YOU make.

“By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes.”

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!

Tie-in Tuesday: Terrible Lizards

Back at the start of the year, I was interviewed by Kenny Smith for The Power of 3 Podcast about my Eleventh Doctor novel Terrible Lizards.

First published in 2012 as part of Monstrous Missions, and later released as a self-contained novel for the US market in 2016, in Terrible Lizards, the Eleventh Doctor and his friends join a group of explorers on a Victorian tramp steamer in the Florida Everglades. The explorers are searching for the Fountain of Youth, but neither they nor the treasure they seek are quite what they seem...

If you are interested in peeking behind the curtain, to find out how a book comes to be, you can listen to the podcast here. And you can order pre-loved copies of the novel here.

Gamebook Friday: Valiant

This year, to date, I have written three gamebooks. Today, I am delighted to be able to share the news about one of those projects with you.

“Greetings, Agent Valiant,

The Crown and Her forces face enemies on all fronts, on land and

on sea, in politics and in trade. But yours is a subtler mission, your

tools more covert, using perseverance, keen observational skills, and

strength of character and deed. You have joined the secret ranks of Her

Majesty’s Ministry of Intelligence, laying your life on the line to protect

Queen and Country. Choose your tools of subterfuge carefully, Valiant,

for success or failure from here rests on your choices.

Good Luck, and Godspeed

M”

Set in the world of Warcradle Studios' Dystopian Age games, amidst the never-ending conflict of the warring powers, Valiant sees you play your way through the setting like never before.

Written by Yours Truly, and illustrated by Neil Googe (who also illustrated the seventh ACE Gamebook RONIN 47), this upcoming adventure places you in the role of Valiant, an Agent in the Circus (Her Majesty’s Ministry of Intelligence), and provides a glimpse into the world of the Dystopian Age as your actions decide the fate of your mission for the Crown.

To find out more, click this link to visit the Warcradle Studios' blog.

Gamebook Friday: Talk Like a Pirate Day!

Yes, it's that time again - it's Talk Like a Pirate Day!

So I would just like to remind you that my Dinosaurs Vs. Pirates Vs. the End of the World ACE Gamebook NEVERLAND - Here Be Monsters! is available to buy now, either as a physical paperback or as a PDF.

Fighting Fantasy Quest Live Preview - Friday 12th September!

This Friday, 12th September 2025, Paul Grogan of Ulisses Spiele will be doing the first live play preview of Fighting Fantasy Quest: The Warlock of Firetop Mountain online at 8:00pm UK time.

Paul previewed the game at the UK Games Expo earlier this year, but now everyone, all over the world, can see what it's all about.

Paul Grogan and Sir Ian Livingstone at the UK Games Expo with
Fighting Fantasy Quest: The Warlock of Firetop Mountain

So, make sure you put 8:00pm Friday 12th September in your diary and join the livestream here.

Gamebook Friday: YOU ARE THE HERO available now from DriveThruRPG

YOU ARE THE HERO: An Interactive History of Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks has been out for over a year, but now you can download the hyperlinked PDF from DriveThruRPG. Click on the cover below to find out more.