Gamebook Friday: Onward Adventurer

The latest episode of Starburst Magazine's podcast Brave New Words - #2.27 Onward Adventurer - is available to download for free from iTunes. The reason I mention this today is because not one, not two, but four of my books get a mention. I say a mention, but they are actually discussed for a good 40 minutes or more, which is nice.

The books in question are YOU ARE THE HERO Parts 1 and 2, Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland and The Wicked Wizard of Oz. Fighting Fantasy Fest 1 and Fighting Fantasy Fest 2 also get a mention. (And when I say a mention...)

There is an interesting discussion concerning how well, or not, the artwork of the Fighting Fantasy books has dated, although I completely disagree with one of the panel who thinks that there were some poor artistic decisions made in the YATH books and who argues that if you are writing a history of something you should consider reworking iconic images associated with it. (And we all know how well that's gone down with some FF fans with regards to Scholastic re-imagining classic images from the FF gamebooks.)

I'm pleased to say that the panel are suitably wowed by the look of the special edition of The Wicked Wizard of Oz, and are especially impressed by Kev Crossley's designs for the playable characters, although the same panellist misunderstands that the Scarecrow isn't The Grim Reaper but A Grim Reaper, and it would have been nice if somebody had actually read/played through the book before reviewing it.

You can listen to the podcast for yourself here.