Gamebook Friday: Les Contes tordus de Green

Which I believe translates as 'Green's Twisted Tales', which is about right.

Last year, Alkonost Editions ran a crowdfunding campaign to produce eleven gamebooks. Three of those were ACE Gamebooks and they were released earlier this year. My author copies arrived last Saturday, and they look great!

I particularly like how the character icons appear on the Adventure Sheets, where appropriate, along with the instructions linked to them. That's an idea I might borrow for future ACE Gamebook releases.

The fourth volume is a translation of the 'Making of' chapters from the hardback editions of the three gamebooks, and features designer's notes and the preliminary sketches by Kev Crossley and Russ Nichoslon.

If you are a French-speaker, a Francophile, or simply a collector of ACE Gamebooks, you can find out more about the French editions here, and pick them up from sites such as Amazon.fr.

The title Alkonost Editions will be translating next is Dracula: Curse of the Vampire, to be released some time in 2024.

Gamebook Friday: Stock Clearance Sale

Due to an imminent house move, I am currently trying to clear as much old stock as possible. Follow this link to pick up a bargain, knockdown price ACE Gamebook hardback while you still can.

You can also pick up the PDF of the Heorot RPG at a discounted price, for the duration of Ormamánuður, Worm's Month, until 14th August 2023, over on DriveThruRPG.

Steampunk Thursday: Jules Verne Lives!

It's been a while since I've written a Steampunk Thursday blog post but I am doing so today because Jules Verne Lives!: Essays of His Works and Legacy, edited by Gary Westfahl, is out now.

Gary approached me in 2021 about being a contributor, providing my thoughts on writing Steampunk stories. And being published alongside James P. Blaylock, one of the Godfathers of Steampunk, is pretty darn cool.

Gamebook Friday: MAGIC REALMS has funded on Unbound

Magic Realms: The Art of Fighting Fantasy, written by myself and Sir Ian Livingstone, has reached its funding goal on Unbound. 

However, because this is Unbound, there isn't a cut off date yet for pledges, so if you haven't pledged yet, you still can.

The book focuses on the work of 26 artists, who have contributed art to the Fighting Fantasy series over the past four decades, across 25 chapters. Each chapter starts with a brief biography of the artist, followed by pages and pages of full colour and/or black & white artwork, along with some previously unseen sketches and other tidbits. There are also insights into their work from the artists themselves.

Rewards on offer include signed hardbacks, a clamshell box edition, and a new A2 colour map of Allansia by Leo Hartas.

To pledge your support, click on the link to the Unbound Magic Realms: The Art of Fighting Fantasy project page.

Gamebook Friday - Moon Knight: Age of Anubis - the first review!

Moon Knight: Age of Anubis isn't out for another two months in the US, and closer to five months in the UK, but the first review is in, courtesy of NetGalley reviewer Chelsea-Anne Kennedy of ChucksLibrary on Instagram. Here's what she had to say about my first Marvel gamebook.

Book: Moon Knight: Age of Anubis⁠
Author: Jonathan Green ⁠

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐⭐️⁠

Another gamebook novel this time starring Moon Knight.⁠
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I love these books they are so much fun and take me back to being a child with the choose your own path format. With my notepad and dice handy I was ready to start. In this book we are an Egyptologist setting up a new museum display when a mummy comes back to life. We help Moon Knight track down this mummy and stop Anubis.... or we try to.⁠
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I found this book super fun and you can spend hours trying all the different paths. I managed to die twice but also unlocked some fun achievements like late night double feature and going underground. The story is engaging and is great if you love the Moon Knight universe, we do have some other Marvel characters appear too, so look out for them :)⁠
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If you want a fun, easy-going, choose your own book with some action this is a must.⁠

You can pre-order Moon Knight: Age of Anubis here.