Night of the Kraken Readalong

Anyone curious as to what my 12th Doctor gamebook Night of the Kraken is like, you can join a readalong here on Tardis Guide now, and help choose how the adventure progresses.

Doctor Who Day 2024

Doctor Who was first broadcast on this day 61 years ago!

Recently, I have been playing with the Gallifreyan translator on the official Doctor Who website. Below are the names of three of my Doctor Who books - two gamebooks and one novel - in the language of the Time Lords.

The Horror of Howling Hill

(A 10th Doctor gamebook)

Terrible Lizards

(An 11th Doctor novel)

Night of the Kraken

(A 12th Doctor novel)

Doctor Who at 60

I couldn't let the landmark 60th anniversary of the world's longest running science ficiton TV show go without a mention.

Ten years ago I was watching The Day of the Doctor at the cinema with my kids. Today, I've watched a couple of old episodes from the Third Doctor's era*. And at the weekend I will sit down to watch the first of the 60th anniversary specials.

Tom Baker was my first Doctor, although I later saw quite a few of John Pertwee's adventures when they were repeated on BBC2. I have been a fan ever since. I found things to enjoy about every era, and while I didn't appreciate Chris Chibnall's stint as showrunner, I still watched every episode. But I am optimistic for David Tennant's return and whatever comes after.

When Doctor Who wasn't on TV, I read Virgin Books New Adventures. I even pitched one, although it was politely rejected.

My involvement with Doctor Who as an author didn't begin until 2007, when I contacted Puffin Books about writing a Decide Your Destiny Doctor Who gamebook. This lead to me being commissioned to write The Horror of Howling Hill. Over the next decade I wrote for the Tenth, Eleventh and Twelfth Doctors, and contributed to Doctor Who: 100 Illustrated Adventures and wrote the lion's share of the Doctor Who Annual 2010.

Doctor Who: Decide Your Destiny: The Horror of Howling Hill (2008)

The Official Doctor Who Annual 2010 (2010)

Time Lord Quiz Quest (2015)

Terrible Lizards (2016)**

Doctor Who: Choose the Future: Night of the Kraken (2016)

Doctor Who: 100 Illustrated Adventures (2017)

My involvement with Doctor Who also lead to me meeting numerous Daleks and one Steven Moffat.

Who knows if I'll ever write anything for Doctor Who again, but if the chance does arise, I would love to. After all, it's Doctor Who, isn't it?

* It's interesting how many episodes' cliffhanger endings involve someone pointing a gun at the Doctor.

** First published as part of Monstrous Missions (2012).

Tie-in Tuesday: 100 Years of the BBC

I know I'm a little late to the party, sharing what 100 years of the BBC means to me, but it took Sunday night's episode of Doctor Who - Jodie Whittaker's last as the Thirteenth Doctor - to prompt me into action.

I have not been a fan of Thirteen's run for one major reason, the poor quality of the writing. There have been some great scenarios, but Chris Chibnall never seemed to make the pay off worthy of the set up. And don't get me started on how he messed with the lore*.

Every series has had its dud episodes and, in my opinion, your typical season is roughly 50% good and 50% bad, apart from a few standout series, notably Season 3. (But more on that later.) However, in the case of Thirteen there were barely any episodes that could be considered good across all three series.

Having slept on it, I think that The Power of the Doctor was the best Jodie Whittaker episode of them all, with some lovely nods to Classic Who and past companions, as well as past Doctors.

Warning! Some of what comes next could be considered spoilers, so if you've not watched The Power of the Doctor yet and you intend to, best stop reading now...

Still here? Okay, but don't say I didn't warn you.

My favourite bits included:

• The return of Ashad.
• The return of Graham.
• "And if that's not enough, I was an air hostess in the early Eighties."
• "Nitro 999."
• "Tag, you're it!"
• "I know these teeth."
• Durdle Door**

I feel that the most consistently strong series was David Tennant's second as the Tenth Doctor, i.e. Season 3. Which is why I'm excited to see what Russell T Davies comes up with for the 60th anniversary next year.

Season 3 is special to me for another reason - it's when I started writing tie-in fiction for Doctor Who. First was The Horror of Howling Hill, a Decide Your Destiny gamebook featuring the Tenth Doctor and Martha Jones, published in 2008.

I wrote the lion's share of The Official Doctor Who Annual 2010, and in 2012 my Eleventh Doctor novel, Terrible Lizards, was published***.

I was back in 2015 with the Doctor Who: Time Lord Quiz Quest, and 2016 saw publication of my Twelfth Doctor Choose the Future gamebook, Night of the Kraken.

Who knows whether I will return to Doctor Who in the future, but I would never turn down an opportunity to write for TV's favourite Time Lord. 

But the BBC means more to me than just Doctor Who. Its programmes have inspired me over the years and will have inevitably influenced the content of the stories I have told. And to top it all, once I was interviewed about Fighting Fantasy gamebooks for Radio 4.

So thank you, BBC, and here's to the next 100 years!

* I hope not irrevocably.

** Just up the coast from Broadchurch. May Jodie or Chibs have a house down there in Dorest.

*** Originally as part of the Monstrous Missions compendium.

Gamebook Friday: Beowulf Beastslayer and the Night of the Kraken

A glowing review of Beowulf Beastslayer was posted on GamebookNews.com this week. It's very scholarly, and quite long, but this summary should tell you what you need to know.

This evening at 6:00pm BST (Friday 10 April) Olly McNeil of The Storymaster's Tales, will be giving a live readthrough of my second Doctor Who gamebook Night of the Kraken only on the Doctor Who Infinity Facebook group.

Lastly, for this Gamebook Friday, if you missed the Kickstarter for my latest ACE Gamebook, DRACULA - Curse of the Vampire, you can still place a Late Pledge here.

Remember, stay home, stay safe, and keep well, and I'll see you next week,

Happy 54th Birthday, Doctor Who!

It's crazy to think that since the epic 50th anniversary The Day of the Doctor event four years have passed, during which time I have had not only the Doctor Who: Time Lord Quiz Quest published but also my second Doctor Who Choose the Future gamebook, Night of the Kraken.*

          

And the most recent Doctor Who-related release that I have contributed to is Doctor Who: 100 Illustrated Adventures, which makes the perfect Christmas gift for the Doctor Who fan(s) in your family.

* Not to mention Terrible Lizards being published as a standalone story.

Christmas Shopping!

While you're consider what to get a loved one this Christmas, or even what to add to your own Christmas wish list, you might want to consider the following titles. Simply click on the book cover to find out more.

Review of the Year - 2016

On New Year's Eve last year I posted a review of 2015. I'm a little earlier this year, seeing as nothing major is going to happen writing-wise between Christmas and New Year, so here's my review of 2016.

Last year I had an unprecedented nine books published. This year there were only four books, and one video game that I worked on, that saw the light of day. The first of those was a re-issue, but the second was a brand-new Doctor Who gamebook, Night of the Kraken!

Shakespeare Vs Cthulhu - funded via Kickstarter - was a concept I thought couldn't fail, and yet it has yet to really find a committed readership, which is a shame.

Of course the number of projects published this year doesn't reflect the work I've done this year that is yet to see print, such as The Wicked Wizard of Oz or a brand new Pax Britannia short story.

And there were other things that happened this year that have made a big impact on my writing/career.

For one thing, I took on the mantle of Warlock for www.FightingFantasy.com and have started planning Fighting Fantasy Fest 2 which is taking place on Saturday 2nd September 2017, to mark the 35th anniversary of the publication of the very first Fighting Fantasy gamebook, The Warlock of Firetop Mountain.

I was also editor on the new Freeway Fighter comic that is coming out from Titan Comics next year.



I was invited to write the novelisation of Robin of Sherwood: The Knights of the Apocalypse at the end of 2015 and met some of my childhood heroes (or at least their 20th century counterparts) in 2016.

With some of the cast of the audio drama Robin of Sherwood: The Knights of the Apocalypse. (I'm the one second from the left, dressed like an estate agent.)

And there were two more projects that I worked on that won't see the light of day until 2017.

Talking of 2017, I have a few projects in the pipeline already, including SHARKPUNK 2 - a second anthology of killer shark stories - and a new novel, which I am outlining at the moment. I also hope to start work on YOU ARE THE HERO Part 2, also to mark Fighting Fantasy's 35th anniversary. And then there are yet more projects that either I can't talk about yet or which may still come to nothing, or both!

I attended fewer conventions than ever before this year - although I did attend the European premiere of Fantastic Beast And Where To Find Them - mostly because they clashed with other commitments.

Among the many celebrity deaths this year, sadly 2016 will also be remembered as the year that Joe Dever, creator of the Lone Wolf gamebook series, passed away.

Joe Dever - 1956-2106

One of the biggest things for me writing-wise in 2016, in terms of its importance to me and also, hopefully, bringing my work to a new readership was the Robin of Sherwood gig, so I think 2016 will be listed in my autobiography as The Year of Robin of Sherwood.

But what will 2017 be remembered as?

We will just have to wait and see...

Happy 53rd Birthday, Doctor Who!

And what better way to celebrate the occasion than by joining the Doctor on one of his most recent adventures?

World Animal Day

Today, 4th October, is World Animal Day, so it seems appropriate that I am writing a story about the Beast of Bodmin Moor whilst also plotting the Lion's next encounter in The Wicked Wizard of Oz.

Animals have featured to a greater or lesser extent in many of my books and stories but among the most notable must be...

Sonic the Hedgehog Adventure Gamebooks

Howl of the Werewolf

Pax Britannia: Unnatural History

Pax Britannia: Leviathan Rising

Temple of the Spider God

Terrible Lizards

Pax Britannia: Time's Arrow

SHARKPUNK

Night of the Kraken

And there are still more animal-themed stories to come...

Tie-in Tuesday: Doctor Who and the Cybermen

The latest issue of Doctor Who Magazine (#504, November 2016) features the Doctor's second most hated/loved enemy, the Cybermen. It comes with four variant covers, but I had to go with #4, featuring the most up-to-date iterations of the alien cyborgs.

You will be upgraded!

Among the many Cyber-related features gracing its pages is a piece on the different types of Cyberman the Doctor has encountered during the last two millennium/53 years.

The steampunk CyberKing has to be one of my favourite Cyber-creations.

I can't imagine why.

I have always preferred the Cybermen to the Daleks (the #1 Doctor Who villain, although I love Davros) and particularly enjoyed the Tenth Doctor Christmas Special The Next Doctor. If I get the opportunity to write another Doctor Who Choose the Future gamebook, I want it to feature the Cybermen and I have the perfect story for them. So, fingers crossed.

Doctor Who: Choose the Future - Night of the Kraken

If this one sells well, there may be more Choose the Future books in the... future.

As an aside, it is frustrating that DWM doesn't review the Puffin Doctor Who books, while a book about Worzel Gummidge is, just because it starred John Pertwee post-Who. As far as I am aware the magazine doesn't even include the Puffin titles in the 'Coming Soon' section.

It's frustrating not only because the Doctor Who books I've written are all for Puffin but also because a few more reviews and increased exposure who doubtless help boost sales. It's as if they're not considered real Doctor Who books, whereas everything I submit has to be approved by the Cardiff production office, just like the Big Finish audios or Ebury's DW novels.

So come on DWM - how about featuring the Puffin titles in future?

Tie-in Tuesday: Lovin' the Kraken

Apart from one rather strange review, in which the reviewer seemed put off by the smell of the book more than anything else, my latest Doctor Who gamebook Choose the Future: Night of the Kraken has been receiving a lot of love online.

First there's this review by blogger and book critic Kathryn White.

And then there's this one, written by Antony McGarry-Thickitt, over at Geek Syndicate. I particularly liked this bit:

"I always consider it a good sign when I see Jonathan Green’s name attached to any interactive fiction project. Green has a long and successful record writing these types of books and so I was reasonably sure that Night of the Kraken would be a solid adventure in its own right. I wasn’t wrong."

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.