In the News: Beowulf Beastslayer!

Beowulf Beastslayer finishes its run on Kickstarter at 1:00pm this Wednesday - Halloween!

Which means there's still time to pledge your support and receive one of the heroic rewards that are on offer to backers.

Just in case you need a little more persuading, various articles about my new gamebook have appeared on various websites, which are worth checking out.

First there's Gamebook News, which posted a piece the very day the Kickstarter launched.

Then there's Starburst Magazine, which posted an interview with me about the book.

And most recently - today, in fact - Paul Hardacre's more in-depth interview was posted on Geek Syndicate.

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.

         

The Wicked Wizard of Oz two weeks in

The Wicked Wizard of Oz Kickstarter has now been running for two weeks, and with just over half the time left for the project to run we are almost three-quarters funded.

The Wicked Wizard of Oz has been receiving some love online recently from numerous sources. SFX Magazine tweeted about the project on Wednesday.

On Thursday both Starburst Magazine and the guys at Geek Syndicate gave the project a plug, with the Geek Syndicate piece being particularly complimentary about my previous crowdfunded gamebook, Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland. The project also got a plug at the end of this week's Nerd Vs World podcast (at around the 37:50 mark).

Thanks are also due to Megara Entertainment, for sharing the project with their own gamebook backers and, of course, a special mention must go to Scifind.com, who previewed the project before it even launched on Kickstarter.

Remember, Kickstarters only succeed if enough people get to hear about them, so please consider backing the project yourself, but even if it's not your thing, please spread it among your friends, because it might just be theirs.

Thank you.

Shakespeare Sunday: Shakespeare Vs Cthulhu reviewed in Horrorville Magazine #1

Horrorville is a brand new quarterly magazine, edited by Will Salmon, that introduces itself at the 'Home of Modern Horror', and I'm pleased to report that Shakespeare Vs Cthulhu is reviewed in the very first issue.

It's not the most marvellous review, giving the book 3.5 stars out of 5, but it just goes to show how reviewers' tastes can vary so greatly. While the Starburst review was a grand 9 out of 10, that reviewer didn't rate Graham McNeill's Something Wicked This Way Comes, the Horrorville reviewer calls it the stand-out story in the anthology.

Horrorville is available now from major newsagent outlets.

Shakespeare Vs Cthulhu - The First Review!

The first review of Shakespeare Vs Cthulhu is in and it's a doozy*! 9 out of 10 stars!

You can read the full review for yourself here, and you can pick up a copy of the anthology here.

* Although I don't agree with the comment about Graham McNeill's Macbeth-inspired story Something Wicked This Way Comes.

YOU ARE THE HERO makes the shortlist for the British Fantasy Awards 2015!

Having spent the day exploring the land of the Vikings, I was delighted to return to the Information Age this evening to discover that YOU ARE THE HERO - A History of Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks has made the shortlist for the British Fantasy Awards 2015.

It's also great to see how many of m'colleagues have been nominated in various categories, including FF artist Les Edwards, SHARKPUNK contributors Gary McMahon, Ian Whates, Laurel Sills and Den Patrick, and of course Lavie Tidhar - and in more than one category!

In other news, the guys at Starburst Magazine have uploaded an interview I did with them about Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland, as well as the podcast I recorded with Ed Fortune, Adrian Tchaikovksy, Producer Al and an audience of... half a dozen, at Edge-Lit 4, and Alex Davis (the organiser of Edge-Lit) also has a guest post on his blog from me today.

And last of all, Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland now has less than £1,000 to raise to achieve funding.

Sharkpunk Saturday - Starburst Review

Another Sharkpunk Saturday and another glowing 9 out of 10 stars review of SHARKPUNK, this time courtesy of Starburst Magazine.

As an editor, it's great when reviewers don't notice the editor's involvement in an anthology. It means you've done your job properly, allowing the different authors' voices to shine through. However, it's also nice when reviewers do recognise your efforts, as Ed Fortune does here:

"The editor, Jonathan Green, has curated an interesting collection and has presented them in the best possible order; some of the tales are deep psychological horror, others are deeply silly parody. It takes a firm editorial hand and a keen understanding of the tone of each piece to make a collection this diverse work, and Green makes it look effortless."

Various stories get singled out for particular attention, as is most often the way in reviews of anthologies. You're rarely going to find a reader who likes everything equally, if you've managed to curate a range of different stories and styles. However, with SHARKPUNK it doesn't seem to be a case of people not enjoying any of the stories, it's just that they enjoy some more than others.

You can read the whole review for yourself here, and you can pick up a paperback or download the ebook edition of SHARKPUNK here.

Gamebook Friday: STARBURST on Bloodbones

Reviews of the Bloodbones App keep on coming and STARBURST magazine seem to have particularly enjoyed it:

For nostalgia junkies and old school games fans, Bloodbones is a great treat. Heartily recommended.
 

I like the reference to YOU ARE THE HERO that appears in the review, which you can read in full here.

And here are links to two more reviews of the app:

Touch Tap Play

Touch Arcade

Gamebook Friday: YOU ARE THE HERO reviewed

It's been a couple of weeks since YOU ARE THE HERO - A History of Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks, was released on an unsuspecting public, and with all the Kickstarter backer copies having been sent out into the wild now, the book has begun to receive some reviews, and very favourable they are too.

Geek Syndicate has this to say about the book: "You Are The Hero is a magnificent work that manages to be objective and passionate about the series it discusses. A more fitting tribute to the series that saw me through my youth I can’t really imagine." 4.5/5

Lew Stringer, the comic artist who provided a brand new Derek the Troll strip for the book, reviewed it both here and here. Lew said that the book, "looks very interesting because it seems to be written for both Joe Public and the hard core gamer, which can't be a bad thing... The book is well illustrated throughout with numerous images, including many full page book covers without the cover copy so that you can fully appreciate the art."

Games designer Jake Thornton even gave YOU ARE THE HERO a mention over at Quirkworthy.com.

Realm of Chaos 80s loved the book! "The book is a joy! An absolute joy! Even if you have a slimmest interest in FF this book is worth buying. Every page brings a new memory, a new fact and a bigger, broader smile!"

Starburst Magazine had this to say: "Green has produced a beautifully edited and firmly present account of a phenomenon that for some is as important as Transformers or Star Wars and yet has been pretty much overlooked by the mainstream. If you’ve recently become reacquainted with the idea of turning to page 400 and want to know more about this strangely British fandom, then this is the best place to start." 8/10

Corehammer.com also liked it: "You Are The Hero is an absolute triumph. It is a love letter to a cherished memory, written with a scholars knowledge and a fanboys heart."

And then there are the 22 5-star reviews on Amazon.co.uk*,  the 5-star review on Amazon.fr, and the 5-star review on Waterstones.com**.

If you would like to pick up a physical copy of the book, you can do so here. However, if ebooks are more your thing these days, you can download a digital copy of YOU ARE THE HERO here. And if you enjoy it, feel free to add your own review online.


* As of writing. ;-)

** That has mysteriously vanished!

FIGHTING FANTASY FEST around the Internet - Part 3

More on FIGHTING FANTASY FEST from the World Wide Web.

This piece appeared on the Starburst Magazine website on Monday...

And on the same day, FFF 2014 was mentioned in a news round-up on SFX.co.uk.

YOU ARE THE HERO mentioned in STARBURST magazine interview

Recently Ed Fortune interviewed me for STARBURST magazine about Pax Britannia, tie-in fiction, and (of course) Fighting Fantasy gamebooks.

Oh yeah. And YOU ARE THE HERO.

You can read the interview for yourself here.

Time's Arrow - review and giveaway!

"This is silly fun at its best, and it gets to the heart of the steampunk genre. It doesn’t take itself seriously, isn’t at all bothered about history and simply exists to be the wildest tale it can be."

That's what Ed Fortune has to say over at the Starburst Magazine website about Pax Britannia: Time's Arrow. But I think he likes the book since he's also given it 9 out of 10 stars.

You can read Ed's review in its entirety here, and if after reading it it makes you want to read the book, then you might be interested in Upcoming4's giveaway here.