We’re on the old school track this episode as we tackle two classic Choose Your Own Adventure books from the mid 1980s, Prisoner of the Ant People by R. A. Montgomery, and Outlaws of Sherwood Forest by Ellen Kushner. But which will be better, the one that sounds like a 50s B-movie or the one that sounds like a 30s swashbuckler? Listen along to find out.
Episode 60 - Sorcery 1: The Shamutanti Hills
We’re taking a break from the mainline Fighting Fantasy books to work through the Sorcery series by Steve Jackson which are Fighting Fantasy books in all but name honestly. We’re starting at the beginning with The Shamutanti Hills. With a fancy new magic system and art by legendary UK illustrator and artist John Blanche this has all the ingredients to be a classic but will it land? Listen along to find out.
Episode 58 - Revenge of the Vampire
We’re on the penultimate book from the first run of Fighting Fantasy novels and it’s also writer Keith Martin’s swan song after eight books. Revenge of the Vampire is a direct sequel to the excellent Vault of the Vampire and sees Martin re-united with artist Martin McKenna. It’s a great creative pairing but is Revenge of the Vampire on the same level as Vault of the Vampire? Listen along to find out.
Bonus Episode - Blood Sword: The Battlepits of Krarth
The Bloodsword series is a set of gamebooks which take place in the world of Dragon Warriors, the classic roleplaying game written by Dave Morris and Oliver Johnson. It’s great that they are available again but do they bring anything fresh to the table? The first book, Battlepits of Krarth, tips its hat to Deathtrap Dungeon and has art by the great Russ Nicholson (who seems to have been a regular feature on the podcast lately). There’s no less than four different characters to play and a whole host of additional combat rules. Listen along to find out if more is more in this instance.
Bonus Episode - Way of the Tiger 3: Usurper!
It’s bonus episode time again and this instalment sees us continue to explore the Way of the Tiger series by Mark Smith and Jamie Thomson (with kind thanks to Stuart Lloyd for the loan of the book). Usurper, book 3 in the series, sees our ninja hero embark on a new adventure as they seek to take back a crown that is rightfully theirs under the dubious law of primogeniture. Will I manage it on my first try? If you’ve been listening for a while you already know the answer to that question but you might as well listen to the episode anyway.
Bonus Episode - Way of the Tiger: Avenger!
It’s another bonus episode and another foray into the world of Orb with Way of the Tiger: Avenger by Mark Smith and Jamie Thomson. Having survived the trials of Ninja our hero is now sent on a mission to save the world and take revenge on the man who killed their father figure. How will HJDoom do on this quest, badly or very badly? Listen along to find out.
Episode 46 - Tower of Destruction
Tower of Destruction is another book by Keith Martin who wrote one of my absolute favourite books in the series Vault of the Vampire. It was illustrated by Peter Knifton and the cover was by Terry Oakes.
If you like what I do consider joining my patreon. Everyone who pledges gets a whole bunch of gaming stuff including my gamebooks and experimental roleplaying games. www.patreon.com/hjdoom.
Bonus Episode - The Cave of Time
We’re investigating a key piece of gamebook history this episode as we explore The Cave of Time, the first proper Choose Your Own Adventure book by Edward Packard with art by Paul Granger. With 40 different endings this packs a lot of adventure into a small package. It spawned a wildly successful franchise but is this book actually any good? HJDoom plays it to find out and offers a mildly contentious and completely untested theory about the reason gamebooks exploded in the early eighties.
Bonus Episode - Spell of the Winter Wizard
It’s bonus episode time again as we take a look an Endless Quest book suggested by a listener in the form of Spell of the Winter Wizard by Linda Lowery with cover art by Larry Elmore and internal illustrations by Jeffry R Busch.
Don’t forget that entries are now being accepted for the 2023/24 Lindenbaum Prize being run by friend of the podcast Stuart Lloyd. You can find all the details here: http://www.lloydofgamebooks.com/2023/12/entries-are-now-being-accepted-for.html
Episode 39 - Fangs of Fury
We’re saying goodbye to the 30s with Fangs of Fury by Luke Sharp with cover art and internal illustrations by David Gallagher. I’ve had a torrid relationship with Luke Sharp’s work but was cautiously in favour of his previous book Daggers of Darkness. Will his Fighting Fantasy swansong be his crowning glory? Listen along to find out.
Episode 37 - Portal of Evil
Episode 37 brings us back into the welcoming arms of the Fighting Fantasy series and Portal of Evil by Peter Darvill-Evans with illustrations by Alan “the lizard guy” Langford. Sinister things are afoot in the forest and in the mountains as gold rush fever grips Khul. Can our sensibly named hero defeat the monsters and save the world for what feels like the thousandth time? Tune in to find out that he can’t.
Bonus Episode - Doctor Who: The Search for the Doctor
It’s TARDIS time again on Fantastic Fights as HJDoom plays through the 1986 Make Your Own Adventure gamebook The Search for the Doctor by David Martin with art by Gail Bennett. It’s a strange and incoherent little book with plenty of authentic Doctor Who touches but can a screen writer successfully turn his hand to game design? Listen along to find out.
If you’d like to support the show you can do so by going to www.patreon.com/hjdoom and pledging as little as a single English pound. I’m in the process of writing a new gamebook and documenting it in a series of patreon posts so there’s a little added bonus in addition to the gamebooks and roleplaying games I’ve already created exclusively for my patron.
Episode 34 - Stealer of Souls
After the last short but sweet bonus episode this one is a bit of a monster. HJDoom bravely takes on the latest challenge in the Fighting Fantasy series, Stealer of Souls by Keith Martin with illustrations by Russ Nicholson. There’s plenty of excitement to be had and could this be the first book in the series which will see the adventure actually be completed? Listen along to find out.
If you fancy tipping a few quid to support this kind of thing you can do so at www.patreon.com/hjdoom. Any and all support is greatly appreciated.
Bonus Episode - Peril From the Stars
It’s another bonus episode brought to you by the generosity of my backers over on www.patreon.com/hjdoom. This episode we’re taking a look at one of the most resilient toy lines of the 1980s, the ever popular Transformers. These robotic sneaks were a big part of my childhood but how well will they adapt into the format of the adventure gamebook? Peril From the Stars was written by gaming legend Dave Morris with illustrations by the dependable Bob Harvey and published by Corgi books in 1985.
Episode 32 - Slaves of the Abyss
It’s our first proper episode of 2023 and HJDoom is tackling book 32 in the Fighting Fantasy series which is Slaves of the Abyss by Paul Mason and Steve Williams with illustrations by Bob Harvey and cover art by Terry Oakes. Things start off with some fairly hackneyed kingdom in peril stuff but things rapidly get quite a bit stranger as the book progresses. Featuring a time mechanic and an extremely aggravating cameo from the Riddling Reaver that we happily avoid in the playthrough portion this book certainly has an uneven tone but is it any good? Listen along to find out.
If you’d like to support my nonsense financially you can do so by going to www.patreon.com/hjdoom and, along with my undying gratitude, you can score yourself some sweet gamebooks and RPGs what I done wrote.
Episode 31 - Battleblade Warrior
Well, here we are at the end of 2023 and there’s just time for one more episode of Fantastic Fights featuring Battleblade Warrior by Marc Gascoigne with art by Alan Langford. A city under siege from the evil lizardmen empire and a desperate race against time to find a magic weapon that can end the war. Battleblade Warrior features battlefields, jungles, mountains, and of course lots and lots of lizards. Sadly the quest falls to one HJDoom to complete and as regular listeners will know that’s rarely likely to end in triumph. Please note that I was recovering from a seasonal cold when I recorded this and that my voice is not normally quite that husky.
This episode also features some new patrons and a small, but hopefully exciting update to the schedule in 2023. If you’d like to get some sweet bonus material and support the making of this podcast you can do so by going to www.patreon.com/hjdoom.
Episode 24 - Creature of Havoc (Part Two)
HJDoom is back with the second part of Creature of Havoc, the seminal Fighting Fantasy book by Steve Jackdon. Our bumbling and monstrous hero has successfully traversed the dungeons of Zharradan Marr and made its way out into the big wide world. What happens next? Listen in to find out. There’s also a mildly exciting announcement of a new patreon reward, and the even more mildly exciting announcement that I have a new EP out. It’s 4 tracks of dungeon synth recorded on a digital version of a cheap 1980s Casio synth. It’s free to download and you can find it at https://malesperi.bandcamp.com/album/where-graves-are-empty
Episode 24 - Creature of Havoc (Part One)
Creature of Havoc looms large in the canon of Fighting Fantasy gamebooks. It’s often considered as the single best book in the whole run. Join HJDoom as he plays through the opening half and tries to keep a clear head in the face of a book throwing all manner of different things into the mix. The more observant among you will also have noticed that this is labelled part 1. That’s because this is a book so expansive that only a second episode can possibly contain the awesome totality of this tome. I’ll be aiming to record the second episode sooner rather than later but I’m also in the middle of deadline hell there may be some delay. Regardless Steve Jackson has delivered something truly special with this one and Alan Langford’s clean art makes a fantastic contrast to the obtuseness of the text.
If you’d like to support my nonsense you can do so by going to patreon.com/hjdoom and pledging as little as a thin English pound (or local equivalent).
Episode 21 - Trial of Champions
It’s a massive episode to start off 2022 as HJDoom takes on the new and improved Deathtrap Dungeon in 1986’s Trial of Champions. This book also sees the welcome return of Ian Livingstone to the franchise, having not penned a gamebook since Temple of Terror. Baron Sukumvit’s eviller sibling Carnuss is determined to find a worthy challenger to beat his brother’s monstrous creation no matter how many people he has to kill along the way. To even get the chance to face the dungeon you must first face the Arena of Death. Will our hero triumph? Just how long is he prepared to talk about the minutiae of gamebook design? Find out by listening along.
Fantastic Fights is only possible thanks to the generous souls who support me on patreon. Everyone who supports me gets a copy of my own adventure gamebook, House of the Unquiet Dead, as well as whatever other gaming nonsense I end up writing in 2022. Pledge as little as one UK pound here: www.patreon.com/hjdoom
Bonus Episode - Flight From the Dark
This episode is very excting for me as I delve into a series that I don't know as well as I would like, the Lone Wolf series by Joe Dever and Gary Chalk. Literally several people have asked me when I'll get around to covering these books and, for them, the wait is over. If you like what you hear then consider supporting the podcast at www.patreon.com/hjdoom. All my patrons will be receiving an adventure gamebook at Christmas penned by my own fair hand.