It’s a little change of pace this episode as HJDoom tackles a solo journaling RPG called Thousand Year Old Vampire by Tim Hutchinson in which a structured set of rules and a series of prompts help you navigate the life story of an ancient undead fiend. It’s won awards and everything but how much fun is it and does it offer anything to people coming at it from the perspective of gamebooks as a medium? Listen along to find out.
Episode 72 - Assassins of Allansia
Assassins of Allansia by Ian Livingstone with art by Robert Ball has a great premise - you are being hunted by assassins sent by Lord Azzur of Port Blacksand. Does the actual book live up to the hype? Listen along to find out.
Episode 70 - The Port of Peril
We’re back in extremely familiar Fighting Fantasy territory as Ian Livingstone takes us on a tour of some of Allansia’s most recognisable settings in The Port of Peril. With art by Vlados Krizan we journey through Chalice to the Moonstone Hills and on to Darkwood Forest and Port Blacksand in search of the means to vanquish an old enemy.
Don’t forget that the Lindenbaum Prize is currently taking submissions. Find more information here: https://www.lloydofgamebooks.com/2026/02/voting-is-now-open-for-2026-lindenbaum.html
Bonus Episode - Conan the Outlaw
“Conan! What is best in life?”
“Why, it’s listening to a middle aged man play an adventure gamebook based on my many adventures of course.”
In this episode HJDoom, a man who isn’t even sure he has thews, never mind mighty ones, takes on Conan the Outlaw by Roger E Moore and art by Ron Randall. Will this meet with his favour? Listen along to find out.
Episode 67 - Stormslayer
We round off a trilogy of Jonathan Green Fighting Fantasy books with Stormslayer, which follows Bloodbones and Howl of the Werewolf. Is it a case of the third time’s the charm or is this book falling at the final hurdle? With art from experienced illustrator Stephen Player this takes more of a classic fantasy approach than the more horror themed Howl of the Werewolf. Eagle eyed fans will notice a few neat Easter Eggs for those familiar with his previous work, as well as long standing fans of Fighting Fantasy and the Sorcery series. There’s also a small announcement about the first ever patron only bonus episode. Don’t worry, it won’t become a habit.
Bonus Episode - Steam Highwayman 1: Smog and Ambuscade
We’re doing another open world book this episode in the form of the first Steam Highwayman book by Martin Noutch with art by Ben May. It’s a whopper of a Victorian science fiction extravaganza weighing in at over 1000 sections and featuring all manner of systems and a whole host of different plot lines to explore. Is it any good? Listen along to find out.
Note that the review portion starts at 47:20.
Bonus Episode - Frankenstein
It’s bonus episode time again and we’re playing Dave Morris’s unique take on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. This is a digital gamebook (played on iOS) which always make for an interesting departure from the classic formula. How will Morris’s take on a classic stand up to the original? Listen along to find out.
Episode 64: The Eye of the Dragon
Ian Livingstone is back! Eye of the Dragon written in 2005 is the first new Fighting Fantasy book since 1995 and Livingstone’s first book since 1992. We’re in proper old school mode for this extended dungeon crawl which has the added bonus of Martin McKenna’s always exceptional artwork. Will it be able to recapture the magic of the series for a new generation? Listen along to find out.
The review portion of the episode starts at 46m22s.
Episode 61 - Sorcery 2: Kharé - Cityport of Traps
Having survived a walking holiday in the Shamutanti Hills we now get to enjoy a citybreak in Kharé, a cityport known for having the most violent and paranoid locals anywhere in the known world. All that needs to happen is to walk from one side of the city to the other. What could possibly go wrong? Listen along to find out. Kharé - Cityport of Traps was written by Steve Jackson and illustrated by John Blanche.
Episode 59 - Curse of the Mummy
We’ve made it to the end of the original run of Fighting Fantasy books but are we ending on a high note? With Jonathan Green and Martin McKenna involved the talent is certainly there for a classic but you’ll have to listen along to find out whether they manage to land this final outing.
Bonus Episode - Way of the Tiger: Inferno!
In a change from the advertised episode we’re playing the penultimate Way of the Tiger gamebook (actually the last one to be released during the original run in the 80s). Our tireless hero has tried their hand at diplomacy, statecraft, and commanding armies in the field. What’s left? Why only a descent into the fabled Rift, also known as The Bowels of Orb. How will our fearless hero do? 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.
Episode 56 - Knights of Doom
Book 56 of the Fighting Fantasy series is the sophomore effort from Jonathan Green, Knights of Doom, with art by Tony Hough. Green’s first book was the very enjoyable Spellbreaker but can he manage to escape the curse of the difficult second album? Listen along to find out.
Bonus Episode - The House on Sentinel Hill
It’s bonus episode time again and we’re entering the terrifying world of the Cthulhu Mythos with Graham Plowman’s The House on Sentinel Hill. Released in 2022 this hefty 585 section adventure gamebook features all manner of monstrous creatures and sanity draining revelations. Art is by Matthew Dewhurst.
Episode 54 - The Legend of Zagor
Book 54 sees us tackle Zagor, the warlock of Firetop Mountain himself for the third and so far final time. Written by Keith Martin but attributed to Ian Livingstone for some reason it sees us plunge into a new world, Amarillia and search through a magical castle in search of the items that will help us to slay the evil warlock once and for all.
Don’t forget that the Lindenbaum Prize will also be opening for submissions soon. This is your chance to win actual money for writing a 100 section gamebook. The winner will be decided by a popular vote and the considerations of a panel of judges (including me). Find all the information here: https://www.lloydofgamebooks.com/2024/11/20242025-lindenbaum-prize-announcement.html
Bonus Episode - Way of the Tiger 4: Overlord!
It’s another bonus episode as we tackle Overlord!, book 4 in the ninja themed Way of the Tiger series by Mark Smith and Jamie Thomson. Now the ruler of a major city our hero must balance the different competing interests and avoid precipitating another revolution that will surely end badly.
Bonus episodes of this podcast are made possible by my patrons over at patreon.com/hjdoom. My thanks to them and to Stuart Llloyd for the loan of the hardcover special edition text.
Bonus Episode: Robin of Sherwood - The King's Demon
It’s another bonus episode as we take a look at The King’s Demon based on the 1980s TV show Robin of Sherwood, an extremely influential retelling of the myth of Robin Hood. The book by Graham Staplehurst and Richard Carpenter (with some help from Paul Mason). Art is by the legendary Russ Nicholson. If you’re enjoying this podcast please consider supporting me on patreon at www.patreon.com/hjdoom.
Bonus Episode - Castle of Lost Souls
It’s bonus time again and this episode I’m playing The Castle of Lost Souls by Dave Morris with art by Leo Hartas. This is part of the Golden Dragon series of gamebooks released by Grafton Books in the 1980s and is based on a Dungeons and Dragons adventure Dave Morris and Yve Newnham serialised in early White Dwarf. This is re-release as a print on demand book in 2013.
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.