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.
Episode 57 - Magehunter
We’ve reached book 57 and Magehunter by Paul Mason with art by Russ Nicholson and cover art by Ian Miller. This one has a reputation for being quite the Chinese puzzle box of a gamebook but is that reputation justified? Also will we hunt a mage? Yes. Yes we will. Good job Magehunter on a fully accurate title.
Episode 55 - Deathmoor
It’s the last podcast of 2024 and we’re looking at Deathmoor by Robin Waterfield with art by Russ Nicholson and cover art by Terry Oakes. I try not to get into meta-commentary on my own work but this episode is genuinely one of my favourites that I’ve recorded in recent months. I had a ton of fun with this one and I hope that you will too. Merry Christmas to those who celebrate and Happy Holidays to those that don’t.
Episode 53 - Spellbreaker
Book 53 of Fighting Fantasy is here! Spellbreaker is the debut Fighting Fantasy gamebook from Jonathan Green who has gone on to be an important creator in the gamebook sphere. With art, including cover art, by Alan Langford there’s clearly a wealth of talent on display but does that cohere into a good book? Listen along to find out.
If you’d like to support my nonsense and bag yourself a bunch of gaming goodies you can do so over at my patreon at patreon.com/hjoom.
Episode 51: Island of the Undead
It’s book 51. It’s Island of the Undead. It’s Keith Martin and Russ Nicholson. How will our intrepid hero get on and just how many sections will be hidden behind mystery numbers? Listen to find out
Also I have a new album of melancholy Dungeon Synth out. Baroque Funereal Dirges by Sorrow Tree presents 6 tracks of lo-fi dark ambient music suitable for goblins, witches, and lonely ghosts. It’s available for free at the link below.
https://malesperi.bandcamp.com/album/baroque-funereal-dirges
Episode 50 - Return to Firetop Mountain
We hit a big milestone in the history of Fighting Fantasy as this episode covers Return to Firetop Mountain, book fifty in the wildly successful series. Ian Livingstone returns to the start of the series and the provides us with another chance to delve into the secrets of Firetop Mountain where the titular warlock has returned once more to bedevil the local area. There’s nostalgia a-plenty but does Return to Firetop Mountain hold up when considered on its own merits? Listen along to find out.
Episode 48 - Moonrunner
It’s the third and final Fighting Fantasy gamebook written by Stephen Hand (with art by Martin McKenna). Will this be an exciting cap to his trilogy of books or did he use up all his good ideas on Dead of Night and Legend of the Shadow Warriors? Listen along to find out.
Don’t forget you can get a parcel of gaming materials and access to the regular reviews of stuff (mostly old stuff) over on www.patreon.com/hjdoom
Episode 47 - The Crimson Tide
The Crimson Tide is this month’s Fighting Fantasy book. This curious and convoluted book is a solo outing from Paul Mason who previously gave us Slaves to the Abyss and Black Vein Prophecy with his writing partner Steve Williams. With Terry Oakes providing art and a chance to show us his own vision for what a Fighting Fantasy book looks like can Paul Mason deliver the goods? Listen along to find out.
Episode 45 - Spectral Stalkers
It’s book 45 of the long running Fighting Fantasy series! Spectral Stalkers was written by Peter Darvill-Evans with internal art by Tony Hough and cover art by Tony Hough. It’s the third and final book Darvill-Evans contributed to the series but will he go out with a bang? Listen along to find out as HJDoom plays through the book and offers some thoughts.
Episode 44 - Legend of the Shadow Warriors
Book 44 and Fighting Fantasy is somehow still firing on all cylinders. Stephen Hand had already contributed to the excellent Dead of Night with Jim Bambara but will his sophomore outing be a chance to show what he can do solo? With art by Martin McKenna and cover art by the reliable David Gallagher, Legend of the Shadow Warriors is a curious beast but is it any good? Listen along to find out.
Episode 42 - Black Vein Prophecy
Fighting Fantasy book 42 presents us with some new approaches and throws us right into the action which is always exciting. But can the book sustain the initial excitement? Listen along to find out.
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 38 - Vault of the Vampire
Joy unbounded at Doom HQ as we come to book 38 in the Fighting Fantasy series, Vault of the Vampire. I’m a big horror fan in general and a gothic horror fan in particular so the prospect of venturing into a spooky castle in search of a vampire is a real treat to me. It’s got a great hook but can the book, written by returning scribe Keith Martin and illustrated by legendary British illustrator Martin McKenna, live up to the sinister premise? Listen along to find out.
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 15 - The Rings of Kether
Worry abounds as episode 15 takes us into space, the natural home of terrible Fighting Fantasy books. Worse still this book is by Andrew Chapman who penned the surreally awful Space Assassin. Will this be the book that proves Fighting Fantasy in space can work? The answer is basically yes! But don’t just read this, listen to the episde too or I’ve wasted even more of my life than usual.
Episode One - The Warlock of Firetop Mountain
When I was a child I absolutely loved Fighting Fantasy gamebooks. They were for me, as with many, a gateway into the wonderful worlds of Warhammer and Dungeons & Dragons. Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone created and curated a wonderful list of game books that burn in my memory with the incandescent glow of unexamined nostalgia. What with one thing and another I have a lot of time on my hands these days so it occured to me that it might be fun to create a podcast where I play through all of the Fighting Fantasy gamebooks in order. In my head this was a quick and easy project, in practice it turned out to be a lot of work. Does The Warlock of Firetop Mountain hold up more than thirty years after I first played it? There’s only one way to find out. Join me on my journey into the wonderful world of Fighting Fantasy.
