FANTASTIC FIGHTS
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.
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We continue exploring the later stages of the Fighting Fantasy series with Master of Chaos by Keith Martin with art by David Gallagher. Sent on a dangerous mission without our usual gear and beloved packed lunches can HJDoom possibly survive? Listen along to find out.
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.
Ian Livingstone returns to Fighting Fantasy with Armies of Death, book 36 in the Fighting Fantasy series with art by Nik Williams and cover art by Chris Achilleos. Will HJDoom manage to recruit an army strong enough to take on the latest demon king to menace Allansia? Listen along to find out.
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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.
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We’ve hit book 30 and this episode is very much a game of two halves. The playthrough of Chasms of Malice went very smoothly but the analysis of the book took me forever. Regardless, here it is, my playthrough and review of Luke Sharp’s Chasms of Malice. It was illustrated by the great Russ Nicholson with cover art by Les Edwards. It was released by Puffin Books in 1988.
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This episode we’re playing Phantoms of Fear by Robin Waterfield with illustrations by the amazing Ian Miller. This is one of the more ambitious Fighting Fantasy books we’ve seen as you play an elf warrior shaman capable of existing in both the physical and dream worlds. An awful menace has arisen, as they do with astonishing frequency in Fighting Fantasy books, and it’s up to you to track through an increasingly surreal forest to enter the even more surreal lair of the demon prince Ishtra. Thrills, spills, and a lot of strange imagery await within the depths of Affen Forest. I had a lot of fun with this one.
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Episode 27 of Fantastic Fights finds us back in science fiction territory with Star Strider. As a rogue tracer our hero is tasked with roguishly tracing a kidnapped politician on a future Earth that has become considerably weirder than our present day. Will the rogue tracer be able to dodge deadly androids and some brutally random dice based challenges and escape to save the galaxy from the wily Gromulans? Listen along to find out.
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HJDoom plays through the 1987 adventure gamebook Crypt of the Sorcerer and offers his thoughts. Two apologies, one for the lateness of the episode and the other for the sound quality which is very uneven throughout. There’s building work going on for the next two months which is a right pain the backside. Regardless, I hope you enjoy this tour through some familiar areas in Allansia and a classic Ian Livingstone list of items and other clues to find.
Episode 25 of the podcast means two years of regular episodes and what better way to celebrate than with Beneath Nightmare Castle, the 1987 Fighting Fantasy book written by Peter Darvill-Evans with interior art by Dave Carson. This is an interesting book because it feels like a return to classic Fighting Fantasy tropes while still pushing the design in new and interesting directions. Will our hapless hero manage that elusive first time win?
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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
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).
We’re back of familiar ground after two bonus episodes with Fighting Fantasy book 22, Robot Commando. Aside from having the single greatest elevator pitch in the history of Fighting Fantasy (“What would you do if you were a rancher on a distant planet using robots to herd vicious dinosaurs?”) Robot Commando sees a welcome return to the series for the American Steve Jackson, these days most famous as the designer of Munchkin. Will this be as innovative as his two previous books, Scorpion Swamp and Demons of the Deep? Listen along to find out. Robot Commando was published in 1987 by Puffin Books. It was illustrated by Gary Mayes with awesome cover art by David Martin.
You can support my work by going to www.patreon.com/hjdoom and pledging as little as a single UK pound.
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
What looks like medieval Japan, sounds like medieval Japan, but technically isn’t medieval Japan? Sword of the Samurai, that’s what. Set on the mythical land of Hachiman which just so happens to be functionally identical to Japan this Fighting Fantasy book has you set out to find a magic sword on behalf of the Shogu##n. There are many pitfalls along the way so why not have a listen to enjoy a few of them?
There’s also an update on my very own adventure gamebook which is now complete. It’ll be going out to my patrons at Christmas. You can join that august assembly by going to www.patreon.com/hjdoom and pledging as little as a single English pound or local equivalent to support this podcast.
Sword of the Samurai was written by Mark Smith and Jamie Thomson with illustrations by Alan Langford. It was released i n 1986 by Puffin Books and the cover art was by Peter Andew Jones.
New ground broken yet again in the Fighting Fantasy series as we don our very silliest clothes and commit a variety of crimes against people and property with the enthusiastic support of the local police department. HJDoom plays through this classic Fighting Fantasy book with a distinct lack of enthusiasm for the basic premise. Will he succeed despite his disdain for superheros as a cultural phenomenon? Listen along to find out. There’s also some exciting patron news about a forthcoming project.
Hot on the heels of our last bonus episode comes this playthrough of the pirate themed adventure gamebook Seas of Blood by Andrew Chapman. Join HJDoom for a desperate race against the clock and also another pirate as we rob and pillage our way round the Inland Sea. Ships will fight ships! Ships will fight monsters! Excitement and adventure of all kinds will be had! With plenty of new systems to chew on there’s a lot going on in this adventure gamebook but will our less than intrepid hero by crowned King of the Pirates? Listen along to find out.
Join HJDoom for a playthrough of Fighting Fantasy book 14 and take a journey across desert sands to the mysterious abandoned city of Vatos. Sandworms! Nomads! Undead Assassins! Temple of Terror has it all and almost all of them want to kill you. Will our dauntless hero take a brief citybreak in Port Blacksand on the way? Find out by listening.
Episode 13 sees another attempt to create a science fiction Fighting Fantasy book that isn’t rubbish. This time it’s all gone a bit Mad Max as Ian Livingstone takes us on a gritty journey into a post-apocalyptic landscape where the collapse of civilisation has failed to impact on private car ownership. Gaffa tape some nerf guns to your Lexus because it’s time to take on some weirdly dressed thugs in a Volvo in Freeway Fighter.
We’re back in fantasy territory with episode 11 of Fantastic Fights but it isn’t quite business as usual as we’re taking a tour of a new fantasy world, that of Orb, created by Matt Smith and Jamie Thomson, best known for the excellent Way of the Tiger gamebook sequence. Will it live up to the best that Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone have to offer? We’ll find out and also find the limits of my ability to pronounce made up words. If you’d like to support my efforts to play through every Fighting Fantasy book then you can do so by going to patreon.com/hjdoom. Anything you can spare is hugely appreciated.