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.
Episode 43 - Keep of the Lich Lord
We’re waving goodbye to 2023 in style as we take on Keep of the Lich Lord by the legends of adventure gamebook design Dave Morris and Jamie Thomson. We’ve got all the classic Fighting Fantasy tropes on hand as we explore an island being oppressed by an army of the undead.
Don’t forget that the Lindebaum Prize is a thing. Write a 100 section gamebook and win fabulous prizes. Find all the details here: http://www.lloydofgamebooks.com/2023/12/entries-are-now-being-accepted-for.html
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 41 - Master of Chaos
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.
Bonus Episode - Legendary Kingdoms: The Valley of Bones
It’s time for a very recent gamebook, at least by the standards of this podcast. For your delight and edification HJDoom plays through Legendary Kingdoms book one, The Valley of Bones by Oliver Hulme with illustrations by Robin Smith. It was published by Spidermind Games in 2019. This is a vast tome and the playthrough only really scratches the surface but is it a case of more of a good thing or a surfeit of paragraphs. Listen along to find out.
Episode 40 - Dead of Night
We're into the 40s! Will they start with a bang? Listen along to find out as HJDoom plays through Dead of Night by Jim Bambra and Stephen Hand with art by Martin McKenna.
Bonus Episode - Rulers of the NOW
It’s another bonus episode of Fantastic Fights and I’m delighted to be able to present another gamebook written by a listener, Rulers of the NOW by Stuart Lloyd which is available for purchase here: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/383730/Rulers-of-the-NOW
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.
A Small Announcement
Bonus Episode - Diceman
Prepare yourself for zarjaz episode of Fantastic Fights as your humble host tackles a series of adventure game comics spun off from the pages of the galaxy’s greatest comic 2000AD. Diceman, featuring such characters as Judge Dredd, Rogue Trooper, Slaine, and former Republican president Ronald Reagan is a curious beast, an attempt to meld the popular adventure gamebooks of the 1980s with action oriented comics. Largely written by Pat Mills and featuring some of the UK’s finest comic book artists Diceman was a short lived experiment that’s been given a new lease of life thanks to a handsome hardcover edition collecting the entire run into a single tome. Is it any good? 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.
Bonus Episode - Interstellar Terra
It’s a particularly exciting episode as, for the first time, we’re looking at a book written by a listener. Interstellar Terra by John E Kirk is a science fiction book weighing in at a hefty 777 sections. Is it worth your time? Listen along to find out. You can buy the book from amazon here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/interstellar-Terra-John-Kirk/dp/B08VCKGDYD/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2RG3XJ2V8TCNQ&keywords=interstellar+terra&qid=1689255221&s=books&sprefix=interstellar+terra%2Cstripbooks%2C72&sr=1-1
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 - The Crystal Maze
This bonus episode sees HJDoom tackle the gamebook adaptation of the enormously popular and enormously difficult 90s TV game show The Crystal Maze in which teams of players do fiendishly difficult tasks at the behest of a bald musical theatre legend and get the slender chance to win a cheese platter in the titular maze. It’s a cult classic but will it transfer to the gamebook format? With Dave Morris and Jamie Thomson at the helm there’s a fair chance it will.
This episode is made possible by the generosity of my patrons at www.patreon.com/hjdoom. As well as supporting bonus content all patrons sent a whole bevvy of gaming materials and access to my patreon blog where I’m currently writing a development diary as I write a new gamebook.
Episode 36 - Armies of Death
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.
If you want to support this podcast you can do so (and score yourself a whole bunch of gaming material) by going to www.patreon.com/hjdoom and pledging as little as a single English pound or local equivalent.
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 35 - Daggers of Darkness
It’s a bumper sized episode of Fantastic Fights as HJDoom tackles Daggers of Darkness, the third book from Star Strider and Chasms of Malice scribe Luke Sharp. Neither of those books exactly tickled the fancy but perhaps third time is the charm. Listen along to find out. Daggers of Darkness features illustrations by a very young Martin McKenna and a cover art by Les Edwards. It was released by Puffin books in 1988.
If you’re enjoying the podcast and feel like chipping in a few quid you can do so by going to www.patreon.com/hjdoom and receive both gratitude and a bunch of gaming material in return.
Bonus Episode - Destiny Quest: The Legion of Shadow
We’re back for a positively brobdingnagian bonus episode as HJDoom tackles Destiny Quest: The Legion of Shadow by Michael J Ward. This 800 page epic takes the player on a grand quest filled with deadly monsters, a host of special skills and loot, loot, loot!
This episode also celebrates the release of my new RPG Crown of Crimson, a game of deranged cultists seeking martyrdom in a fantasy empire. You can secure your own copy by going to www.patreon.com/hjdoom and pledging as little a single English pound or local equivalent.
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 - Planets in Peril
It’s another bonus episode for Fantastic Fights and this time we’re exploring outer space once again as part of my ongoing quest to find a really good spaceships and lasers gamebook. Will we become a brave space ace or suffer the ignominy of death at the hands of a book aimed at the under 12s? Listen along to find out. Star Challenge: Planets in Peril was written by Christopher Black and illustrated by Maelo Cintron. The cover art is by Colin Sullivan. It was published in 1984 by Knight Books.