 THE FIRST HORROR BOOK I REMEMBER READING A series I collected called Fright Time, which was probably too scary for how old I was, because it gave me so many nightmares, I swore off horror until I was a teenager. But I remember those stories fondly; they were fiercely inventive and reminiscent of Are You Afraid of the Dark. THE FIRST HORROR FILM I REMEMBER WATCHING I became fascinated with The Ring when it was remade in the U.S., but I couldn’t handle it; I was in middle school and had to avoid TV screens for a long time after that. But I loved the creepiness of Samara’s aesthetic, and I named one of my cats after her. I also signed up for giveaways as the name Samara IHateHorses, and my parents still receive spam mail addressed to her. THE GREATEST HORROR BOOK OF ALL TIME The Haunting of Hill House. Ghosts, and haunted houses, scare the hell out of me. THE GREATEST HORROR FILM OF ALL TIME I love a lot of them, but the one that terrified me the most is It Follows. The slowly meandering monster following you wherever you go, disguised as the people you trust and/or strangers? Awful stuff. THE GREATEST WRITER OF ALL TIME Of all time? Oh no! I’ll go with horror authors, even though I read in a hundred genres. I consider many of Jose Saramago’s stories quiet horror, so I’ll go with him. THE BEST BOOK COVER OF ALL TIME Grady Hendrix’s Horrorstor has an amazing cover, where the front and back are different versions of the same furniture store. The cover is as spooky as the book! THE BEST FILM POSTER OFF ALL TIME I love the poster for Cabin in the Woods, because it hints at the many genres all smushed into the one horror film. THE BEST BOOK / FILM I HAVE WRITTEN My forthcoming novella, Glorious Fiends. THE WORST BOOK / FILM I HAVE WRITTEN Maybe one of my first short stories: some flash fiction that didn’t quite land. I wrote a screenplay when I was little about people with magical powers because they were born on the Equinox. That could count. THE MOST UNDERRATED FILM OF ALL TIME Fright Night. It’s cheesy as hell—but Roddy McDowall’s washed-up Vincent Price character’s facial expressions are amazing; the effects are goopy in the best way; and the poster is great, too. But I never see it on lists of great horror movies. THE MOST UNDERRATED BOOK OF ALL TIME Maybe a fantasy series I don’t hear mentioned much: Sara Douglass’ Wayfarer Redemption. THE MOST UNDERRATED AUTHOR OF ALL TIME I wish Jeffrey Ford were known by more people—and had horror movies adapted from his books and short stories. They’re so creepy with so many great twists and turns. THE BOOK / FILM THAT SCARED ME THE MOST Film: It Follows and Nightmare on Elm Street Books: Right now, it’s Sarah Gailey’s Just Like Home THE BOOK / FILM I AM WORKING ON NEXT I’m working on a haunted house horror novel and preparing for the release of my horror novella, Glorious Fiends Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam  Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam is the author of the short story collection Where You Linger & Other stories and the novella Glorious Fiends. Her Nebula-nominated fiction has appeared in over 90 publications such as LeVar Burton Reads and Popular Science, as well as in six languages. By night, she has been a finalist for the Nebula Award. By day, she works as a Narrative Designer writing romance games. She lives in Texas with her partner and a mysterious number of cats. Glorious Fiends by Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam When infamous hot mess vampire Roxanne resurrects her deceased best friends, she’s confronted by a dream-dwelling Guardian of the Underworld, who demands that she replace them in his afterlife with three equally nefarious creatures—or he’ll drag her there instead. Reunited with Medusa and Mx. Hyde, Roxanne and her macabre girl gang must become monster hunters themselves and fight for the future of their friendship. Gory, sexy, silly, touching--Glorious Fiends asks who the real monsters are, and if the bonds that we think are solely human are really ours alone. This Hammer-inspired odyssey is a nostalgic trip through ‘80s horror tropes—with modern sensibilities. “If Hellraiser and Netflix’s Castlevania hooked up and had a trio of queer poly bad-ass lady babies….well, hanging out with them probably still wouldn’t be half as fun and scary and exciting as the wild ride that is Glorious Fiends.” —Sam J. Miller, author of The Blade Between and Boys, Beasts, & Men “Glorious Fiends is about accepting your friends for who they are, even if they be liars, murderers, and inconveniently horny. Stufflebeam engages us from the start with monsters at their gory best (or worst, depends), pairing unexpected humor with shocking imagery that will turn your giggle into a shriek.” --Chris Panatier, author of Stringers and The Phlebotomist “An unapologetically blood-soaked and darkly humorous read.” --A. C. Wise, author of The Ghost Sequences. CHECK OUT TODAY'S OTHER ARTICLES BELOW
THE HEART OF HORROR REVIEW WEBSITES Multi-award-winning British filmmaker steps in front of the camera for BBC Maestro’s latest course Available 8th September 2022 “Filmmaking is a craft that’s passed through generations. So your duty as a filmmaker is to learn from the masters and take the influences that speak to you and interpret them in the way you want to make your films.” Filmmaking is available from 8 September on www.bbcmaestro.com The course costs £80 for lifetime access to Wright’s 27 lessons and comprehensive downloadable notes The 27 lessons include – Advice to Aspiring Filmmakers, Genre, Getting Your Film Made, Cinematography, Editing, and TV vs. Features https://www.bbcmaestro.com/courses/edgar-wright/filmmaking This September, prepare for the ultimate director’s cut into the kinetic mind behind acclaimed works such as Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, Baby Driver, Scott Pilgrim vs The World, and Last Night in Soho. Edgar Wright is one of British cinema’s most celebrated and innovative filmmakers. Now, for the first time ever, he’s turning the camera onto his own production process, covering everything from his signature stylized edits and soundtrack selection to how he approaches his first day on set. Hard-won filmmaking secrets gathered from across Edgar’s extensive career are given a starring role with lessons dedicated to The Craft of Writing, Storyboards & Animatics, Casting & Directing Actors, Shooting Action Sequences, and the all-important Getting Your Film Seen. "In doing this filmmaking course, I hope I am able to impart some wisdom along with a few helpful tools that will aid in your first steps to becoming the filmmaker you know you can be.” The BBC Maestro platform features a series of extended, in-depth lessons filmed in 4K with an eclectic mix of prestigious experts, and allows participants to indulge in new areas of learning from the comfort of their own home. The commercial online education platform developed and operated by Maestro Media Ltd offers individual courses which can be purchased for £80. Edgar Wright’s BBC Maestro course on Filmmaking offers a rare opportunity for aspiring filmmakers to benefit from frank advice on the realities and pitfalls that can occur throughout each step of the process; whether it’s a low budget short film, a TV series, or studio-backed feature with multiple A-list stars. “I can promise you that every filmmaker from the big action directors to the first-time indie darlings approach each film they make with a daunting sense of uncertainty”. Throughout the course, Edgar arms viewers with the tips and techniques needed to ensure each day of filming, and the ensuing weeks of editing, run as smoothly as possible. “There’s no race to the finish line with filmmaking. Hone your craft in whatever amount of time it takes you, and you’ll make your dreams a reality eventually.” Spanning over 4 hours, Filmmaking brings into focus the idea that the craft is not simply for a chosen few. “I'd assumed wrongly that all directors were born in Hollywood and that Steven Spielberg was dropped off by a stork at Universal Pictures.” Instead, those hoping to hone their practical skills can get started with, and complete an entire project, with nothing more than a smartphone. “That’s the amazing thing about filmmaking. Everyone who works in the craft is able to define the art form on their own terms.” Included within Edgar’s BBC Maestro course is an AMA with filmmaking questions submitted by members of the public and a Q&A with students from the National Film & Television School. Edgar Wright has won over 19 film and TV awards, including Empire Magazine’s Visionary Award (2018), the Audience Award at SXSW for Baby Driver (2017) and a BIFA for Shaun of the Dead (2004). “I think it’s important for filmmakers to always be challenging themselves and questioning the decisions they are making stylistically. In doing so, your style will be refined and your filmmaking will become stronger.” Filmmaking is the latest addition to BBC Maestro's selection of world-class courses. It is the ideal supplement to any filmmakers toolkit. Edgar’s course consists of 27 lessons and is designed for viewers to learn at their own pace. Lessons are accompanied by extensive course notes filled with Edgar's own musings, viewing recommendations, and practical exercises to help sharpen individual filmmaking skills. Previous praise for Edgar Wright “He’s a rare director who has the movie cut in his head already, he chooses the music so early on, it’s kind of amazing, there aren’t many directors who work the way he works.” - Jamie Foxx (Actor) “It’s a movie in love with cinema…it wears Edgar's heart on its sleeve. It's a riff- a beautiful riff”. - Filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro on Baby Driver “Edgar Wright puts pedal to the metal for wildly enjoyable heist caper” - The Guardian on Baby Driver Filmmaking is available from 8 September on www.bbcmaestro.com
The course costs £80 for lifetime access to Wright’s 27 lessons and comprehensive downloadable notes The 27 lessons include – Advice to Aspiring Filmmakers, Genre, Getting Your Film Made, Cinematography, Editing, and TV vs. Features https://www.bbcmaestro.com/courses/edgar-wright/filmmaking  Award-winning writer & director John Penney debuts first look at his latest psychological horror novel 'It Comes Back' and asks you to help shape the story Award-winning writer and director John Penney has launched a new Crowdfundr where fans can help shape the story of his third and much anticipated psychological horror novel, It Comes Back. On September 15th, the first two chapters of the book become available via the Crowdfundr platform, and he is actively asking audiences to feedback on his work to shape the story through to the end - akin to a choose your own adventure. It Comes Back is a psychological horror novel that explores trauma, guilt and people's unsuccessful attempts to run away from their past mistakes. As well getting exclusive access to his book, other perks include getting a character named after you, signed previous works and one-on-one meetings with John himself, who can impart his wisdom with fellow writing enthusiasts. Penney's previous novels include Truck Stop and Killing Time. John is best known for the films Return of the Living Dead III, Zyzzyx Road, Hellgate and The Kindred. "I have spent my career writing screenplays for films, including "Return of the Living Dead 3", "The Kindred" and "Re-Animator Unbound." Although the process has been rewarding, my best creative experiences have been the two novels I wrote "Truck Stop" and "Killing Time." Crowdfundr gives me the opportunity to pursue writing novels. There are no barriers between my ideas and the reader. The connection is pure and I can express myself one on one. This is pure joy. Crowdfundr also allows me to hear back from my readers directly," said Penney. Watch John Penney discuss It Comes Back below! It Comes Back synopsis It knows what you did… It will use it against you. Allison Cutter is just a typical housewife living in California with her husband Ray. One night she wakes up to find herself alone in her bed with Ray nowhere in sight. She looks for him, but instead of finding her husband, she finds a different man in her kitchen. A completely nude man with slashed wrists raiding her refrigerator. Before Allison can call for help, she is stabbed seven times in the back. Ray flees from the police but is apprehended in Yucca Valley. He is frantic and makes only one request: to speak to Office Vale. To the police, this is just a crime of passion. Another husband who went crazy and murdered his wife. Ray is taken to the Yucca Valley police station for one night and detained until the San Bernadino police arrive the next morning to transport him. Office Bianca Vale arrives for her night shift along with her colleagues Jim, Charlotte, Arnie, and her boss Benjamin. They prepare for a regular night at the station with Ray and a drunk detainee in custody, simply biding their time until the sun rises. Bianca is fresh off a failed date and is looking to get her mind off it. But there is far more weighing Bianca down than just her love life. Her relationship with her sister is on the rocks and she has yet to forgive for a tragic mistake year prior. The type of mistake that most people could never live down. Yet Bianca is not the only one at the police station who is wracked with guilt. None of her colleagues, despite their outward demeanors, have lived perfect lives. Some of them are dealing with demons as large as Bianca. Everyone at the station follows protocol. They log in Ray’s belongings, fill out paperwork, and analyze the crime footage. However, Ray’s detention quickly proves itself to be far from a routine shift. And far more sinister too. A shadowy figure begins to manifest itself as each officer’s greatest regret and picks them off one by one. Each officer’s worst enemy is their own mistakes which means no one is safe. To make matters worse, the police station loses all contact with the outside world. Now, making it until the morning alive may be one of the most difficult challenges Bianca has ever faced. But if she hopes to do it, the only key might be Ray himself. For crowdfunding details, to claim your perk and to get involved, visit the website below or scan the QR code: CrowdFundr  Author's Biography Award-winning writer/director John Penney attended UCLA where he studied film and received a degree in English. In addition to his screenplays, John has written short stories that have won him an award from the Adelphi Academy in New York, and have been published in the "Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction." In 2011, John wrote and directed the supernatural thriller “Hellgate” starring William Hurt and Cary Elwes. The film was awarded Best Film at the Bram Stoker International Film Festival as well as the Best Horror Film from the Fantasy Horror Awards in Italy, sponsored by Syfy Europe Universal. Prior writer-director credits include the thriller “Zyzzyx Road” starring Katherine Heigl and Tom Sizemore, the family film “Magic” with Robert Davi and Christopher Lloyd, and a segment in the anthology film “Virus of the Dead.” In 2017 John formed the genre company Dark Arts Entertainment with Brian Yuzna, (“Re-Animator” “Honey I Shrunk the Kids”) which has been producing a range of quality, marketable features and multimedia projects, tailor-made for today’s discerning horror audience. John is also currently prepping his next feature film, “Crossover,” based on his novel “Truck Stop” and co-writing the final sequel to the seminal genre film “Re-Animator” for The Wolper Company. In addition to his directing, John has written the screenplays for such films as "The Enemy" starring Roger Moore, Luke Perry, Olivia D’abo; “Contaminated Man” starring Peter Weller and William Hurt; "A Breed Apart" with Robert Patrick, Andrew McCarthy; "In Pursuit" with Daniel Baldwin, Claudia Schiffer, "Matter of Trust" with C. Thomas Howell. “The Kindred” with Rod Steiger, "Return of the Living Dead 3" with Mindy Clarke, "Past Perfect" with Eric Roberts, Laurie Holden and “Amphibious 3D” with Michael Pare. John also served as a producer on his films “Zyzzyx Rd” ,"A Breed Apart", "Matter of Trust" and "In Pursuit” and Executive Producer on the feature “Reborn” (2019) with Barbara Crampton, Chaz Bono and Peter Bogdanovich. In 2012 John wrote his first novel “Truck Stop” and followed that up in 2013 with his second novel, “Killing Time.” He is also featured in the book on screenwriting by Jose Prendes, “The High Concept Massacre” along with fellow screenwriters Carl Gottlieb (“Jaws”) Amy Holden Jones (“Mystic Pizza” “Indecent Proposal”) and Doug Richardson (“Bad Boys” “Die Hard 2”) John has been an adjunct Instructor at The Los Angeles Film School since 2013 where he teaches writing and directing. Credits Filmography (Writer/Director) “The Donner House” (2022) TOH Entertainment – Optioned “Rage” (2022) TOH Entertainment – Optioned “Killing Time” (2022) presently being packaged “Crossover” (2022) based on his novel “Truck Stop” “Virus of the Dead” (2018) Anthology segment “Life” “Hellgate” (2012) IFC Films, starring William Hurt, Cary Elwes “Magic” (2009) Artist View Entertainment, starring Robert Davi, Christopher Lloyd “Zyzzyx Road” (2006) Regent Entertainment, starring Katherine Heigl, Tom Sizemore Screenwriter “Reanimator: Unbound” (2019) sequel in the Reanimator franchise (Wolper Company) “Amphibious 3D” (2010) Starring Michael Pare, Janna Fassaert “The Enemy” (2001) Starring Luke Perry, Roger Moore, Tom Conti “In Pursuit” (2000) Starring Daniel Baldwin, Claudia Schiffer “Contaminated Man” (2000) Starring William Hurt, Peter Weller, Natascha McElhone “Perfect Assassins” (1998) Starring Andrew McCarthy, Portia de Rossi, Robert Patrick “Matter of Trust” (1998) Starring C. Thomas Howell, Joan Severence “Legend of the Mummy” (1998) Starring Lou Gossett Jr., Amy Locane “Past Perfect” (1996) Starring Eric Roberts, Laurie Holden “Return of the Living Dead 3” (1994) Starring Melinda Clarke, Kent McCord “The Kindred” (1988) Starring Rod Steiger, Talia Balsam, Kim Hunter Awards 2011 Best Film for “Hellgate” (aka “Shadows.”) The Bram Stoker International Film Festival, England. 2011 Best Horror Film for “Hellgate” (aka “Shadows.”) The Fantasy Horror Awards, Italy  And now, 40 years since a brave adventurer ventured into the depths of Firetop Mountain to wrest a treasure from the grasp of a powerful Warlock, two new Fighting Fantasy games are released. YOUR ADVENTURE IS FAR FROM OVER - FIGHTING FANTASY RETURNS BY DAVID COURT There’s an entire generation whose first introduction to roleplaying was with Puffin’s “Fighting Fantasy” series or Bantam’s “Choose your Own Adventure” books. Now it’s possible to get lost in a variety of hyper-realistic fantasy worlds from the safety of your PC or console, but videogames weren’t quite as developed (no pun intended) back then. Take “Adventure” on the Atari 2600 for instance, a game in which your adventurous coloured square was tasked with exploring a vast exotic kingdom of differently coloured squares, fighting a variety of antagonistic oblongs en-route. Text adventures were popular, sure, but often they came across as a battle against the games text parser (“Take the rod.” “I do not understand ‘Take the rod’”) as opposed to a clash against the villain of the game.  No, in my day (he said, sitting back with his whippet, tapping his pipe on the arm of the armchair) we had to use our imagination. My first actual experience of roleplaying was as a young wide-eyed interloper delivering a note to our school’s sixth form common room, watching a group of Coventrian Eddie Munsons (school ties displayed at a ridiculously short length, as was the style of the day) playing Cowboys and Indians. Not by running from room to room pointing finger-guns and doing vaguely offensive impressions of Native Americans, but sitting around a table with pieces of paper and a shitload of weirdly shaped dice. This was “Boot Hill,” the third roleplaying game from Dungeons and Dragons creator Gary Gygax, released in 1975. I stood there transfixed for a while before realising I had lessons to get back to, so I never did find out whether The Flamenco Kid and his band of outlaws managed to spring their old friend from jail. As a child given to daydreaming too much (as is apparent from the vast majority of primary and secondary school report cards), the idea of roleplaying appealed – but it seemed a bit elaborate and complicated, and my pocket money would never stretch to cover the amount of graph paper you needed to do it. (In the same way that Boots C15 cassettes were solely used for Spectrum and Commodore 64 game piracy, I would bet money on the fact that nearly all the graph paper sold in the UK in the eighties wasn’t used for mathematical purposes at all, but for drawing maps of castles and dungeons in fantasy kingdoms).  The aforementioned “Fighting Fantasy” and “Choose your Own Adventure” books functioned as a gateway drug. “Choose your own Adventure” books were on the scene first - with “The Cave of Time” released three years before “The Warlock of Firetop Mountain” – but came across as the inferior product. For one, they were aimed at a younger age group – primarily seven- to fourteen-year-olds who were reluctant readers. Secondly, they were way tamer – they featured less peril and “Fighting Fantasy” often featured gruesome illustrations of monsters or barbarians impaled on spikes. One must never understate how important this is in the eyes of an eleven-year-old boy. Also, if given a choice between roleplaying as an intrepid scuba diver, a doctor, a race car driver – or a magic-wielding knight with a bastard sword, I’m always choosing the latter. Finally – and critically - “Choose your own Adventure” books were smaller. Less pages meant less choices, and less choices meant less re-playability. And when your pocket money could only stretch so far for a new title, the ability to start your book again and still have an entertaining – and critically different - adventure was paramount. The other advantage of “Fighting Fantasy”? They felt like proper games. There were rules (simple rules in comparison to most roleplaying games, but like I said – gateway drug) and there were dice to roll, and most importantly – there was a character sheet. Occasional books in the series changed the rules ever so slightly, but on the whole your adventurer had values against Skill, Stamina and Luck. The higher each value, the better your chances of surviving to the end. Combat was a war of attrition, with each combatant rolling dice and chipping away at each other stamina store. If that fell to or below zero, your adventure was over.  Most of the books from the original run were fantasy themed – a Tolkien or Moorcock-esque world of tunnels, trolls, dungeons, and dragons. There were deviations, however – the first into a world of horror in “House of Hell,” set in the modern-day world and pitting the protagonist against vampires, zombies, and ghouls. “Appointment with F.E.A.R.” saw the player play a superhero fighting supervillains, and “Starship Traveller” cast the player as the captain of a spacecraft trying to find the way back to Earth after being pulled through a black hole. The books were a phenomenon. Writers Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson became household names with readers and gamers alike, and like any role-playing game worth its salt, became controversial with religious groups because of the books links with the occult. One mother claimed that after reading one of the books her daughter gained the ability to fly, which seems terribly unfair, because all those years of reading Fighting Fantasy books gave me was poor eyesight. To add to the confusion, there’s a famous game designer in the States called Steve Jackson as well – designer of games such as “Munchkin” and “Ogre.” The “Fighting Fantasy” series only added to the chaos when they let that Steve write for them, only reiterating the cold hard fact that if two Steves (Stevii?) get together and their names are spelt the same, one of them is duty bound to be referred to as Steven. And now, 40 years since a brave adventurer ventured into the depths of Firetop Mountain to wrest a treasure from the grasp of a powerful Warlock, two new Fighting Fantasy games are released. “Secrets of Salamonis” is by Steve Jackson (our Steve Jackson, now honorary professor at Brunel teaching Digital Games Theory Design) and is his first gamebook in 36 years, and “Shadow of the Giants” has been written by Ian Livingstone CBE.  The first, “Secrets of Salamonis,” is a hefty tome indeed – 368 pages thick and hefty enough to use as a makeshift melee weapon. In “Salamonis” (which my spellchecker keeps trying to correct to “Salamis” which would involve infinitely more processed meat) you play a plucky young adventurer, travelling to the fabled city to try and make your fortune. It’s been a while since I read a “Fighting Fantasy” book, but it was good to see the ‘roll your character’ element has been removed from the game – now your statistics are fixed, rather than determined by the roll of a dice. This may have the drawback of making your character horribly generic, but also means you’re not lumbered with a six-stone unlucky weakling with the fighting prowess of a pygmy marmoset from the outset of your adventure. I got lumbered with that in real life, for Crom’s sake. My first playthrough reminded me how harsh these games can be. I’ll try my hardest to avoid spoilers but the game opens with a troll encounter during which I lost a hefty chunk of my stamina in a fight. The annoying thing is that this battle isn’t what it appears, but you still (unfairly, in my eyes) don’t regain the stamina you lost from it. A combination of poor dice rolls saw my character fail miserably at everything, eventually thrown in jail for ever with just a single point of stamina left. This short playthrough also – frustratingly – revealed a “bug” in the narrative where I could return to the same location and repeat an earlier encounter ad-infinitum increasing my “Amanour” (reputation) stat indefinitely. Either the city of Salamonis is prone to breaches in space/time or something wasn’t quite right – Admittedly having a lofty Amanour stat didn’t help me out of my misery-fest of a short existence in the city, but the Groundhog Day shenanigans dragged me out of the narrative. (Fans of “Fighting Fantasy” games might have wondered why I didn’t engage the book’s handy ‘quick save’ mechanism (where you keep your fingers on the page you left so you can cheat fate, go back, and make a different decision than the one that just lost you the game). In the case of my first playthrough, there was no single moment that cost me the game – just a depressing sequence of increasingly bad decisions and rolls). The opening segment is unfairly tricky, and – unless you take a very precise path – success or failure will come down to, at best, a 50/50 chance. From then on, the game opens out to you, but the beginning seems unnecessarily unforgiving – and any newcomer not used to the occasional unfairness of the world of “Fighting Fantasy” might well put the book down out of frustration. Once you’ve got your belongings back though, the game/book relaxes a little. There are a couple of mechanisms that give this a bit more depth than the Fighting Fantasy games I remember; a rudimentary experience system, for one, where you can upgrade your statistics – as well as pieces of equipment that modify some of the standard combat rules. That said though, there’s a ‘wheel of the week’ part of the character sheet where you’re often asked to mark the passage of time, but in my playthrough I didn’t come across anything that actually needed the day of the week. It’s well written, and the descriptions are suitably evocative. It’s a little light on decision making and a bit too heavy on your progression through the book having already been decided by the equipment you own or the encounters you’ve already had, but the entertaining story chugs along nicely. Tazio Bettin’s cover and black and white illustrations dotted throughout the narrative are suitably excellent, and – all in all apart from a few quirks – this jaded adventurer enjoyed his time on the streets of Salamonis.  The original “Fighting Fantasy” books were like currency in the playgrounds of the eighties, well-thumbed copies being leant and borrowed like packets of cigarettes in a prison yard. Character sheets bore the faded veneer of pages laden with dozens of pencil marks, and reeked of liberally applied rubber eraser. These pencil scars told of a million conflicts; battles won, traps evaded, gold earned. Real life character was formed by those decision-laden grimoires; were you a stickler who stuck to the rules, or a chancer who treated it as a straight narrative, winning all challenges by default without a single dice roll?  Imitators would come and go. Hopping on the bandwagon in 1996, IPC released “Diceman”, a spin off from 2000ad. This short lived publication was half comic/half game book, allowing the reader to step into the (one size too small) boots of Judge Dredd, or other characters from the popular British comic – Rogue Trooper, Nemesis the Warlock, and Hammerstein. “Dungeons and Dragons” creators TSR joined in with their “Endless Quest” books, choose-your-own-adventures set in the D&D universe. The “Fighting Fantasy” books evolved into the “Sorcery!” series, walloping thick books with more complex rules and narratives but, by then, much of the (male) audience was moving to bigger and better things. For some, girls. For some, Roleplaying Games. And they were getting more advanced, too. “Dungeons and Dragons” would see the release of a more complex second edition, and hack and slash dungeon crawlers were evolving beyond their natural habitats of moss-encrusted stone walls into new and vast sprawling realms. Systems (“Call of Cthulhu” and modern day spin off “Delta Green”) were introducing monsters that only could you not fight, but the sight of them would drive you insane. The worlds of fantasy and science-fiction were colliding in “Shadowrun,” and the Neuromantic dystopias from the works of William Gibson were springing into bio-engineered life (or your dining room table, at any rate) in “Cyberpunk.” Dungeons were being eschewed in favour of gothic mansions in games which might not involve a single combat roll at all, but the political machinations of Vampire Clans squabbling for territory. Every possible setting could now be played in – every setting – and if the one you wanted didn’t exist? Somebody was adapting it, or you’d do it yourself. And now we find ourselves in a position where the geeks actually did inherit the Earth. Roleplaying has never been as successful, with a succession of celebrities speaking out in favour of the hobby (Henry Cavill is a massive Warhammer fan and Vin Diesel has never hidden his love for Dungeons and Dragons) so once wonders whether “Fighting Fantasy” has a niche to fill anymore?  Ian Livingstone’s “Shadow of the Giants” is a thinner work than “Secrets of Salamonis.” For the 40th anniversary, it’s only fitting that it involves Firetop Mountain (previous tenant: Zagor the Warlock) and a lost artefact found within. Dark magic has released Iron Giants into the world, and the player must find a way to conquer these fearsome ferric fiends. We’re back to rolling to create our character in this one (although even the worst of rolls will make you stronger than your Salamonis equivalent, interestingly) and given a magic potion for good measure, and then we’re in the town of Anvil trying to buy a new sword. With a striking cover and excellent illustrations by Mike McCarthy, it kicks off with a nostalgic return to Firetop Mountain which ends in disaster. It’s certainly more accessible than Salamonis and a lot more forgiving for the reader – even bad dice rolls/luck rarely cause the book to abruptly end. The pacing is a little odd – no sooner are you told about the urgency of defeating the Iron Giants when your character suddenly seems more concerned about wandering around the city and window shopping – but the plot moves nicely along, and Livingstone paints a convincing picture of a bustling living city. The adventure gets more dangerous the further along you get, and there are spots where occasionally there is no right choice – both will end the game. That said, it’s a lot more nuanced with its endings than I was expecting. There’s a perfect win condition (after a hugely exciting multi-paragraph boss fight), but some bitter-sweet ones too – where you’ve saved the day but at a huge cost. It's more forgiving nature might make it less re-playable than the other title, but it’s a hugely entertaining adventure for your eight pounds. The story will take you from forest to dungeon, with a variety of memorable – and well-written – encounters on the way. Despite the big bad threat of the Giants on the horizon there’s extraordinarily little sense of urgency, but – critically for a choose your own adventure style book – you’ll always feel in control of your characters destiny, and will never feel the game is penalising you for the sake of it. “Shadow of the Giants” provides an entertaining quest, and you won’t regret reading it.  It’s been fun revisiting the worlds of “Fighting Fantasy,” and I might have to drag some of my old books out. The rules may seem a little old-fashioned now in a world where we’ve been spoiled by increasingly complex gaming systems, but they’re a throwback to a more innocent time and are part of the books immense charm. Losing rolling dice for your character creation in “Salamonis” – as explained earlier – makes profound sense, as the books involve more than enough luck with a dice roll anyway. Whether they’re still as valid now as they were 40 years ago? As opposed to a great many solitaire games, they’re easy to set up and effortlessly portable, and nostalgia is a powerful drug. Both these books – even with their odd foibles – were entertaining and very reminiscent of the original works, and it’s good to see them back on the shelves again. “Secrets of Salamonis” and “Shadow of the Giants” are released on September 1st, 2022, and are published by Scholastic. For some reason only known to mountain-dwelling warlocks, the former is currently ranked as the #1 book about Snooker on the Amazon Charts. May your stamina never fail! Recommend Reading/Viewing “You are Maggie Thatcher: A Dole-playing game” by Hunt Emerson – the aforementioned Diceman ended with issue 5, with an adventure that filled the whole issue. That was “You are Ronald Reagan: Twilight’s Last Gleaming!” written by Pat Mills with art by the excellent Hunt Emerson. “You are Maggie Thatcher” is a pseudo-sequel to that; bigger, better, more topical (back then) and funnier. “Life’s Lottery,” the 1999 work by Kim Newman is a rare example of Fighting Fantasy all grown up; Life’s Lottery is an adventure set in contemporary Britain. You’ll guide the protagonist Keith Marion from birth, with wildly differing consequences and storylines all dependent on your actions – sometimes seemingly trivial, at times epochal. Who would have thought that a decision about your favourite character from Man from UNCLE would be so influential on the rest of your existence? It’s part-thriller, part-horror, part kitchen sink drama, Franz Kafka meets Martin Amis. It’s never anything less than fascinating. Robin Johnson is not just an excellent chap, but also an interesting voice in electronic Interactive Fiction, and has a hefty back catalogue to work your way through at http://versificator.itch.io The frustratingly talented and lovely Duncan Bradshaw has written a horror novel, and it’s a choose your own adventure. It’s called “Congratulations! You’ve Accidentally Summoned a World-Ending Monster. What Now?” and it’s well worth spending your hard-earned gold pieces on. About David Court  As well as being a level 43 Half-Elf Rogue, David Court is a short story author and novelist, whose works have appeared in over a dozen venues including Tales to Terrify, StarShipSofa, Visions from the Void, Fear’s Accomplice and The Voices Within. Whilst primarily a horror writer, he also writes science fiction, poetry, and satire. He’s also a freelance writer for Slash Film. His last collection, “Contents May Unsettle,” was released in 2021 and his debut comic writing has just featured in Volume One of Tpub’s “The Theory” (Twisted Sci-Fi). As well as writing, David works as a Software Developer and lives in Coventry with his wife, Aslan the cat and an ever-growing beard. David’s wife once asked him if he’d write about how great she was. David replied that he would because he specialized in short fiction. Despite that, they are still married. CHECK OUT TODAY'S OTHER ARTICLES BELOW
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