Friday 1 March 2013

Gamebook Friday: Spellbreaker Redux

My first ever book (and my first Fighting Fantasy title) Spellbreaker was published almost 20 years ago. And yet only the other day a brand new review of the adventure gamebook went up online.

It has to be the best review I have ever read - it's certainly the most flattering. Here are a couple of particularly pleasing extracts:

One of the highlights of the Fighting Fantasy series. The quality of the writing and storytelling is some of the best to be found in any adventure gamebook. The idea of your character becoming embroiled in a quest because they are partially responsible for its necessity is quite an original take on the usual formula. From then on the story gets better and better as the plot unfolds, developing into a gothic masterpiece of demon summoning and witchcraft...

Each character encountered is fully rounded, developed and believable. The Kurakil may have a typical demon portrayal but the main villain is really Nazek who is multi-dimensional and clearly established in the opening stages. It's a pleasant change to meet the major villain in the `Background' rather than waiting until the climax of the adventure...

This is one of the most engrossing and atmospheric books of the FF range. It shows that there was a lot of life left in the series in its latter stages. Although a little tricky for the novice adventurer, this would still serve as an excellent introduction to Fighting Fantasy for a new reader.

You can read the review in its entirety here.

If you don't already own the book for yourself, you can pick up a copy here.

To read about how Marsten Ecclestone got on with the adventure, you can read his play through here.

It's a pretty solid adventure with a lot of interesting encounters, like most of Jonathan Green's books. There's a lot of good creepy moments, which you know that I love, and the artwork is crisp and detailed...

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