Star Strider

Background - 

The Puffin executives are assembled.  They are all in suits apart from a few who appear to be wearing high ranking military uniforms.  They stand in an operations centre behind some thick glass shielding, looking down at the room below.

The room is filled with scientists scurrying about making last minute adjustments at computer terminals and various parts of the large mechanism that dominates the room.  It is a portal type structure very much looking like a stargate, except the film has not been made yet so they don't know its a stargate so can not be done for copywrite.  The device splutters with sparks and blue lightning.

Ian and Philippa are in the corridor outside, away to enter the room but Ian is clearly agitated. 

Ian "You know it's not ready!  If this goes wrong it could destroy reality as we know it!  The risk is too high!"

Philippa "We need more books Ian!  This project is the next closest to completion so we are going for it!  We have invested a huge amount into this.  The generals will want to see results!"

Ian "We do not need any more books, nobody is completing Crypt of the Sorcerer, its impossible!"

Philippa "That will just delay them.  They will just give up and throw it away.  No we need fresh content or kids pocket money will go to the next big thing.  We can not give them a moment to think!"

Ian "But even at the risk of the very fabric of reality itself?"

Philippa looking bemused as if Ian had said something stupid "Yes, of course."

With that she swipes her card on the security door and enters the room overlooking the stargate.  

Philippa "Gentleman (its the mid 80s so it's all old men), welcome to the launch of the Star Strider project.  From here we will traverse the expanse of space and pull back what our calculations show is that galaxies greatest gamebook writer."

Suit 1 "Very ambitious Philippa.  We have a lot invested this."

Philippa "And you will see that investment rewarded."

Philippa makes a signal for the lead scientist to begin.  Ian slowly backs out of the room, intent on getting as far away as quickly as possible.

The stargate whirs into life, loud noises and blue electricity dominate the room.  Then a humanoid figure pushes through the liquid centre of the stargate.  Everyone stares in awe.

Suit 2 "Are you sure that's someone from another galaxy, he looks just like us?"

Scientists hold up beeping equipment to the bemused looking man.  Lots of beeping ensures.

Lead Scientist "Yep these readings confirm, this being is from Messier 83 galaxy.  Hello, can you understand us?"

Mystery Being "Yes."

Suit 2 "And he speaks English, of course."

Mystery Being "Where am I?"

Lead Scientist "A planet called Earth in what we call the Milky Way galaxy."

Mystery Being "Why?"

Philippa bursts into the room "To write a great gamebook."

Mystery Being "Really?  Well I guess I could do that.  Can I go home afterwards?"

Philippa "Sure you can, let me take you to our writing studio.  What is your name?"

Mystery Being "Alkis Alkiviades"

Philippa "Yeah, that wont work here, you need a new alias."

She looks him up and down, marveling at the nice looking alien clothes.

Philippa "Looking Sharp there, wait that's it, Luke Sharp.  Welcome to Earth."

With that everyone trundles out of the lab congratulating each other.  The janitor who is cleaning up some of the mess grumbles.

Janitor "Ok he might be the best gamebook writer of that galaxy, but what happens if everyone else there was rubbish?"

Star Strider was released in May 1987 and is one I have never played before.  The Sci-Fi ones never appealed to me but as I have played through these books they were nowhere near as bad as I thought.  It's another new author.  But when I had a look in You are the Hero, Luke Sharp is actually a gentleman named Alkis Alkiviades.  The name was changed as back in the 80s they thought someone with a name like that could not possibly write a gamebook in English.  Now I love the 80s but I am very glad thinking like that is more a thing of the past.  I always look forward to a new author though and Sci-Fi books normally have interesting extra mechanics.

Covers - 

Well if I asked MidJourney to produce an image based on the prompt of a green alien with a glowing electricity sword and a gun, while surfing down a futuristic tunnel, I would not have got anything this good.

It is actually quite an underrated cover when I think about it as it is not one I would normally pick up, but looking at it now it really is quite something.  Although I still do not really have any clue to what's going on here.  Impressive balance though.  I would fall off and impale myself on the laser sword.

Only thing though is that he does look a bit like the Grinch.

I let Midjourney have a go and it was not half bad.  The AI revolution is getting closer!  But don't worry it can't handle the surf board aspect yet, we are still safe....for now. 

Premise - 

First up we get a definition of a Rouge Tracer - A hunter of fugitives, criminals and wanted beings who have a price on their heads.  Formally known as bounty hunters.  Licensed by the Tracebeam Organisation.  Elite Rouge Tracers are known as Star Striders.  From the Encyclopedia Galactica.

Ah so what you are saying is I am Boba Fett?  Ok this sounds cool so far.

The background section in this book is replaced with a much more thematic mission.  It is like you are sitting at a mid 80s computer terminal.

President Xerin of the Galaxy One Federation has been kidnapped by the Gromulans.  Wow not just any president but the one from Galaxy One!  Not Galaxy 327.  He has been taken to Earth in order for him to be brain scanned.  The Zand Corporation assures us that his cephaloprotector will hold out for 48 hours.  After then the computer defence codes will be compromised and the pesky Gromulans will pass the data onto the Empire of the Purple Flag!  

I am the best Rogue Tracer is Sector 6 and currently sit 97th on the galactic money-making table.  If I accept I will get my standard rate.  I like how they talk about money before the mission.  

Anyway the mission if you choose to accept it is to locate the President and get him out.  Spacefleet 7 will be hanging about Earth orbit for my signal.  Please note that the successful completion of you mission will make you very rich but if you do not accept Tracebeam will stop sending you more work.  

Please indicate you acceptance of the mission, and then a Y/N DOS prompt appears.

N

Score 1 out of 10.

Only joking of course we press Y (this is still the mission background so I did not have a choice).  

Because we have accepted we get a little more data.  The Gromulans are humanoid, hyper-intelligent people of unknown origin that only usually dabble in the much smaller scale, world terrorism.  They are Android building experts and masters of illusion.  They built the Illus-o-vision 70 (wow that name), for the Galaxy Ents Corporation but they swindled the Gromulans on the copywrite so they have now invented the Illus-o-scope.

The Gromulans will be expecting a rescue attempt so be careful but there are some Androids that are undercover and will help you.  But maybe not as the Gromulans are really good at turning Androids to their cause.

Earth is now a small insignificant planet that was once heavily populated but now most of humanity have migrated to Alphacent.  Its only source of credits are servicing freight cruisers and mining salt.  The Gromulans have been using it as a base since the last centaury.  

Alas your Phozon crystal does not work in this solar system so can't pinpoint locations.  You will have to signal the fleet once the president is found.  The remoteness of Earth and lack of sensors has meant there are a lot of fugitives there, so might be able to do a bit of bounty hunting on the way.

So a little bit of a break here from me just to say what the hell is going on?  Some information is repeated, others make no sense as there is not any context and my god, those device names.  Makes me feel like this is like one of those terrible early 70s Doctor Who episodes.  

Wait, is this actually a comedy?

Next we get a likely enemies section - 

Gromulans - 

Gromulans would rather surrender than get in a fight.  They specialise in deception and can talk the three hind legs of a Wooki.  Wait a what?

They have now settled earth despite being nomadic and are developing there Ilussion-o and Android tech.  They have an addiction to chess and small earth snails.  

Gromulan Androids - 

The power base of the Groms.  Ok if the book is calling them Groms so am I.  Basically stay away from Excel Class, they are very dangerous.  All others will be fine (Word, Outlook, PowerPoint etc),  but if its Excel class find a weak point.  The Groms are very paranoid so have built in weak points  just in case.  Oh and all Androids can self destruct.  Wonderful.

Fugitives and Criminals - 

You may meet anyone from a tax dodging Ferian to a Pirate Prince.  If they suspect you of being a Rogue Tracer they will run or attack.  But you operate within galactic law so can not kill any humans (what about other races?) and if I do I will be a fugitive and hunted down.  

Houlgans - 

Ok tongue in now firmly in cheek if it was not already.  Local feuding gangs who base their fanaticism on a long forgotten religion which revolved around colours of clothes and scarves.  They move about in hordes.  Do not wear a coloured scarf or they will take offence.  Notorious ones include are R'al (Real Madrid, L'Pool (Liverpool) and G'ners (Arsenal who are the Gunners).  Juve also get a mention who are pretty much already called that and Stienn, not sure who they are meant to be.  Probably a German team.

Illusory monsters and demons - 

Groms love this sort of thing.  Always remember that an illus-o-scope will be nearby.  You WILL be frightened, Grom illusions have been known to make a Brontian take fright and can also be very large scale.

Weapons - 

Rogue Tracers do not carry personal arms.  No of course they do not, what self respecting galactic bounty hunter would want weapons.....  Instead they use the Catchman which was designed by Ulidor Zonie.  It shoots out a fine plastic which pretty much makes a net to immobilise your target.  Slight problem, the Catchman is very unreliable with a 33% failure rate which seems ridiculously high for a weapon of choice for a Bounty Hunter that is carrying no other weapons!  It says we are trained in the use of all weapons, which just makes it even more dumb that I am not using any.  97th on the galactic money maker table, out of how many?  98?

Oh boy, not sure about this one.  It seems laced with comedy and satire which I do not mind normally but not sure I want that in a Fighting Fantasy book.

Playthrough - 

Ok time to pay attention as when reading through your usual skill, stamina, luck section, at no point does it not say you can not go above your initial scores.  Absolutely about time! 

No fancy combat mechanics other than if you roll a double 6 against an android you find its weak point and deactivate it.  Sounds fun but I can tell you the chances of a double 6 for me in combat are so remote.  

We also get a Fear score, works the same as luck and determines how scared you are of the Groms illusions.  It does say that the fear score stays the same throughout the mission so it does not reduce each time you test like in other books.

Time is also introduced for the first time since I think Seas of Blood?  We start with 48 time units and if it hits zeros you automatically lose as the Groms have extracted what they need from the Presidents brain.  Oh my god is this going to be like 24?

I have decided we are trying to save President Palmer.

Also the adventure sheet is quite futuristic looking with the time counter to be marked down.  However there is also an oxygen counter which is a bit worrying.  Absolutely no kit or provisions or anything like that.  Do I even have the Catchman weapon?  Who knows.

Instead there is a box for Clues and another box for Calculations (joy).

Skill - 10

Stamina - 19

Luck - 11

Fear - 12

Well that is pretty average Skill and Stamina, probably what you would expect for the 97th best bounty hunter.  I am quite lucky though which is probably why I got this gig.  One thing though is that I am not scared of anything!  Bring on your crappy illusions Groms for I have balls of steel!

Right lets get going, better not wear my Ab'deen scarf though just in case.

That dude on the left better reign in his look before we have a problem!

I park my shuttle in the bay and head over to a dirty looking ticket office.  Nobody is around so I have to bang on the glass.  An out of date Android eventually appears and has trouble understanding me.  Eventually it gives me a ticket for the shuttle after I give out my credit card.  It says that will do nicely.  

I get on the shuttle and there are only five other people on board this twenty seater.  I get directed to my seat and given then safety brief.  The book tells me I sit on something sticky.  Everything sounds very run down and shabby.  The steward offers me a cocktail or some food.  Can I not have both?  Well better not drink on the job so I ask for some food.  It is offered as a cube, and gives me 1 stamina and wow we are over the initial stamina!

The shuttle eventually lands in a desolate area of sector 3.  The station is very empty, a left over from the days of bigger shuttles.  I can head over to the abandoned looking ZipCar stand, follow the rest of the passengers out to the Silverhound public transport.  Or go and speak to the android Sweepertron cleaning the place.  Well that sounds oddly specific so I go for it.

It just drops its vacuum and walks out a side door and I follow.  It hits the code match and I find out he is an informant android.  It tells me that the Groms are based in four cities and the Silverhound bus is the only mode of transport to all cities.  The ZipCar company (Rocket-a-Hire) has withdrawn services due to a lack of demand.  All high level Groms are linked to all the bases using ComTerms, try and get access to one of the terminals.  Then he just blows himself up!

Woah there dude!  What are you doing?  Just keep working undercover!  No need to immolate yourself!

Bit wild that.  Time to get on the bus.

Greyhound busses have come a long way.

All the passengers from the shuttle are on board.  Listening in to their conversation they are sales reps for salt mining equipment.  I fall asleep watching Galactic Ent adverts.  At this point I wonder if they are Ents like Treebeard in Lord of the Rings but futuristic.  Really need an illustration of these guys!  My power nap cost me 2 time units.  I wake up as the bus is pulled over by the local GromPol androids.  When they check my ID and that I am a Rouge Tracer they escort me of the bus.  I can make a run for it or follow them.  Well I have done nothing wrong so I go with them.

They take me into their craft and the Grom commander asks who am I tracing.  Do I remain silent or give him a name.  Erm I do not have a name so I remain silent.  In good news apparently this is ok as Rogue Tracers never give out names.  Well being the 97th best Rogue Tracer you would think I would already know that, or I don't know, have it mentioned in the background.

The commander reacts as you would expect.

Erm wait a minute.  This is an illusion yeah, yeah?

Its clearly an illusion and it does not scare me so I get back on the bus.  How very odd.  Another two time units are used as I watch someone else watching a Galactic Ents Soap.  Which honestly sounds more fun at this stage.

The bus stops at a diner called Julio's for a spot of breakfast.  When looking at the various food cubes I lock eyes with Kinta Lopsti, an escaped prisoner who I originally put behind bars.  He immediately makes a run for it.  Do I stay or give chase.  Well I am not going to move up the list from 97th best bounty hunter by letting scum like Kinta Lopsti get away!

I fire my Catchman but of course it misfires as its useless.  You had to roll 5+ on 1d6.  Its a fist fight instead but he is only skill 6 so I take him down with ease.  I store his unconscious body in a nearby cellar and mark him for collection later.

When I get back to Julio's everyone is watching me as they know what I am.  That's right, the 97th best bounty hunter in the sector.   Julio himself asks if I got him and I can reply or just eat away.  I am nice enough though and reply.  He is pleasant enough and is glad to have a Rogue Tracer around as he only sees Groms and criminals these days.  Apparently the remaining humans are treated as second class citizens.  He then tells me about his son who is a Houlgan based in Madrid.  But he is a good lad really.  Jose 90 is his name.  With that I gain a luck point and head back to the bus.   Back on board I see a Gromulan getting served an omelette and realise I never actually ate so lose 1 stamina point.

Before we get to Madrid I listen in to the reps dirty stories of the pleasure planet of Luxurus.  We arrive in Madrid and I get off the bus.  I see a sign for services and head towards that.

  

A map!  With very straight lines....

Most services have been cancelled due to lack of interest so it looks like all we have is a straight line from Madrid, to Rome, to Paris to London.  And then back again.  Seems quite sparse, almost like a limitation of being in a gamebook.  Two more time units used up.  As I am checking this out an Android comes over and signals the CodeMatch pulse!  Remember though some Androids are turned.  The other Android did not approach me, I had to go to him so I am very suss.  Lets follow him first.

Right enough the Android goes over to some Groms, lucky they have no idea what I look like.  The Android moves on and I can follow him or go up to some Houlgans.  Now if this was real life I would be giving the Houlgans a massive wide berth.  Even large groups of them normally struggle to have a single brain cell between them.  But this is a gamebook and I have the name of a Houlgan that happens to contain a number between 1-400 so I know what I am going to do.

They surround me and ask for credits but the leader has 90 on his neck so we know who he is.  If we know his name multiply letters in his name by the tattoo number.  I make that 360.  

Jose is shocked I know his name.  I explain how I am mates with his dad from the diner so they take me out for a meal.  Its a lovely sea food option which gives me 3 stamina points back.  

They also hate Grom's so they want to help.  I let them know I need to get access to one of the terminals and they have two ideas.  The Plaza de Toros which is open only for Androids or the Hacienda which is less heavily guarded.  Hmm lets go for the option that is easier and not named after a bull.

Ah very pretty.

Another two time units and we are at the hacienda.  It is however covered with laser beams.  Ah so a Skill test I would assume.  Nope, roll a dice.  Then if you roll another dice and the number is the same you hit the beam.  Its not just one test either, you have to do this three times.  

I fail with the very first test rolling 2 twice.  Once I hit the beam everything goes fluid and I am on a giant chessboard.  I am being chased by a black knight.  He is right behind me and a pawn in front of me.  I can either move to the left or stay still.  Well a pawn cant take me unless its diagonal and the knight has to go left or right so I stay still.

This is correct and the Knight goes off to the side which lets me jump off the chessboard.  Things then go back to normal and I hide from some Grompol patrols.  Do I then get to look back at the hacienda with maybe some time penalty?  Nope the bus is due to leave so I head back to the station.

Alas when I get back to the station the bus is full.  I show my Rogue Tracer ID and an Android decides to kick an elderly lady off so I can get on.  Wow what a dick I am haha.  I have to sit next to an Excel but unfortunately the locals are very rowdy and drunk so I do not get any rest.  Another two time units down.  Now at 38 left for those counting.

We arrive in Roma and its an absolute dump.  The only option is to go to a fast food and sleep unit.  Going in causes the robot voice of that will do nicely again.  I have some horrible duck mush while a women stares at me.

Erm hello?

And then she shuts the door to her sleep unit and I do the same.  Gain 6 stamina points.  I am now sitting at a record 28 stamina points.  In the morning I can follow her or hurry on for my search.  Not really much info of what hurry on a search means so I decide to be a creepy stalker.

She knows I am following but Roma is busy and I get stopped by a Grompol to check my ID.  But I pass my luck test and I catch up with her.  And I know her!  A Rogue Tracer by the name of Arana.  No word if she is higher or lower than 97th.  She has been hired by the Groms to go after Orvium Egburg who has stolen some firmware.  He is in Roma and she suspects there is vital information on the chips so I decide to tag along.

However we immediately split up!  Do I want to go to the Roxyrama or Gino's Club?  Always got to head to the club.  I stop for an ice cream and run foul of some more police.  Again I feel I have done nothing wrong so I see what they have to say.  A Grom uses an illusion to make himself good looking, ok I guess.  Turns out they are also after Orvium so happy to help me.  I get to the other side of the road block.

Turns out Gino's is in a really bad part of town.

These Android gangs are notorious, early experiments of Grom personality experiments now on the prowl for spare parts.  I do not even get an option to talk or fight, its just which way do you run, left or right.  Always left.

They catch me and rob me.  But its not as bad as it sounds.  They find my ID and take me back to the main gang.  I explain my reason for being here and turns out they really hate the Groms so want to help.  They saw the presidents craft near the salt mines.  They can help me get there.  Or do I keep looking for Orvium and my fellow rouge tracer.  Nah, the mission is to get the president and this is the best lead so far so I agree to their help.

By help, they mean take me to a used car salesmen.

Honest Luig Six tells me he cant sell me any of these cars as its banned by Grom law.  My Android mates take him aside and "persuade" him.  So I get my Zip Car and speed away above the city heading North.

As I get to the Salt Flats, an old Grom ship hails me and tells me to stop.  Normally I would but now I have done something wrong by being in the car.  Its also described as an old model with stuff stuck on it, which does not sound legit.  So time to fight.

Turns out they are Bandits.  The Zip Car fight works like a normal fight but I do not actually lose stamina.  It is only Skill 7 and is easily dispatched.  

I land at the salt mines and find the remains of the presidential droid.  I plug the recall chips into my chronograph and see the last moments from the androids viewpoint.  A clue with the Grom pilot, Q867 RT88 20KK 169A.  Apparently these are London area codes (and probably page references).

And then look up to see a real craft shooting to kill.

Do I want to dive into a salt trench or run for the car?  Well I imagine if I go for the car its going to be blown up and I think I need it so I go into the Salt trench.  Turns out the walls are not solid and I kick one down and find a conveyer belt full of salt heading back to Roma, so I sit down and go back to the city via the conveyer belt.  Not what I expected.   Add to stamina for good measure, now up to a ludicrous 30.

I get back to the city after using up 2 more time units.  The androids at the factory do not care as they are dedicated to their jobs.  Which ladder do you want to climb up, left or right?  

You know I went left.  I pop out in the middle of a street and just avoid a zip car.  The chronometer beeps as the bus is due to leave for Paris.  Do I go back or continue my investigation.  Well I need to get to London so I guess Paris is on the route.

No need to kick out any old people this time as only 2 other passengers head to Paris, both Androids.  Another 2 time units spent but 3 stamina added.  Apparently the Groms think the founding of Roma is related to their race.  Not sure what is meant by that bit of flavor.

The bus then gets attacked!

Not sure what I am paying Silver Hound for but the driver asks us for help so me and the androids head to the weapons.  I have two to shoot down in a special encounter.  I shoot them down and when I turn around I see all the androids self destructing, including the pilot.  I run in and switch auto pilot on but alas its broken and wont stay on.  Through no choice of my own, my character decides to give it a kick, which means take a luck test.

My kick is successful and the auto pilot works.  I gain 6 more stamina and lose 2 more time units as we role into Paris.

Paris is overgrown and as I fly over I see an old highway jam packed with retro cars.  Apparently it was the scene of the worlds biggest traffic jam.  As someone that went to Paris this year (to watch Scotland in the rugby world cup, we got mauled by Ireland) the traffic is beyond mental.  It makes no sense!  So Luke must have also been there at some point!

Alas when I land in Paris I am arrested for unauthorized flying.  Yeah no more playing nice, I decide to attack rather than suffer such a grave injustice.  The first android goes down before I have to properly fight the other skill 8 Grompol Android.

I only get hit once but I have soooo much stamina by now it makes no difference to me.  As I flee the scene I can either hide in a warehouse or go down a manhole cover.  I have no interest in going down a sewer dungeon so into the warehouse I pop.

Its an android factory, but only thing moving is a forklifttron, sigh.  Which door do you want to go through, left or right.  Yet again no indication or any clues.  I stick to left and I am in a laser room.  I have to get past 6 rooms of lasers.  To do this role a dice for each room.  If I role the same number back to back, its death.

First dice I roll is 2, and the very next throw is also a 2.... I am hit by a laser and its game over.  Thank God its over.

Notable Encounters - 

I am going to have to stretch my definition of notable here.  Ok you can come across a robot that needs some help from some Houlgans.

He is just trying to move some boxes!

His name is Wil-1, so we name him Willi.  He is really bad at moving boxes and keeps dropping them and all around seems a bit useless.  Except he is a monster in combat, taking down Excels and everything with no worries.  He gets you into his masters house no problem and lights tunnels with his eyes.  All the time while slowly breaking down.  If you stay loyal to him though he eventually shuts down and you are lost in the dark so you have to do the dick move of leaving him before then.

Cowboy Beebop!

This Excel is holding a town hostage in fear as he thinks he is in a western.  You can get into a old school gun fight with him, and shoot him in the back and the entire town helps take him down, with the aid of a car gun.

At one point you can end up in a Groms house, and its really odd.  You can go in multiple directions and they all end in a crazy encounter involving an illusion such as a spiked ball smashing into a water tank.  Its all pretty strange and you end up having to play chess.

Androids in Madrid love a bull fight.

Yep you can end up being a matador (inadvertently).  Once you escape you can end up in a flight with oxygen running out through some random coloured rooms...yeah.

The final act is the London Underground.

So the big finale is a riding a hoverboard through the ruins of the London underground.   Just as well you have the coordinates (hopefully) as wrong turn will probably lead to your death.  It sounds cool but its a bit frustrating.  And then...

There is a Jungle in the underground.

Alas this is the correct way to go and you have three choices, with no clues.  So its 33.33% chance of going the right way.

Artwork - 

The go to man for Sci-Fi, Gary Mayes is back for his third outing.  Interestingly they have all been Sci-Fi books so far.  In those two outings I said it was a mixed bag, and you know what, it is the same here.  But I do think this is the weakest outing of the three as well.

From my playthrough nothing has really stood out.  I think the Android informant self destructing is my favorite.

The galactic rescue fleet is probably my favorite.  But you only see this in an instant death scene which is a waste.

A vital scrap of paper on this cool dead Android.

A dragon going after a flying space transport.  Pretty Cool.

But a lot of meh as well.

In the warehouse of meh.

Fake clues.

Nothing terrible mind you, I just don't think they do sci-fi illustrations very well.

Big Bad - 

There was no big bad.  Unless its this guy getting the presidents memories.

Unnamed Grom technician, the big bad of Star Strider. 

He faints as soon as you appear so yeah, that's it.

Menagerie - 

For a Sci-Fi novel it is quite limiting.  Most encounters are Androids of some description or bandits.  Sometimes the occasional Grom, its a very sparse variety.  

There are some cat people from Wiskas-4....

Grompol..... Freeze Punk!

The Lurgan is lurking around the highways.  I mean he could have been anything but he just looks like a bog standard human.

You can briefly fall into star wars to fight this dude.  Guess what his fancy sci-fi name is.  Yeah he is just called a warrior.

You don't fight many Groms, they just try and scare you with terrible illusions.

Entertaining Deaths - 

Now there is a lot of deaths, but entertaining they are not.  One liners like if you lose you have no excuse do not wash well with me.

Your stolen Grompol car needing fuel, and the ejection seat fails as you crash.

Or the ejector seat does work but you break both legs on the landing and get picked up by the GromPol.

Getting into a cowboy western type face off with a cowboy android where you ask him where his horse is.

Stealing a rocket bike which blows up as it has an anti theft device.

Thinking a dragon is just an illusion, it is, but its really a missile that blows up the rescue craft.

But my favorite way of dying in Star Strider is of course..... Missing the Bus.

Pete's Corner - 

I don't like Chess.

Final Thoughts - 

So I always thought I did not like the Sci-Fi entries when I rake my memories.  But as I have played through them I have not felt they were that bad.  Star Strider has put me back into that mind set.  I really, really struggled with this one.  At first it was a bit funny but my word this got turgid.  Where to even start?  I always like to have something positive to go with and for this book I will call out the maths puzzles which were fun (cant believe I found maths fun) but they were well constructed.

And that is it for the positives.  So I actually got so bored during my playthrough I stopped for quite some time to play Balder's Gate and then forced myself to go back to it.  I mean everything was just so bland.  From the premise, to the writing, to the adventure itself.  So many decisions that you had to make based on bugger all information.  Will you climb the left or the right ladder?  Will you go through the left door or the right.  I know this is not a new problem in Fighting Fantasy but it seems more pronounced here.  I can forgive it a bit if the story is good, but it wasn't.

The story is the hook, the reason for playing.  You are a bounty hunter and need to save the galactic president.  Cool so far, but the execution is horribly lacking.  Lets begin with the setting.  It is the galactic president so you have the whole galaxy to play with.  Yet its set on Earth, and a really boring version of Earth at that.  I mean it felt like you spent most of the adventure worrying about public transport.  Bus simulator would have been a more apt title.  

It did not get any better when I mapped it out.  The four locations of Madrid, Rome, Paris and London are not unique enough to be able to tell you are anywhere different.  Probably as you spend a lot of the time underground!  Madrid is by far the best and they get progressively worse as you go on.  

Also sometimes it does not matter if you go North or South, you end up in the same place anyway.  And frustratingly the better encounters are if you make daft decisions.  You can only end up with the Cowboy Android if you steal a car or get taken by Loptis gang which both make me think you have taken a questionable decision.  And even the Bull Fight which is kind of cool is ruined by a terrible maze type escape where you get no information other than colours of rooms.  I hate a maze. I mean its easy to get out before the oxygen runs out but its boring.

And finally you get to Ginos, a futuristic bar.  This will be great, with loads of aliens and situations to play out with a varied bunch of characters right?  Nope, we get minimal description and you end up playing russian roulette and falling into a sewer for yet another underground sequence.  

Lets talk mechanics.  Time is an interesting concept, but you are never going to have that much of a worry.  What is more likely is that you will make a dumb choice and the book will say you are stranded, lose all time units.  I also found fear a waste of time.  I mean you know they are illusions so what is the point?  A lot of the tests (like the one that killed me) are pure luck.  I realise they have been added for a bit of variety, but you have skill and luck for a reason.  There are a lot of them in this book.  The ones that make you roll dice and see if its more than stamina for example though do make sense and I like those.

I have already bemoaned the lack of variety in the menagerie section, it is sparse for a sci-fi book where the only limit is your imagination.  The only really unique thing here are the Gromulans.  I get its meant to be a camp sci-fi but the whole illusion thing just did not fit for me.  It is relied on far too heavily to try and make interactions more interesting.  But it does not work because we the player AND our character know they are illusions already.  Remember the Star Wars trilogy has been out for quite some time by now and Star Trek has existed for ages.  Instead they look humanoid and love chess and snails.

The lack of a big bad does hamper the book, so the ending sequence in the London Underground is much more important to make up for that.  Flying through the tunnels on a hoverboard should have been awesome.  A thrill ride full of edge of your seat encounters.  Nope, it is an orienteering exercise.

And your reward for getting past it all?  One measly paragraph where the President gives you a credit card and you can retire from being a Rogue Tracer.  Terrible writing.

Great artwork always appeals to me and would possible salvage some pride, but again its bland and I think the poorest of Gary Mayes efforts.  But I can't blame him if he had the same bland source writing to work with that we had to read.

Difficulty wise, I do not think this would take many playthroughs to beat.  The opponents are not tough so it is very fair in that regard and it does have many paths to victory which is a positive.  But you won't want to go back and try them.  

Even if I take this as more of a comedy adventure, its not that funny, its just cringy.  I mean it might have been funnier back in 1987, but I suspect it would not have been.  

Was I even playing a human?  Doubt it as did not even seem to care about Earth being where your race was from.

The best thing about Star Strider?  The Cover.  By miles.

Score - 2 out of 10.

Crypt of the Sorcerer

Background - 

Ian is sitting alone in a cramped cupboard of an office at Puffin HQ.  Instead of his usual typewriter he looks at the green writing on a black background of the primitive computer machine.  The blinking light of the cursor is mocking him.

Ian (Speaking to himself purely so this plot device actually works) "The problem is I can not think of anything else to write.  I mean how much novel ideas can someone come up with?!"

He sighs and rubs his hands on his temples.

Ian "Its just the demand for more books, its insane.  But how is everyone beating them so fast?" 

Realisation dawns on Ian.

Ian "The little bastards, I bet they are cheating.  And it won't be a reroll here or there in combat or for a failed luck test.  Why they are probably even giving themselves stats of 12/24/12 before they even start!"

Ian is now getting visibly furious.

Ian "In fact I bet they keep their grubby little fingers in the pages as bookmarks in case they make a choice they do not like!"

He know picks up the chair and throws it against the wall as it shatters into multiple pieces.  A terrified looking young intern opens the door and peers in.

Intern "Is everything all right sir?"

Ian "Not a Sir yet, but one day!  Yes everything is fine, everything is perfect.  I am going to write a book that is so hard that it is impossible to finish!  Impossible!  That way they will all be stuck on it and I will not have to keep churning out these books!  MWHAHAHAHA!"

The intern backs away slowly and shuts the door.

So its still early 1987 when Crypt of the Sorcerer came out and it is back to Ian Livingston whose once epic output of Fighting Fantasy has slowed a little bit as we have had four books since his last outing with Trial of Champions.  I did get this one from our local library when I was a kid so I have played it before but all I remember from that was that I failed a lot and couldn't even cheat my way through it.  Since then I have read a lot about this book as it is notorious for its difficulty level.  I think there is something like a 2% chance of getting to the final boss and even then the chances of beating him are more remote.  A lot of hate for this book so I will go in accepting I am going to die and try and focus on other things like the story to try and get some enjoyment from it.  Although just imagine if I actually did beat it....I doubt anyone would believe me haha.

Covers - 

Ah the first positive.  I love this cover.  Its so iconic.  Razaak himself looks super creepy with what looks like a malformed head.  His magical red light playing around his hand hints to his powers.

And the dark evil red of the cover is the perfect choice of colour.  And of course screaming skulls and heads flying about out of the crypt behind him.

When I think Fighting Fantasy some covers I think of are synonymous with the series.  For me this is very much one of them.

The Wizard reprint got an updated cover.  Even though its quality is overall better its not quite as good for me.  Razaak looks more like a an undead necromancer (which he may be).  Much more grotesque for sure and pretty cool but looks less like a sorcerer for me.  

The evil shades of red are here but the stripe of blue sky is odd.

Also when I look at it closely it looks like a poor old distressed ugly person running away and trying to swat all the bothersome flies that are clearly chasing them.  Its hard to have good personal hygiene when you are part corpse.

Premise - 

We are hanging out at the pleasant town of Chalice.  It is a safe haven for merchants to rest on their way from Silverton.  Normally a great place to be but today as I look out from my room in the Lion Inn I see a problem.  For three weeks the sky has been dark and menacing.  Worse, there is talk of plague spreading from the East. 

Things take a turn when an Elf comes into town.  He was minding his own business flying on his eagle over the Moonstone Hills when he saw a fissure.  Lots of putrid black vapor was pouring out and the trees in the area were all dead.  Circling for a closer look a withered hand appeared in the gap and shot an energy bolt which killed the eagle.  The elf had to walk all the way to Chalice to tell us the story.

Now at this point I would have asked how bloody big was this withered hand that you saw it from flying overhead on the Eagle from inside a big crevice?  I suspected the Elf's story but I guess they have really keen eyesight.

Luckily I am tight with our old friend, the wizard Yaztromo.  I ride off to his tower and apparently trample all over his herb garden.  He is as cranky as ever but when he sees the grave look on my face he invites me in to tell him the Elf's tale. 

Yaz is not happy with the story, muttering away at those fools.  He explains that one hundred years ago Razaak was apprenticed to a lawful wizard but like Anikan Skywalker he was tempted to the dark side.  After forty years of solitude he graduated as a full blown Necromancer (ah so he was a necromancer).  It was then he announced to all the lords of the lands that they had to acknowledge him as their ruler. 

Yes my tribal chief!

Slight problem with that though, nobody had any idea who Razaak was so they all ignored him.  Razaak spat the dummy at this and unleashed plagues and pestilences across their lands until they accepted him as their ruler.

Many heroes tried to slay Razaak but they rolled terrible stats and all failed.  That was until a person named Kull was randomly sailing his boat across a mist covered lake and saw a skeletal hand holding a sword from the lake.  He grabbed it and discovered he had a blade that could cut through anything.  But there is a twist, it was Razaaks own sword.  You see in order to become a necromancer (as well as live in a cave for forty years) he had to destroy all his weapons.  Unfortunately for him his sword was indestructible so he threw it into a lake.  A disgruntled skeleton had other ideas and held it up above the lake water, apparently for ages, just waiting for someone to come along and take it.

Kull found Razaak and slew him the sword but their was an unfortunate side effect for poor Kull, all his flesh fell off.  Now as a skeleton himself he fled to the lake on the Moonstone Hills where he enjoys sailing his raft.

Razaak's remains were sealed by a lawful wizard who decreed they needed to be sealed for 110 years or Razaak would come back and kill everyone with an undead army.  Yaz concludes that grave robbers must have found the tomb and not knowing what they were doing, unsealed it.  The fools!

He turns to me and says I assume you will be volunteering my services to save the day.  Of course I do.  Yaz says first I have to get the sword and bring it back to him so he can make sure I get to keep my flesh.  He also mentions the need for magic amulets and talismans to protect myself.  Queue up an item hunt.  But he does mention that he is going to get some backup which could be interesting.  

Rest up tonight, I head out in the morning.

Playthrough - 

This is as bog standard as it gets with only skill, stamina and luck.  However we also get told you have no provisions.  And I seem to be missing an equipment list, no sword, backpack or anything.  I hope it explains why in the first paragraph.

Skill - 11

Stamina - 19

Luck - 9

Normally I would be delighted with a skill 11 but I already know I am dead with these stats.  Lets see how long we can keep it going for though!

Yaztromo wakes me up before dawn from a nightmare of undead attacking me.  Twenty minutes later I am outside and ready to ride.  He gives me a healing potion that has enough for five tots (whatever a tot is) and each tot restores four points of stamina.  Ah so these are the substitute for provisions.  It makes more sense for a magic potion to heal wounds rather than eating lots of food.  By nightfall I am at the foot of the hills the Silver River flows out of on the Windward plain.  Oh that reminds me there is a colour map - 

You are here.

The night passes without incident and after a good breakfast I can decide whether to wade the river and go east into the hills or follow the river north into the hills.  Well we are looking for a lake right so it makes sense that the river will lead us there?

The land is getting marshy and the horse finds it difficult going.  I get the option to give up and go east instead but I think that's a double bluff.

Maybe not!

We meet the Harpoon Flies who can shoot there noses as weapons.  Apparently they take a week to grow back.  The poison paralyses the victim and allows the females to lay their eggs in the victims so the maggots have plenty to eat.  Well that's horrifying what skill are they?  Oh wait I have to roll to see how many  needles hit me!  I do not even get to fight!

Thankfully I roll a 2 but I still lose 4 stamina points and have to use a tot of the potion to stop the poison effects.  What a terrible start haha.

I see a cave in the distance, do I want to explore it?  Hell no, I am going to the mountain lake to find the sword, its not going to be in a random dark cave.

The going gets worst and I am forced to cross the river.  I see some smoke in the distance so decide to have a sneaky look at what is causing it.

There be Orcs in these hills!

He is still alive but not for long.  He tells me four Orcs took his gold and food and to watch out for their ambush.  Before he passes he also tells me to check the barrel.  I first drink some of the water and get back one point of stamina.  The barrel does have a false bottom and I am rewarded with quite a haul.  10 gold, a knife, a bottle of holy water and a crystal with a gold chain.  I put it on and it is a crystal of sanity which will help protect me from assaults on my mind.  Handy.  I take his advice to avoid the Orcs.

As I ride on I scan the skies for winged killers and the ground for Orcs, everything seems fine but my horse suddenly rears up but I pass a skill test.  

Its an Ambush!

Not a very good one though as they attack one at a time. I also get an attack strength bonus of 2 for still being on my horse.  The Chamelonites are only skill 7s and 6 so with the horse bonus I easily dispatch them all without taking a hit.

I recall a legend that if I dab their blood on me I get their powers of perfect camouflage once in my life.  But there are terrible side effects.  I feel this is one of the things I need to have so I go for it.  Roll a dice to see the effect.  I roll a 4 and amazingly I have no side effects.  Lets hope this luck holds.

Next set piece is a place called the valley of the bones.  It is as its name suggests, covered in bones.  But a small voice shouts at me to go away.  No chance.  I walk in and the source of the voice starts throwing bones at me.  I shout out that I am no threat and the barrage stops.  Alas he does not know where the lake is, he just makes magic rings out of the bones.  But he is looking for a new knife which he would exchange a magic ring for.  Why good sir, I have just come into possession of a knife.  I hand it over and he gives me a ring to protect from werewolves, just say one two three turn and flee.  Nice!

The next valley has a moss covered rock which seems to have some words on it.  Ok I guess I could take a look.  It has a rhyme on it.  To go beyond the granite door, press the numbers one eight four.  I know a page reference when I see it, that's two now on the list!

We stop at a stream and both me and the horse get some refreshment.  That means 1 stamina point back for me and so far it feels things are going better than expected!

Wait what is this, Goblin riding horses?  Outrageous! 

Yep over the next hill is a Goblin raiding party.  What self respecting horse lets a Goblin ride them?  I can attempt to run or I can charge them.  I know they are four of them but they are still Goblins, should be easy right?  Right?

Yeah they are Goblins alright, Skill 5 and 6.  I easily dispatch them all without getting hit.  For my efforts I  gain 2 gold and a cracked mirror in a silver frame.  I also find some stale cheese which I just chuck away.

I get down the current hill and I can either go up the next one or investigate a nearby wood.  Well I am not going to find the lake in the wood so I decide to pass and continue up the hill.  

Now we appear with lots of flowers but they are all diseased or thorny.  I see a bit of movement and get the option to investigate.  Hmm is it a lake with a sword?  Nope.  I continue on.

I make camp for the night but I am rudely awoken by a pair of giant fire beetles.  Nothing upsets me more than losing sleep.  This is accurately reflected in the combat as I absolutely annihilate them (it helps they were skill 5).  

In the morning I go up the hill and spot a lake no more than two hours ride away.  I head off.

And get immediately attacked by Peter Griffin.

This will be much more of a test as its Skill 10.  Stamina is also 10 so I have to hit it 5 times.  We trade blows but I get the better of him with 13 stamina left.  It tries to fly away but plummets to its death.  I do not see the Barbarian rider get up so I think its prudent to investigate lest she sneaks up behind me.  She is very much dead and I can take her sword if I need for 2 skill points if I do not have one.  I assume if I had lost my sword I would be down 2 skill points (and would never have beaten the Griffin).  Do you want to take her shield.  Yes I do.

Its a magical shield called the Defender, very good at deflecting magical cast lightning.  It also says I can gain 1 skill point.  But I am at my initial skill and it is very specific that it can not exceed my initial score.  This is one of those should be attack strength bonuses that are a bit game breaky for me.  Boo.

As I near the lake I see a small rusted box by a tree.  Do you want to open it?  Why in the world would I want to open this mystery rusted box when I am so close to where I need to be?  I carry on, but it was probably a vital item.

Ah Kull, looking good mate! 

I reach the shore and after a bit of a wait spot Kull bobbing along on his raft.  I guide my horse into the lake near where he is headed and reach out and take Razaak's sword.  Kull lets out a sign of relief and crumbles into the lake.  Sounds like he was getting a bit bored of his peaceful lake boating.  Well we have the sword!  Lets head back to Yaztromo and hope he has got a plan to stop me also becoming a boating skeleton.

Well not so fast, on the way back I run into a centaur who wants a fight, same skill and stamina as the Griffin.  I decide to chug some of the potion first.   Amazingly I beat him without getting hit.  A couple of draws is the best he manages.  Good, serves him right for being a git.  He has a bronze demon talisman around his neck, do you want to put it on.  Of a demon you say, erm no that sounds like a terrible idea that Yaz would no doubt scold me for.

Further on I hear a girls cry for help.  God its bound to be a trap and its not part of the plan but we have to play the part of the hero.  Its the right thing to do.

I really should just leave you.

I cut her down and she introduces herself as Jella, a half elf who is an apprentice to the wizard Covax of Zengis.  She was searching for herbs but fell into a Goblin trap.  They took everything but a tin of healing powder and she offers me some in thanks.  I decide to take some with my logic being this would be a really convoluted trap.  Its legit though and I can roll a dice and add 2 to the total which is how much stamina I get back.  Well that is back to max!  She warns me of some boulder beasts and we part ways.

Next I arrive at a valley and I am told I am relieved not to be going up and down hills anymore.  Except its blocked by a Hill Giant who demands I pay him 5 gold or he will start throwing boulders at me from the ominous looking pile next to him.  I decide to comply and not risk it and give him the gold and he lets me trundle on.

As night falls I look for a place to make camp.  I spot a fire on the hill and that sounds like a better option than sleeping in the boulders (Jella did war me about boulder beasts after all).  I make my way up and I am threatened to go no further as there is an arrow trained on me.  The voice in the dark asks if I am lawful or chaotic.  Well I am lawful and pretty sure chaotic would have already shot me so I tell the truth.

You had me at roast duck.

He introduces himself as Symm, a tracker.  He is quite confident and says there is nothing he can't shoot or track. We talk and he asks what I am doing.  Well Symm I just picked up a sword from a boating skeleton to go and kill a sorcerer who may or may not be causing some black clouds to ruin the weather.  Symm decides to join me in my quest and I immediately start to have Mungo flashbacks.  

Having a guide is very useful as he spots two hillmen waiting in ambush.  We pretend not to notice them and easily avoid their arrows before getting into combat.  I dispatch my assailant with ease.    I fully expect Symm to be dead, but he is not!  He even collects 8 arrows from the hillmens quiver.

We stay the next night in an abandoned hut and amazingly nothing happens.  The next day we reach the tower but all is not well.  The herb garden is choked by thorns and Yaz is not answering the bell.  A crow flies down and delivers a note.  It says sorry I can not be there to meet you but I am still making preparations.  Ride east to a wooden hut at the edge of Darkwood Forrest to find me.  We mount up and head out.  I better not end up having to play Forest of Doom here.  As we travel a voice shouts out asking if we are looking for Yaztromo as they know where he is.  Sounds oddly specific to know what we are doing so I head over.

It is a forest spirit called Suma.  He tells me that Yaz has been kidnapped by Razaak's forces and is going to be sacrificed.   In fact the hut is a trap.  Ride North into the forest from here to save him.  He can help us one more time and his number is 11.  Ok this guy is a goodie as he has a hidden reference.  I trust him and instead of heading to the hut I ride north.

Either Yas is in trouble or I have just walked in on something.  Hope he has a safe word.

Yas shouts out he is delighted to see me and tells me to use Razaak's sword against the Demon Spawn.  I am quite shocked to find he is only Skill 6, Stamina 6.  The Centaur was loads tougher.  Maybe its reflects the power of the sword I am now using.  Or to reflect the help I am getting from Symm.  It still gets the first hit in before I dispatch it.  

We release Yaz who says his magic did not work against the demon which shows how strong Razaak is.  He seems to acknowledge Symm which makes me think I must have been forced to meet him at some stage.  We fill him in on what we have been up to and head back to the tower.  He tells us that not only must you use the sword against Razaak but we need to also pierce his heart with the horn of a Gargantis.  A near mythical creature that can only be defeated with magic.  Yaz is also concerned by the no show of his friend Budron who knows the location of the graveyard of Razaaks father.  He seems to think it might be of some importance.  I get the option of heading out now or staying the night in the tower to hope Budron turns up.  Sleep is always the right choice.

I get a greats night sleep and get fed so Stamina is back to maximum and he even refills the magic potion.  Budron does not turn up though as Yaz fears the worst.  He says to find the graveyard first and then head to Stonebridge and ask for Borri.  We ride off.

The first option we get next is we see a leather sack hanging on a tree that we could cut down.  No, why would we do that?  Probably has Budron's severed head in it.

I need to decide if the graveyard is at Mirewater or Stonebridge.  Well Borri is at Stonebridge so I guess we have to head to Mirewater first.  There is no sign so far so I get the option to continue into the village, head to Stonebridge, or go and have a look at this mysterious wood.  Well why else would the wood suddenly be an option.

Right enough we find a graveyard in the forest.  I am asked if I am wearing a skull ring? Nope.  After some searching we find Razaak's father Tamal's gravestone.  It reads - 

Although I lie here. I am not yet done, The dark power continues, my soul is my son.  Tamal.  Died in this world aged 108 years.

I know a page reference when I see it!  We ride for Stonebridge and arrive at dark, I can camp outside or head in.  I see no reason to wait so we tell the guards we are looking for Borri.  Everyone is really friendly when they find out who we are.  I get fed again, a finesleep in the hay and breakfast in the morning.  This is great!

Borri has only gone and invented the hot air balloon!

Myself, Borri and Symm take to the skies and fly over Darkwood forest.  But we need to find the Gargantis, and I have no idea where to go.  The options are the Forest of Spiders, Western Flatlands or the Plain of Bronze.  Well the Forest was where the vapors were found in Creature of Havoc so won't be there.  I decide to head to the Plain of Bronze.

Straight into a whirlwind which forces Borri to land the balloon.  We make an improvised shelter and luckily it passes us by (after making a luck test).  Myself and Symm go off to look for horses and we find a caravan on the way.  Alas they have no pack animals to spare to carry the balloon but we can ride with them for 9 gold.  Hmm I only have 7.  Can we leave Borri?

We have no luck finding any horses so head back to the balloon in a despondent mood.  There is no sign of Borri so we get our swords out.  Borri then jumps out with a loaded crossbow and I have a laugh at him saying don't be daft.  And he fires a bolt through my neck killing me instantly.  Alas with my death I miss the fight to the death between him and Symm.  Turns out Borri had been eating some of the local fruit, called mad mad berries.

Notable Encounters - 

A lot of bad can happen quite quickly in Crypt of the Sorcerer.   I mean in this example you see some rustling in a bush and go to investigate and my word you are in trouble.  You see they are black fairies about and they automatically capture you, no combat or tests involved.  They then take every single one of your possessions including your healing potion and sword for a -2 skill penalty.  AND THATS THE BETTER OPTION!  Its just a lucky dice roll, the other one is instant death.   

Thieving B*stards! 

I met Symm and Borri in my playthrough as companions (and Borri killed me, somewhere Mungo is laughing) but they have both been done much better than in previous books (except maybe Grog).  They interact with you and also offer advice at different stages.  It gives them a personality and for the first time it really does not feel you are not on your own in this adventure.  Razaak's lair even has duplicates to take into account if you are alone or with the guys which is really well done.  Except if you are with them you are already dead.

I think my favourite encounter though is when a Red Dragon attacks your balloon.  Now you obviously have no chance of winning this battle and right enough you are sent flying into the air.  But if you call on Sima for help he magically appears and next thing you know you and the guys are riding the dragon and flying to your destination in style! 

An upgrade on your balloon!

The tunnels in the flatlands where the Gargantis lives is interesting.  Zombie miners rub shoulders with Ice Ghosts.  It is a mini dungeon crawl but not one where you are in any danger of getting lost.  The best bit is the poor Cave Troll though - 

Just minding his own business collecting bones.

If jumping him and killing him was not enough you then rifle through all his stuff.  All the bones and box with a spider though is a cover.  Borri tips the cart and he has a secret box which contains a book!  The troll has the equivalent of the Guinness book of world records.  Pay attention to the hobbit ear eating record, there will be a quiz later.

And here is the quizmaster himself, Ungoth -

The Noel Edmonds of Allansia.

My word he has a lot of questions.  Hope you have been paying attention, like when Borri was rambling on about the cost of a hammer in Port Blacksand.  What is the current troll record for eating hobbit ears?  What number do the Zombies get tattooed and how old was Razaaks old man when he died?   I get the first question as it relates to your cover story of buying weapons at Port Blacksand for Razaak, but the rest?  How are your regular evil guys meant to know the troll record?  What happens if you get it wrong by 1 as you only have last years information?  Dead thats what.  Does not make any sense.  But thats ok as if you get past that you have to use the combination of the door to the crypt which is much more obviously marked on a moss covered stone hundreds of miles away, yeah that makes much more sense......  

Artwork - 

John Sibbick debuts as the illustrator, although he did do the Masks of Mayhem cover which I thought was a bit rubbish.  Now I do not know if its because the art in the last entry, Beneath Nightmare Castle, was so bad, but I am loving the art here.  In fact its some of the best I have seen in the series since Deathtrap Dungeon.  It really is excellent and what I imagine when I think Fighting Fantasy.

From my playthrough my meeting with Kull and Symm are my favourites. The Demon Spawn is also excellent, as are a lot of the creature depictions that are in the menagerie section.  And Razaak himself is top notch.  Love it!

Domestic trouble in the Demon household as Mr Demon has finally had enough of Mrs Demons nagging and has stormed out as she pleads with him not to leave.

Ah yes Yaz, of course its you inside the crypt lair.  Not an illusion at all!

Love this one as it gives a proper feel of being up in the balloon.

But this is my number 1!  The best depiction of Skeletons that you will see anywhere.  Well at least anywhere in Fighting Fantasy in the first 26 books.

But I did find one -

The Clay Golem looks terrible and it does not even have a picture frame and zero background.  Its so jarring that I thought it had been done by another illustrator.

Big Bad  -

Dont let him touch you with his strong hand.

If anyone got the scary movie reference please award yourself a point.  As a big bad he is right up there with one of the best.  I mean the entire of Allansia is at stake here.  Razzak likes to think big!  He gets a good bit of backstory depicting his growth in power but we never find out why he went to the dark side other than a lust for power.  What I do love is that he has already been defeated before and his resurrection has played out the way it has.  But best of all is you feel his presence throughout your  journey.  From having to get his sword from Kull reminding you of his past to all his current machinations such as kidnapping Yaztromo.  It does not feel like he is just waiting in his crypt for you to turn up.

I would have Razaak as my top bad guy so far, well close to Balthus Dire, but for one thing.  In gameplay terms he is nigh on unbeatable.  Skill 12 Stamina 20 with no way to reduce it.  This means at the very best you can hope for is straight roll offs.  And even if you are Skill 12 at the start the chances of still being at that level when you get to them are not great.  But here is the kicker, if he wins two combats in a row you are instant kill as he gets his creepy hand on you and drains your life, turning you into a zombie.  Nobody is legitimately winning that. 

Menagerie - 

You know considering how many books have come before we are still seeing some new creatures.  To be honest this one has a mix of fantasy staples like Orcs, Trolls, Centaurs, Dwarfs etc but supplemented with ones with twists such as Ice Ghosts, various demons and of course the Gargantis.  I think Ian does a really good job here with a nice variety and I feel like I am in a living, breathing fantasy world.

Dorogar are half trolls, half orc which we have seen before.  Maybe some lonely nights in the mines...

The Gargantis is a great monster, and you need his horn to kill Razaak.  He is a beast at Skill 12 as he should be.  But there is a non combat option to beat him, even if it its very, very convoluted and unlikely.   

I really like the Ice Ghosts, but they are a non combat option, just avoid being touched by them.

At the other end of the heat spectrum you have the Lava Demons.  

I should explain that this Orc is jumping out of a tree.  Always good to see some classic monsters though.  Does not have to be new and unique every time.

The Rad Hulks protect a treasure chest with a vital shield.  Everything is vital in this book.

This Rad Hulk had a great run as WWF Champion in the 80s.

Got Wood?  This guy has it in abundance!

Entertaining Deaths - 

Harpoon flies paralysing you and laying their eggs on you.  It will be several days before you die a revolting death.

Running away from a Rad Hulk, it throws a boulder and knocks you out and then snaps your neck.

Falling off your horse after a Chameleonite ambush, you bang your head and are bound and robbed and left for vultures, Allansia is doomed.

Getting your sword stuck in a clay golem, he throttles you.

Being eaten by a giant pitcher plant, it dissolves you slowly in its digestive juices.

Having a sleep next to some boulders, its a boulder beast and it roles over and crushes you.

Trying to land a hot air balloon in a forest and falling out.

Being pulled out of a balloon by a hobgoblin.

A red dragon destroying your balloon (balloon riding in Allansia is very dangerous).

Pouring some water on sludge, a chemical reaction poisons you.

Putting on a death mask of Agran, it forces you to sacrifice yourself, you turn to dust after stabbing yourself with Razaaks sword.

The Gargantis uses a mental attack and you and your friends fight.  You kill both of them before jumping into the pit and being easily eaten.

Trying to sneak up on the Gargantis by lowering yourself on a rope into its pit from above.  It just walks up and eats you.

Accidently being transported to the plane of evil, by walking down a non descript tunnel.

Honestly I think the best death was the one I ended up having with Borri going loopy after eating the mad mad berries.  But since I already came across that one I will go for - 

After going through all that and by some miracle beating Razaak, checking your stamina and finding its less than 6 and being too tired to escape the collapsing crypt.

Pete's Corner - 

How come I can put on a giants copper ring?  Am I also a giant?

Final Thoughts - 

Well that was certainly something.  As I was playing through I could not understand the hate for this books difficulty as I found it all pretty standard and the fighting easy enough.  But after I mapped it and looking at how extremely narrow the correct path is, wow.

But as usual lets start with the positives, and there are plenty.  The story is excellent.  Ian gets the background section spot on yet again.  Just enough fluff and I enjoyed the back story of Razaak being defeated previously and the fate of Kull.  But the story keeps going throughout the book.  The quest to retrieve the sword and the start is the more traditional Fighting Fantasy, but after that meeting fleshed out companions in Symm and Borri, the hot air balloon ride, saving Yaztromo from being sacrificed.  It feels like an overarching story and is almost like a movie.

This comes at a cost though.  In order to tell the story like this it is a very linear adventure.  The variety of choices is an illusion.  Which of these 3 locations do you want to go to next?  Well 2 will lead to death very quickly.  It is an interesting change but for a gamebook you need a variety of choice.  In fact the true path requires so, so many items to pick up and information to find that there is no room for error.  Now I was happy with that in Deathtrap Dungeon as it fit the theme of the book.  Here though I feel it is a bit ridiculous.  I would have had multiple paths featuring different items that changes the way the final battle could go.  

I understand though to do that you would have to sacrifice story and maybe lose the companions, both of whom are a great addition so it is a very difficult balancing act.  

Other positives are Razaak himself, what a great villain.  At least in storyline terms.  His menace pervades the book at all times.  And the last hero that killed him became a skeleton doomed to sail the lake holding Razaaks sword!  He looks suitably evil and deformed but once you have defected all his magic attacks with all your cacophony of random items he should not be a close combat ninja!  I am all for a special ability with his wonky hand but not a game breaker as this fight is.

I can not praise the artwork enough in this book.  As I said in that section it is some of the best I have seen in a while.  It really adds to the encounters and John Sibbick should be applauded.  I really hope he has done more in the series.  Those graveyard skeletons and Razaak himself are top tier.

So great story, great art, good companions, must be great yes?  Nope.  Lets talk about the elephant in the room.  The difficulty.  This book is impossible.  Even with the maximum statistics you are very early at the mercy of a random dice roll.  Little did I know those Harpoon Flies can kill you.  I do not agree with a game based on stats that you have to roll a random dice that can lead to instant death.  It is unavoidable as well, you must go this way.  The shopping list is quite something as well.  I will try and recap here but I might miss something.  All these are a must (if you want to avoid a fight with the Gargantis) - 

Crystal of Sanity - of course its in a hidden barrel owned by a recently dead miner.

Chameleonite Blood  - Which comes with another random dice roll that can lead to a -2 skill penalty.

Skull Ring - Which involves you being a dick and killing the bonekeeper which is very out of character, so much so that the book hits you with -3 luck!  This makes no sense.

Examine the random rock to get the door code.  This really makes no sense.

Part of a Silver Rod from a Wood Demons mulch.

Scroll to tell you where the Gargantis lives (not necessary as you could get a lucky guess).

The Defender Shield form the dead body of a women on a Griffin who randomly attacks you.  

Gold ring with a large jewel.  Found randomly by opening a rusty box and taking a doll out, activating the clay golem and then beating him.  Why is it in such a random place?

Razaaks Sword.  Obviously.

Globe that makes you immune to fire.  In the Giants cave so you have to kill him and again he has a random dice roll (no skill test) that can kill you outright.

A faded parchment.  

Sumas help.

Tamals age from the gravestone.

Second part of a Silver Rod found in the empty grave of an attacking skeleton.  It combines to give you the rod of paralysis. 

Bronze Key from some Dorogar in the mines.

The number tattooed on the Zombie miners.

Roll a die again, 1-5 lose 1 skill point from an Iron Eater (unavoidable).

Find the trolls book and take note of the hobbit ear eating record.

Find out the price of a hammer in Port Blacksand.

Get your faded parchment translated by an old man.

A zombies identity tag.

But DO NOT pick up a demon talisman on your way or that kills you late on.

And this is all before you get to a skill 12, stamina 20 final fight where if he wins two combats in a row you are instantly dead.  I am sorry but this book is broken.  So many penalties and chances of instant death by a mere dice roll.  The rest of the enemies are ok, you probably wont die in combat as they are all reasonable.  There are a lot of false trails which kill you.  And I can even get over the tight path and shopping list if you had lots of playthroughs.  But dying through no fault of your own off a random dice roll is poor and you will not beat Razaak when you get to him.

This is disappointing not just from the author but especially from the editors who should have picked this up.  Unless they did it on purpose.  And maybe they did to prove a point.  But the biggest shame is that this would have been such a great book if it had been balanced correctly and maybe had a few less necessary items.  I was really enjoying it in my playthrough after all.

Ian Livingston here has written a great book, but a terrible gamebook.

Score -  5 out of 10.