Jonathan Green's Blog, page 120

Gamebook Friday: The Warlock of Firetop Mountain

As regular readers of this blog may already know, I was part of the design team on Tin Man Games' re-imagined The Warlock of Firetop Mountain app.


In the latest update, the Tin Man himself Neil Rennison posted some of the brand new artwork that Russ Nicholson has produced for the app, in the style of his original illustrations for the book, and a couple of them feature things that I added to the game.

So we have a hall of Dwarven statues...


A terrified acolyte fleeing from the School of Sorcery...
(The figure on the right is Oriana the Soulkeeper. Not one of my creations, but she looks awesome!)
And another sorcerous apprentice cowering in fear in the corner of a potions laboratory...

(The figure on the left is Sindla, the Goddess of Luck and Chance.)
You can keep up to date with the latest updates regarding The Warlock of Firetop Mountain via the project's Kickstarter page, as well as via Tin Man Games' Facebook page, and courtesy of Tin Man Games' own blog.

The London Book Fair 2016

Yesterday I attended the London Book Fair. This was my second visit, so I had a much better idea of what to expect, compared to last year.


The London Book Fair. It's massive! (This is just one hall of many.)
What I didn't expect was to be greeted by someone who I had only previously met via Facebook, by name. So thanks to Simon Frith* of Panini comics for introducing himself.

Purely by chance, I then found myself at the Funny Books talk, organised by my friend Alex Milway (the man behind the 'This Book is Funny!' campaign), which featured Gary Northfield, Philip Ardagh, and Kate Davies (senior editor at Walker Books).

Gary Northfield sniffing the water, just to be sure.
Some of Alex Milway's books at the fair.
Some of my books were also there!

Since 23rd April 2016 marks the 400th anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare, there was a significant focus on the Bard, including a pop-up Globe Theatre.



The Globe in all its glory!

Adult colouring books were everywhere as well, but you won't find me complaining about that! ;-)


This is where the real work happens at the London Book Fair, in the International Rights Centre.
I had a few meetings to attend after that, and it was good to meet up with Lydia Gittins again (formerly with Rebellion Publishing but now with Titan Books).


But at the end of the day I found myself at the Snowbooks stand, just in time for the Independent Publishers Guild drinks. Which was nice.


And who should I bump into there, but Tim Bayley, who has contributed a very special story to the Shakespeare Vs Cthulhu Kickstarter. More drinks at the pub followed, so all in all a very successful day. :-)


* Simon is another life-long devotee of Fighting Fantasy gamebooks!

Thought for the Day

The London Book Fair - 12-14 April 2016

The London Book Fair opens today, and I shall be attending on Wednesday, but Snowbooks are already there, along with several of my books.



As you can see, the titles Snowbooks are promoting include Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland , the Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland Colouring Book , YOU ARE THE HERO , and short story anthologies SHARKPUNK , GAME OVER , and the forthcoming Shakespeare Vs Cthulhu .

Thought for the Day

"Writers possess a strange combination of confidence and fear. Fear that we're not good enough and confidence that we can tell stories people want to hear. The confidence drives us to write, the fear makes us terrified of sending the work out."

Steve Turnbull, self-published steampunk author

Gamebook Friday: YOU ARE THE HERO

Although not receiving as many reviews as it has in the UK, YOU ARE THE HERO has proved popular in America as well. Here's what just some of the reviews have had to say about my history of Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks.

This book came out of 2012 Kickstarter campaign which I supported. It exceeded expectations... So for all those who ever wanted to design your own "choose your own adventure," this is a great read.

The hardcover book is large and weighty - think coffee table book. It's very thoroughly researched, and with a lot of material that has not yet been published in FF fandom. It's the definitive history of FF, and that will stand for a long time, I'm sure. The graphic design and illustrations are also top notch, showing original art collections, movie appearances by Ian Livingstone (who knew?) and hundreds of other little known factoids. I recommend this for any true fan of FF.

Any fan of Interactive Fiction/Gamebooks will not be disappointed. This is an incredible book that is a delight to read.

Remember, you can still buy YOU ARE THE HERO both here in the UK and via Amazon in the US. Or, if you prefer, you can go direct to the publisher Snowbooks.

Tie-in Tuesday: Miracle on 34th and Peltzer

Okay, so it's not Christmas, and it's not even Easter anymore, but I chanced upon this review of my most recent festive Dredd story the other day and thought I'd share it with you.

Miracle on 34th and PeltzerA bit of prose to make this gigantic issue an even more well-rounded affair!‘Miracle’ was a smartly written bit of fiction by Jonathan Green. The tale takes place in a number of locations, all of which are unknowingly tied to one another. Terrorists take Weather Control hostage, eldsters careen towards their final Christmas on the Ho Ho Ho Express, a man volunteers in a soup kitchen, and some reindeer pulled tree meat soars through the skies above Mega City One. Oh, and Judge Dredd on a powerboard!

Thought for the Day

"Thank heaven, one of the few mistakes I haven't made is to talk about the unwritten book."
~ John le Carré, British author of espionage novels

Shakespeare Sunday: Star-Crossed

The vast majority of the stories in  Shakespeare Vs Cthulhu  either take place during the lifetime of William Shakespeare or are contemporaneous with the settings of the plays they were inspired by. However, there are a couple of notable exceptions and one of those is Jonathan Oliver's  Star-Crossed *.I first met Jon when he was commissioning editor of Abaddon Books and he took a punt on an idea for a new steampunk series called  Pax Britannia . Eight novels and numerous short stories later, the tables were turned when I invited Jon to contribute to my first editing gig  SHARKPUNK . As it turns out (and I only just realised this as I was typing this update) Jon is the only author to date to have contributed to all three of my short story anthologies, having had a story feature in  GAME OVER  too.He is a highly skilled writer of short fiction, masterfully building a creeping atmosphere of dread with every page, which is perfect for  Star-Crossed ...“What are you reading?”The boy sitting opposite her on one of the ratty armchairs that filled the student lounge had fine mousy hair cut in an unfashionable style, and was dressed in a way that said not so much hipster as failed 1950s’ beat poet.“Sorry?” Jasmine said.“What are you reading?” He leaned forward, his gaze on the book rather than her.“Oh, this? Just a history book. It’s a bit boring actually.”“May I?” He thrust out his hand abruptly, making Jasmine flinch.“I’m sorry. You are...?”“Oh.” The hand was withdrawn, a confused expression on the boy’s face as though he had forgotten himself. “I’m Richard. May I?”The hand was back again.“Look. The thing is that it’s really quite fragile. And it isn’t mine, so I really shouldn’t. I’m Jasmine, by the way.”“I see,” Richard said, got to his feet and left the lounge.Jasmine blinked and looked back down at the book. She realised it would take time to make friends at the new college, but she hadn’t expected to immediately attract the resident weirdo.
Jonathan Oliver is the author of two sword and sorcery novels, a plethora of short fiction and the twice British Fantasy Award-winning editor of  The End of the Line ,  Magic ,  House of Fear ,  End of the Road ,  Dangerous Games  and the forthcoming,  Five Stories High . He has also twice been nominated for the World Fantasy Award and was a nominee for the Shirley Jackson Award. ‘ Star-Crossed ’ is his first foray into explicitly Lovecraftian fiction, though a thread of the weird runs through all his fiction. He lives in Abingdon, Oxfordshire with his wife, two daughters and a cat called Fudge.
* No prizes for guessing which play inspired Jon's story!

Short Story Saturday: Game Over

GAME OVER came out last year and has received some very positive reviews, including this one:

Short story collections are problematic .Too loose thematically and there may be only one or two works of interest. Too tight and every story can be a carbon copy.

Game Over neatly overcomes these difficulties and easily takes its place among the high scores. It does this due to editor Jonathan Green being brave enough to collect together stories and authors which in turn are brave enough to push the boundaries of the stated subject of computer games and produce stories which are relevant to this without being constrained by it.

All the stories are excellent and involving. It Was Beauty by Gav Thorpe pulls your heart strings when you least expect it and Simon Bestwick's The Face Of The Deep scored a total bull's eye with me perfectly evoking my memories of the game which inspired it while taking it in directions you wouldn't have imagined previously.

Most of all it made me remember that when I played these games ,when I hastily reached in my pocket for more coins and eagerly pressed chunky start buttons 90% of what took place while playing was in my imagination.

Buy this book!

You can pick up a copy of GAME OVER for yourself here.