Jonathan Green's Blog, page 161
October 27, 2014
October 24, 2014
#GamebookFriday
It's Gamebook Friday once again, or #GamebookFriday, as I like to call it on Twitter now. In my gamebook-related news this week,
YOU ARE THE HERO
has been reviewed in SciFiNow Magazine...
And I shall be giving a talk about how YOU ARE THE HERO came to be at the Kilburn Literary Festival on Sunday 2 November. For more details, and tickets, follow this link.
And I shall be giving a talk about how YOU ARE THE HERO came to be at the Kilburn Literary Festival on Sunday 2 November. For more details, and tickets, follow this link.
October 20, 2014
October 16, 2014
Gamebook Friday: YOU ARE THE HERO - 30 years, 30 chapters, 30 5-star reviews
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YOU ARE THE HERO - A History of Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks
, has been out for almost six weeks now, and continues to collect pleasing reviews. The latest is from the Amazing Stories review site:
"You Are The Hero is an exceptional achievement in its complete coverage of Fighting Fantasy, covering almost everything that has appeared under the brand name, including computer games, board games, mooted film projects and publicity campaigns. It’s an essential reference book for fans of the series whilst also packed with nostalgia value for those of us who grew up with the books."
To read the rest of the review, follow this link.
YOU ARE THE HERO - A History of Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks 30 years, 30 chapters, 30 5-star reviews
YOU ARE THE HERO - A History of Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks
, has been out for almost six weeks now, and continues to collect pleasing reviews. The latest is from the Amazing Stories review site:"You Are The Hero is an exceptional achievement in its complete coverage of Fighting Fantasy, covering almost everything that has appeared under the brand name, including computer games, board games, mooted film projects and publicity campaigns. It’s an essential reference book for fans of the series whilst also packed with nostalgia value for those of us who grew up with the books."
To read the rest of the review, follow this link.
YOU ARE THE HERO - A History of Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks 30 years, 30 chapters, 30 5-star reviews
Steampunk Thursday: Pax Britannia reviews
Some more, rather pleasing, reviews of my various Pax Britannia books have appeared online recently, which are all the more pleasing when you consider that the first book in the series was published seven years ago! Here are just a few of them:Unnatural History
"Jonathan Green is most surely one of the futuristic-steampunk heroes the literary world has. His writing is fantastic fantasy that has you gripping the edges of the book to prevent yourself from being sucked in. Quicksilver is the sort of hero OTHER heroes look up to. He's dashing, suave and can give and take a good kicking like the best of them. This entire series is fabulous. Buy them. BUY THEM ALL."
Leviathan Rising
"I bought this book as something to read that night in the hotel. I could not put it down. I stayed awake in delight reading into the early hours to discover if my guess about the villain was correct - no I did not 'get it' immediately, but it dawned on me as I read onward. The whole reminded me of the adventure movies I used to watch in the late 1950's on a Saturday morning when I was a child. I loved it. Well done, Mr Green. I shall now look for the next book with interest."
Blood Royal
"So many characters, plots and more that speed you towards an extraordinary action-packed finale. If you like a smidgen of Steampunk in your library make it this series!"
Of course, you could pick up the next Pax Britannia book for your collection at the forthcoming Steampunks in Space event at the National Space Centre in Leicester. Maybe I'll see you there...
October 13, 2014
Thought for the Day
“The basic tool for the manipulation of reality is the manipulation of words. If you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use them.”~ Philip K. Dick
October 12, 2014
Warhammer Fest 2014
Today was the second day of the inaugural Warhammer Fest at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry. It was also my birthday.
After the debacle that was last year's Games Day, I was interested to see how the new format would work. It certainly wasn't manic like Games Day used to be, and it was certainly more than just the glorified shop that Games Day was last year, but if anything it was a little too quiet, with not enough going on.
I think I viewed things differently this year, having recently organised a con myself, but what the day really lacked was a clear structure. There was plenty of middle, with different seminars going on (although most weren't miked) but no clear beginning or end, at least as far as I could see.
That said, it was great to catch up with the likes of Neil Roberts, James Swallow, Nick Kyme, Graeme Lyon and Michael Knight, along with YOU ARE THE HERO and Fighting Fantasy Fest alumni Jes Bickham and John Blanche. It was also a pleasure to meet miniature designer Seb Perbet (the man behind the new Nagash concepts) who remembered my name from back in the day! (Now that did make me feel old.)
You can see more of my photos from Warhammer Fest here. I was very pleased to pick up some more of James Swallow's Garro audio dramas, and I'm looking forward to cracking open this particular title!
Did you know...?
Dan Abnett, Steve Savile, Storm Constantine - who have all written for Games Workshop at one stage or another (for Black Library or the long-defunct GW Books), like myself - also celebrate their birthdays today?
After the debacle that was last year's Games Day, I was interested to see how the new format would work. It certainly wasn't manic like Games Day used to be, and it was certainly more than just the glorified shop that Games Day was last year, but if anything it was a little too quiet, with not enough going on.
I think I viewed things differently this year, having recently organised a con myself, but what the day really lacked was a clear structure. There was plenty of middle, with different seminars going on (although most weren't miked) but no clear beginning or end, at least as far as I could see.
That said, it was great to catch up with the likes of Neil Roberts, James Swallow, Nick Kyme, Graeme Lyon and Michael Knight, along with YOU ARE THE HERO and Fighting Fantasy Fest alumni Jes Bickham and John Blanche. It was also a pleasure to meet miniature designer Seb Perbet (the man behind the new Nagash concepts) who remembered my name from back in the day! (Now that did make me feel old.)
You can see more of my photos from Warhammer Fest here. I was very pleased to pick up some more of James Swallow's Garro audio dramas, and I'm looking forward to cracking open this particular title!
Did you know...?
Dan Abnett, Steve Savile, Storm Constantine - who have all written for Games Workshop at one stage or another (for Black Library or the long-defunct GW Books), like myself - also celebrate their birthdays today?
October 8, 2014
Super Thursday
Today - Thursday 9 October - is officially known as Super Thursday in the world of books, because it is the day many publishing houses release what they hope will be their biggest sellers for the Christmas market.
I have two books out which would make ideal Christmas presents. One is YOU ARE THE HERO - A History of Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks , which now has 28 five-star reviews on Amazon, and which was also recently reviewed by the Fantasy Book Review, scoring 99%!
The second is Christmas Explained: Robins, Kings & Brussel Sprouts . You can find out more about this festive stocking filler here.
So while I'm helping to celebrate the launch of Scott K Andrews' new novel Time Bomb in central London tonight, why not mark Super Thursday by buying one of my books? ;-)
I have two books out which would make ideal Christmas presents. One is YOU ARE THE HERO - A History of Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks , which now has 28 five-star reviews on Amazon, and which was also recently reviewed by the Fantasy Book Review, scoring 99%!
The second is Christmas Explained: Robins, Kings & Brussel Sprouts . You can find out more about this festive stocking filler here.
So while I'm helping to celebrate the launch of Scott K Andrews' new novel Time Bomb in central London tonight, why not mark Super Thursday by buying one of my books? ;-)
October 6, 2014
October 5, 2014
Match Wits With The Kids
It might be six years since my one and only entirely educational book
Match Wits With The Kids
was published, but there are still people who are just discovering it for the first time. Here's what some of them have had to say recently."This book... is a must have book for all parents who have primary age children. Highly recommended!" ~ 5 stars
"Brilliant!" ~ 5 stars
If you enjoy my non-fiction books then you should check out YOU ARE THE HERO - A History of Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks and look out for the forthcoming Christmas Explained: Robins, Kings and Brussel Sprouts.
