A brief review of 'Assassin in Orlandes'

For those who have not encountered them before, gamebooks are games that are books. Yep, that simple. They are non linear stories with game elements.

They reached their heyday in the late 1980's and early 90's but to my great delight they appear to be making something of a comeback.

One of the champions of this new wave of interactive fiction is the Melbourne based Tin Man Games. They have produced numerous new titles as well as reviving some classics in the form of mobile apps. Now in a new venture with Snowbooks they are beginning to publish these digital stories in physical form.

There is a certain poetic justice in this. The genre is returning to its roots perhaps?

The first of these publications is 'Assassin in Orlandes." I had downloaded the excellent Android App some time ago and I had explored the world of Orlandes City (rather unsuccessfully! I kept getting killed...!) but I am a physical kind of guy and I love books so imagine my reaction when I knew I read this award winning game in good old fashion wood pulp. The paperback edition became available on Amazon and I ordered my copy without hesitation.

I was not disappointed.

The book arrived a few days ago and it took me a couple of hours for me to complete. I have a confession to make. I did cheat a bit. I read gamebooks rather than play them. I found the story in 'Assassin in Orlandes' interesting enough to hold my attention. I was amused at the way the rules were integrated into the main flow of the book. Unlimited cheating is possible. Thankfully!

The early part of the book is fairly straight forward. The middle section increases the complexity of the game. There is plenty of opportunities to engage in fights and there are a few puzzles. The final section enfolds with a surprise towards the end.

There are no spoilers here.

I think I would give this gamebook a score of 8 out of 10. As I say, the story held my attention and the rule system was simple. I can see why this gamebook won awards. The writing is also well crafted. I did think that the print quality of the paperback wasn't as good as it could be but the price I paid (£8:99 on Amazon) was not exorbitant and I felt I had value for money. One of the things I loved about the app version was the maps that were included. That was one thing missing from the book and I would have been willing to part with more money if for these kinds of features.

To summarise is enjoyed the paperback and I look forward to more gamebooks from Tin Man Games and Snowbooks.

A word about hard times ahead.

The UK economy is slowing down apparently. I read in the Guardian newspaper that the projected GDP figure for the second quarter is around 0.1%. I have just overheard a conversation in my local pub that people are being made redundant in the neighbourhood. This brings it home.

Hard times are ahead.

In fact they have never really gone away. Britain has got off lightly compared with some other parts of the industrialized world in recent years but even so 'The recovery' we are supposed to be experience has been slow in coming and the benefits unevenly spread, if felt at all.

So as a writer how do I react?

I read what I can. I listen and I learn. I am currently reading a book called 'Chronicles of our troubled times' by the French economist Thomas Piketty. It is written in as a collection of bite sized articles and is concerned with the political economy of the US and EU from the Credit Crunch of 2007/8 through to the current day. Thomas Piketty provides insights into his view of events and some potential solutions. They are not popular ones. I agree with some of his suggestions but not others. I do think, however, it is important to study these things in detail and retain an open mind.

The other thing I do as a writer is, well to write about it. Piketty gives one solution to the Eurozone debt crisis. The 'Europeanisation' of some of the sovereign debt into 'Eurobonds.' This sounds sensible. There may be others with better ideas but I haven't seen these yet. We live in a interconnected world and so many of our problems have shared origins so perhaps the solutions need to be common as well? Just a thought.

So, I won't apologise if I occasional comment on these issues on this blog. We all have a responsibility to educated and discuss these matters. Lets hope that the clouds over the world economy clear soon.  Until then we should all be thinking hard about how we can be part of the solution.

And this is especially the case for writers or those with ideas to share.

Lone Wolf ''Storms of Chai' on its way soon.

I am eagerly awaiting the latest instalment in the classic Lone Wolf Gamebook series. 'The Storms of Chai' by Joe Dever.  In this story 'you' play the role of Kai Grandmaster sent on a perilous mission by the Supreme Master and leader of your order Lone Wolf himself. The book is on its way and I will post a short review when it arrives. it should be good if past books in the series are anything to go by.

Lone Wolf was always a perplexing character in many ways. When I was younger I devoured the first twelve books in this series but it was when I read book 11 ('Prisoners of Time') that I really felt I started to get to know the back story for the then Kai Master. The great thing about this story universe is that each books builds on the next. In 'Prisoners of Time' Lone wolf is journeying through a parallel world and there are one or two passages that point back to his life before he became a member of the mystical order of Kai Lords. I love those references. I don't know if later volumes built on this approach. I only recently rediscovered this series. I would love to know more and I will endeavour to share my findings. 

The best gamebooks are the ones with a compelling thread of character development. This has to be done in a way that doesn't get in the way of game play and does not restrict choice. The Lone Wolf series managed this in the main. I felt that learning about the lead characters family and origins added depth. I enjoyed it. Which is kind of the point of reading the books. 

So 'Storms of Chai' is the 29th book in the series. I think Joe Dever deserves an award to two (I know he has some already) for his perseverance and for the joy he has brought to so many. I am sure this books will go down as one of the really good ones.  

 

Never give up

On a day where I am struggling with hay fever and the after effects of a night out I may be forgiven for not being as focused as I usually am.

We all have difficult days, on the grand scheme of things mine is not really that bad.

My book will wait for me.

I still remember the days when I thought that writers had to be superhuman. The endless battle to put the words on the page seemed to require special abilities that almost belonged in a Marvel or DC comic storyline. How could I possibly finish a novel? And how would I ever make a living as an author. It seemed an impossible dream. On more than one occasion I felt that my books would remain incomplete. There were too many obstacles. My work, health and other things got in the way.

Life is hard sometimes.

But writing is simple the process of putting marks onto a page or screen. Compare with say, an emergency worker, this job of ours is straight forward. Life is hard sometimes. The words dry up. We defeat ourselves, or get distracted. The stories refused to cooperate with their creators, but these issues are minor. The world keeps spinning and the troubles we experience are nothing compared with say, children in Syria or Iraq or even the homeless guys I see begging on the streets of my home town.

So we don't need special powers. We don't need to beat ourselves up either if we dry up creatively. The muse will return. Writing is important. For most of us it isn't life threatening. Just keep trying. This is a special job we do. Putting words into a story. It has never been easier to publish. It has never been so easy to start. We can succeed in living our dream.

If we never give up.