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Post by hynreck on Oct 29, 2013 16:14:14 GMT
Another one of my reviews salvaged by the mighty Mudworm. I think it's mostly intact, though I will go ahead and edit as I see fit.
This is another new one for me... and I must say, I enjoyed it much more than I believed I would. Thing is, I never was a big fan of pirates and all things piratey, so it was hard to get excited by the prospect of playing one in this book (well in my case, half-playing by the rules, I know). Add to that some background information, like the unimpressive Space Assassin and the interesting, more fleshed-out Rings of Kether, all from the same author, and I wasn't sure what to expect.
First thing's first: that particular gamebook format; picking up treasures, slaves, counting the days; make it so that I nearly had to play it straight: Sure I cheated on stuff like naval battles and such, but there was no point in cheating the gold I obtained or the slaves. No use in cheating the amount of days it took, too, as this is also part of the original wager. So I went along with it and it took me a longer time than usual (more so than other ordinary adventure except, probably, Steve Jackson's books that requires tons of clues).
But it was worth it, as overall I did enjoy the trek through the seas, the plundering, the author's refined writing, the breath of fresh, salty air. This adventure is full of options, of available path to take, and I applaud the diversity. It sure must be hell to get all 800 + pieces of gold to win under the 50 days barrier, but still, at the very least, I was (would) enjoy myself doing so.
The inside illos by Bob Harvey are okay, more or less. Having experienced Mr. Harvey's art before in Talisman of Death, I sometimes find that his art is hit or miss. I don't dislike him, but I'm not overly thrilled by his style. The cover is, overall, nicely done. It kept reminding me of a review I once read online where the author criticized the fact that the water is red/pinkish. He complained that the sea we navigate on is not truly made of blood. What a laugh. The way some people's mind work is often boggling. If you are on this board, sorry about that, but that was a silly thing to complain about (I have since then learn that he was indeed on the UFFF board, and has now made the move to here too, like many of us. He's a real nice guy too, with lots of good stories under his belt, so don't put too much thought into this little stab of mine. After all, we were all young once and prone to such mistake. We can't always see the big picture, even today!). So, Seas of Blood left a good taste in my mouth, you could say. Too bad Andrew Chapman kind of fell off the map after. I know he prepared another FF book that never saw the light of day... too bad. Just when the guy finally achieved some kind of balance: found his footing as a writer, you could say found his hand instead, truly, there it ended.
Wanted to add, I really enjoyed the end battle against the Cyclops. The concept was very interesting. Too bad all my tries ended up in a very anti-climactic fashion. It's annoying to K.O. such a fearless opponent with a chop to the ankle or a blow to the armpit. Chapman should have written a little something in the victory section, something like: having stunned the mighty Cyclops, you move in and kick him straight in the jaw, falling on your back doing so.
Not much of a conclusion, I guess. So I'll now add: Let's hope Avenger can avoid such anti-climactic finales. If you ARE going to punch Cthulhu, better do it with style! ...yes this is the end of the Kickstarter for Way of the Tiger, only 3 days to go, so... go!
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Post by gaetano on Oct 29, 2013 18:44:34 GMT
I too, always enjoyed Seas of Blood. And I, too, remember the review that you mention, and I had the same reaction. The Seas of "Blood" are metaphorical, and the cover is the same way. I had a nice laugh over the complaint of the sea not "really" being made of blood. (Come to think of it, though, I suppose the water immediately around the ship COULD be pink, for a short time, if your crew has just killed the gigantic hydra depicted on the cover!)
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Post by hynreck on Oct 29, 2013 19:21:14 GMT
Indeed. That hydra of epic proportion would provide quite the mess. I wouldn't be against a real sea of blood, in a weirdly hellish type of fantasy setting, one filled with insane sharks, but here it is quite obvious that it means that the seas are going to run red with the blood of our enemies, or crewmates and self, most probably. But hey, it might not have seem so obvious to younger eyes.
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Post by a moderator on Oct 30, 2013 12:14:48 GMT
My unfinished adventure The Sanguine Wave was inspired in part by people's complaints about the sea not being made of blood. The original teaser is still online at www.fightingfantasygamebooks.com/images/files/The_Sanguine_Wave.pdf, but when Bloodbones came out, the premise was so similar that I wound up making some big changes. One of these days I ought to get back to it and try to finish it.
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Post by hynreck on Oct 30, 2013 12:20:16 GMT
Looks very good, greenspine. Love that the way it is done makes it look like a real FF too. Could have fool me. I'll have a read through when I have a few minutes to spare.
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Post by a moderator on Oct 30, 2013 12:26:15 GMT
It was formatted that way by someone at the Official website, and I see that the attached rules are wrong - Skill and Stamina should be determined as usual, rather than with penalties for choosing not to be a warrior.
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Post by hynreck on Oct 30, 2013 14:25:00 GMT
I'll keep that in mind. But since it's unfinished, I'll probably only read it anyway. Good job from whoever is responsable over there.
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Post by a moderator on Nov 24, 2013 16:07:31 GMT
Salvaged from the 'Books in Order' thread:
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Nov 24, 2013 22:29:01 GMT
I quote this because of a 'review' of the book that I read some time back. It was written by one of the most obnoxious individuals ever to infest FF fandom, and started out by criticising the entire premise of the book, based on a fundamental misunderstanding of the word 'and'. The reviewer went on a protracted rant about how, if you want to prove that you're the best cut-throat pirate in the world, you should be having a throat-cutting contest rather than trying to accumulate treasure, completely failing to grasp that the 'and' indicates that the pirates and the cut-throats are actually different people. He went on to moan about the book's being far too easy, but given his evident inability to understand the English language, I think it's a safe bet to assume that the mathematical complexities of establishing where to turn went way over his head, and he just turned to 400 because that's the only section number actually mentioned in the relevant paragraph. Just on a whim, I Googled my way to that. It is a pretty good reminder that there is no relation whatsoever between comprehension skills and self-confidence. To be honest, it's hardly the only brainfart on those pages. I was a bit startled to see that a review of Demons of the Deep rounds off cheerfully with "And the bony thing on the cover has nothing to do with the book." Incidentally I notice that the cutthroat thing is on the same page as Kieran's review referred to above (which is obviously not to be classified with the brainfarts, regardless of the red sea thing). Has there been any more progress on the Sanguine Wave? It looks interesting. That made me laugh more than it should have done... …as did that.
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Post by a moderator on Nov 24, 2013 22:48:58 GMT
One of these days I'm going to have to dust off the unfinished rewrite of The Sanguine Wave and try to complete it.
The plot has been significantly changed, in part because I'm through the 'edgy' phase I was going through when I wrote what I did of the first version. 'You' are no longer a fanatical anti-hero bent on an insane quest of revenge. Which may come as a disappointment to some, but I think the adventure should be better without the pretentious 'psychological' climax that the original version was going to have.
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Mar 25, 2014 3:40:59 GMT
Just a few more fragments... From TUFFF... {replying to hynreck} I have the opposite view of Andrew Chapman's FF books. I find his 2 sci-fi entries fun but am not fussed about Seas of Blood and Clash of the Princes which are too unforgiving and bland IMO.
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Mar 25, 2014 3:43:33 GMT
From TUFFF (I think these bits are all Oakdweller)... ***SPOILERS AHEAD***. When Seas of Blood was first published, a revelation came to my mind: new FF books could come to the shops. Praise Libra, this could go on forever! Or at least until the mid-90s... Before then I hadn't really thought about where books came from and I had some sort of idea in my head that all of the FF books were just shelved into the shops in one go. (Idiotic, even for a ten year old, I know). With all of the wondrous toys which surrounded me on my one and only visit to Hamleys (I have omitted the apostrophe, but under protest) it was the sight of a new FF book which made me by-pass the Transformers and Rubik Cubes. For a start there's the incredible sense of freedom to sail the Inland Sea as you please - and to behave as you please too, as there are no heroic constraints for this adventure. As the goal is very simple, just gathering as much gold as possible and making it to Nippur in fifty days, it frees the reader up from the "one true path" frustrations Very few as far as I can tell. A pity because it would be great to have complete freedom to explore. The best aspect of the book is that it is unique in being the only FF adventure in which you play an out-right villain. (Aside from the Grimslade mission of Scorpion Swamp). Playing a heroic adventurer is all well and jolly, but being able to play a ruthless pirate captain and to be so nasty and blood-thirsty, is so refreshing. I am sure that the time is right for another adventure to be published where villainy is the name of the game. Although Bob Harvey's work did little for me back in the 80s, I am a lot more appreciative now. He is very much at home with the nautical theme of Seas of Blood, presenting us with some magnificent warships. I also love the grim ice beast clutching a torn-off arm (288); the sinister awkmute ( 63) and the unexpected serenity of the woman with her exotic birds (108).
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Mar 25, 2014 3:45:37 GMT
From TUFFF... I think Scorpion Swamp is more of a case of good guy working for a bad master. Or at least so the Mistress of Birds says if you tell her what you're up to. I was concerned that the Seas of Blood was probably more limited than it seemed . As you say, a great pity as it had the potential to be the most open book of all due to its monetary objective. I'd over-looked the judgement from the Mistress of Birds in Scorpion Swamp. Well , if that is what Steve Jackson's core feeling of Grimslade's adventurers is too, then that would definitely make the ruthless villainy approach of Seas of Blood unique. There are so many other ways that FF books could be written to allow you to play nasties.
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Mar 25, 2014 3:50:46 GMT
From TUFFF (general chat about the potential for playing evil... and how come we don't get the option of playing as a vampyre? Yeah, with the popularity of Twilight and its imitators its surprising FF hasn't cashed in a bit - might broaden the series' readership.
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Mar 25, 2014 3:52:00 GMT
From TUFFF... I like this book, but I am not a fan however (a note of 12 in 0-20). It is a little childish. It is true that they put the FF books in the section for children but I did never agree with that, it is even pretty stupid in my opinion, because making children play for example house of hell can bring larger effects than making them watch for example a saw movie. And I like them all. But this one is one of the "less good" to me... (6 in 10). I felt this book like a childish book. Razaak's apprentice.
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Mar 25, 2014 3:53:03 GMT
From TUFFF... I felt this book like a childish book . Children do so love massacring monks and selling people into slavery.
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Post by deadshadowrunner on Mar 25, 2014 13:20:18 GMT
What's with the full stop?
At least vagsancho found it better than Deathmoor,which got a "note" of 5.5 only(along with three other books)(I also never understood what vagsancho meant by "note".I guess he means points?
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Post by hynreck on Mar 25, 2014 13:32:48 GMT
I'm not sure what vag meant by note, probably something about enjoying drinking demon blood, but that's what we would say in french. Like, I'd rate that book 3 stars. Approx: Je donne à ce livre une note de 3 étoiles.
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Mar 25, 2014 15:00:49 GMT
What's with the full stop? Oops... I've had to cut and paste these posts out of a big gungey wall-o-text. I cleaned out most of the crap but that one got missed. I'm not sure what vag meant by note, probably something about enjoying drinking demon blood, but that's what we would say in french. Like, I'd rate that book 3 stars. Approx: Je donne à ce livre une note de 3 étoiles. I think Vag offers notes with high numbers on when he’s been feeling something a lot. Interesting about the French.
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Post by hynreck on Mar 25, 2014 16:35:21 GMT
Latin roots and all, some words are the same or very similar. As I suppose vag's first language is Portuguese, it might mean the same.
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vagsancho
Knight
Posts: 809
Favourite Gamebook Series: CRYPT OF THE SORCERER
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Post by vagsancho on Jul 23, 2015 16:12:31 GMT
A childish book. One of the worse FF books in my opinion, with the company of Appointment with Fear.
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Post by hynreck on Jul 24, 2015 14:18:15 GMT
Yes, as stated by you in this thread already.
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Post by johnbrawn1972 on May 25, 2017 15:54:13 GMT
I have bought 10 books for the princely sum of £9.90 which are new to me. I will do a quick post on each one in publication order. Comparing my solution to Champskees I must say his 'cascade' system, which is an antecedent of my Night solution, is highly plausible. I had the beginning and end the same but I was not sure about the middle phase. The 2d6 roll bonus helps a great deal.
The book is a 'tough old gut' where high stats are a must. Are pirates very hardy types? I suppose when you have a 'survival of the fittest' unfettered market economy must you end up with only the most hardy surviving. This exactly 'mirrors' so-called evolution, or a market, where it might well be the most stupid or idiotic that muscle or fumble to the finish line and it is nothing to do with progress.
The plethora of insta-deaths are enjoyable while the freedom reminded me of Starship Traveller where the islands and cities could be considered substitutes for planets.
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vagsancho
Knight
Posts: 809
Favourite Gamebook Series: CRYPT OF THE SORCERER
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Post by vagsancho on Sept 19, 2019 8:53:04 GMT
This book does not work for me. Very childish. One of the worst of all. However, soon, i intend to try it one more time, to see if i can feel it in a different way.
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Post by daredevil123 on Apr 19, 2020 22:25:04 GMT
Does anyone have a link to the infamous misunderstanding-of-the-word-"and" review? I haven't read it but it sounds hilarious.
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Apr 19, 2020 23:52:27 GMT
Does anyone have a link to the infamous misunderstanding-of-the-word-"and" review? I haven't read it but it sounds hilarious. I think most of the humour comes from Greenspine's summary, but yes you can find it here. It's one of the reviews submitted by a seemingly endless parade of Roberts.
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Post by a moderator on Apr 20, 2020 21:32:19 GMT
a seemingly endless parade of Roberts. Dread pirate Roberts?
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Post by Thomas on Mar 23, 2021 21:46:59 GMT
Does anyone know what paragraph to turn to following number 352? You successfully leap from the pit into the chamber and then are told to turn to paragraph 255 and find yourself back on the Banshee after a storm.
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Post by a moderator on Mar 23, 2021 21:59:45 GMT
225 is the correct section.
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tom
Squire
Posts: 23
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Post by tom on Mar 23, 2021 22:03:54 GMT
Thanks
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