Traits of the FF gamebooks of Peter Darvill-Evans

[natwa]

Taking up the suggestion of Bloodbesthandler from another thread. Anyone who has traits to add to those I've suggested, or comments to those I've suggested

All of his FFgamebooks seem to involve dimension/planar travel, whether travelling to just one,like in Portal of Evil, or several, like in Spectral Stalkers. In Spectral Stalkers, most of the action takes place in other dimensions/planes, but even in the other two gamebooks they play an important part since the grand finale(if you want to win) takes place in another dimension/plane.

In all of those gamebooks, it seems that your character is not aware of the nature of the threat or your mission and who the villain is at the beginning but is dropped into the middle of the action and have to work out what is really going on and what the threat is and/or who the villain is through the course of the book. In none of his FF books, do the introduction lay out what you are supposed to do, or tell you who's the villain you are supposed to defeat or the threat that you are supposed to overcome or what your mission is.

He also seems to be good at writing characters that avoids the stock Fantasy cliches or, even if only in a way small way subverts them. Portal of Evil includes a wise and kind old goblin and a dwarwen mine owner; Spectral Stalkers includes, among other things a dragon librarian and a little girl who thinks having travelled with a character who rescues her from a vampire is boring, and the way Beyond Nightmare Castle mixes Fantasy and Lovecraftian-inspired dangers was at least quite unusual at the time it was written.

But in general he seems to be the FF author whose books varies most from one another. Each book is a different genre and each book has a different tone, from the dark Lovecraftian Fantasy Horror of Beneath Nightmare Castle, through the Dinosaurs and Zombies Fantasy of Portal of Evil, to the quite lighthearted and often quite bizarre and often quite funny dimensial "romp" of Spectral Stalkers. But then, again, maybe that could be considered to be a trait of Darvill-Evans as a writer, that the tried out something new for each book, instead of sticking to a particular genre, tone or formula(at least apart from the traits I've already mentioned and traits that other may have discovered, that I missed this time around).

[CharlesX]

PD is a very serious writer, in good ways (unpretentious, subtle, intelligent), as you say he avoids cliches and writes at a high level, without the attempts at very obvious, very western 'humour' other FF authors try, and either pass or fail at.  I normally notice FF art (indeed, here is as good as place as any to say I considered a ranking poll for FF artwork, probably via gamebook rather than artist, although I suspect I'm about the only person who might be interested), my point being the artwork in PD works matches the tone in BNC, if the level is more adequate than excellent, and is definitely of a high standard in PD's other, later works.

[sylas]

His books can all be completed with minimum stat rolls and has multiple ways of successfully reaching the end.

[kieran]

I think all of them allow you to exceed your Initial Skill (but not Stamina or Luck).