This was the first Gamebook I ever saw. They had it in our local library. The Norwegian title was "Hammeren i Monsterskogen" ("The Hammer in the Monster Forest"). Don't think I ever finished it, but the concept made my head spin, and I got into roleplaying games.

What I love about Schalken the Painter, apart from the sumptuous visuals, is the sound; a girl plucking a Capon, the chink of coin in a metal box, the creak of a loose floorboard, a paintbrush on canvas, footsteps over a marble floor, the rustle of curtains or a skirt. Masterful.

I travelled to Asia & India in '89 and took Titus Groan as my book. The sentence structure prose left me in awe ❤

From Steerpike, to Prunesquallor, to Titus, to Flannelcat, to Squalor, to Muzzlehatch. Such genius. Would love to discuss it further. Excellent description.Thank you

So glad House of Hell made it to the list… that and Freeway Fighter are childhood favourites of mine.

The entrance to a isecret kingdom?

I've recently read Titus Groan and Gormenghast, with Titus Alone lined up for sometime in the near future. You have summed up pretty much exactly how I feel about the fantasy world and agree that it should be more well-known and celebrated.

This video just came up in my feed and I enjoyed it immensely. Those creations are the basis of some of my most treasured memories ❤. Great video Mike (back when you were a young man 😀).

Perhaps the musicians only appear when the mist creeps during the eventide?

An intriguing vignette of mystery and imagination…

I just subscribed. I love your assessment and your speaking voice is so lovely and comforting.

I remember getting a book token (remember those?) as a boy for Christmas. I bought the first three books in a presentation slipcase and I was hooked from there.

Oh man, I have the first 36 of these books. They were my religion as a young teen. Starship Traveler inspired my own sci fi series spanning 2000 years....

Watching horror films as a child, me too! I was only six years old when I started watching the double feature of Universal Horror on Sunday afternoons that aired on a local station. I also had to fit the viewing in between brunch. My mom was a really good cook and family time was very important for all of us. Thanks for the reviews.

For me, Werner Herzog's humaneness in Kaspar Hauser and Land of Silence and Darkness draws me in, and ofc also the images from Aguirre.

This was my first FF book so my memory of it is probably a bit more rose-tinted than it deserves. The next batch of Ian Livingstone books, where he has you playing the same person wandering about across multiple books and where he really opens up the world, were much better.

I think it's a great cover, but agree that it's a tad out of sync with what became the FF house style. Emmanuel did a lot of covers for Games Workshops White Dwarf magazine as well, but stopped suddenly at about the same time as opinion started to turn against this cover. I always reckoned there was something more behind that. Either way he was a great artist, very unique, stylish and unappreciated.

starship traveler was my 1st but they had a few different themes sorcery books were tops

the book with a gladiator and a robot i battle in the cover?? great nostalgic flash back, thankyou..

You hv letterboxed sir?

Great review - the book always left me wanting more. I wish Jackson had written follow ups in the science fiction genre.

"A picture of Curtains on the wall - why?" Hahaha Love it!

Haha! But did you try the mortadella?

Maybe to imply more space?

Terrific Bartlett top ten!

Enjoy Bologna Mike! By the way - I love the music for this, what is it called?

Have you seen The Boy and the Heron yet? What did you think of you have?

This was the one, that got me hooked on fantasy and gamebooks. Lizardmen are my second favorite race after dwarves.

I had this, gave it away as a birthday gift a few years ago. The back of the Hungarian version is red (every book had a different color). I agree, the swamp wasn't really dangerous. I think you meet more friendly faces, than enemies.

Once again I am enjoying your Fighting Fantasy gamebook reviews, even though I have no experience at all with gamebooks and do not even understand exactly how they work. The "pouch of unlimited contents" piqued my interest. Regarding how it works, my guess would be that you simply stick your hand inside the pouch, and this magical pouch knows exactly what it is that you are needing (or wanting) at that moment, and that precise item instantly materializes in your hand.

Do you have a letterboxd?

Loving this series. The nostalgia is hitting me hard. I read these with my dad and brother in the 90s.

Love these FF retrospectives! Hopefully you'll try some Lone Wolf books one day. Before he died, Joe Dever made a deal with Project Aon to ensure that all his books were made available online to play for free. There are also a number of good Lone Wolf apps that take the hassle out of combat and inventory management. I saw a neat little movie the other day which I think you might like: What You Wish For (2023) Watch it without reading the synopsis if you can... ;)

Hi, Mike. I enjoyed your video, even though I have no experience with any of these gamebooks. I was intrigued by the idea of two Steve Jacksons, so I did a quick online search to learn a bit more. I learned that the "other" Steve Jackson (i.e., the Steve Jackson who wrote this gamebook) is an American, and he wrote three books in this Fighting Fantasy gamebook series (of which British Steve Jackson is co-creator 😆). The three FF gamebooks written by the US Steve Jackson are "Scorpion Swamp," "Demons of the Deep," and "Robot Commando." Also, I agree with you about the artwork. I like it, but it does seem out of place. It needs to be darker, more mysterious, more dangerous feeling, like the drawings in the other books are.

Steve Jackson is better than Steve Jackson

A CYOA book I played as a kid (in the German translation), that I have fond memories of, gets talked about by a guy who has a channel mostly talking about artsy films. It's a strange, but sometimes fascinating, world... At the time, the "open world" feel of this book was pretty mind blowing to me. The fact that this was written by another Steve Jackson I also find quite interesting. Do you know of the Fabled Lands books? I played them as child too, a bit later after this.

I don't have this book (I have all the books in PDF form, but reading FF books in PDF is a bit like filing your nails with a cheese-grater.... Painful indeed) but from your review it does sound very interesting.

Tge good wizard is so lame.

Totally agree that Asylum is the best one. The best segment for me though is An Act of Kindness in From Beyond the Grave. Bannen and Pleasance give superb performances. I also noticed recently that some of their dialogue crops up in an episode of League of Gentleman.

Really enjoy your reading. Thank you!

I'm happy you appreciated the 3rd book, but I didn't like it at all. The 3rd wasn't even written by him and is a total offshoot. Not even remotely related to the first two. I always tell people to skip it. The first two are a complete story on their own

Excellent video and well done on finally putting it out. I was very interested to hear your point of view on this film. I must say I havent seen anything quite like TZoI and I really wasnt sure what I felt when I left the theatre. The next few days it didnt really come back to visit me and I found that strange too. Ultimately like yourself I felt there was something wrong about the way it had been presented. I must watch SoS asap.

Your correction of the Arendt commonplace is necessary (Did she really fail to see the demon behind Eichmann's mask? Does Glazer ?). The contrast with Son of Saul is brilliant. It makes sense of your appraisal, without rejecting the importance of Zone. I wonder if you think that Kubrick's project, based on the Wartime Lies novel, could have worked. Many heartfelt thanks.

Son of Saul amazing award winner as it still is, seems to have taken a lot of it's queues from Spielberg. Although Steven took a very realist view within his own Oscar winning narrative just like Glazer had, according to you at 12:57! A black comedy. Next .. Jerry Lewis presents The Day The Clown Cried! A black comedy about the concentration camps may have worked for you but not for your average "knower of truth". You may have been discombobulated by the massive historic journey of pain this monumental English film director, but so what! That Oscar for best Sound was so glib!

The Hired Hand with Peter Fonda and Warren Oates. And Hondo with John Wayne.

One comment and one question. Comment: Your analysis of La Rupture - only in this fantasy could we have this construct - reminded me of the ending of Blue Velvet with the artificial bird chirping and Isabella Rossellini embracing her son. Question: Per your review, I watched La Rupture. Do you think all the fantastical elements were simply drug induced? It seems those fable-like scenes happen after Helen either has had a few drinks or eats one of the drug-laced sweets.

It's interesting how one's interest is piqued by just the artwork or the setting...and I didn't buy this one for those basic reasons!

The Fog is right up there alongside Halloween for me too, but I’d have Big Trouble in there because it’s just so fun!

the ramblings of a stoned teenager

was intrigued by the title so I clicked in not expecting to watch the whole thing but was captivated by the way you spoke about the film. Thank you for that.