Night of the Necromancer!

We’re delighted to unveil a sneak peak at some of Martin McKenna’s illustrations to the forthcoming Night of the Necromancer!

Written by Jonathan Green, the brand-new Fighting Fantasy adventure takes place after you have died as your ghostly soul attempts to unravel the mystery of your own death...

Martin will also be producing the cover for the book, so prepare to be amazed.

More exclusive snippets and insider information will be released on the Fighting Fantasy website and on Jonathan Green’s blog in the build-up to publication on the 1 April 2010!

We're Back! Bigger and Better than Ever

In September 2009, Wizard Books relaunched the brilliant Fighting Fantasy series with three classic titles: The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, The Citadel of Chaos, and Deathtrap Dungeon. A brand new title, Stormslayer written by Jon Green, is also available. The new editions feature new cover designs and pre-rolled characters. Watch out for them in your local bookshop or find them online at Amazon.co.uk

The all-new Fighting Fantasy gamebook series features a new, bigger format, simplified rules and stock characters making it easier to pick up and play as well as teaser content from brand new Fighting Fantasy books. With over 1 million lifetime sales through Wizard Book we present the brilliant new title Stormslayer by Jonathan Green and illustrated by the fantastically talented Stephen Player to lead the launch with a massive online and print campaign.

All of the books are released on the 3rd September 2009 with 8 Fighting Fantasy titles in the brand-new format each year after 2009.

Book 1: The Warlock of Firetop Mountain

Book 2: Citadel of Chaos

Book 3: Deathtrap Dungeon

Book 4: Stormslayer

Book 4 will provide our fans with another exciting new Fighting Fantasy™ gamebook; Stormslayer.

In this exciting new Jonathon Green Fighting Fantasy adventure, the first new book in two years, after years of peace, the kingdom of Femphrey is at war again – and this time it’s with the elements! Devastating storms sweep across the country, destroying all in their path. Blizzards and floods threaten some areas while others suffer the worst droughts seen in centuries. But is this climate chaos all it appears to be? Or is there some dark design to this meteorological meltdown?

YOU are a seasoned adventurer, known throughout the land. You have battled giants and slain dragons, but how can even a veteran warrior like yourself fight the weather? Are YOU ready to take up the challenge and face the perils that await you within the eye of the storm?

WE ASKED NICK AT WIZARD BOOKS THE QUESTIONS YOU WANTED TO ASK?

Nick: When we first started publishing Fighting Fantasy at Wizard – coming up for ten years ago now – we knew that it was still adored by its loyal fans. By this point, the books had been out of print for a few years, but everywhere we looked, the world of Fighting Fantasy was still thriving. We all remembered reading them when we were young (in fact, I was lucky enough to have Steve Jackson come and visit my school some years ago now!) and felt that if we could keep the magic that existing fans knew and loved alive then we would also be able to bring the series to a whole new generation of readers – and so keep the Fighting Fantasy community fresh and exciting.

Well, that was the plan and we were delighted when it worked brilliantly. The reception to the Wizard editions of Fighting Fantasy was incredible and the community has gone from strength to strength over the past years.

But time has passed, fans new and old are still with the books (some, like us, who have been fans since the 1980s!), and there’s now a whole new wealth of potential young Fighting Fantasy heroes out there who we’d love to bring into the Fighting Fantasy community. We’re so proud of how Fighting Fantasy has earned its place in the hearts of its fans and we’re very conscious of our duty at Wizard to ensure we do the best we can to keep the community thriving.

So that was the motive behind the re-launch and we really hope that all Fighting Fantasy’s existing readers, and all those we hope to attract to the series will like what we’ve done with the covers, the new titles, the new website and the fresh elements of the books. We publish Fighting Fantasy more than anything else because we love the books and the fans, and we very much hope to see the Fighting Fantasy community go on from strength to strength on the back of this re-launch for many years to come.

Why did you choose to re-position the Fighting Fantasy series in a different way than before whilst also re-numbering the first series of books?

Nick: We thought long and hard about this! When we decided to make the changes to Fighting Fantasy we thought, well, what should those changes be? One thing was certain, we knew that we wanted to retain the appeal to existing fans and at the same time try and bring new members into the community. That’s the thinking that underpinned our approach to the new covers.

So, as you’ll see, a few things have changed but then some have remained the same too. Perhaps the biggest shift has been how we’ve positioned the books. Beforehand, with the design focused on the title, it was perhaps not immediately obvious to new readers that The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, for instance, was the beginning of a whole world of Fighting Fantasy adventures. And it’s the world of Fighting Fantasy – Titan and its continents – that really makes it special. So with the new covers, we’ve aimed to make the books about the series, to really get across to new readers that Fighting Fantasy is this amazing world just waiting to be explored. And of course for all the existing fans, we’ve kept the original cover artwork from the Wizard editions … except of course on The Warlock of Firetop Mountain where Zagor is looking better than ever – not bad considering he’s the oldest foe in Fighting Fantasy, having first appeared back in 1982!

As for the renumbering, we simply wanted to make it easier for new readers to keep track of the books as they gradually get to know the world of Fighting Fantasy. Also, although I suppose in some regards Stormslayer is technically #30 in the Wizard editions, we found that booksellers quite sensibly wouldn’t have been too keen if we’d offered them four titles, numbered 1, 2, 3 and 30. So it was a choice made out of necessity really, but in many regards, Fighting Fantasy is all about exploring the world in your own way, so it doesn’t strictly matter which order the books are read in.

What key factors affected the idea of a re-launch?

Nick: Well, other than those factors already mentioned, in our position as publishers, we were aware that since we started publishing Fighting Fantasy, the numbers of other books out there has grown and grown every year. As a result bookshop shelves have become more and more packed, brighter, more colourful. There are some great books out there, and we wanted to make sure that readers of all ages were aware of Fighting Fantasy. So the re-launch is a kind of celebration for the series, it’s a special event that we’re laying on some great extras for, so that as bookshelves become even more crowded, Fighting Fantasy remains at the top of the wave where we think it deserves to be.

What does the online publicity and marketing campaign involve? Please elaborate?

Nick: As part of our aim to support all the fans in the Fighting Fantasy community, we want to spread the word of Fighting Fantasy as far as possible. The official Fighting Fantasy website, the Forum, indeed all the many fansites too, have shown just how much of a home the internet can provide for the Fighting Fantasy community. To help the community grow, we’re planning to spread the word as far and wide as possible across the internet, both by having exclusive content, interviews and competitions on the official website, and also by running Reviews, features and competitions for books with appropriate partners.

Elsewhere on the web, we also now have the brilliant new website designed and edited by Dave Holt. As well as that, Fighting Fantasy – and indeed, Balthazar Sturm from Stormslayer – are both tweeting and there’s a Facebook page too. Basically, we want to give Fighting Fantasy’s fans as many manageable ways as possible to find out more about the books and become involved with the vibrant community.

What changes can we expect from the re-launch? How have the books been changed for the reader?

Nick: In addition to the great new covers, the books themselves are a slightly larger size – one of the advantages of which means they can have bigger, newly designed, adventure sheets! We’ve also tried to make the books easier just to pick up and get stuck into, so we’ve moved all the rules and hint to the back of the book. Now you just grab your copy, open the pages, there’s a brief introduction and then it’s straight into the background and the adventure itself. Being a hero has never been simpler! And besides, we know that the rules are occasionally considered ‘optional’ by some readers … don’t be afraid to own up though, even the Fighting Fantasy editors need a little divine luck here and there too, and we have adventure walkthroughs showing us which way to go (yes, they do exist)!

Perhaps the most exciting addition to the books though is the new Fighting Fantasy adventurers that readers can choose to play with if they don’t want to roll dice for their own attributes. When thinking about what we could add that would really benefit the Fighting Fantasy world, it was clear that the one thing missing was a network of characters that could shed light on the history of Titan, outside of those creatures from the pit. The reader is still the focus, of course, but hopefully by introducing Vignor Firestorm, Gorrin Silverblade, Ophelia Lapwing and others, it’s a way of bringing their personalities and histories to the world of Fighting Fantasy.

One thing that has remained the same, however, is the adventures themselves. The classic favourites are still as brilliant as ever, and we’re looking forward to the fans’ reactions to Stormslayer too. We’re proud to say we think it fully deserves its place in the Fighting Fantasy canon, let’s see how it’s rated on the website!