Beowulf Beastslayer is published today

Hwaet! Beowulf Beastslayer is published today by Snowbooks.

A brand new adventure gamebook by Jonathan Green, based on the ancient epic. A tale of heroes... A tale of monsters... A legend reborn. 

King Hrothgar's great golden mead-hall, Heorot, lies under a curse; after sunset, the mirth-hating night-stalker Grendel comes to the hall to maim and murder! None are capable of killing the monster, though many have tried, until one day Beowulf and his company of Geatish warriors cross the sail-road and land on Danish shores...

The Old English poem Beowulf is a story that has fascinated people throughout the ages inspiring the likes of J. R. R. Tolkien, Seamus Heaney and Neil Gaiman. Beowulf Beastslayer is a brand new take on the Anglo-Saxon epic, re-imagining the events described in the poem as an adventure gamebook.

Will you follow the course of events as laid down by the scops and skalds of old, or will you choose a different path and forge your own legend?

Beowulf Beastslayer is illustrated by none other than Russ Nicholson, who provided the internal artwork for the Fighting Fantasy gamebook The Warlock of Firetop Mountain (among others), which set me on the path to becoming an author, and features a cover quote by none other than BBC Four's Dr Janina Ramirez.

As backers of the original Kickstarter will already know, Paul Muller sculpted Grendel and Beowulf in three dimensions, using Russ Nicholson's interpretations of the characters as his guide, and the miniatures were produced by Otherworld Miniatures. Well, here they are, painted by the very talented Andy Taylor.

Grendel and Beowulf, sculpted by Paul Muller, produced by Otherworld Miniatures, and painted by Andy Taylor.

If you would like to buy a pair of miniatures, simply click the button below, having selected whereabouts in the world you would like them sent.

Beowulf and Grendel miniatures

UK signed for £29.00 GBP  Europe signed for £34.00 GBP  Rest of World signed for £35.00 GBP

 

And if you have read the book, please post a review on Amazon.

Beowulf Beastslayer is coming!

In case you haven't already heard, to Kickstarter to fund production of Beowulf Beastslayer funded on Wednesday 31st October 2018, raising 136% of its original funding goal, meaning that two Stretch Goals were unlocked. If you didn't back the Kickstarter, look out for Beowulf Beastslayer in all good online retailers' webstores around this time next year.

Beowulf: A Board Game

I'm possibly planning on running a Kickstarter project for Beowulf Beastslayer (when all my time's not preoccupied with YOU ARE THE HERO) but right now there's another Beowulf-inspired Kickstarter that needs your support.

Beowulf: A Board Game is a tabletop adaptation of the epic poem. Build your kingdom, raid your neighbours, and secure your legend in the world of Beowulf! And to find out more, click this link.

Five reasons why you need to be at Fighting Fantasy Fest 2014

If you've not already purchased your ticket for FIGHTING FANTASY FEST 2014 - the world's first convention dedicated to Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks - here's why you should.

1) You will not only get to listen to the Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone, the co-creators of Fighting Fantasy, give a talk about the history of their gaming and publishing phenomenon, you'll also be able to get your FF treasures signed by them, and even hang out in the Black Lobster Tavern with them!

2) The Adventurer's Backpack goodie bag that is included in the price of every ticket is chock full of awesome merchandise, with many of the items being exclusive to the event, such as the limited edition Zagor miniature and the collectible convention programme - not to mention the bag itself!

3) There are a host of special guests coming to FIGHTING FANTASY FEST, including legendary fantasy artists Chris Achilleos, Russ Nicholson, Malcolm Barter and Tony Hough. Tin Man Games and Inkle Studios will also be there to talk about their latest FF and Sorcery! app releases, and Tin Man are even generously giving away a download code to all attendees. And on top of that Arion Games will be running demo games of Advanced Fighting Fantasy!

4) One of the highlights of the day will be an auction of rare - and highly collectible - items of FF memorabilia from the Warlocks' own hoard, including a pair of swords made to promote the Deathtrap Dungeon video game and now hard-to-find classic Fighting Fantasy computer games.

5) Quite simply, Fighting Fantasy Fest is going to be a unique experience. There has never been an FF event like it before, and YOU ARE THE HERO - A History of Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks is going to launch on the day. Just think, when FF is celebrating it's 50th anniversary in 2032, you'll be able to look back and say, "I was there!"

So click this convenient link and buy your ticket today. And don't delay! The first 100 ticket buyers will receive a copy of the extremely hard to get hold of 25th hardback edition of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain.

And if you have bought your ticket, tell all your friends about FFF 2014, via email, your blog, Twitter (#FFF2014), Facebook, Tumblr, YouTube, Instagram, or whatever your social media networking tool of choice is.

And hopefully we'll see you on Sunday 7 September...

Hercules

The concept and game system that I'm developing (very slowly) for BEOWULF BEASTSLAYER is one that would transfer itself very well to other classic, mythological heroes. I'd already considered tackling The Twelve Labours of Heracles and then I saw this the other day...



Great inspiration indeed!

Fighting Fantasy 2014 - Official Press Release

For immediate release!

Fighting Fantasy Fest 2014

The first dedicated Fighting Fantasy convention, with Special Guests of Honour Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone, featuring the official launch of YOU ARE THE HERO – A History of Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks by Jonathan Green.

Sunday 7 September 2014 will see the first dedicated Fighting Fantasy convention take place at the DoubleTree Hilton Hotel in Ealing, West London. Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone, co-creators of the publishing and gaming phenomenon that is Fighting Fantasy, will be Special Guests of Honour at the event, where they will be joined by legendary fantasy artists Russ Nicholson, Chris Achilleos and Tony Hough. A highlight of the day will be Steve and Ian’s own talk on the History of Fighting Fantasy.

Fighting Fantasy Fest will see the official launch of Jonathan Green’s YOU ARE THE HERO – A History of Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks, along with an exhibition of rare FF memorabilia – including original artwork and other more obscure artefacts connected to the series – as well as trade stands, and an auction of Fighting Fantasy treasures. Arion Games will be running Advanced Fighting Fantasy role-playing game sessions during the day, while Tin Man Games and Inkle Studios will also be in attendance, talking about their digital versions of such classic gamebooks as Ian Livingstone’s The Forest of Doom and Steve Jackson’s Sorcery! epic.

Tickets for the event cost £50 each, and every attendee will receive an event-exclusive Adventurer’s Backpack containing various Fighting Fantasy Fest and YOU ARE THE HERO goodies.

“The success of the YOU ARE THE HERO Kickstarter project demonstrated that there is still an active community of Fighting Fantasy fans out in the world who would relish the chance to not only meet their heroes, but to get together and share their stories of battling the horrors of Deathtrap Dungeon or braving the perils of Kharé – Cityport of Traps,” says Jonathan Green, author of the History of Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks, “ideally whilst quaffing a flagon of ale in Port Blacksand’s infamous Black Lobster Tavern.” (The event will even feature a themed bar!)

Ian Livingstone, co-creator of Fighting Fantasy said, “It’s crazy really that it’s taken 32 years for a dedicated Fighting Fantasy event to take place!  But that’s going to make it all the more special. It will be brilliant to see old friends, artists, authors and fans again after all this time. I’m going to bring along some special Fighting Fantasy items that have never been seen in public before. It certainly will be a Return to Firetop Mountain! I can’t wait.”

Steve Jackson, who is famed for his Sorcery! series, said, “Amazing to think it’s almost 40 years since the first Games Day was held, at Seymour Hall and Baths in Central London. There was a great buzz at that event. Visitors – and organisers – felt they were attending a special occasion. I’m sure it will be the same kind of buzz at Fighting Fantasy Fest. FF celebrities will be there, dealers and memorabilia, game demos and a special auction of items from the Jackson and Livingstone personal archives. This will be an event not to be missed by FF readers. I’m really looking forward to it.”

For more information, or to arrange interviews with the organisers of Fighting Fantasy Fest, please email Jonathan Green at info@jonathangreenauthor.com.

@fightingfantasy @stevejacksonuk @ian_livingstone @jonathangreen @You_Are_TheHero #FightingFantasyFest2014

Sunday 7 September 2014 • The DoubleTree Hilton, Ealing, London, UK

Artists • Panels • Book Signings • Games • Exhibition • Special Guests • Auction

www.FightingFantasy.com

Discovering the truth behind the Beowulf legend

The origins of the Anglo-Saxon epic poem Beowulf are being explored in a major archaeological dig in Denmark. Experts working in Lejre, the royal centre of Denmark in the sixth to tenth centuries AD, are uncovering what life would have been like in the great royal feasting hall Heorot, in which many of the poem's pivotal events are supposed to have occurred. Archaeologists have discovered the remains of seven separate buildings used for feasting, all of which stood on the site at various times over a period of 500 years. The earliest of these may have inspired King Hrothgar's hall as described in Beowulf.

I wonder how long it will be before they find the bleached bones of a once monstrous arm, or a huge, deformed skull buried somewhere on the site.

A map of Scandinavia as it was in the Dark Ages.