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Item - Kingdom of Horror

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(British edition)
(British edition)
(British edition)
(British edition)
(American edition, first printing)
(American edition, first printing)

Combined Summary

Online Full Text: Internet Archive (American edition, first printing)
Series: Grailquest — no. 5
Translated Into: Au royaume de l'épouvante (French)
Galskabens rige (Danish)
Království děsu (Czech)
Majuu oukoku no hikken [魔獣王国の秘剣] (Japanese)
Il regno dell'orrore (Italian)
El reino secreto (Spanish)
Author: Brennan, J. H. (Herbie)
Illustrators: Edwards, Les (cover)
Higgins, John
Dates: 1985 (British edition)
May, 1987 (American edition, first printing)
ISBNs: 0006924964 / 9780006924968 (British edition)
0440945402 / 9780440945406 (American edition, first printing)
Cover Price: UK£1.75 (British edition)
US$2.50 (American edition, first printing)
Kveto's Thoughts:

I'd read books 1 and 2, but this is the only one I owned.

This series has a quirky take on the genre, but its humour might not be for everyone. It reminds me of Tunnels and Trolls in that it doesn't seem to have respect for the fantasy world as a serious setting, so your mileage may vary. For me, the silliness of the Frankenstein references and so on was a bit much.

It has a very British style and is much more detailed than earlier British gamebooks like Fighting Fantasy, which is welcome. You feel characterization and interaction.

Most of the book is a city crawl which can be fun with a keyed map rather than the more linear progress in City of Thieves, for example.

I can't imagine completing the book without cheating. You have to revisit Merlin's supply shed often to pick up useful items like a fake beard. His hut is helpfully shaped like a 6 sided die and you roll to see which section you land in. But 6 is the roof (lose half your health points) and 1 is the bottom (instant death). So every time you go back for supplies you have a 1 in 3 chance of dying or getting seriously injured.

More reviews by Kveto

Special Thanks:Thanks to David Malone for the low resolution British cover scan that used to be used here. Thanks to The Museum of Computer Adventure Game History for the American back cover image and to Ryan Lynch for the British cover images.
Users Who Own This Item: aehalpin, Alatar001, anhartleyuk, Ardennes (US), B0N0V0X, BarefootJimmy, Barker1952, bookwormjeff (US), chicagoshane (U.S. Edition), Crazyscotsman, CSquared, c_wickham, damieng (UK), dave2002a, dblizzard72, dodgingcars, Eamonn McCusker, Ed, EegahInc, egokun, Erich_Zann, Erikwinslow (US), Ffghtermedic, firefoxpdm, Grifter (US), hoops4ever, Inevitable, jcruelty, JDMorgan, jdreller, Joe_TC, juski (UK edition), katzcollection, keving, kinderstef, knginatl (US), le maudit, lek (PDF), LordJR, Malthus Dire, mlvoss, nelsondesign, NEMO (US), nerelax, Nich, Oberonbombadil (UK), outspaced, peterm2, Pseudo_Intellectual, Radjabov, Sabreman (UK), sebastian, Sheridan77, Sir Olli, sireeyore, skeleton, Smidgeccfc76, spragmatic (US, UK), StagQuests (UK), Surcal, Tamerlane1396, Treguard, Tremendez, twar, waktool (UK 1st; US 1st), Yalius, yermither
Users Who Want This Item: bbanzai, bookwormjeff (UK), Braldt, Cyan, domj29, Gartax, lek, Narananas, NEMO (UK), odo_ital, Osirian08, Pirrakas, Seizure, ThisIslandEarth, utfanatic, Virtua Sinner, zat
Users with Extra Copies: Alex6674

Known Editions

British edition
American edition, first printing

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