Sorcery!

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This four-volume epic adventure uses a game system similar to that of the Fighting Fantasy books but enhanced by a unique spell-casting system. Before playing each adventure, you have to memorize code names which represent spells. You can't refer to your spellbook during the game, of course, so the better you study and remember, the better your odds of survival. This and other similar attempts to make the adventures "realistic" make these books a really entertaining read. In early editions of the books, the spells were actually in a separate volume called The Sorcery! Spellbook, but in later editions, the contents of the spellbook were included in the back of each gamebook.

This page is under construction. As I complete these books, I'll add reviews.

1. The Shamutanti Hills
Author: Steve Jackson (UK)
Illustrators: John Blanche (original cover and interior), Mel Grant (reissue cover)
First Published: 1983
Reissued: February, 2003 (as Fighting Fantasy #9)
ISBN: 0 14 00.6794 9 (original edition), 1-84046-430-5 (reissued edition)
Length: 456 sections
Number of Endings: 20 (not including death by Stamina loss)
Plot Summary: You set off on a mission to recover the Crown of Kings, a vitally important magic item which has been stolen by an evil Archmage.
Translations: Danish, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Spanish
My Thoughts: This is an excellent gamebook. It's a nice level of difficulty; it may take many tries to get through, but there are enough areas to explore that on each try you're likely to discover something new. As a result, the book is very successful in preventing its reader from getting bored. The sections of the book are extremely short, a fact which may be viewed as a flaw. This brevity is what allows the book to have such a diversity of paths, however, so I can't criticize it on those grounds.

2. Kharé - Cityport of Traps

3. The Seven Serpents

4. The Crown of Kings

Danish Translations

At least three of these books have been translated into Danish. The Danish series title is "Sagaen om den makiske krone" and its publisher is Borgen.

1. Forbandelsens bjerge
Translation Of: The Shamutanti Hills
Translator: Thomas Bruun
First Published: 1988
ISBN: 87-418-8515-5
Length: 184 pages (456 sections plus spellbook)

2. Fældernes by
This book is not part of my collection.

3. De syv slanger
This book is not part of my collection.

French Translations

This entire series was translated into French as the "Sorcellerie!" series.

1. Les Collines Maléfiques
Translation Of: The Shamutanti Hills
Literal Translation of French Title: The Malevolent Hills
Translator: Camille Fabien
First Published: April 26, 1991
ISBN: 2-07-033293-4
Length: 255 pages (456 sections)

2. La Cité des Pièges
This book is not part of my collection.

3. Les Sept Serpents
This book is not part of my collection.

4. La Couronne des Rois
This book is not part of my collection.

German Translations

The entire series has been translated into German as "Die Analand-Saga," released by Thienemann.

1. Der Abenteurer aus Analand
Translation Of: The Shamutanti Hills
This book is not part of my collection.

2. Die Fallen von Kharé
This book is not part of my collection.

3. Die sieben Schlangen
This book is not part of my collection.

4. Die Krone der Könige
This book is not part of my collection.

Hungarian Translations

All four books were translated into Hungarian as the "Varszlat!" series.

1. A Shamutanti dombok
Translation Of: The Shamutanti Hills
This book is not part of my collection.

2. A csapdák kikötovárosa
This book is not part of my collection.

3. Hét sárkánykígyó
This book is not part of my collection.

4. Királyok koronája
This book is not part of my collection.

Italian Translations

All four books exist in Italian editions.

1. Le colline infernali
Translation Of: The Shamutanti Hills
This book is not part of my collection.

2. La citta dei misteri
This book is not part of my collection.

3. I sette serpenti
This book is not part of my collection.

4. La corona dei re
This book is not part of my collection.

Japanese Translations

The entire series has been translated into Japanese.

1. Mahou-tukai no oka
Translation Of: The Shamutanti Hills
This book is not part of my collection.

2. Jousai-toshi Khare
This book is not part of my collection.

3. Sichi-hiki no daija
This book is not part of my collection.

4. Ou-tachi no kanmuri
This book is not part of my collection.

Spanish Translations

The entire series has been translated into Spanish. The books were retranslated and reissued starting in 2003.

1. Las colinas de Shamutanti
Translation Of: The Shamutanti Hills
Literal Translation of Spanish Title: The Hills of Shamutanti
Translators: Ana Bermejo and Alberto Martín (Altea edition), Lluis Salvador (Devir edition)
First Published: 1985
Reissued: 2003
ISBN: 84-96262-12-X
Length: 244 pages (456 sections)
My Thoughts: It is interesting that, while the Sorcery! and Fighting Fantasy series were combined when they were reissued in England, they were kept separate and released by different publishers when reissued in Spain (though both series use the new artwork from the British reissues). Speaking of the new artwork, there seems to be some censorship on display here, as the gory corpse is cropped off the bottom of the cover. I can't really blame the editors for doing this; that didn't seem quite appropriate for what is being marketed as a children's book!
This book is not part of my collection; the scan is courtesy of Nicolau Rodrigues.

2. Kharé, ciudad de las mil trampas
Reissue Title: Kharé: La ciudad de las trampas
Translation Of: Kharé - Cityport of Traps
Literal Translations of Spanish Titles: Kharé, City of a Thousand Traps (original), Kharé: The City of Traps (reissue)
Translators: Ana Bermejo and Alberto Martín (Altea edition), Lluis Salvador (Devir edition)
First Published: 1986
Reissued: 2003
ISBN: 84-96262-13-8
Length: 300 pages (511 sections)
This book is not part of my collection; the scan is courtesy of Nicolau Rodrigues.

3. Las siete serpientes
Translation Of: The Seven Serpents
Literal Translation of Spanish Title: The Seven Serpents
Translators: Ana Bermejo and Alberto Martín (Altea edition), Lluis Salvador (Devir edition)
First Published: 1986
Reissued: 2004
ISBN: 84-96262-33-2
Length: 498 sections
This book is not part of my collection; the scan is courtesy of Nicolau Rodrigues.

4. La corona de los reyes
This book is not part of my collection.