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aejackson's review
5.0
The massive paperback competes with Michael J. Ward’s Destiny Quest series for page count - and might out-perform Ward’s series with its fast-paced and vivid descriptions. The adventure tome is further enhanced by the illustrations of Ilya Shkipin. These stunning visuals evoke a sense of being in the same space as the creature being faced. The images call to mind Frank Frazzeta or Boris Vallejo, and they lend a visceral aspect to the already believable text.
'A fool's quest,' they declared, shaking their heads in disbelief. 'Reckless and foolhardy,' said others, 'and one that will surely claim your life.' In any event, you have never been one to shy away from a challenge, and in this case, the lure of adventure and the promise of great treasure are just too tempting!
And so begins an epic and unforgettable adventure that will ultimately decide the very fate of your beloved Ataraxia...
The large font, chosen by the publisher and author TroyAnthony Schermer, makes the gamebook easy to read and play. Readers will find they are flipping pages faster than other interactive novels which will convey a sense of progression and pacing which matches the plot line.
The few pages devoted to explaining the gamebook mechanics are clear and readers will feel equipped to enter the world without hesitation. There is an easy combat mechanic which is good. At times, other gamebook become cumbersome in their calculation of combat results. The enemies are well balanced and fair for the depth into the adventure readers are trying to survive.
Character statistics increase with failure, which I always favored and enjoyed as a gaming mechanic. This experience builder makes readers willing to try actions rather only do things that they know will be safe. Rather than always pass a check, players will attempt things far outside their capability, and may fail. But they’ll be rewarded for the attempt.
Slight spoiler… During the first read-through, I defeated the Lich Lord pretty fast. That success left me feeling let down by the short length of the quest… But then… a new, unexpected quest was underway before I knew it. The rest of the novel started to come alive and the revealed plot hints at a much larger adventures to come.
Legorain Kings is a great gamebook - so far!
TroyAnthony Schermer is an author, game designer, and publisher. It was my pleasure to contribute two horror stories to his anthology Symphony of the Damned. He can also make an incredible Filipino eggroll called lumpia!
As an avid collector of interactive fiction and gamebooks - like Fighting Fantasy and Choose Your Own Adventures - it came as no surprise to his followers that TroyAnthony’s first book, Balance of Fate: The Legorian Kings Saga, was a choice-based narrative adventure. He is hard at work on the third and much-anticipated title in the Savage Realms Gamebooks series, a high fantasy adventure entitled Malivor: Cataclysm’s Edge, which drops soon.
Read more from TroyAnthony Schermer at https://www.facebook.com/groups/240797886828681/ and find him on social media at Facebook(@savagerealmspress), and Twitter(@SGamebooks).
'A fool's quest,' they declared, shaking their heads in disbelief. 'Reckless and foolhardy,' said others, 'and one that will surely claim your life.' In any event, you have never been one to shy away from a challenge, and in this case, the lure of adventure and the promise of great treasure are just too tempting!
And so begins an epic and unforgettable adventure that will ultimately decide the very fate of your beloved Ataraxia...
The large font, chosen by the publisher and author TroyAnthony Schermer, makes the gamebook easy to read and play. Readers will find they are flipping pages faster than other interactive novels which will convey a sense of progression and pacing which matches the plot line.
The few pages devoted to explaining the gamebook mechanics are clear and readers will feel equipped to enter the world without hesitation. There is an easy combat mechanic which is good. At times, other gamebook become cumbersome in their calculation of combat results. The enemies are well balanced and fair for the depth into the adventure readers are trying to survive.
Character statistics increase with failure, which I always favored and enjoyed as a gaming mechanic. This experience builder makes readers willing to try actions rather only do things that they know will be safe. Rather than always pass a check, players will attempt things far outside their capability, and may fail. But they’ll be rewarded for the attempt.
Slight spoiler… During the first read-through, I defeated the Lich Lord pretty fast. That success left me feeling let down by the short length of the quest… But then… a new, unexpected quest was underway before I knew it. The rest of the novel started to come alive and the revealed plot hints at a much larger adventures to come.
Legorain Kings is a great gamebook - so far!
TroyAnthony Schermer is an author, game designer, and publisher. It was my pleasure to contribute two horror stories to his anthology Symphony of the Damned. He can also make an incredible Filipino eggroll called lumpia!
As an avid collector of interactive fiction and gamebooks - like Fighting Fantasy and Choose Your Own Adventures - it came as no surprise to his followers that TroyAnthony’s first book, Balance of Fate: The Legorian Kings Saga, was a choice-based narrative adventure. He is hard at work on the third and much-anticipated title in the Savage Realms Gamebooks series, a high fantasy adventure entitled Malivor: Cataclysm’s Edge, which drops soon.
Read more from TroyAnthony Schermer at https://www.facebook.com/groups/240797886828681/ and find him on social media at Facebook(@savagerealmspress), and Twitter(@SGamebooks).
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