Stormslayer - 9 out of 10!

Jon Oliver kindly directed me towards this review of my Fighting Fantasy adventure gamebook Stormslayer over at Fantasy Book Review.

It's almost wholly positive, except for the bit where the reviewer

says, "The story feels a little lacking in originality at times." What's that supposed to mean? I mean, has he played many meteorology-based gamebooks before?

I am aware that this last comment may come across as a little petty, but it annoys me when reviewers make such sweeping statements without backing them up. What was it about the adventure that lacked originality? Going down a Dwarf mine in a drilling machine and battling a giant golem made of rusted pit props? Exploring the inside of a volcano? Battling the villain aboard a flying brass fish? And if it's so unoriginal, why give it 9 out of 10?

Reading reviews can be a harrowing experience, but if somebody makes a criticism I always try to take it on board, as I am always striving to improve as a writer and if nobody ever comments on your work you're never going to know where you need to up your game.

So, 9 out of 10 - great! Sweeping generalisations without any examples to back them up - a tad annoying.

Until next time...