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Fighting Fantasy Novels #1
The Trolltooth Wars
This fantasy story follows Darkmane's journey from Salamonis to the mysterious desert city of Shazaar, to Yaztromo's Tower, south of Darkwood Forest and finally to Kay-Pong to seek out Zagor, the Warlock of Firetop Mountain. Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone founded Games Workshop Ltd.
Paperback
First published April 6, 1989
3 people are currently reading
95 people want to read
About the author
Steve Jackson
67 books155 followersSteve Jackson (born 20 May 1951) is a British game designer, writer, and game reviewer, who is often confused with the American game designer of the same name.
Along with Ian Livingstone, he is the creator of the Fighting Fantasy books. The US Jackson also wrote three books in the Fighting Fantasy series, which adds to the confusion, especially as these books were simply credited to "Steve Jackson" without any acknowledgement that it was a different person.
See also:
Steve Jackson, US game designer
Steve Jackson, author of works on crime
Steve Jackson, Scottish thriller writer
Along with Ian Livingstone, he is the creator of the Fighting Fantasy books. The US Jackson also wrote three books in the Fighting Fantasy series, which adds to the confusion, especially as these books were simply credited to "Steve Jackson" without any acknowledgement that it was a different person.
See also:
Steve Jackson, US game designer
Steve Jackson, author of works on crime
Steve Jackson, Scottish thriller writer
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
September 10, 2018
So two evil wizards, Balthus Dire and Zharradan Marr, have come into all-out war, where only one might survive. Unfortunately the kingdom of Salamonis lies between their power bases. Not only is it in immediate danger--although this detail of weird monster armies trooping through Salamonis lands is strangely absent--but the survivor of the Dire/Marr war will likely turn his eye toward dominating the entire region. It is therefore in the kingdom's best interest to force the wizards into lengthy, debilitating conflict, and then pick off the weakened survivor. The King's special agent Chadda Darkmane is appointed the task.
Rather than masterminding a plot involving several embedded agents inside the Dire and Marr strongholds and hand-picking strike teams to harry each army in field, of course, he gathers a small traveling group of semi-skilled, loosely controlled misfits and searches for someone to tell him what to do. He eventually leads his cohorts--hereafter, "adventuring party"--on a harebrained scheme to enlist the help of a third evil wizard by invading _his_ stronghold and beating up his henchmen. This in a series of events more than vaguely familiar to readers who have ever cast an eye on the pages of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain.
So from a promising start it devolves into a series of weird monster battles between the wizards, and a gather-the-party foozle travel quest and dungeon crawl on the part of Darkmane, whose contribution is finally to be in the right place at the right time and know the right people. And I was ready for this from the first pages for this to be pretty good. Dire and Marr continue to escalate the conflict, each tapping into more unreliable magic and more disloyal and dangerous servants. Mutual disaster loomed, threatening to obliterate them and the poor kingdom of Salamonis.
Perhaps it is the Russ Nicholson artwork or the way that it is used, but the Fighting Fantasy setting has a weird grubbiness that is absolutely unique. Nicholson's artwork is detailed and textured to the point where even the picture of the beautiful sorceress comes off as grotesque. Unfortunately the composition of the art is sometimes so dense and lacking whitespace that it becomes little more than a wall of texture and indistinct shapes.
Rather than masterminding a plot involving several embedded agents inside the Dire and Marr strongholds and hand-picking strike teams to harry each army in field, of course, he gathers a small traveling group of semi-skilled, loosely controlled misfits and searches for someone to tell him what to do. He eventually leads his cohorts--hereafter, "adventuring party"--on a harebrained scheme to enlist the help of a third evil wizard by invading _his_ stronghold and beating up his henchmen. This in a series of events more than vaguely familiar to readers who have ever cast an eye on the pages of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain.
So from a promising start it devolves into a series of weird monster battles between the wizards, and a gather-the-party foozle travel quest and dungeon crawl on the part of Darkmane, whose contribution is finally to be in the right place at the right time and know the right people. And I was ready for this from the first pages for this to be pretty good. Dire and Marr continue to escalate the conflict, each tapping into more unreliable magic and more disloyal and dangerous servants. Mutual disaster loomed, threatening to obliterate them and the poor kingdom of Salamonis.
Perhaps it is the Russ Nicholson artwork or the way that it is used, but the Fighting Fantasy setting has a weird grubbiness that is absolutely unique. Nicholson's artwork is detailed and textured to the point where even the picture of the beautiful sorceress comes off as grotesque. Unfortunately the composition of the art is sometimes so dense and lacking whitespace that it becomes little more than a wall of texture and indistinct shapes.
June 22, 2016
The first book that set my mind on fire and got read in one day, then again and again - The Trolltooth Wars. Basically just fanfic of the fighting fantasy series, but that pretty much opened the door to a lifetime of reading love. I forget how old I was, but I vividly remember getting it for Christmas, then sitting down in front of a fire to check it out, and reading nonstop until done. This book was so much fun (for young, newbie reader me) that I'm giving it 5 stars. I guarantee I'd hate it if I tried to read it today. But man, this book rocked my socks back in the day.
June 7, 2013
No better than I expected, really. Full of situations that made more sense as encounters in a gamebook rather than actual plot elements, lots of telling rather than showing and generally a long march of cliches. Still has a certain imbecile charm, although none of the characters ever comes even vaguely close to life and the plot just seems ridiculous.
December 30, 2016
I will admit that the four stars may be influenced by nostalgia but they are a nice and easy read and takes me back to my pre-teen fantasy/roleplaying memories :)
July 8, 2019
I enjoyed this book when I was a young lad back at school but reading it as an adult I’m disappointed by the bad plot, particularly of the decisions of the main character and even by the choice of the king in defending his realm from the war.
There is some good, particularly of the combat and descriptions, the best parts being when we are with the antagonists and their minions.
The very worst is the ending which is really random coming out of nowhere causing my suspension of disbelief to be, well, suspended.
There is some good, particularly of the combat and descriptions, the best parts being when we are with the antagonists and their minions.
The very worst is the ending which is really random coming out of nowhere causing my suspension of disbelief to be, well, suspended.
April 5, 2011
This brought back good memories of my childhood.
Sadly some memories also got tarnished, as the quick paced action adventure I remembered turned out to feel as if it was missing huge chunks to my adult mind.
Still worth a read but perhaps it is something best read with the kids.
Sadly some memories also got tarnished, as the quick paced action adventure I remembered turned out to feel as if it was missing huge chunks to my adult mind.
Still worth a read but perhaps it is something best read with the kids.
September 6, 2011
Junk fantasy. It's not bad, but it covers entirely familiar ground in a most perfunctory way.
Want to read
May 25, 2015Edward 10 years says 4.9 stars. Edward says the narration was amazing and the illustration was really good.
November 26, 2020
Before I started reading ‘The Trolltooth Wars’ (1989) I wondered whether the great Steve Jackson, co-founder of the Fighting Fantasy gamebook series and author of many a great gamebook, was able to transfer his skills from the gamebook format to that of the novel.
He managed it. The book benefits from a strong plot, good prose, and artwork by the series’ favourite artist, Russ Nicholson (though it’s far from Nicholson’s best work).
‘The Trolltooth Wars’ is best in its smaller-scale, more intimate moments and when it’s more like a gamebook - when its characters are drinking ale in a tavern, or are roaming through Allansia on their quest. The skirmishes, battle scenes and insights into the psychology of its sorcerers are weaker. It quickly becomes clear that the main character is the one that would be played by YOU, the hero, if this were a gamebook.
Fighting Fantasy fans also get to experience the considerable pleasure of a journey through some very familiar Allansia territory and encounters with various old friends (and enemies) from the gamebooks. We even get what amounts to a partial walk-through of the book that started it all, ‘The Warlock of Firetop Mountain’ (1982), which is a high point.
This is a solid fantasy novel, perhaps for a slightly older audience than the early gamebooks, due to its considerable violence and more complex prose, and the Fighting Fantasy fan reaps the added pleasures of what feels like a bit of a reunion with old friends.
Two sequels followed, ‘Demonstealer’ (1991), by Marc Gascoigne, and ‘Shadowmaster’(1992), by Marc Gascoigne and Ian Livingstone. Both, like ‘The Trolltooth Wars’, featured internal artwork by Russ Nicholson and cover illustrations by Chris Achilleos.
He managed it. The book benefits from a strong plot, good prose, and artwork by the series’ favourite artist, Russ Nicholson (though it’s far from Nicholson’s best work).
‘The Trolltooth Wars’ is best in its smaller-scale, more intimate moments and when it’s more like a gamebook - when its characters are drinking ale in a tavern, or are roaming through Allansia on their quest. The skirmishes, battle scenes and insights into the psychology of its sorcerers are weaker. It quickly becomes clear that the main character is the one that would be played by YOU, the hero, if this were a gamebook.
Fighting Fantasy fans also get to experience the considerable pleasure of a journey through some very familiar Allansia territory and encounters with various old friends (and enemies) from the gamebooks. We even get what amounts to a partial walk-through of the book that started it all, ‘The Warlock of Firetop Mountain’ (1982), which is a high point.
This is a solid fantasy novel, perhaps for a slightly older audience than the early gamebooks, due to its considerable violence and more complex prose, and the Fighting Fantasy fan reaps the added pleasures of what feels like a bit of a reunion with old friends.
Two sequels followed, ‘Demonstealer’ (1991), by Marc Gascoigne, and ‘Shadowmaster’(1992), by Marc Gascoigne and Ian Livingstone. Both, like ‘The Trolltooth Wars’, featured internal artwork by Russ Nicholson and cover illustrations by Chris Achilleos.
March 29, 2021
This gets 4 stars purely for the nostalgia as I haven't read this for 30 years. Amusingly I remember this being at the peak of my reading ability and felt quite proud at finishing such a wordy book. 30 years on and I can see how awful it is and I mean that in the warmest possible way.
Really, The Trolltooth Wars, if you have no nostalgic connection to it or you aren't a pre-pubescent child will read terribly. It's full of the most inane use of cliche, the plot is as predictable as a Twitter argument and the character development is non-existent. However, despite all these flaws, I am spending a lot of time reading Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone's FF role-playing books and love how this novel ties in ideas from the first 3 FF books.
The Trolltooth Wars is heavily flawed but essential to fans of Livingstone and Jackson.
Really, The Trolltooth Wars, if you have no nostalgic connection to it or you aren't a pre-pubescent child will read terribly. It's full of the most inane use of cliche, the plot is as predictable as a Twitter argument and the character development is non-existent. However, despite all these flaws, I am spending a lot of time reading Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone's FF role-playing books and love how this novel ties in ideas from the first 3 FF books.
The Trolltooth Wars is heavily flawed but essential to fans of Livingstone and Jackson.
December 1, 2020
This is no classic in the great scheme of things, but if you're a fan of Fighting Fantasy, then you'll really enjoy this. If you've read the three main gamebooks that it takes the lore from, then it's as comfy as putting on an old pair of slippers.
The writing is good, the art is solid, but the ending has a real Clash of the Titans feel to it and could have been improved.
The writing is good, the art is solid, but the ending has a real Clash of the Titans feel to it and could have been improved.
April 2, 2021
I really enjoyed this one. Easy to ready evocative and descriptive detail. It felt like a Clash of the Titans style narrative interspersed with White Dwarf Warhammer Fantasy battle reports. Good fun all round. I especially enyoyed reading about Yaztromo, Balthus Dyer and Zagor from the Fighting Fantasy mythos. I'll read it again. Would make a great audiobook with a full cast.
April 21, 2020
I first got this from the library when I was 12 but I never managed to finish it.
I finally finished it. I liked the story, it was like The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, The Citadel of Chaos and Creature of Havoc stories were amalgamated. I liked the idea of the wars and a warrior who undertook the challenge to seek out Zagor.
So it turns out Zagor wasn't so bad. When I played the first FF book I had to kill him at the end; and it turns out the treasure chest had a magical orb, not gold.
Throughout it had complex characters, some who I obviously recognised from reading the gamebooks, Darkmane wasn't particularly likeable, he seemed arrogant and was mean to the poor Chervah. The mercenary, I didn't expect the plot twist with him.
Some parts of the story, I didn't understand what their purpose was, such as the little anecdote of the little boys who got caught up in the war and never got to see their family again, but I'm guessing this was to show how the war affected different families in the land.
But it was a good story to read anyway, although difficult to stay focused on at some points.
I finally finished it. I liked the story, it was like The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, The Citadel of Chaos and Creature of Havoc stories were amalgamated. I liked the idea of the wars and a warrior who undertook the challenge to seek out Zagor.
So it turns out Zagor wasn't so bad. When I played the first FF book I had to kill him at the end; and it turns out the treasure chest had a magical orb, not gold.
Throughout it had complex characters, some who I obviously recognised from reading the gamebooks, Darkmane wasn't particularly likeable, he seemed arrogant and was mean to the poor Chervah. The mercenary, I didn't expect the plot twist with him.
Some parts of the story, I didn't understand what their purpose was, such as the little anecdote of the little boys who got caught up in the war and never got to see their family again, but I'm guessing this was to show how the war affected different families in the land.
But it was a good story to read anyway, although difficult to stay focused on at some points.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews