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Fighting Fantasy #37
Portal of Evil
Evil forces have been awoken!
No one has ever set foot in the dense forest lying to the west of the Cloudhigh Mountains ... until now. Gold fever has hit these inhospitable woodlands and the consequences are terrifying! Some deadly, ancient evil has been disturbed and the whole area is suddenly terrorised by mysterious prehistoric creatures.
It is up to YOU, a renowned and hardy adventurer, to destroy this ancient evil before it is too late.
Part story, part game, this is a book in which YOU become the hero! Two dice, a pencil and an eraser are all you need. YOU decide which routes to take, which dangers to risk and which foes to fight.
No one has ever set foot in the dense forest lying to the west of the Cloudhigh Mountains ... until now. Gold fever has hit these inhospitable woodlands and the consequences are terrifying! Some deadly, ancient evil has been disturbed and the whole area is suddenly terrorised by mysterious prehistoric creatures.
It is up to YOU, a renowned and hardy adventurer, to destroy this ancient evil before it is too late.
Part story, part game, this is a book in which YOU become the hero! Two dice, a pencil and an eraser are all you need. YOU decide which routes to take, which dangers to risk and which foes to fight.
288 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1989
105 people want to read
About the author
Peter Darvill-Evans
15 books7 followersPeter Darvill-Evans is an English writer and editor.
He was born and lived in Buckinghamshire until he went to university, graduating in 1975 from University College, London with a degree in History.
In 1976 Darvill-Evans joined the staff of Games Centre, a specialist games shop in London. He became the manager of a branch of the shop, then manager of wholesale sales, selling board games and eventually role-playing games.
In 1979 he became employed by Games Workshop, becoming first its Trade Sales Manager, then General Manager, responsible for purchases, sales, distribution and magazine publishing. When Games Workshop relocated to Nottingham, Darvill-Evans left the company, preferring to stay in London. He then wrote his first of three Fighting Fantasy gamebooks for Puffin Books.
In 1989, he became the a junior editor at W. H. Allen Ltd, initially overseeing the Target Books imprint. He also oversaw the Nexus imprint of erotic fiction for men, redesigning its logo and cover style as well as changing its editorial direction.
Target's main output was novelisations of the popular science-fiction television series Doctor Who, and when Darvill-Evans arrived he immediately realised that there were very few Doctor Who stories left to novelise. This problem was exacerbated by the cancellation of the television series at the end of 1989. When WH Allen sold the Nexus and Doctor Who lines to Virgin Publishing, Darvill-Evans went with them. Deciding to go freelance, he was made redundant at his own request, and entered negotiations with the BBC to licence Virgin to produce full-length, original novels carrying on the story of the series from the point where the television programme had left off.
Launched in 1991, this hugely successful line of novels were known as the New Adventures. Darvill-Evans set down guidelines for the writers, and even wrote one novel himself, Deceit. Other output from the Virgin fiction department during his time there included another series of Doctor Who novels (the Missing Adventures, featuring previous Doctors and companions); a series of novels following the character of Bernice Summerfield; the Virgin Worlds imprint of new mainstream science-fiction and fantasy novels. Non-science fiction lines included Black Lace, the first mainstream erotic fiction imprint targeted at women; the Crime and Passion imprint; Idol, a homoerotic fiction imprint for men; and Sapphire, a lesbian erotica line.
Other successes included media-tie in books such as the Red Dwarf Programme Guide, which served as the template for guides about other cult television series, and a series of novelisations based on the Jimmy McGovern-scripted series Cracker starring Robbie Coltrane.
By 1997, however, Virgin Publishing decided to emphasise more non-fiction books by and about celebrities. Their license renewal negotiations fell in 1996, a year in which the BBC was seeking to bring all the Doctor Who licenses back in house. Consequently Virgin's Doctor Who license was not renewed and instead the BBC opted to launch their own series of Doctor Who novels. In 1998, Darvill-Evans managed the editing and production of Virgin’s Guide to British Universities, and personally supervised the copy-editing and proofreading of Richard Branson's autobiography Losing My Virginity.
Virgin closed its fiction department in 1999, with Darvill-Evans departing the company and moving to Southampton. He continued to freelance, writing several Doctor Who novels for BBC Books, amongst various other editing and writing work.
In 2001 he began working for the Inland Revenue, and is currently an Inspector of Taxe
He was born and lived in Buckinghamshire until he went to university, graduating in 1975 from University College, London with a degree in History.
In 1976 Darvill-Evans joined the staff of Games Centre, a specialist games shop in London. He became the manager of a branch of the shop, then manager of wholesale sales, selling board games and eventually role-playing games.
In 1979 he became employed by Games Workshop, becoming first its Trade Sales Manager, then General Manager, responsible for purchases, sales, distribution and magazine publishing. When Games Workshop relocated to Nottingham, Darvill-Evans left the company, preferring to stay in London. He then wrote his first of three Fighting Fantasy gamebooks for Puffin Books.
In 1989, he became the a junior editor at W. H. Allen Ltd, initially overseeing the Target Books imprint. He also oversaw the Nexus imprint of erotic fiction for men, redesigning its logo and cover style as well as changing its editorial direction.
Target's main output was novelisations of the popular science-fiction television series Doctor Who, and when Darvill-Evans arrived he immediately realised that there were very few Doctor Who stories left to novelise. This problem was exacerbated by the cancellation of the television series at the end of 1989. When WH Allen sold the Nexus and Doctor Who lines to Virgin Publishing, Darvill-Evans went with them. Deciding to go freelance, he was made redundant at his own request, and entered negotiations with the BBC to licence Virgin to produce full-length, original novels carrying on the story of the series from the point where the television programme had left off.
Launched in 1991, this hugely successful line of novels were known as the New Adventures. Darvill-Evans set down guidelines for the writers, and even wrote one novel himself, Deceit. Other output from the Virgin fiction department during his time there included another series of Doctor Who novels (the Missing Adventures, featuring previous Doctors and companions); a series of novels following the character of Bernice Summerfield; the Virgin Worlds imprint of new mainstream science-fiction and fantasy novels. Non-science fiction lines included Black Lace, the first mainstream erotic fiction imprint targeted at women; the Crime and Passion imprint; Idol, a homoerotic fiction imprint for men; and Sapphire, a lesbian erotica line.
Other successes included media-tie in books such as the Red Dwarf Programme Guide, which served as the template for guides about other cult television series, and a series of novelisations based on the Jimmy McGovern-scripted series Cracker starring Robbie Coltrane.
By 1997, however, Virgin Publishing decided to emphasise more non-fiction books by and about celebrities. Their license renewal negotiations fell in 1996, a year in which the BBC was seeking to bring all the Doctor Who licenses back in house. Consequently Virgin's Doctor Who license was not renewed and instead the BBC opted to launch their own series of Doctor Who novels. In 1998, Darvill-Evans managed the editing and production of Virgin’s Guide to British Universities, and personally supervised the copy-editing and proofreading of Richard Branson's autobiography Losing My Virginity.
Virgin closed its fiction department in 1999, with Darvill-Evans departing the company and moving to Southampton. He continued to freelance, writing several Doctor Who novels for BBC Books, amongst various other editing and writing work.
In 2001 he began working for the Inland Revenue, and is currently an Inspector of Taxe
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
January 3, 2026
Evil dinosaurs give this one extra star. It's just a cool premise.
If you don't care about such things, then remove a star and reflect upon where your childlike imagination and sense of whimsy went, what killed it.
If you don't care about such things, then remove a star and reflect upon where your childlike imagination and sense of whimsy went, what killed it.
June 8, 2018
I loved these books as a kid. Must go back and re-read them to make a proper review. But just look at that art work too... amazing!
January 22, 2015
An adventure to close an extra-dimensional portal
10 June 2013
It took me a while to get around to reading this one, but that probably has more to do with the fact that I am now up to number 37 so not only am I in new territory when it comes to Fighting Fantasy books (I had only read up to, I think, number 21 previously) but I am expecting that the quality of them to start to degrade. It is basically the Law of Diminishing Returns – the more you do something, the less enjoyable (or worse) it gets, and that generally holds also true with television shows (and the Big Bang Theory is a case in point). That is not always true because one of my favourite Shakespearian plays was actually the last play that he wrote (The Tempest).
There is nothing particularly new with this game book, in which I mean that there are no new rules or anything like that. It uses the standard rules, has no magic, and no special statistics. However, I still quite liked this one because the story was interesting and you didn't really know what was going on at the beginning. In many of the books you have a pretty good idea as to the background of the adventure. However we are told very little, and we slowly learn more as we move through the book.
This is also one of those books that if you head in the wrong direction (such as going to Kleinkastel too early) you end up missing a lot of important parts to the book. For instance, if you do not go and look for the rebels, you will not learn of the sorcerer that may be able to help, and even if you do learn of the sorcerer but do not go and visit him, you will end up missing out on some important items. I worked that out when I discovered, in Kleinkastel and a little after, that not only did I need gold (you don't start with any) but there was another object that I needed but didn't have. Oh, and the sorcerer tells you how to actually get through the portal (if you let him do his research – don't worry, this book does not have a time restriction).
It is also interesting that a lot of the monsters in this book are dinosaurs. Basically if you pass through the portal one of three things can happen – you can turn into a zombie slave controlled by the portal, turn into a dinosaur, or simply become obliterated (in that order). The plot, though, is a little clichéd, though not necessarily in the Fighting Fantasy sense. Basically a bunch of greedy gold miners end up digging too deep, uncover an ancient portal, and end up releasing an ancient evil on the land, and guess what, that's right: it is up to you to stop it.
10 June 2013
It took me a while to get around to reading this one, but that probably has more to do with the fact that I am now up to number 37 so not only am I in new territory when it comes to Fighting Fantasy books (I had only read up to, I think, number 21 previously) but I am expecting that the quality of them to start to degrade. It is basically the Law of Diminishing Returns – the more you do something, the less enjoyable (or worse) it gets, and that generally holds also true with television shows (and the Big Bang Theory is a case in point). That is not always true because one of my favourite Shakespearian plays was actually the last play that he wrote (The Tempest).
There is nothing particularly new with this game book, in which I mean that there are no new rules or anything like that. It uses the standard rules, has no magic, and no special statistics. However, I still quite liked this one because the story was interesting and you didn't really know what was going on at the beginning. In many of the books you have a pretty good idea as to the background of the adventure. However we are told very little, and we slowly learn more as we move through the book.
This is also one of those books that if you head in the wrong direction (such as going to Kleinkastel too early) you end up missing a lot of important parts to the book. For instance, if you do not go and look for the rebels, you will not learn of the sorcerer that may be able to help, and even if you do learn of the sorcerer but do not go and visit him, you will end up missing out on some important items. I worked that out when I discovered, in Kleinkastel and a little after, that not only did I need gold (you don't start with any) but there was another object that I needed but didn't have. Oh, and the sorcerer tells you how to actually get through the portal (if you let him do his research – don't worry, this book does not have a time restriction).
It is also interesting that a lot of the monsters in this book are dinosaurs. Basically if you pass through the portal one of three things can happen – you can turn into a zombie slave controlled by the portal, turn into a dinosaur, or simply become obliterated (in that order). The plot, though, is a little clichéd, though not necessarily in the Fighting Fantasy sense. Basically a bunch of greedy gold miners end up digging too deep, uncover an ancient portal, and end up releasing an ancient evil on the land, and guess what, that's right: it is up to you to stop it.
April 16, 2025
Shortly after large scale mining operations hit the remote Khul Cloudsky Mountains, strange things have started happening: there is a rise in giant, reptilian monsters, and zombie-like humanoids are appearing in increasing numbers. Well, sounds like the only solution for it is a single adventurer, who happens to be you.
I find it almost impossible to separate my thoughts on this book from the fact that this was one of my very first Fighting Fantasy books. I can still picture reading it as a very young preteen at my Grandmother's house, impatiently searching desperately for a pair of dice and a pencil. It's not a bad book, and it's quite arguably the second best of the 30s, after Vault of the Vampire (but it might be tied with the much weirder Slaves of the Abyss). It has some strange choices in design, but it's a lot more free than many in the series; the central conceit makes it stand out albeit not always in a positive way; and its final confrontations are very satisfying, overall.
There's kind of two world building ideas here: the first is that we've got a rural forest area, which has been disrupted by the rise of mining companies, injecting a bit of 19th c frontier sense into this fantasy world. The second is that, as is traditional, these miners have dug too deep and a strange portal they uncovered is transforming people into slaves, prehistoric monsters, or corpses. I like that the portal itself is the ultimate villain; that's a bit of a fresh vibe in the series, and there's an awesome statement in its ultimate demise: "There is a moment of silence; then an indiscernible, brain-curdling noise as of the rending of the substance of the universe, a scream fading into infinite distance." "As of the rending of the substance of the universe." What a wonderful Lovecraftian phrase. It adds a touch of cosmic horror to the proceedings--not as much as other stories (including those from Darvill-Evans, as we'll discuss later) but it's nice for variety. The dinosaurs are... a little more mixed, weirdly. There's an oddly meta level to them, as the narrator tells the reader more about them than the PC would actually know, and they're presented in a way that's less fun than, say, Robot Commando--though admittedly, it's hard to top mech fighters vs. dinosaurs. There's also the awkward fact that dinosaurs are not common in Titan, but not entirely unknown either, so the uniqueness isn't what it should be. And as one more damning item, most of the weirdest, most intriguing parts of the book come from the non-dino parts: the wizard's shadow, the humanoid squirrels, the benevolent old goblin. Still, the mix of human minds with the dinos adds a flourish of body horror, and again, it does work to making the book stand out, especially among its mid to low contemporaries.
In terms of design, the book is mostly solid. There's a high number of instadeath passages, but most are at least a little reasonable. There are some items that required, especially in going through the portal for the first time, and at the very end, but most of those also have multiple ways of getting the item, or a path where partial success is okay too. That's considerably more generous than most books of the series, and particularly more so than its immediate predecessor, the Ian Livingstone penned Armies of Death. The exception is the odd substance Igneolite--you're basically walking dead for a very long time if you fail to pick it up. There's also an exceptionally long section--about 140 passages in total--that you can only access if you make the right choice in the very first choice in the book. That's over a third of book that is just invisible if you don't help the elf and dinosaur AND follow up on their Gartax lead. Granted, you're generally primed to help people asking for help, but it's a weird choice, made all the more weirder that you don't really need that section at all--it'll give you a better idea of what to aim for, but there's nothing essential down that path. You could complete the book and never know it existed. That's not bad per se, but it's very strange. There's comparatively much less space devoted to the actual portal world, and as per the dino comments, the Khul-based part of the story is arguably much more interesting anyway.
That said, I think the final encounters are pretty satisfying, minus two elements. As I said, it's incredibly frustrating to get to the end and realize you still failed, because of a mistake you made at least 30 choices ago. And the second will take a little bit of explaining. There are essentially three ways to proceed to the end boss--captured by Slave Warriors, and you break out; you infiltrate the final fortress alone; and you join the rebelling natives and go with them to liberate their stolen queen. (There's some minor case for a postcolonial narrative in the latter part, but very minor--the whole story is essentially a Lost World riff, after all.) Anyway, getting out of the captured part alive means solving a weird riddle, and while I eventually solved it, I'm not a fan. The really good side of the finale is that after that, the escape and infiltrate parts converge, and you can gain some allies for the lead in to the fight, and the fight itself has a nice body horror reveal too.
This is Peter Darvill-Evans' second of three books for Fighting Fantasy, and arguably the most accessible yet also least ambitious. I think Beneath Nightmare Castle is an underrated gem of very densely plotted structure and cosmic horror goodness, while also admitting it's very hard. Spectral Stalkers can be very, very easy, but it also has an entire multiverse in it, including a long Borges reference in an infinite library. In contrast, Portal of Evil has a few standout ideas, but is much more straightforward. It's interesting, though, that like Spectral Stalkers, it has an extended bit at the end in another world, and large sections that are entirely skippable. Honestly, I wish he had written more.
To sum up: I had and still have fond memories of this book. It's not perfect, but it stands out, particularly among its contemporaries.
I find it almost impossible to separate my thoughts on this book from the fact that this was one of my very first Fighting Fantasy books. I can still picture reading it as a very young preteen at my Grandmother's house, impatiently searching desperately for a pair of dice and a pencil. It's not a bad book, and it's quite arguably the second best of the 30s, after Vault of the Vampire (but it might be tied with the much weirder Slaves of the Abyss). It has some strange choices in design, but it's a lot more free than many in the series; the central conceit makes it stand out albeit not always in a positive way; and its final confrontations are very satisfying, overall.
There's kind of two world building ideas here: the first is that we've got a rural forest area, which has been disrupted by the rise of mining companies, injecting a bit of 19th c frontier sense into this fantasy world. The second is that, as is traditional, these miners have dug too deep and a strange portal they uncovered is transforming people into slaves, prehistoric monsters, or corpses. I like that the portal itself is the ultimate villain; that's a bit of a fresh vibe in the series, and there's an awesome statement in its ultimate demise: "There is a moment of silence; then an indiscernible, brain-curdling noise as of the rending of the substance of the universe, a scream fading into infinite distance." "As of the rending of the substance of the universe." What a wonderful Lovecraftian phrase. It adds a touch of cosmic horror to the proceedings--not as much as other stories (including those from Darvill-Evans, as we'll discuss later) but it's nice for variety. The dinosaurs are... a little more mixed, weirdly. There's an oddly meta level to them, as the narrator tells the reader more about them than the PC would actually know, and they're presented in a way that's less fun than, say, Robot Commando--though admittedly, it's hard to top mech fighters vs. dinosaurs. There's also the awkward fact that dinosaurs are not common in Titan, but not entirely unknown either, so the uniqueness isn't what it should be. And as one more damning item, most of the weirdest, most intriguing parts of the book come from the non-dino parts: the wizard's shadow, the humanoid squirrels, the benevolent old goblin. Still, the mix of human minds with the dinos adds a flourish of body horror, and again, it does work to making the book stand out, especially among its mid to low contemporaries.
In terms of design, the book is mostly solid. There's a high number of instadeath passages, but most are at least a little reasonable. There are some items that required, especially in going through the portal for the first time, and at the very end, but most of those also have multiple ways of getting the item, or a path where partial success is okay too. That's considerably more generous than most books of the series, and particularly more so than its immediate predecessor, the Ian Livingstone penned Armies of Death. The exception is the odd substance Igneolite--you're basically walking dead for a very long time if you fail to pick it up. There's also an exceptionally long section--about 140 passages in total--that you can only access if you make the right choice in the very first choice in the book. That's over a third of book that is just invisible if you don't help the elf and dinosaur AND follow up on their Gartax lead. Granted, you're generally primed to help people asking for help, but it's a weird choice, made all the more weirder that you don't really need that section at all--it'll give you a better idea of what to aim for, but there's nothing essential down that path. You could complete the book and never know it existed. That's not bad per se, but it's very strange. There's comparatively much less space devoted to the actual portal world, and as per the dino comments, the Khul-based part of the story is arguably much more interesting anyway.
That said, I think the final encounters are pretty satisfying, minus two elements. As I said, it's incredibly frustrating to get to the end and realize you still failed, because of a mistake you made at least 30 choices ago. And the second will take a little bit of explaining. There are essentially three ways to proceed to the end boss--captured by Slave Warriors, and you break out; you infiltrate the final fortress alone; and you join the rebelling natives and go with them to liberate their stolen queen. (There's some minor case for a postcolonial narrative in the latter part, but very minor--the whole story is essentially a Lost World riff, after all.) Anyway, getting out of the captured part alive means solving a weird riddle, and while I eventually solved it, I'm not a fan. The really good side of the finale is that after that, the escape and infiltrate parts converge, and you can gain some allies for the lead in to the fight, and the fight itself has a nice body horror reveal too.
This is Peter Darvill-Evans' second of three books for Fighting Fantasy, and arguably the most accessible yet also least ambitious. I think Beneath Nightmare Castle is an underrated gem of very densely plotted structure and cosmic horror goodness, while also admitting it's very hard. Spectral Stalkers can be very, very easy, but it also has an entire multiverse in it, including a long Borges reference in an infinite library. In contrast, Portal of Evil has a few standout ideas, but is much more straightforward. It's interesting, though, that like Spectral Stalkers, it has an extended bit at the end in another world, and large sections that are entirely skippable. Honestly, I wish he had written more.
To sum up: I had and still have fond memories of this book. It's not perfect, but it stands out, particularly among its contemporaries.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 6, 2022
I really liked this book, but my son and I didn’t get very far after failing in the tournament to choose a champion to compete the quest.
At FFF4 last week, the book’s author (and former HMRC tax inspector), Peter Darvill-Evans, said that one of his main objectives in writing this book was to find a way to bring dinosaurs into the world of Titan. He manages this, and the story’s many prehistoric creatures (many more than you get in Robot Commando, the other FF book that features a dino on its cover) are brilliantly illustrated by artist Alan Langford (who was also at FFF4 last week, and who kindly drew my son his very own picture, with a personal message).
One to come back to, though I hear that once you get through the eponymous ‘portal’, it’s a bit of an anticlimax.
At FFF4 last week, the book’s author (and former HMRC tax inspector), Peter Darvill-Evans, said that one of his main objectives in writing this book was to find a way to bring dinosaurs into the world of Titan. He manages this, and the story’s many prehistoric creatures (many more than you get in Robot Commando, the other FF book that features a dino on its cover) are brilliantly illustrated by artist Alan Langford (who was also at FFF4 last week, and who kindly drew my son his very own picture, with a personal message).
One to come back to, though I hear that once you get through the eponymous ‘portal’, it’s a bit of an anticlimax.
September 4, 2021
The basic premise of this book - an ancient evil has been accidentally awakened, and now must be stopped - is not particularly original, but this is nonetheless a well constructed and written adventure, with lots of interesting stuff. A worthy entry in the series. Just don't go to Kleinkastel too early: you have to do something else first.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 7, 2024
A solid entry, and one of the best written stories of the series. Excellent setup and world building, rich characters, and good flow. You really get to choose your path and fully explore the area. Fairly balanced encounters and multiple ways to win. The only negative are the lost world/dinosaurs, which aren't satisfyingly worked into the plot. Otherwise very strong.
January 15, 2023
One of the more imaginative and well-executed of the late 1980s Fighting Fantasy books. Full review: https://refereeingandreflection.wordp...
August 17, 2024
Great stuff. Had a blast reading this in the comfort of a cabin in a woodland a few years ago. This is definitely one of the cosiest Fighting Fantasy adventures I’ve read and the premise is really interesting.
June 10, 2020
Good enjoyable romp, but the last climatic battle is not great as the opponent is pretty weak and i prefer a much harder battle.
January 15, 2021
Really enjoyed this one. Interesting themes and al the books that involve Dinosaurs are hard to resist.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews