LessthanThreeD

Bloodbones
by Jonathan Green

Part of the Fighting Fantasy series, this interactive fantasy book has you playing the hero as you seek revenge on the evil pirate Cinnabar after he killed your family.

Much like the familiar (to me, at least) Choose Your Own Adventure books, this book has you as the main character, making decisions that influence the way the story plays out. This particular series also involves rolling dice to determine and implement your character’s skills. It’s a great, easy way to to have a solo tabletop RPG experience. And there is decent replay value if you want to try making different decisions or, like me, failed to exact revenge on the evil pirate even after a handful of attempts. I’ll get you some day, Cinnabar.

I enjoyed this book quite a bit. It is the first Fighting Fantasy book I’ve read, so I’m not sure how it compares to the other books in the series as far as story and difficulty. I did find it challenging, never finding the secret pirate hideout in the first part of the adventure, despite my best efforts. Even so, I had a lot of fun trying. I love stories with pirates, and RPGs, so this was a cool mashup of reading and playing, and the addition of rolling dice and having an inventory and currency was something I’ve never used in this style of book before.

If you’re looking for a TTRPG fix, but struggling to consistently get a group together, or just toying with the idea of trying one out, I’d definitely recommend checking this series out.

<3D