Fighting Fantasy #15 - The Rings of Kether
Dramatic. Needs to be dramatic... Nah, fuck it.
Honestly this book is still strange. It was strange when I was 8, and its still strange now that I'm squiggly-squee and a half.
I think that its Andrew Chapman's writing that does it (for he is the one responsible) Some of the shit going on just doesn't fit? There just seems to be no way to grasp what is going on at most points in this book to ever feel like you are solving a mystery or at the very least tracking down the drug cartel. This book is bi-polar, it doesn't know if it is Blade Runner or Dune. Battle Beyond the Stars or Outland. 2001 a space odyssey or Herbie rides again.
Ok, so the basic idea is sound. You are a Narc agent blah, illegal drugs blah, travel to Kether system find cartel and wipe out blah blah.
All good stuff really and it does start out with quite a bit of 'futuristical-ness' with hyperspace travel and spaceports/cantinas etc, but then you run into trouble.
So not counting my initial run through of this book (which happened in a time when I went to school on a dinosaur's bum) I played through it about three times.
From what I can gather there seems to be two distinct ways to get to the end (and two options of HOW it will end while I'm at it)
Method number one which I seemed to play through twice, revolves around being in space a lot, sneaking about by yourself, not really meeting too many people or discovering much in the way of perpetrators etc. And then randomly having a eureka! moment and ending up flying out to where you need to be without too much fuss or bother.
Method number two apparently paints a bullseye on the back of your scrotum and has you dealing with everything from petty thugs and crims all the way to getting thumped and kidnapped by the perps of the cartel themselves - escaping, a la' Batman style, and then hunting the druggies down and flying (sometimes literally) through an endless shit-storm of death until you catch a break and end up where Method number one kicks in.
Seriously. That's how this book plays.
Needless to say I enjoyed Method number Two immensely!
Not only did it make the adventure feel twice as long but you also got to meet and interact with far more NPC's and the kidnapping/threatening/rescuing etc actually gave the book a cool 'Blade Runner' feel that, well felt a lot better than Method one's 'Scooby Doo in space' flavour.
So yeah, one of the weirder titles in the early line up but not a bad read. I suppose its like I said, the book just has a personality problem. My advice to potential readers is just pick the sections that sound like you are going to get in a whole lot of trouble... and you will!
It's much more fun that way =)
What else? Nice cover by Terry Oakes (is he a villain?, is he a crooked Fed? - not Terry, I mean the geezer on the cover!) Mr Oakes is responsible for countless sci-fi and fantasy covers and also did this...
Anyone who gets to do a cover for Hawkwind is endlessly cool in my opinion.
The interior is illustrated by Nik Spender and is awesomely sci fi feeling, this being my fav
I want that guy's jacket...
There's even a babe shot!
Oh baby. Be still my beating loins... (I, um. No. I'm sorry ok?)
Ok so that's that. Next up is 'Seas of Blood' a def favourite of mine from the wonder years. I should have the chance to start it tonight, all things going well.
And speaking of things going well - they are!
My LOTR Moria box set is nearing completion! Photo's of Gandalf, Legolas and Freudo tomorrow.
Huzzah!
Ace
