40 years of Demons of the Deep

Demons of the Deep, the 19th Fighting Fantasy Gamebook, was published on this day 40 years ago, in 1986.

It was the second of three FF gamebooks by the American game designer Steve Jackson and was the first to be set almost entirely under the sea.

The Hero of the adventure is the first mate of the merchant ship Sunfish. At the beginning of the book, the Sunfish is attacked by the pirate ship Troll, a vessel under the command of Captain Bloodaxe, the terror of these seas. The only survivor of the attack, the Hero is forced to walk the plank.

As they sink to certain death at the bottom of the ocean, mysterious magic takes over, enabling them to breathe underwater. Saved from drowning, the Hero sets about discovering the means by which they might be revenged upon the murderous Bloodaxe.

Like Fighting Fantasy’s previous sea-based adventure Seas of Blood, Demons of the Deep was illustrated by Bob Harvey. However, this time its cover was painted by fantasy and FF art veteran Les Edwards, and depicts the Bone Demon, from the book, rising from its cave beneath the sunken ruins of Atlantis.

“I always enjoy making up monsters,” says Edwards, “although sometimes what works in the written word doesn’t necessarily work visually.”

Demons of the Deep is also notable for including the marine-dwelling Deep Ones, which appear to have been inspired by the creatures of the same name from H. P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos.

Much of the action takes place in the sunken ruins of Atlantis, meaning that when Marc Gascoigne came to write Titan – The Fighting Fantasy World*, he had to shoehorn the legend of Atlantis into the history of Fighting Fantasy’s made-up world.

Gascoigne placed the city of Atlantis on a vast antediluvian island, lying in the shadow of the massive volcano Atlan’s Beacon, until it was inevitably swallowed by waves, of course.

To find out more about the history of your favourite Fighting Fantasy adventures, grab yourself a copy of Jonathan Green's YOU ARE THE HERO: An Interactive History of Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks today!

* Also published for the first time in 1986.