Sir Ian Livingstone at Budapest Comic Con

At the weekend, Sir Ian Livingstone was in Hungary, appearing at Budapest Comic Con 2026.

While he was there, as well as hanging out with the team from Chameleon Comix, who publish Fighting Fantasy in Hungarian...

...Sir Ian also met Krisztián Balla, who illustrated The Dungeon on Blood Island...

...and László Arpad, the talented illustrator behind the Qatlas Fighting Fantasy solution maps.

Sir Ian's Saturday signing session was a record in that it took over 8 hours, virtually non-stop, for him to sign everyone's books!

Adventures on Blood Island

Incredibly, it is over 18 months since Sir Ian Livingstone's latest Fighting Fantasy gamebook was launched at Fighting Fantasy Fest 5.

The Dungeon on Blood Island took adventurers back to Lard Carnuss' private, offshore, holiday hangout and sent them into a labyrinth filled with savage creatures and deadly traps.

The prize on offer was the fabled Golden Orb of Fang, if only the brave adventurer who found it could then also escape from the dungeon alive.​​​

Illustrations from The Dungeon on Blood Island, by Krisztián Balla.

Since then, The Dungeon on Blood Island has been published in Danish and Hungarian, by Faraos Cigarer and Chameleon Comix respectively.

So, speakers of which language will be given the dubious pleasure of exploring The Dungeon on Blood Island next?

Are YOU tough enough to survive attacks by Allansia's most dangerous and deadly assassins?

Tin Man Games have confirmed that the next Fighting Fantasy gamebook to receive the Fighting Fantasy Classics makeover will be Assassins of Allansia, written by Sir Ian Livingstone.

After accepting a challenge to survive on Snake Island, a nightmare unfolds when a bounty is placed on your head. Beware the ruthless assassins hellbent on hunting you down - but who are they? Where are they? Trust no one...

First published in 2019, this new digital version of Assassins of Allansia uses Karl Kopinski's cover that appeared on the limited edition hardbacks launched at Fighting Fantasy Fest 3, and interior illustrations by Krisztián Balla, that featured in the Hungarian edition of the book, published by Chameleon Comix.

Features include:

• Make the gamebook as easy or as hard as you like and even turn on a special 'Free Read' mode to play the book like an old-school cheater!
• Map feature makes it easy to keep track of everywhere you have explored during current and previous playthroughs.
• Unlimited Bookmarks allow you to revisit difficult sections as many times as desired.
• Licensed artwork form Karl Kopinski and Krisztián Balla.
• Automated Adventure Sheet that keeps track of your stats, inventory and knowledge gained during your journey.

So don't delay, and download Assassins of Allansia today. Just remember... trust no one!

More Fighting Fantasy gamebooks are heading overseas

News today of two more translations of Fighting Fantasy gamebooks. First up is Rhianna Pratchett's Crystal of Storms, which is being released in Hungary by Chameleon Comix as Viharkristályhoz.

As well as boasting new cover art - featuring one of everyone's favourite, wheel-shaped critters - the Hungarian edition also has new interior illustrations by István Lakatos, which remind the Warlock of John Blanche's artwork for Steve Jackson's Sorcery! series.

And then we have Le pirate de l'au-delà, which is the French title for Bloodbones, by Jonathan Green. This isn't a new translation but it is a new edition, to match the other Fighting Fantasy gamebooks Gallimard Jeunesse have released over the last couple of years.

The Return of Sourbelly and Fatnose

We first met them in Ian Livingstone's seminal Fighting Fantasy gamebook City of Thieves...

And more recently, Atlantis Miniatures turned them into 3D models...

But everyone's favourite Port Blacksand law enforcement duo - Sourbelly and Fatnose - will also be making an appearance as supporting characters in Chameleon Comix's City of Thieves graphic novel.

Not many details have been released about the plot of the graphic novel yet, but we do know that one Ebonious Malfante is the villain of the story...

And that the cults of Tanit, Goddess of Envy, and Slangg, the God of Malice, clearly also have a part to play, judging by these character illustrations by artist Krisztián Balla. 

Are you looking forward to the City of Thieves graphic novel? And who else do you hope will make an appearance during the course of the story? Let us know in the comments below.

The 12 Fighting Fantasy Days of Christmas - Day 3

Hungarian fans of Fighting Fantasy gamebooks, or indeed fans of Hungarian Fighting Fantasy gamebooks, are going to be in for a treat next year.

Following on from the release of Hungarian editions of Assassins of Allansia and, more recently, The Port of Peril, 2021 is going to see the publication of translated editions of two more Ian Livingstone adventures - Deathtrap Dungeon and Return to Firetop Mountain - as well as Rhianna Pratchett's Crystal of Storms.

The books will be published by Chameleon Comix. Return to Firetop Mountain will feature Martin McKenna's original interior illustrations but with a new cover painted by Krisztián Balla, who painted the cover for the Hungarian edition of The Port of Peril, while Crystal of Storms and Deathtrap Dungeon will feature new internal art and new covers by Hungarian artists.

For more news, as they say, watch this space!

Assassins of Hungary

As some of you brave adventurers will no doubt already be aware, Ian Livingstone's latest Fighting Fantasy adventure, Assassins of Allansia, is now available in a Hungarian edition, published by Chameleon Comix.

Chameleon Comix have gone with an old school look for the book, featuring Karl Kopinski's cover art for the special edition hardback on the cover, and even going so far as to give Allansia Bergyilkosai a green spine!

The gamebook features brand new internal illustrations by Krisztian Balla.

Assassins of Allansia has been very well received in Hungary, which is good news because Chameleom Comix are planning on releasing further titles in the future.