Ask most fans how many sections a gamebook should have, and the go-to answer will be 400. Fighting Fantasy set that as the standard, and it’s sort of stuck. But it’s by no means universal; Choose Your Own Adventure books are typically much shorter than that, and there are several examples of gamebooks that are much longer. Of course, there’s no right answer when it comes to story length. When browsing for a new book I’m often enticed by a high word count, particularly in a sci-fi or fantasy genre as they need deeper world-building, but the story about the man getting hurt when walking into an iron bar would lose its impact were it any longer. The…
Author: Samuel Isaacson
The Altimer has received another review and I think this one’s particularly generous in its praise. You can read the whole thing here, and here’s an excerpt: [The] writing style is clear, crisp and well rounded…the sheer quality of the story [is] something that will stick with you. Goodreads
I started plotting out a sequel to The Altimer very soon after its release – it seems to me to be too short, and without enough attention paid to making New Gaia a living city. I’ve now got to the point where a full sequel has been designed in a flow chart, and I have single-sentence drafts of 400 sections. I’m hesitant to give away too much of the story so here are a few bits of the story you may encounter: Escaping from a hospital overrun by the infested Being pursued through the New Gaia city centre Sneaking through a house containing a gang of people out to get you Navigating your way through an evil mastermind’s…
The first reviews have arrived on Amazon, and I’m really pleased by their positivity. A 4* and a 5* review; what a great start! Here’s a quote: The writing is good, dynamic and detailed…it kept me enthralled for a fair few hours. https://www.amazon.co.uk/product-reviews/1700414453
The Altimer has been featured in a delightful and accurate summary on GameBookNews. It’s factual more than a review, so will be helpful for interested people to get a glimpse of the some pages and understand the system a bit.
I’ve been really encouraged by the way that people have responded to the launch of The Altimer, and was really pleased just now to spot that it briefly hit the coveted #1 spot in one of Amazon’s bestseller lists.