Library Classics... 'Titan, the Fighting Fantasy World' – Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone, Edited by Marc Gascoigne (Puffin)

I've got a couple of books on the go at the moment but couldn't stay away from this one for too long... ;o) I'll warn anyone reading, this isn't so much a review, more a case of me going on for a bit and getting a little nostalgic for one of the few things that was good about school, reading Fighting Fantasy books. If you're still here, lets go.

I had my head in a book for most of my childhood and when my head wasn't in a book, it was thinking about books I'd read and books that I still needed to read. Kind of like these days really ;o) I was just the right age to catch the Fighting Fantasy books first time round and just fell in love with them. It was like returning to all the 'fantasy book worlds' that I'd already fallen in love with (I'm looking at you in particular 'The Hobbit' and anything by Alan Garner, those were happy reading days), the difference being that I actually got to decide how each story unfolded. It's true, I died countless times, impalement never ceases to surprise, (and have still never managed to make it through the maze in 'Warlock of Firetop Mountain') but I was suddenly the hero and that was something I really needed back then. I'm guessing you've probably read at least one 'Fighting Fantasy' book or something like it, you know what I mean ;o)

I had vague notions that these books (well, the fantasy ones anyway) were connected by geography but that wasn't something that bothered me too much, I was just having fun adventuring. Until that is, the day I heard that there was a book that collected all the history of the world that I'd been slowly moving through. That book was, of course, 'Titan, The Fighting Fantasy World' and although I never had my own copy as a kid, I did have a best friend who was more than happy to lend his copy out for extended periods of time (or until his Mum realised that it was missing again, whichever came first).

I won't go into it too much at this point (give it another paragraph) but lets just say that I lived in that book as a kid and 'Titan' became one of those books that I always promised I'd pick up if I ever came across it again, no matter how old I was. Well, it took me a while but a couple of weeks ago, I finally bagged a copy. It may say 'Thomas' on the inside blurb but it's all mine now :o)

'Titan' is one of those books where you're going to get the most out of it if you've read any Fighting Fantasy books set in the wilds of either Allansia or The Old World. I'll be honest, I don't know if there are any adventures set on the continent of Khul; there may well be, I just haven't read them. Either way... The world building is superb (more on that in a minute) but if you haven't adventured in it, you won't feel that little buzz when you see the inside of Yaztromo's tower or read of the rivalry between Sukumvit or his brother Carnuss. It's no-one's fault, it's just the way it is.

Having said that though, if you're after a slice of worldbuilding you can't go wrong with 'Titan', even if you're unfamiliar with the setting. Marc Gascoigne has pulled what must be every single piece of lore together and presented it in a very accessible way, half history book and half, well... it's not a travel guide but you know what I mean, I hope... You get an idea of the areas that you may travel through but it's no holiday, not in the slightest.

'Titan' is the kind of book where you can either read it all in a sitting or just pick at bits here and there. Either way, I'll pretty much guarantee that you come out of it knowing a lot more about the world of Titan (and its inhabitants) than you did when you started. If you've read the books then you've doubtless read 'Titan' already and found how easy to read (and hard to put down) the book is. Even if you haven't, give it a shot anyway if you come across a copy, the world building inside is not only very enjoyable but pretty epic in scope as well.

And now I'll be over here, wondering if the dragon (on the cover) ever made it into the castle... ;o)