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Fighting Fantasy Gamebook
Outline
Location: Allansia, Titan
References: 400
Publication Details
Author(s): Ian Livingstone

Illustrator(s): Robert M. Ball
Puffin
Wizard (Series 1)
Wizard (Series 2)
Scholastic
AoA
Cover illustrator: Robert M. Ball
First published: September 5 2019
Number 15
ISBN: ISBN 1-407196-83-1
Previous Book: KharƩ - Cityport of Traps
Next Book: Return to Firetop Mountain

Assassins of Allansia is a single-player role-playing gamebook written by Ian Livingstone, illustrated (for the English version) by Robert M. Ball and originally published in 2019 by Scholastic Books. Other media formats (such as the Tin Man Games app) and translations (such as the Hungarian version) exist as well, with various contributors and artists (such as KrisztiƔn Balla) across the multiple versions. It forms part of Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone's Fighting Fantasy series. Even though it is the 15th in the Scholastic series (ISBN 1-407196-83-1), it is cited as the 68th book in the series by other sources, such as TVTropes.org (see specific article), and the Fighting Fantasy Classics app by Tin Man Games (with Neil Rennison as Executive Producer).

Creation[]

"Assassins of Allansia" is considered a Scholastic Original Book (see full book lists on the main Allansia page). The Fighting Fantasy official webpage for "Assassins of Allansia" states that "the adventure includes cameos by a number of fan-favourite characters from Ian's books."[1] (See the "Intertextual References" section on this page.)

Translations[]

A version of this book (Allansia BƩrgyilkosai) has been translated into Hungarian, with brand new artwork by KrisztiƔn Balla, as well as being translated into Danish and possibly more languages.

Background[]

ā€œ PART STORY, PART GAME - YOU ARE THE HERO!

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

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...

MAY YOUR STAMINA NEVER FAIL!
ā€

ā€”Assassins of Allansia - Back Cover


Rules[]

The book in general follows the original rules set down in The Warlock of Firetop Mountain (see Game System).

Equipment List[2][]

See "Errors" section below

Cover and Illustrations[]

Main article: Assassins of Allansia (illustrations)

Covers[]

The cover was designed and illustrated by Robert M. Ball. The cover of the "Collector's Edition" is by Karl Kopinski.

Assassins of Allansia Cover Variants
2019 2019
AoA AoA-Collector
Scholastic
Circle
Scholastic
Collector's
Edition
Ā£6.99 Ā£40.00

Illustrations[]

The book is illustrated by Robert M. Ball. There were 20 full page illustrations and 6 minor repeated illustrations scattered throughout the text. The paragraphs with a full page illustration were: 6, 23, 39, 53, 69, 88, 89, 106, 127, 147, 163, 203, 223, 244, 268, 288, 309, 341, 363, and 389. The full-page illustrations in the book were accompanied with a caption giving a short extract from the text.

The map was by Leo Hartas.

The Hungarian edition of the book (Allansia BĆ©rgyilkosa) was given new illustrations by KrisztiĆ”n Balla. (These illustrations are the ones featured in the version of the book that appears in the Fighting Fantasy Classics Android/Apple App, one of which apparently has a cameo drawing of Ian Livingstoneā€”the authorā€”as a storekeeper, Harold Cornpepper, selling a copy of "Warlock" magazine among his wares.[3])

The Danish edition was given new illustrations by Henrik Exler. There were 22 full page illustrations and 9 minor repeated illustrations.

Intertextual References[]

The Hero of Assassins of Allansia recently narrowly escaped with his life in Darkwood Forest.[4] This could be arguably a reference to Eye of the Dragon (book) or The Port of Peril (book) or perhaps even The Forest of Doom (book) as prequel to this gamebook.

The shopkeeper of the general store along the banks of the Red River is named Harold Cornpepper. (This may be a relative of another character, Thomas Cornpepper, mentioned elsewhereā€”-perhaps Eye of the Dragon.)

The Hero of Assassins of Allansia is said to have killed Zanbar Bone, so City of Thieves (book) is another likely prequel to this adventure.[5]

If one reads "Bloodbones" prior to this, while there is no (actual) direct connection, it is easy to imagine (make-believe) this book as a sequel. The one begins with a young rootless, family-less young adventurer battling through various unique, quirky named pirates who are bent on your murder, and ends with surviving stranded, on a small, yet dangerous islandā€”followed by then killing a pirate captain. The other begins with surviving, stranded, on a small yet dangerous island as a rootless, family-less young adventurer, followed by then killing a pirate captain, and continues to the end with the Hero battling through various unique, quirky named assassins who are bent on your murder. (Also, the assassins are sent because the Hero killed a demon prior to this bookā€” which the Hero of Bloodbones also did, in the form of the voodoo spirit Quezkari, following the defeat of the pirate captain Cinnabar.) For more on this, see the Hero of Assassins of Allansia page.

The Hero of Assassins of Allansia, at the very end of the adventure, prepares to enter the Deathtrap Dungeon in Fang (after Throm), openly indicating that Deathtrap Dungeon (book) is the natural sequel to this adventure.[6]

Other Media[]

Fighting Fantasy Classics is an app for Fighting Fantasy (by Australian gaming company "Tin Man Games") on the Android Play Store, and the Apple AppStore, from which you can buy a download version of this book for $3.99 US on Apple, or $3.49 US on Google Play. (Some other Fighting Fantasy gamebooks on this app feature an option to choose between the classic black and white ink drawings, and newer colored versions [such as in the case of Bloodbones]. this [at least on the Apple version] only features one version of the artworkā€”those of KrisztiĆ”n Balla (artist for the Hungarian version)ā€”in their black & white version only, but with a unique inclusions of whites, as well as blacks, which lift the imagery out of the tan sallow paper color, and make it "pop," as well as giving it a ghostly feel.)

Main Characters[]

YOU: Hero of Assassins of Allansia

Locations[]

Encounters[]

Further Notes[]

Errors[]

  • (67) and (125) say you bandage your leg, even though you have not been shot in the leg.
  • (163) has you fight Urzle Ironface for five rounds, but he can be killed in only three rounds by using luck.
  • (199) says you hand over your possessions, but unlike (81) does not exclude items in your pockets, which makes the book unwinnable. In either case, given the situation, "possessions" surely includes your sword and any other weapons, but many subsequent sections assume you have a sword.
  • (205) says the bounty on your head is 10,000 Gold Pieces, not 1,000. (This could be character error on the part of the assassin?)
  • (335) says you follow the map down Quiet Street, but it's possible to reach this section without buying the map.
  • Page 260 does not state that you cannot eat Provisions during combat, even though this is usually the case in other Fighting Fantasy books.

Dedication[]

none

See Also[]


Analysis & Reviews[]

The book "Assassins of Allansia" has somehow merited inclusion on the famous TVTropes website. TVTropes.org is known for its exhaustive dissection of archetypes, tendencies and cliches in (mostly) televisionā€”but branches out to include other works in other media as well, casting a wide enough net to have its own TV Tropes "Assassins of Allansia" page. At that page, "Assassins of Allansia" is broken down and analyzed to include such thematic tendencies as "Acquired Poison Immunity," "Avenging the Villain," "Cool Sword," "Mistaken Identity," "Plot Coupons," "Murder, Inc.," "13 is Unlucky," and "Bittersweet Ending."[7]

Reviewed online, this book is described as "neatly balanced," while it "encourages you to be a hero with a brain." Of the setting and tone, it is described as ā€˜"atmospheric and evocative," and we are told that we might "admire the Livingstone gift for bringing tawdry medieval settings to life." Along these lines it is also stated that this book "takes readers on a satisfying journey across space and time."[8]

External Links[]

References[]

  1. ā†‘ The Assassins of Allansia official book page, on the FightingFantasy.com website.
  2. ā†‘ Assassins of Allansia - pg.259-261
  3. ā†‘ GabOrk, "Assassins of Allansia: Hungarian Edition ā€“ Review and Comparison with the Original," OrkAngel Blog, OrkAngel.com, Published: 9/24/2020
  4. ā†‘ Assassins of Allansia - p. 13
  5. ā†‘ Assassins of Allansia - 61
  6. ā†‘ Assassins of Allansia - 400
  7. ā†‘ TVTropesā€™ Assassins of Allansia (Literature) breakdown page, on TVTropes.org.
  8. ā†‘ Shadmand, KJ. "REVIEW: Assassins of Allansia," Gamebooknews.com, Published on: May 13, 2020
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