Can't fight the fantasy

From primary school to pretty much the end of high school, I played "Dungeons & Dragons" every chance I got. But when there weren't any players around (I was usually the Dungeon Master) - such as at home on a weeknight - I got my adventuring fix reading "Fighting Fantasy" gamebooks. The creation of Englishmen Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone, these little paperbacks took the "Choose Your Own Adventure" format (book divided into numbered entries, reader directed between entries based on choices they make) and added dice rolling, "D&D" style statistics and equipment to flesh out your character. My friend RS loves "F/F" books as much as me and is currently attempting to collect all of the alternate printings. A week ago, he sent me some of his doubles and last night I decided to read one I'd never owned (it was released while I was at uni): #52 "Night Dragon". The following comments will only be of interest to people who've actually played a "Fighting Fantasy" book...

I successfully completed "Night Dragon" in 3 hours 45 minutes. If I had to summarise it in one sentence, I'd say: A disappointingly patchy tale that borrows heavily from the "Dragonlance" novels and earlier "F/F" books, in which it's easy to choose the correct path but harder than usual to win combats. How hard? Because I don't have time to read these things over and over like when I was a youngster, I gave myself maximum initial values for Skill, Stamina and Luck. However, I still finished the final battle (plus the two twists) at death's door. While I didn't cheat on a single dice roll or page turn during the game, I don't think I made any major blunders. I can't imagine someone getting through with only average scores - especially against numerous poisoned blades and points-draining undead. New rules in "N/D" include a "Time Track" (which definitely added to the tension), "Nemesis Points" (had little effect since I barely accrued any) and "Honour" (which had no effect and should have been combined with Nemesis Points). On a positive note, the black-and-white interior art is up to the series' usual dark, detailed, high standard; it's just a shame the story lacks the originality and balance of earlier efforts. Then again, it still managed to hold my attention for nearly four hours, so that shows even a below average "Fighting Fantasy" is still an adventure worth taking. Thanks, RS.