Quadruple post, apologies if bothered.
Ok, strong gamebook mood that I'm in, I decided to stroll around eBay to check for better copies of some of my most battered green-spined scrolls.
What the serious FF, for yet another F joke. I know that almost 13 years after I started buying these online, some price spike was expected (remember that Wizard only reprinted 22 of the regular Puffins, the Sorcery! mini and 3 BRAND NEW adventures for a total of 29 books, not counting the SE Warlock hardcover celebrating the 25 years of the line). 37 of the OG books never saw a reprint and - bet you 100 GP on it - NEVER will. In the last 13 years, lots of more people started to getting back to their FF books, out of nostalgia. Among these came the speculators, taking tips from Jamie Fry's FF price guide. And things apparently got crazy along the way.
I stopped buying FF out of 2 reasons: I had all the books I want, a bunch of them in 2 different versions even, and the last books I missed from Puffin's OG FFs were the REALLY EXPENSIVE ones aka
The Last 5:
#55 Deathmoor, #56 Knights of Doom, #57 Magehunter, #58 Revenge of the Vampire, #59 Curse of the Mummy. I have the luck of the portuguese translations with me, as in, some of these were (2 to be exact,
Deathmoor and
Mummy) easily available here- and the last book to be published (
Mummy) announced
Revenge as the next one, which never happened.

THIS is the book I wanted- and want - most, since I am a huge fan of the late RPG Genius Carl Sargent*'s FFs. All of them. I love
Vault of the Vampire, its a Tier 1 book, and the sequel while not being regarded as highly, is a must read on my list.
I also LUCKED really, really big with my copy of
Knights of Doom- cost me 5 GBPs and it is in GREAT condition. This is today a 100 euro book- I could sell this copy in 24 hours, easy.
Eventually
Mummy was reprinted by Wizard and - better - all of the errors were corrected. You can buy a copy of a Wizard edition of Mummy for like 3 pounds plus ship. The other ones are insane prices-
Magehunter, I see 245 GBP as an asking price. It sells for less, sure, 100 GBPs for the last 2 sales, same with Revenge and Deathmoor. These were books with one printing, small on that and were done. They will only get pricier as time goes by. But Magehunter is a book by Paul Mason, one author I don't particularly like and it has a weird premise. I never felt like I had to get it, maybe one day if it comes cheap. Or cheap-er.
For reference, way back in 2006, Magehunter was a 25 GBP book, and people snubbed the scalpers. "I will get it cheaper". No we won't. You can't find a copy in good condition (no HUGE defects) for less than 80 GBP, being very, very lucky if they pop. Time has passed, and the FF crowd is now way bigger than it was in 2002-2006.
Ok, so on to another topic. I have been starting to finish my unfinished/unread adventures, tackled Daggers of Darkness last night, finished it on my 2nd try, 3rd overall since I died on this book years ago and never touched it again because it felt like what it is. A passable Fighting Fantasy book. Luke Sharp (pen/pun name for Alkis Alkiviades) kills me with his" throw a die. Throw another die. If the first die's result was higher, you die. F you."
Or some variation of this. Like 2 dice instead of 1.
Random, random, I do mean random dice rolls for life or death stuff, NOT taking into account your own stats. Like I said, its completely random. I hated his
Chasms of Malice effort, felt like this "technique" was just unfair on the reader and the book went on forever. This is shorter, the plot is more interesting... i guess... at least Chasms had you start as a *SQUEE* rabbit-skinner, which I would JUST love to insert into my profesional CV.

But his setting is on Daggers is interesting, for the most part. Think Mongolian fantasy. Some credit for the appparent multipath to victory, but I do wonder how much is multi. You DO NEED to have one item, at least.
Overall, none of these Luke Sharp books has a "replayable for pure fun" quality. I still have to play
Fangs of Fury, but will go for something better first- SORCERY!!!!!!!!! I haven't crossed the wildlands of Kakhabad in a decade, it feels.
* Better known to FF readers as Keith Martin.
Oh, and here's what I talked about in the previous post- the interior art for the new releases. First the classic (true meaning of the word) Ghoul illustration for The Warlock of Firetop Mountain by the first FF artist, Russ Nicholson:

And your 2010's Scholastic "ANAD" version:
