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[Nightshift]

Nightshift
by Victoria Hancox

 

This is a non-FF horror-themed book which first saw print in 2019. I started it a while ago and enjoyed it at first, but then got put off by its one true path structure, and left it for what was meant to be a few days but turned out to be several weeks! I then got back to it a couple of days ago and was enjoying it again, but then got put off by a choice of direction with no information about either option, which is dull at the best of times, but quite frustrating when you know that your entirely random choice will later mean the difference between winning or losing! So I gave up, but thought I should still write something about it anyway, although this won't be a playthrough.

It has an interesting setting: you are a nurse (gender never specified) in a modern hospital on Earth, when you wake up in a break room and find one of your colleagues has been murdered, her throat slit. You soon find the murderer pursuing you, and you have to flee. The murderer is described in such a way as to create a real sense of peril, and if you manage to get away at the beginning, he stalks you around the hospital, so there is the prospect of unexpectedly bumping into him at any time.

The hospital is otherwise mostly deserted, and something has definitely happened -- or you're in some sort of parallel, supernatural world. It's a derelict ruin, full of monstrous surroundings. Early on, I hear an unpleasant sound which I investigate, and find that it's one of the patients who is quite beyond help... moving on, I find another murder victim, then one of the corridors is barred by a barrier made of human skins stitched together ... then my first proper encounter is with the incinerated corpse of a witch who was burned at the stake 500 years ago! After meeting her, I blunder into the murderer, who kills me.

 

The whole description of events, encounters, and descriptions in general are very atmospheric and compelling, making it an enjoyable read. There are some nice instant death paragraphs, and one of the recurring puzzles involves finding and keeping tack of certain disembodied body parts that are lying around the place. There are no scores to keep track of or combat, it's just a matter of solving puzzles and choosing the right path. Unfortunately, while the puzzles are reasonable (although sometimes they require you to know some general knowledge that isn't in the book, which you could argue isn't fair but I didn't really mind), the necessity of choosing precisely the right path through the book or being killed became annoying after a while, and my patience with the book eventually dissipated entirely.

 

If you don't mind that sort of Ian-Livingstone-on-steroids approach to gamebooks, and you like horror, then this book will probably be right up your street. It had some positive attributes that I enjoyed about it, but ultimately I had to decide that it wasn't really for me.

(Back to FF for my next book!)

Yes, the open-ended exploration is a big plus for me -- having the exact opposite feature in the gamebook I've just been reading was eventually the reason I stopped reading it!

From memory, there is an encounter with the dark elf in Ashkyos, which makes his re-appearance at the end of the book feel less random and more like plot. Recurring characters like him and the captain and Jesper make it feel more like a story than just a sequence of encounters.

Glad you enjoyed it!

At least a one-off issue can't overstay its welcome, and while it's a daft idea it could still be fun. And that artwork looks good.

Not the Photo-strips though, I vaguely remember something about model release forms could be an issue (not necessarily for Doomlord but in general)

Really? The stories already been published, do you need to get a new model release form every time?

I love the stories Pat Mills was writing for 2000AD in the 80s, but his work on Dan Dare for the new Eagle was, to put it as kindly as possible, not his best. I can live without it being reprinted.

Would be great if Doomlord and Bloodfang could get another outing thought, they're brilliant. I say publish and be damned! (It worked for Zenith.)

[Proteus Vex]

Proteus Vex -- say it ain't so!

I've seen that said somewhere before, but Rebellion couldn't be bothered to litigate it.

Think it was in a John Wagner interview?

Jesper is brilliant isn't he?

Your write-up is reminding me of how much fun this book is, I should give it another read soon. I'm looking forward to seeing how you do next!

"the company has net assets of £334.6 thousand"

Just saw it, thought it was great. 

Give it a rest!

Very good point.

Based on Garland's track history, I'm still expecting this to be a great film.

83% on Rotten Tomatoes (based on 253 reviews).

Damn, really?

Thanks for that link, that was definitely worth following!

What's the status of muties in the Meg at the moment, anyway?

I thought after Day of Chaos they were being encouraged to come to MC-1 to help with reconstruction.