The Sorcery! series was the brain-child of Steve Jackson, one of the founders of the Fighting Fantasy series. Because of this the two series have many similarities (like publishing companies), but there are enough differences for me to consider this a separate series. The biggest difference between the two series in the fact that the Fighting Fantasy books are all stand-alone adventures, where the four-book Sorcery! series can be read in order to make one large quest. I admit that I very much like this way of doing things, though there is of course a place for stand-alone adventures.
Sorcery! uses the same rules as Fighting Fantasy, with two exceptions. First, you can call on your goddess (Libra, goddess of Justice) once per book to save your hide. Second, Sorcery! allows you to play as either a warrior (just like Fighting Fantasy, or as a wizard/sorceror. There is a spell book that contains 48 spells that you need to learn in order to use them in the book. That's right, you have to study the spellbook! The way this works is that each spell is represented by a 3-letter code, like HOT or RAZ. This is what you have to memorize before you begin play. Then, at certain spots throughout the books, you will be given a chance to cast a spell. You are then given five of these three-letter codes to choose from. It is up to you to remember which code represents which spell. To make things more tricky, some of the codes you are offered don't relate to any spells at all ("duds"), and over half of all spells require specific items to work. If you don't have the item, you take damage. It costs ENDURANCE points to cast spells, so you need to limit your magic use. The magic system really adds something, and I admit to really liking it. It plays well, and forces you to think on your feet.
Sorcery! 1, 1983, Steve Jackson
This book is the first part of a four-part quest for the Crown of Kings, stolen from your kingdom by evil creatures from Kakhabad. It is imperative that the crown be recovered, but it is felt that where an army would fail, one man or woman may succeed. Thus, you are sent out to recover the Crown from Mampang Fortress. But the Fortress is one the far side of Kakhabad, making your journey long. The first section has you travelling across the Shamutanti Hills to Khare, a port city on the edge of the Baklands.
There are some really good things about this book, and some not so good things. The good things first. On the time that I succeeded and reached the end of the third book, I fought a total of 2 combats, both of which were somewhat challenging. This is the result of two separate design items. First, there aren't as many encounters as many other gamebooks I've played. Second, a number of those encounters can be dealt with through stealth, guile, and diplomacy, rather than violence. This is a nice touch, and adds to the entertainment of the book.
Now, for the bad things. It took me less than an hour to get through the book on the time I succeeded. This is just too short. I know that other books in the series are longer, so this can be put down to "teething problems" with the first book in the series, but it's annoying anyway. Second, it's too easy. I completed the book the second time I read it. A good chunk of the reason it's too easy is that it's too short, but that's not the whole thing. A few more "trap sections" would have been a good addition to make things a little harder. Your character is pushed along by the book toward the climax, rather than the book forcing you to get there on your own. Lastly, the book, as all books in the series are, is illustrated by John Blanche. I don't like Blanche's work. There's nothing inherently wrong with it, I just don't like it. This detracted a little bit from my enjoyment of the book.
I realize that I listed more negatives than positives about the book, but I do think that the book's pretty good. If I gave out half-stars (which I don't), then this book would get three-and-a-half stars, rather than just three. Hopefully the other books in the series will do better.