‘Fighting Fantasy’ is a series of books that was first released in the early 1980’s and were written (mostly) by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone. I loved reading these (or playing them) back when I was in school, and can recall just how awesome the opening ten to twelve books were – so much so that I can still remember the plots and characters.

The illustrations scattered throughout the pages would bring to life many scenes within the adventures, and were drawn in a style that created a both a sense of dread and wonder. Although the artwork for every book in this series was first class, I always felt that the pictures in the first two publications – ‘The Warlock of Firetop Mountain’ and ‘Citadel of Chaos’ – created by Russ Nicholson had a little something extra about them.

I will post a follow-up article about the other artists involved in the series at a later date and showcase their excellent work, but for now the focus shall be on Nicholson’s illustrations.

These are from ‘The Warlock of Firetop Mountain’.

And the pictures below are from ‘The Citadel of Chaos’.

Fighting Fantasy books can be purchased online, with sellers such as Amazon offering a brand-new boxed set of the first dozen books. Of course, there are many second-hand titles available through eBay, but the books are now forty years old and probably played through many times – and are therefore a little worse for wear.

Russ Nicholson sadly passed away in 2023, and will be remembered for his legendary fantasy art that can be appreciated across many projects including ‘White Dwarf’ and ‘Warhammer’.

All images courtesy of Fighting Fantasy, Puffin Books and Russ Nicholson.