Moonrunner

Moonrunner (ISBN 0-14-034937-5) is a single player roleplaying gamebook written by Stephen Hand, illustrated by Martin McKenna and first published in 1992. It forms part of the long-running Fighting Fantasy series, numbered 48 in the original Puffin edition and not yet included in the Wizard reissuing. While consisting of the usual 400 sections, it deviates from the standard formula in that the final section does not contain the conclusion of the story.

The plot centres around a veteran of the War of the Four Kingdoms in the Old World, now a Bounty Hunter dedicated to capturing war criminals who escaped justice. The last remaining of these — and the greatest villain — is the notorious Karam Gruul, the "Hand of Death", who has just been tracked down to a location near the town of Blackhaven in Gallantaria. The protagonist is hired to find Gruul and bring him to trial. But Gruul has a special connection to the character that is only revealed at the very end of the story...

A number of features make Moonrunner stand out in the Fighting Fantasy series. Like several other books, the player may choose a set of special skills for their character, which may make various parts of the adventure easier or more difficult. More notable is the vivid style of writing, with many colourful characters and a darkly whimsical sense of humour that shows the influence of works such as Hammer Horror and pulp detective and gothic fiction (one possible side-story includes a comic reference to the Friday the 13th movies). There are potentially a great many ways to reach the successful conclusion, each allowing the construction of a distinct tale, although with dice in hand only a few have any real chance of success.

The story is an indirect sequel to Stephen Hand's previous Fighting Fantasy gamebook, Legend of the Shadow Warriors, another richly atmospheric work set in the same historical period on Titan. Although the storylines do not overlap directly they share a number of common threads, which were apparently to be brought to conclusion in a third (never completed) work, Blood of the Mandrake. In addition, both have an unusually sophisticated sense of morality, bringing home the horrors of war and conflict and, in contrast to the usual climactic slaying of the villain, ending on a surprisingly redemptive note.