Rider of the Black Sun • Swen Harder

In recent months, I’ve repeatedly indulged in the pleasure of a well-crafted adventure gamebook and I definitely want to introduce another one here on Lesestunden. This time it’s a real showpiece and, so to speak, the pinnacle of this genre’s evolution. A genuine insider tip you won’t stumble upon everywhere—and absolutely worth a closer look. Especially for anyone who loves fantasy and for all who enjoy a bit of gaming.

Of course, here comes the obligatory explanation of what gamebooks are (for those who haven’t read my other posts on them yet). I’ve already written in the past about Joe Dever and his wonderful Lone Wolf books. In the 1980s there was a brief trend toward adventure gamebooks. These are books that aren’t read linearly but are divided into sections. The reader slips into the role of the protagonist, starts with the first section, and then gets to decide how the story should continue and what they, as the main character, should do. In this way, everyone reads the book differently and experiences a completely personal adventure. Usually there are also rules; fights are resolved by dice, items are collected, and everything must be recorded on an action sheet. So gamebooks, as the name suggests, are books that are played, and they usually come with a lovely fantasy setting. It’s a nerdy affair, but I loved these books in my childhood and youth and, as I’ve discovered these days, they’re still very entertaining and a joy to read.

Riders of the Black Sun is a new-generation gamebook that first appeared in 2012. It’s probably the most extensive gamebook ever written, boasting over 1,400 sections. The reader slips into the role of an Ugarith, an almost extinct race of divine origin, and first awakens without any memory. Gradually you learn the background of the seemingly vast fantasy world and your own fate. You’re drawn into a war between the Empire and the Golden Realm and must find your own destiny. The story then unfolds over numerous chapters, and you visit a wide variety of locations. Starting with a palace complex and a dark tower, through to an enchanted temple, sea battles, wide deserts, and gloomy caverns—there’s a lot on offer here. I really liked the variety, and I could always picture the world vividly. Overall, I enjoyed the story very much; it doesn’t lose itself as the book progresses but instead arcs back wonderfully to the beginning. It’s a well-rounded affair, and you can tell the author refined it a great deal. At times it felt a little slow, especially at the beginning when there isn’t a clear goal yet, and in some chapters you really have to fight your way through numerous sections before overcoming all obstacles. So those 1,400 sections don’t just fly by—there’s plenty for the reader to do. I found one moment especially brilliant: time jumps that are reflected in the sections themselves—so to speak, on the meta-level of flipping pages. That’s truly cinematic.

It’s not just the setting that’s diverse. In fact, this expansive gamebook is packed with all sorts of mechanics, comprehensive rules, an excellent combat system, a skill-check system, and many finely arranged and well-used detail rules. There are skills you can acquire, values such as karma, rage, strength, dexterity, a dragon rider level, fate points, and of course the ability to collect items and find and wield powerful weapons. I really liked that—such a sophisticated and successful rule system is very rare in gamebooks. It’s absolutely premium; really no other gamebook comes close. The rules are also explained bit by bit across the first three chapters, so you’re never overwhelmed while reading and can get used to the mechanics first. Naturally, there’s also an adventure sheet at the beginning of the book—which you’re better off downloading and printing so you don’t scribble in the book. The adventure sheet is very well thought out and extremely clear, given how many rules it needs to accommodate.

These wide-ranging rules are put to good use in the book and are nicely woven into the story. The wealth of ideas regarding special mechanics that crop up during the adventure also really impressed me. Of course there are the obligatory puzzles, but there are also truly great boss fights (where you might have to hack off a golem’s arms before you can reach its body), fights against multiple opponents, and battles where a surprise attack suddenly occurs after two rounds. There are also passages where you must overcome a defensive installation, or you can fly and perform maneuvers, pass trials, or simply guess and, with a bit of luck, land a blow—or navigate a labyrinth. Swen Harder really thought up a lot and cherry-picked the best from the world of gamebooks. I was never bored; I was often reminded of the gameplay of computer games.

With 1,400 sections, the book is divided into multiple chapters, so you can always take a break; the chapters also serve as save points, so to speak. If you die, you don’t have to read everything from the beginning but instead drop back to the start of the current chapter. There’s also a chapter dedicated solely to fights and another for bonus sections where you’ll find rewards. So at times you’ll jump out of the narrative chapters as well. Overall, it’s laid out very tidily and clearly.

With its extensive rules, story, and overall design, the book is geared more toward experienced role-players and gamebook fans. For someone picking up a gamebook for the first time, I wouldn’t recommend Riders of the Black Sun. The difficulty of the puzzles and fights is on the higher side, too. I died quite a lot, especially at the beginnings of chapters, which can certainly test your frustration tolerance. The boss fights at the end are really tough—I definitely had my Zakhan-Kimah moment. It’s not a book you breeze through in a relaxed evening and then set aside.

All in all, Riders of the Black Sun is very much designed for replayability. On the one hand, I like that, because it means you can spend a long time with the book. In every chapter you can find fate points, with social and virtuous behavior usually rewarded. So if you’ve finished a chapter but haven’t collected all the fate points, you can replay it, find your way through again, and with different decisions perhaps wring more out of your character and take a more optimal route. The extra chapter is intended only for a second run and can’t even be played the first time. You only get the epilogue if you find the best ending. Once your ambition is sparked, the book offers plenty of fodder and opportunities to dive in. If, on the other hand, you prefer to experience the story smoothly in a single go, you’ll run into problems by the finale at the latest—and you’ll miss some story elements. In my opinion that’s the trade-off, and Riders of the Black Sun definitely reveals itself once again as a gamebook for advanced players.

A real highlight is the artwork. It comes from Berlin-based freelance illustrator Fufu Frauenwahl. Born in 1974 and trained in communication design, he has published several comics in various countries and has a style all his own. I like it a lot—these black-and-white drawings radiate what has always distinguished illustrations in gamebooks: a certain simplicity that leaves room for the imagination, while at the same time being finely drawn and conveying a mood and atmosphere unique to this gamebook. They look excellent and high-quality in print—especially the large full-page pieces. Altogether, there are more illustrations here than average. I’m also very fond of the small images between sections, the so-called vignettes. Even in the Lone Wolf books I always thought they were an excellent way to loosen up the text and at the same time strengthen the book’s ambience. The booklet included with my edition explains that the vignettes also help prevent awkward line breaks.

The book is now in its 8th edition, and I have the Eternal Edition—the lavish deluxe version with all the extras. That naturally includes the book itself as a hardcover with thread binding and two ribbon markers. It feels great in the hand and is the most premium gamebook I own. I think it’s also the only bound gamebook in my collection. It’s still easy to flip through, though; the pages are light yet have that typical Lone Wolf feel. And the pages aren’t bright white but cream, which I also much prefer for gamebooks. I really like it, and I hope Mantikore Verlag publishes more gamebooks as hardcover editions.

The Eternal version comes with a lot of extras. There’s a small booklet, “The Secrets of Riders of the Black Sun,” which contains additional background information on the book and also the solutions to the puzzles. You’ll also find concept sketches for the illustrations there— a nice and informative extra. There are dice included as well—above all the moon die, which I find very elegant, as it’s a special die you can use to roll the moon phases. Regular dice suited to the ruleset are included too. You don’t strictly need any of them, because rolling is actually done by simply opening a random page. At the bottom left of the page you’ll find the dice and the moon phase. I always read my gamebooks at home at the table, since you also need to make notes on the adventure sheet; and for that, such a special die is definitely more refined. There’s also a coin included—what it’s for I haven’t yet discovered (but I suspect it appears in one of the sections I missed). There’s also a large version of the map found at the front of the book. In addition, the Eternal version includes a CD, which isn’t a huge deal since it only contains the adventure sheets again, the illustrations as image files, a “soundtrack,” and a few other files like photos from the RPC. We only have one computer with a CD drive left at home—so I imagine that in a few years the CD will have gone the way of the cassette for me. Better to download the PDFs directly from the author’s website. Otherwise, the Eternal version also includes a box where you can store all the extras and the book neatly together. The price jump from the hardcover to the Eternal version isn’t that big, and the die and the Secrets booklet alone are worth the surcharge—plus having everything stowed in a nice box. I think the complete package is very successful. I’d love to see this kind of premium box with some nice extras for other books as well. In games it’s long been the norm to offer a deluxe version for collectors. On YouTube you can watch an unboxing video of the Eternal version.

Since the book’s publication in 2012, it has gone through numerous new editions. Gamebooks are still very popular, and I can see why. Across the editions, Swen Harder kept refining the book. The second edition, for example, received a new cover. In 2017 the author launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund an English-language translation of the book. With nearly 1,000 backers, it was a complete success, and additional illustrations were added; there was also a new bonus adventure, which has been included in the German edition since the 7th edition. You can see how the individual editions changed on the website for the book. From the initial idea to the finished book took four years. Considering all the editions in which Swen Harder kept improving the work, it becomes clear how this gamebook achieved its high quality. In 2013 it also received the RPC Award and was particularly praised for its replay value.

Swen Harder comes from the video game scene and worked for many years as an editor for computer and video game publishers. He currently works as a game tester at Nintendo—which by itself speaks to his nerdy expertise. Of course he’s a fan of role-playing, fantasy, pen-and-paper, and board games—otherwise you couldn’t write a book like this. In the meantime he has published another gamebook titled Metal Heroes – and the Fate of Rock. That book is also highly praised, comes in this premium configuration, and makes a very good impression. However, the setting isn’t really my thing, so I’m waiting for his next adventure gamebook, which he’ll hopefully be writing already.

Conclusion: Riders of the Black Sun is one—if not the—most high-quality gamebook I’ve ever read. With its numerous mechanics, varied gameplay elements, diverse settings, well-rounded story, lavish illustrations, and its dense gamebook atmosphere, it’s an absolute recommendation. If you like gamebooks, are a role-player, or enjoy reading fantasy novels, you’ll love this book. Because of its extensive ruleset and at times high difficulty, someone wanting to try out a gamebook for the first time should probably start with something simpler. Thanks to its high replay value and sheer scope, you get a lot of reading—and playing—time here. You can spend a long time with this book, and it’s especially perfect for younger readers, as it’s a genuine alternative to video games. In short: a great book you can order without hesitation—and one that will never leave my little private library.

Book information: Rider of the Black Sun • Swen Harder • Mantikore Verlag • 760 pages • ISBN 9783961880805