{"id":7032,"date":"2019-11-10T11:48:45","date_gmt":"2019-11-10T10:48:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/?p=7032"},"modified":"2019-11-18T09:28:47","modified_gmt":"2019-11-18T08:28:47","slug":"somorra-christian-florian-sussner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/2019\/11\/somorra-christian-florian-suessner\/","title":{"rendered":"Somorra \u2022 Christian & Florian S\u00fc\u00dfner"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

This year, I rediscovered gamebooks for myself and have been reading several of them over the past few months. One of them was The Fire of the Moon<\/a> by Christian and Florian Su\u00dfner, which I also presented in more detail here<\/a>. Now the authors have published a new gamebook, and I couldn\u2019t resist, because this one doesn\u2019t have the classic fantasy setting \u2014 instead, it takes place in a dystopian metropolis. There aren\u2019t many new gamebooks being published these days, and it\u2019s quite rare to see one with fresh elements \u2014 in this case, an urban fantasy world. Based on The Fire of the Moon<\/em>, I knew I could expect new game mechanics here, which only made me more curious.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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In Somorra<\/em>, you take on the role of a young policewoman who becomes the victim of a conspiracy and is forced by her corrupt police chief to take part in a shady deal. She herself is upright, fights for justice and order, and has so far successfully resisted being dragged down into the criminal underworld of Somorra. The metropolis of Somorra turns out to be a dark and decaying place where the corrupt police, led by \u201cThe Judge\u201d from the Justice District, and the inhabitants of the Old Town under \u201cBlack Jakob\u201d stand opposed and control the city. There are also mafia-like structures led by \u201cThe Chinese.\u201d Very quickly, the reader is drawn into an adventure involving life and death \u2014 and, of course, the origins and fate of the heroine whose role they assume.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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Of course, here comes the obligatory explanation of what gamebooks actually are (for those who haven\u2019t read my other posts about them yet). I\u2019ve already written about some gamebooks<\/a>. In the 1980s, adventure gamebooks had a brief moment of popularity. These are books that are not read linearly but divided into sections. The reader takes on the role of the protagonist, starts with the first section, and can then decide how the story continues and what actions to take. This way, everyone reads the book differently and experiences their own unique adventure. There are usually rules, dice-based battles, items to collect, and notes to keep on an action sheet. Gamebooks are, as the name suggests, books that are meant to be played \u2014 and they often come with a rich fantasy setting. It\u2019s a nerdy hobby, but I loved these books as a child and teenager, and as I\u2019m rediscovering them today, they\u2019re still just as entertaining and a real pleasure to read.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Whatever you do in Somorra stays in Somorra \u2014 and Somorra will swallow your soul along with it. (p. 417)<\/p><\/blockquote>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

As already mentioned, what fascinated me most about this gamebook was its unusual setting for the genre \u2014 and it truly delivers, offering a city that feels like a threatening, crime-infested New York of the 1940s and 1950s. It\u2019s enriched with a touch of Rapture from BioShock<\/em>, as there are also strangely mutated beings called \u201cThe Memorable,\u201d though they only appear occasionally. At the center stands the corrupt police force, pursuing you through the Old Town and the Justice District. The atmosphere is reminiscent of a film noir gangster movie, which I really enjoyed. This unique backdrop ensures that the book never becomes boring. I also like the name \u201cSomorra,\u201d which alludes to Sodom and Gomorrah \u2014 fittingly, the city is quite the den of sin.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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Just like in The Fire of the Moon<\/a>, Somorra<\/em> once again introduces new gamebook elements that I really enjoyed. There\u2019s an action sheet, which you can best download here<\/a> and print out, so you don\u2019t have to scribble in the beautiful book itself. However, instead of filling up with countless items like in other gamebooks, this one uses code words that record which items you possess and which decisions you\u2019ve made. I loved this system \u2014 it strengthens the impact of your choices and carries them forward all the way to the finale. Each code word isn\u2019t tied to a single section; rather, it changes depending on your decisions. To put it in programmer-friendly terms: behind each code word is a finite state machine. This mechanic fits a modern trend, as many video games now draw players into the story through their choices. Even when these have only minor effects, it gives you the feeling of being part of the narrative.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

A second truly clever gameplay element is drug addiction, which the protagonist succumbs to quite early on. This addiction leads to recurring trips that transport the reader into special sections \u2014 and you can only escape these hallucinations by solving puzzles, all of which are reasonably challenging but fair. Combining the narrative element of addiction and surreal visions with puzzles feels fantastic while reading and fits perfectly into the story. There are no combat encounters or monsters in this book, which I found refreshing \u2014 the addiction mechanic serves as an excellent replacement.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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Of course, these aren\u2019t the only gameplay mechanics. There\u2019s, for example, a section where the reader can explore the city but has limited time and can only visit a few areas. There are also antidotes for the drug addiction. The combination of all these simple rules ensures that the book stays exciting, entertaining, and unpredictable throughout. The entry into the story is smooth, without the need to study a long manual. This makes the book perfect for newcomers to the world of gamebooks.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Somorra<\/em> is also quite dangerous \u2014 according to the introduction, there are 83 sections where the adventure can end instantly. That\u2019s something other gamebooks also feature, but rarely with such frequency. I don\u2019t like that very much, as it\u2019s unrealistic to expect readers to start over completely each time, especially when the ending comes unexpectedly. Fortunately, this is mitigated in Somorra<\/em>: the last section contains a table that lets you return to the previous one \u2014 a sort of \u201clight mode,\u201d which I happily used.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Once you\u2019ve finished the book, your final ranking is calculated based on several factors \u2014 including a base score for your ending and the number of deaths you suffered. As usual in games, I scored terribly \u2014 only 35 points (out of over 120) \u2014 earning the title of \u201cRascal.\u201d That definitely increases the replay value, although the story itself felt rather linear to me.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The playing time is quite comfortable \u2014 you can easily finish it in one evening. I found the story, together with its mechanics, consistently entertaining, though not particularly deep or original. It\u2019s perfect for young readers, though \u2014 the interactive nature of a gamebook, the engaging adventure, and the atmospheric setting will surely draw some teens to reading. So if you\u2019re looking to motivate your kids to read, this is definitely a great choice.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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In terms of presentation, the book follows the typical adventure gamebook style \u2014 a paperback that\u2019s easy to flip through, with small illustrations (vignettes) between sections and larger drawings. The small vignettes are relatively sparse, but the larger illustrations are excellent and match the style perfectly. A few more would have been nice, though. The illustrations at the very beginning of the book could have been distributed throughout \u2014 they feel a bit lost up front. Likewise, the portrait images of three selected characters were excellent.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Conclusion<\/strong>: Once again, Christian and Florian Su\u00dfner deliver a wonderful gamebook with Somorra<\/em> \u2014 consistently entertaining, featuring refreshing new mechanics, and set in a dystopian, film-noir-inspired city that provides a compelling backdrop. The story may not be groundbreaking, but it\u2019s solid and enjoyable. Especially for younger readers, this book is ideal \u2014 and if you\u2019re looking for a Christmas gift that might inspire someone to read, you can\u2019t go wrong with Somorra<\/em>. And if you love gamebooks or remember them from the 1980s and want to relive that kind of adventure, Somorra<\/em> offers an enjoyable and relaxed evening\u2019s entertainment. I really liked this book, and it\u2019s now part of my gamebook collection.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Book information:<\/strong> Somorra \u2022 Christian and Florian Su\u00dfner \u2022 Mantikore Verlag \u2022 560 pages \u2022 ISBN 9783961880898<\/p>\r\n\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This year, I rediscovered gamebooks for myself and have been reading several of them over the past few months. One of them was The Fire of the Moon by Christian and Florian Su\u00dfner, which I also presented in more detail here. Now the authors have published a new gamebook, and I couldn\u2019t resist, because this … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Somorra \u2022 Christian & Florian S\u00fc\u00dfner”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7034,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"slim_seo":{"title":"Somorra \u2022 Christian & Florian Su\u00dfner - lesestunden","description":"Dieses Jahr habe ich wieder Spielb\u00fccher f\u00fcr mich entdeckt und in den vergangenen Monaten immer wieder einige davon gelesen. Eines davon war Das Feuer des Mondes"},"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20,187],"tags":[198,190,191,189,226,188],"class_list":["post-7032","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reviews","category-gamebook","tag-gamebook","tag-christian-sussner","tag-florian-sussner","tag-mantikore-verlag","tag-somorra","tag-spielbuch"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/somorra_2.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7032","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7032"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7032\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7034"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7032"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7032"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7032"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}