Starship Traveller: Introduction

      It's time for something new. Something original and bright, a true landmark in the Fighting Fantasy series. That's right, Starship Traveller marks the first title that doesn't start with "The"! It's also, arguably, the first time a book hasn't begun with the setting of the story. Sure, the Starship Traveller is a location onto itself, but it's not really the setting. The setting is SPACE!

      Oh, yeah, I guess that's new too. Space. We're going Fighting Science Fiction!

Bam, Space Lacrosse! Wait... I did this joke...

       Right into covers, are we? Okay. So, aside from declaring this another "fantasy" adventure, this cover is pretty inexplicable. It's the kind of cover I stare at for ages trying to understand what I'm looking at. We appear to have a robot holding the world record in shin length, who is knocking over an attempted tower of men in 1970s future sports gear. Presumably because they were trying to get taller than the robot.

     Maybe it's just me, but I had a Hell of a time just separating the two humans standing up in my brain. The foreshortening on the ace makes it almost unrecognizable as a weapon. Other guy has his head ducked low so we only see the back of the helmet. That combined with the bizarre twist in his stomach made me think they were one person with a bizarrely wide stance and insane lean.

      I'm still wondering what the atomic wizard staff is about, or why the third guy is laying delicate smooches on blue-shirt's leg.

      And I haven't gotten to the stadium seating...

      This book has been republished less often than others, so we only have one other cover, presented by Wizard.

Behold, the world's largest duck walker!

      The crazy thing is, this is probably meant to be the same scene. Group of humans fighting a ginat metal monstrosity in an arena of watching aliens. Gone is the weird mist, the crazy techno-staff, the bizarre sports gear. Instead we have an almost swashbuckling-looking crew fending off the colossal metal death with... ropes. Just, ropes.

      In terms of composition and coherency, this cover wins hands down. The weird aliens in the front could use more animation, arms up and shouting or something, but they sell the arena so much better.

      even so, the incomprehensible future sports outfits and weird green mist under the colored sky has more of an oomph to it. It's not great for the scene, but its better for implying a larger adventure beyond the scene.

      I really don't understand why the cover doesn't just show the titular starship, bursting through space with planets and stars and maybe some sweeping motion lines. The image just inside the cover is so much more capturing of what lies ahead:

BA-ba-bababa-BA-bababa-BA-ba-bababa-ba!

     Okay, so maybe Rodenbury would have sued this cover. That's right, we're not only in science fiction, we're in full on Star Trek knock off! YOU get to be captain of a starship with a crew to boss around and red shirts to die and everything!

     I am genuinely excited about this book. Not just for a fresh direction, but for how it handles its rules and expands the ideas of what these games could be. I really find it's a shame that this idea was never revisited, and this book remains less readily available.

     Though, there is an iOS/Android game available.

     Yeah... that's a pretty decent image. Still wish it focused less on dudes with guns and more on the wonder of space, but I dig the colors and contrasts and the starship in the background. It'll do. It'll do.

Gabriel's whispers! He knew almost every family in the alphabet!

     If you weren't already clear of how deep into Star Trek tribute we were, nothing quite ike a live long and prosper while thanking your legions of support. Maybe should have thrown Gene R in there too, so long as you're thanking people.

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