Défis fantastiques ("Fantastic Challenges") was the name given in France to the Fighting Fantasy series. They were published by Folio Junior, (an imprint of Gallimard), as part of the series Un livre dont vous êtes le héros ("A Book of which You are the Hero"). Some titles were later published by Time-Life.
Popularity
France is cited as one of the three best-selling markets for Fighting Fantasy (the other two being the UK and Japan). France is also the only country where the series has never been out of print.[1]
Books Translated
All the original Fighting Fantasy numbered gamebooks were translated into French, although released in a different order from the UK editions. For many years, Curse of the Mummy was the only one that was unavailable in French, but Gallimard finally published it in April 2015.
The six new books from the Wizard Books series were also all translated.
Publication History
Original Series
| No. | New No. | Puffin No. | Title | Literal Translation | Date | Translated by | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 1 | Le Sorcier de la Montagne de Feu | The Wizard of the Mountain of Fire | 11/1983 | Camille Fabien | |
| 2 | 2 | 2 | La Citadelle du Chaos | The Citadel of Chaos | 09/1984 | Marie Raymond Farré | |
| 3 | 3 | 3 | La Forêt de la Malédiction | The Forest of the Curse | 09/1984 | Camille Fabien | |
| 4 | 4 | La Galaxie tragique | The Tragic Galaxy | 09/1984 | Camille Fabien | ||
| 5 | 4 | 5 | La Cité des Voleurs | City of Thieves | 09/1984 | Janine Hérisson & Henri Robillot | |
| 6 | 5 | 6 | Le Labyrinthe de la Mort | The Labyrinth of Death | 09/1984 | Patricia Marais | |
| 7 | 6 | 7 | L'Île du Roi Lézard | Island of King Lizard | 09/1984 | Fabienne Vimereu | |
| 8 | 8 | Le Marais aux Scorpions | The Scorpion Swamp | 02/1985 | Camille Fabien | ||
| 9 | 7 | 9 | La Sorcière des Neiges | The Snow Witch | 02/1985 | Michel Zénon | |
| 10 | 8 | 10 | Le Manoir de l'Enfer | The Manor of Hell | 02/1985 | Michel Zénon | |
| 11 | 9 | 11 | Le Talisman de la Mort | The Talisman of Death | 02/1985 | Camille Fabien | |
| 12 | 12 | Le Mercenaire de l'Espace | The Space Mercenary | 10/1985 | Jean Walters | ||
| 13 | 13 | Le Combattant de l'Autoroute | The Motorway Fighter | 10/1985 | Pascale Jusforgues & Alain Vaulont | ||
| 14 | 10 | 14 | Le Temple de la Terreur | The Temple of Terror | 10/1985 | Denise May | |
| 15 | 15 | Les Trafiquants de Kelter | Traffickers of Kelter | 02/1986 | Anne Blanchet | ||
| 16 | 16 | Défis Sanglants sur l'Océan | Bloody Challenges over the Ocean | 08/1986 | Jean Walters | ||
| 17 | 11 | 17 | Rendez-vous avec la M.O.R.T. | Appointment with D.E.A.T.H. | 05/1986 | Arnaud Dupin de Beyssat | |
| 18 | 18 | La Planète Rebelle | The Rebel Planet | 04/1986 | C. Degolf | ||
| 19 | 19 | Les Démons des Profondeurs | Demons of the Depths | 08/1986 | Noël Chassériau | ||
| 20 | 20 | L'Épée du Samourai | Sword of the Samurai | 08/1987 | Pascale Jusforgues | ||
| 21 | 12 | 21 | L'Épreuve des Champions | Trial of the Champions | 02/1987 | Pascale Jusforgues & Alain Vaulont | |
| 22 | 22 | La Grande menace des Robots | The Great Robot Threat | 08/1987 | Danielle Plociennik | ||
| 23 | 23 | Les Sceaux de la Destruction | Seals of Destruction | 11/1987 | Sylvie Bonnet | ||
| 24 | 13 | 24 | La Créature venue du Chaos | The Creature That Came from Chaos | 01/1989 | Noël Chassériau | |
| 25 | 25 | La Forteresse du Cauchemar | The Fortress of Nightmare | 08/1987 | Mona de Pracontal | ||
| 26 | 14 | 26 | La Crypte du Sorcier | The Crypt of the Wizard | 11/1987 | Noël Chassériau | |
| 27 | 27 | Le Chasseur des étoiles | The Star Hunter | 11/1987 | Arnaud Dupin de Beyssat | ||
| 28 | 28 | Les Spectres de l'Angoisse | Ghosts of Distress | 04/1988 | Mona de Pracontal | The original cover art was replaced by a new illustration by Henri Galeron. | |
| 29 | 29 | Les Rôdeurs de la Nuit | Prowlers of the Night | 10/1988 | Nicolas Grenier | ||
| 30 | 30 | Les Gouffres de la Cruauté | Pits of Cruelty | 09/1988 | Sylvie Bonnet | ||
| 31 | 31 | L'Empire des Hommes-Lézards | The Lizard-Men Empire | 10/1988 | Jean Lacroix | ||
| 32 | 32 | Les Esclaves de l'Éternité | Slaves of Eternity | 03/1989 | Sylvie Bonnet | ||
| 33 | 33 | Le Justicier de l'Univers | The Righter of Wrongs of the Universe | 03/1989 | Mona de Pracontal | The original cover art was replaced by a new illustration by Daniel Moignot. | |
| 34 | 34 | Le Voleur d'Âmes | The Stealer of Souls | 09/1989 | Mona de Pracontal | ||
| 35 | 38 | Le Vampire du Château Noir | Vampire of the Black Castle | 03/1990 | Mona de Pracontal | ||
| 36 | 37 | La Nuit des Mutants | Night of the Mutants | 05/1990 | Anne Collas | ||
| 37 | 15 | 36 | Les Sombres Cohortes | The Dark Hordes | 03/1990 | Noël Chassériau | |
| 38 | 35 | L'Élu des Six Clans | The Chosen One of the Six Clans | 06/1990 | Noël Chassériau | ||
| 39 | 39 | Le Volcan de Zamarra | The Volcano of Zamarra | 05/1990 | Olivier Meyer | ||
| 40 | 41 | Le Sceptre Noir | The Black Sceptre | 09/1990 | Camille Fabien | ||
| 41 | 40 | La Vengeance des Démons | The Revenge on the Demons | 09/1990 | Mona de Pracontal | ||
| 42 | 42 | L'Ancienne Prophétie | The Old Prophecy | 06/1991 | Mona de Pracontal | ||
| 43 | 43 | Le Repaire des Morts-Vivants | The Undead Den | 08/1991 | Nicolas Grenier | ||
| 44 | 44 | La Légende des Guerriers Fantômes | The Legend of the Phantom Warriors | 09/1991 | Alexis Galmot | ||
| 45 | 46 | La Tour de la Destruction | The Tower of Destruction | 09/1992 | Mona de Pracontal | ||
| 46 | 48 | L'Arpenteur de la Lune | Land-Surveyor of the Moon | 11/1992 | Pierre de Laubier | ||
| 47 | 47 | Les Mercenaires du Levant | The Oriental Mercenaries | 04/1993 | Mona de Pracontal | ||
| 48 | 45 | Les Mondes de l'Aleph | Worlds of the Aleph | 04/1993 | Yannick Surcouf | The second edition features new cover art by Daniel Moignot. | |
| 49 | 49 | Le Siège de Sardath | The Siege of Sardath | 10/1993 | Yannick Surcouf | ||
| 50 | 16 | 50 | Retour à la Montagne de Feu | Return to the Mountain of Fire | 11/1993 | Yannick Surcouf | |
| 51 | 51 | Les Mages de Solani | Sorcerers of Solani | 01/1994 | Noël Chassériau | ||
| 52 | 17 | 54 | La Légende de Zagor | The Legend of Zagor | 07/1994 | Pascale Houssin | The second edition features new cover art by Daniel Moignot. |
| 53 | 53 | Le Sépulcre des Ombres | The Shadow Sepulchre | 07/1994 | Noël Chassériau | ||
| 54 | 55 | Le Voleur de Vie | The Life Stealer | 01/1995 | Mona de Pracontal | The second edition features new cover art by Jean-Philippe Chabot. | |
| 55 | 56 | Les Chevaliers du Destin | Knights of Destiny | 05/1995 | Pascale Houssin | The second edition features new cover art by Jean Torton. | |
| 56 | 57 | Le Chasseur de Mages | The Hunter of Sorcerers | 08/1995 | Mona de Pracontal | ||
| 57 | 58 | La Revanche du Vampire | Revenge of the Vampire | 02/1997 | Yannick Surcouf | ||
| 58 | 52 | Le Dragon de la Nuit | Dragon of the Night | 05/1997 | Nicolas Grenier | ||
| 59 | 24 | La Malédiction de la Momie | Curse of the Mummy | 04/2015 | C. Degolf |
New Series
Wizard
| New No. | Wizard No. | Title | Literal Translation | Date | Translated by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | 21 (1) | L'Œil d'Émeraude | The Emerald Eye | 01/2007 | C. Degolf |
| 19 | 26 (1) | Le Pirate de l'Au-delà | The Pirate from Beyond | 06/2012 | C. Degolf |
| 20 | 8 (2) | La Nuit du Nécromancien | Night of the Necromancer | 11/2012 | C. Degolf |
| 21 | 29 (1) | La Nuit du Loup-Garou | Night of the Werewolf | 03/2013 | C. Degolf |
| 22 | 4 (2) | Le Maître des Tempêtes | Master of Storms | 11/2013 | C. Degolf |
| 23 | — | Le Sang des Zombies | Blood of the Zombies | 06/2014 | C. Degolf |
Scholastic
| New No. | Scholastic No. | Title | Literal Translation | Date | Translated by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | 6 | L'Anneau des Serpents de Feu | The Ring of Fire Snakes | 04/2018 | Sophie Brun |
Sorcery!
The Sorcery! series was also published under the name Sorcellerie!. The books were titled:
- Les Collines maléfiques
- La Cité des pièges
- Les Sept serpents
- La Couronne des rois
The Tasks of Tantalon
The Tasks of Tantalon was translated into French first in the second issue of Piranha, a magazine edited by Gallimard. It was later released as a hardback book under the title Les Douze Secrets du Sorcier (Twelve Secrets of the Sorcerer).[2]
Mini-FF
Two of the Mini-FF adventures were also translated in the magazine Piranha:
- The Temple of Testing, translated with the title Le Temple de l'Épreuve, was published in issue 4.[3]
- The Dervish Stone, translated with the title La Pierre de Shanhara, was published in issue 7.[4]
Artwork
For the most part, the French editions feature the same artwork as the original British editions. Some variations do exist. For example, the first title has been released in four editions: 1) Peter Andrew Jones' original painting; 2) Peter Andrew Jones' original painting covered in gold, being a special edition; 3) Peter Andrew Jones' second painting, 4) the Time-Life version with an entirely different piece not seen in English releases but still credited to Jones. Some later titles were also reprinted with variations to their cover layouts, some with completely new artwork by French artists.[5]
The French editions also kept the interior art, but in many cases, some of the illustrations were left aside, presumably to make the books cheaper to print. The worst offender in that category is Revenge of the Vampire, which lost 26 out of its 30 original illustrations. Almost all the maps which were printed on the inside front cover of the original books were also left out of the French editions.
See Also
External Links
- The Défis fantastiques article on French Wikipedia.
- The Défis fantastiques article on Demian's Gamebook Webpage.
- The Sorcellerie ! article on French Wikipedia.