Starring Rachel Atkins, Tim Treloar, Harry Primus and Toby Longworth

Written by David N. Smith; directed by Richard Fox

In which the doughty elf Vale Moonwing (Atkins) allies with somewhat dubious human adventurer Cassius Stormblade (Treloar) to plumb the depths of Firetop Mountain – stronghold of the cruel warlock Zagor (Longworth) – and rid the world of his evil once and for all…

Back in 1982, Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone revolutionized solo role-playing with their Fighting Fantasy books, spawning a franchise that has endured for 35 years. Now, The Warlock of Firetop Mountain – the first, and most fondly remembered, title – has been adapted into a 60-minute audio drama. The result is an engaging and entertaining experience.

Compared to the protagonists of Big Finish’s Pathfinder Legends, Vale and Cassius came across as more realistically flawed. Vale is surprisingly single-minded and focused for an elf, while Cassius exhibits an adventurer’s greed, rashness and inability to follow instructions. Their journey through Firetop Mountain definitely has the feel of getting lost in a Fighting Fantasy book, but it feels rushed and rather truncated due to the one-hour time limit. Archers actress Rachel Atkins’ steely performance reminds me of Louise Jameson at times, and Big Finish Third Doctor Tim Treloar’s Cassius channels Sean Pertwee’s grit rather than Jon Pertwee’s lispy loftiness here. The soundscape is robust without overpowering the dialogue; this should come as no surprise, since both writer and director have done this type of work for Big Finish for quite some time.

Nevertheless, The Warlock of Firetop Mountain has some flaws. Clunky expository dialogue crops up quite a bit during Smith’s struggles to world-build using only dialogue instead of prose. Also, numerous aural shortcuts/tropes crop up: a dwarf has a Scottish accent; orcs sound thicker than a plank; a shifty character speaks with a Cockney accent; and an opportunistic spiv wheedles and whinges.

That being said, Toby Longworth embraces the cliché of a powerful spellcaster who’s evil just for the sake of being evil and verbally chews the scenery with abandon. His cackling and gleeful gloating over the choices that Vale and Cassius are forced to make, are delightfully hammy in all the right ways.

Verdict: Is it perfect? No. Is it a perfectly good start to a series I’d like to hear more of? Yes! 7/10

John S. Hall

For more details click here