At least as good as Wicked

Looking for the ultimate fantasy rock opera? The wait is over. Blood Sword aficionado Philip Hill, working with Copilot and Suno, has created a musical version of the gamebook saga. Several versions, in fact. The one above is the hard rock opera, but if that's too heavy metal there's also the soft rock variant below. Or are Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span more your thing? Here's the English folk version.

Philip confessed that he made a mistake with the lyrics, having assumed the Blasting of Spyte took place a thousand years ago when in fact it was only two centuries. An easy mistake to make given that the events of The Walls of Spyte take place in 1000 AS, and in any case we can allow some poetic licence when the results are as awesome as this. Rock on.

One sing-song to rule them all

Nothing punctures the dignity of a Dark Lord faster than banishing him to the world of mortals in the body of a 12-year-old kid. That's what happened to Dirk Lloyd, as fans of Jamie's hilarious books will know. And now, as part of his relentless struggle to claim back his powers, Dirk is appearing in a stage musical -- for a limited run to begin with, but Broadway beckons.

The show is written and produced by Kevin Murphy, creator of Reefer Madness and Heathers: The Musical and one of the lead writers on Desperate Housewives. He knows his diminuendo from his demisemiquavers. You can book tickets for the London premiere here.

Equally exciting, issue 8 of the superb Casket of Fays is out today. And by the generosity of the seelie folks at Red Ruin Publishing it's free. What are you waiting for?