1. Flight from the Dark
Author: Joe Dever
Illustrators: Gary Chalk (interior and original British cover), Brian Salmon (British Beaver cover), Don Maitz (American cover), Peter Andrew Jones (credited as Peter Jones) (British Red Fox cover)
First Published: 1984
ISBN: 0-09-935890-5 (British editions), 0-399-21217-5 (American Pacer edition), 0-425-08436-1 (American Berkley edition)
Length: 350 sections
Number of Endings: 17 (not including failure by loss of points)
Plot Summary: You are Silent Wolf, a young man studying with the Kai
monks. When the Dark Lords attack and wipe out the Kai monastery, you rename
yourself Lone Wolf and set off to warn the king of the approaching evil.
Collected In: The Lone Wolf Adventures, Lone Wolf Game Book Omnibus
Translations: Danish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Spanish, Swedish
My Thoughts: It's practically impossible to write objectively about
this book. I've probably read and re-read it more times than any other book
that I own. Although the writing is a bit more dry than I remember it being
(I guess childhood imagination does make a difference), this remains a
satisfying start to a grand adventure. The challenge level is neither too
hard nor too easy, with numerous ways to reach a successful conclusion and
choices that are always in some way meaningful. It was a great pleasure to
revisit the adventure, and if you somehow haven't played it yet, you owe it
to yourself to give it a try. Since it's now available for free online play
at Project Aon, there's really no
excuse not to.
The British Beaver edition of this book is not part of my collection; the
scan is courtesy of Tan Hong Kiat.
2. Fire on the Water
Author: Joe Dever
Illustrators: Gary Chalk (interior and original British cover), Brian Salmon (British Beaver cover), uncredited artist (American cover), Peter Andrew Jones (credited as Peter Jones) (British Red Fox cover)
First Published: 1984
ISBN: 0-09-935900-6 (British editions), 0-399-21218-3 (American Pacer edition), 0-425-08437-X (American Berkley edition)
Length: 350 sections
Number of Endings: 19 (not including failure by loss of points)
Plot Summary: You must travel overseas to Durenor to recover the
Sommerswerd, a magical weapon capable of driving back the Darklord invasion.
Collected In: The Lone Wolf Adventures, Lone Wolf Game Book Omnibus
Translations: Danish, French, German, Greek, Italian, Spanish, Swedish
My Thoughts: Of the books in this series that I clearly remember
reading as a child, this was my least favorite. It's mostly about travel,
and there aren't too many monsters to fight or atmospheric dungeons to
explore. I also felt at the time that it was unfairly difficult. However,
having replayed it now, I think that I was underestimating the book.
Although it didn't include the traditional elements that made me enjoy
fantasy adventures, it was clearly memorable -- the "whodunnit"
sequence and the final sea battle were both enjoyable to revisit. As for
being unfair, I think I mustn't have been observant enough when I first
played. Some choices that seem random are in fact entirely strategic if you
carefully examine the map and illustrations. There are better things yet to
come, but this is an entirely worthy sequel to the first book.
The British Beaver edition of this book featuring Brian Salmon's art is
not part of my collection; the scan is courtesy of Tan Hong Kiat.
3. The Caverns of Kalte
Author: Joe Dever
Illustrators: Gary Chalk (interior and original British cover), uncredited artist (first British Beaver cover), Brian Salmon (second British Beaver cover), Don Maitz (American cover)
First Published: 1984
ISBN: 0-09-938530-9 (British editions), 0-425-09357-3 (American edition)
Length: 350 sections
Number of Endings: 21 (not including failure by loss of points)
Plot Summary: Vonotar, the traitorous magician who betrayed the Kai
to the Darklords, has retreated to the icy realm of Kalte and taken control
of the Ice Barbarians residing there; you must capture him and bring him to
justice.
Translations: French, German, Greek, Italian, Spanish, Swedish
My Thoughts: I have very fond memories of this book, but having
replayed it, I'm not exactly sure why. It certainly doesn't strike me as a
bad book by any means, but it doesn't really stand out either. It's a
perfectly decent entry in the series, with all the usual characteristics that
make a Lone Wolf book fun, but it doesn't strike me as being a really
special book the way it did when it first made an impression on me. I think
that initial reaction must have been due to the atmospheric icy setting;
although I maintain that Dever's style of writing is adequate but nothing too
special compared to his greater skill in game design, he does have some nice
touches here that help to convey the peril and beauty of a frozen
environment -- the threat of snow blindness, the interesting Cloudmaker
Mountain, the constant threat of cold-adapted creatures. It all goes by
rather quickly, but there are certainly some nice sights along the way.
The first British Beaver edition of this book is not part of my
collection; the scan is courtesy of Ed Jolley.
4. The Chasm of Doom
Author: Joe Dever
Illustrators: Gary Chalk (interior and original British cover), Brian Salmon (second British Beaver cover), Richard Corben (American cover)
First Published: 1985
ISBN: 0-09-939180-5 (British editions), 0-425-08419-1 (American edition)
Length: 350 sections
Number of Endings: 14 (not including failure by loss of points)
Plot Summary: A convoy of gold and gems has disappeared, as has the
troop of cavalry sent to investigate the disappearance; you must find out
what has happened to everyone.
Translations: French, German, Greek, Italian, Spanish, Swedish
My Thoughts: Although I know I got as far as book ten when I played
these as a child, my memory of the series kind of runs out with this volume.
I approached it as if I had never played it before, and only the most dim of
memories were revived as I went through it. Hopefully this will make my
reviews a little more objective from this point on. In any case, like the
last book, this is a good but relatively undistinguished entry in the series.
The pacing is nice, with a mysterious but seemingly mundane mission growing
into something of greater importance. Replay value is also good, with random
numbers changing some aspects of the adventure and choices allowing other
variations; I died a few times before succeeding in the quest, and each try
was sufficiently different from the ones before it to keep me engaged. The
book's biggest weakness, really, is the fact that it puts you in command of a
group of men but never gives you a real feeling of control or even a sense of
who it is that you're commanding. By offering more tactical decisions and by
characterizing at least a few of the men being commanded, the book would have
been somewhat stronger; this flaw aside, though, it's another good entry in
a consistently above-average series.
The British Beaver edition of this book featuring Brian Salmon's art is
not part of my collection; the scan is courtesy of Tan Hong Kiat.
5. Shadow on the Sand
Author: Joe Dever
Illustrators: Gary Chalk (interior and original British cover), Richard Corben (American cover)
First Published: 1985
ISBN: 0-09-942490-8 (British editions), 0-425-08440-X (American edition)
Length: 400 sections
Number of Endings: 13 (3 in part one, 10 in part two; not including failure by loss of points)
Plot Summary: You are sent on a peace mission to the desert empire of
Vassagonia. Unfortunately, things don't remain peaceful for long....
Translations: French, German, Greek, Italian, Spanish, Swedish
My Thoughts: This book seems to be something of an experiment; rather
than having the usual 350 sections, it is instead divided into two 200-section
parts. There doesn't really seem to be much point to this; although the
American edition claims the book is a "super edition including two
adventures," the two parts really aren't distinct adventures. Although
both parts are the same length, the first part just feels like a
comparatively trivial (but highly replayable) prologue to the action-packed
second part. In any case, since this format was never used again, it can be
assumed that the experiment was not a great success. The book itself,
though, is a great success. As I said, the second half is genuinely
exciting, with aerial battles, the return of an old friend and a final battle
that could have been a little more detailed but which is nonetheless a
genuinely satisfying close to the Kai portion of the series.
The British Beaver edition of this book featuring the newer logo is not
part of my collection; the scan is courtesy of Tan Hong Kiat.
6. The Kingdoms of Terror
Author: Joe Dever
Illustrators: Gary Chalk (interior), uncredited artist (British Beaver cover), Richard Corben (American cover), Peter Andrew Jones (credited as Peter Jones) (British Red Fox cover)
First Published: 1985
ISBN: 0-425-08446-9 (American edition)
Length: 350 sections
Number of Endings: 19 (not including failure by loss of points)
Plot Summary: After three years of studying the Book of the Magnakai,
you determine that you must discover an ancient artifact known as the
Lorestone of Varetta.
Translations: French, German, Greek, Italian, Spanish, Swedish
My Thoughts: This seems to me a rather minor entry in the series, but
at the same time a milestone. It's minor in that its plot, despite involving
an ancient artifact of great power, lacks much significance to the overall
storyline of the series and features few memorable creatures, characters or
encounters. It's a milestone, though, because it marks the beginning of the
Magnakai series and introduces a couple of new rules features: the use of a
bow and "Lore Circles," sets of disciplines that, when all
attained, increase your Combat Skill and/or Endurance -- a nice touch, as it
adds a further dimension to choosing abilities. This isn't a bad book, but
it's my least favorite in the series so far. There are some nice touches in
the forms of tricky ways to die (you really have to pay attention to certain
details to avoid falling stupidly into traps) and recurring characters, but
the mission consists mostly of wandering grim, mercenary-filled streets, and
it gets tiresome fairly quickly. I'm glad to have this quest behind me and
am ready to move on to the next adventure.
The British Beaver edition of this book is not part of my collection; the
scan is courtesy of Tan Hong Kiat. The British Red Fox edition of this book
is not part of my collection; the scan is courtesy of Marcus Pearse.
7. Castle Death
Author: Joe Dever
Illustrators: Gary Chalk (interior), Peter Lyon (British Beaver cover), uncredited artist (American cover), Peter Andrew Jones (credited as Peter Jones) (British Red Fox cover)
First Published: 1986
ISBN: 0-425-10014-6 (American edition)
Length: 350 sections
Number of Endings: 19 (not including failure by loss of points)
Plot Summary: The search for the next Lorestone leads you to the
dreaded castle of Kazan-Oud, inhabited by an evil sorcerer and isolated from
the rest of the world by a magical shield.
Translations: French, German, Italian, Spanish, Swedish
My Thoughts: If ever a Lone Wolf book felt more like a Fighting Fantasy adventure, this is the one. It's
not as brutally unfair as most of the entries in that other series, but it's
a dungeon crawl full of tricks and traps, so it feels a little different from
the usual more story-oriented adventures in this series. I suppose it isn't
a bad adventure, but I didn't find it very enjoyable. Lone Wolf is at
its best when you have a clear sense of mission, and there's just too much
aimless wandering here for my taste. I also found that the increased
difficulty level of the combat served to slow things down rather than
increase my enjoyment, and the fact that it's possible to win the book but
lose the Sommerswerd is absolutely devastating. I can also see why there
were discussions of Joe Dever's possible racism on various mailing lists;
while I suspect no harm was intended, a little too much is made of how Lone
Wolf's white skin dazzles his dark-skinned enemies. For a variety of
reasons, I finished this adventure not with a sense of accomplishment but
rather with a bad taste in my mouth.
Errata: My American copy of this book is missing monster stats in
section 233; according to Project
Aon, it should be "Oudagorg - Combat Skill 17, Endurance 17."
The British Beaver edition of this book is not part of my collection; the
scan is courtesy of Tan Hong Kiat. The British Red Fox edition of this book
is not part of my collection; the scan is courtesy of Marcus Pearse.
8. The Jungle of Horrors
Author: Joe Dever
Illustrators: Gary Chalk (interior), Peter Lyon (British Beaver cover), Neal McPheeters (American cover), Peter Andrew Jones (credited as Peter Jones) (British Red Fox cover)
First Published: 1987
ISBN: 0-09-947630-4 (British editions), 0-425-10484-2 (American edition)
Length: 350 sections
Number of Endings: 19 (not including failure by loss of points)
Plot Summary: Your quest for the Lorestones leads you to the heart of
the Danarg, an evil swamp filled with horrible monsters.
Translations: French, German, Italian, Spanish, Swedish
My Thoughts: After two disappointing adventures, this is a return to
many of the things that make this series so much fun. The Darklord civil war
that prevented momentous events from occurring for the past few adventures is
at an end, and once again, you are racing against time and battling
tremendous odds. The use of a companion character throughout most of the
book is a nice change of pace (though more actual character development would
have been nice), and the Danarg is a fun and atmospheric setting. The
difficulty of the book is relatively high, but at least the toughest fight is
near the beginning, making failure less frustrating than it might otherwise
have been. This isn't really a classic, but it's an improvement over the
previous Magnakai adventures, and its final cliffhanger promises more
interesting things to come.
Errata: The worst error I encountered in this volume was the inclusion
of an incorrect second choice in section 318; according to Project Aon, the choice should actually
read "If you choose to continue your ride north to Tharro, turn to
280."
The British Red Fox edition of this book is not part of my collection; the
scan is courtesy of Marcus Pearse.
9. The Cauldron of Fear
Author: Joe Dever
Illustrators: Brian Williams (interior), Fred Gambino (British Beaver cover), Neal McPheeters (American cover), Peter Andrew Jones (credited as Peter Jones) (British Red Fox cover)
First Published: 1987
ISBN: 0-09-951210-6 (British editions), 0-425-10848-1 (American edition)
Length: 350 sections
Number of Endings: 11 (not including failure by loss of points)
Plot Summary: The next Lorestone that you seek can be found in an
ancient city located beneath the town of Tahou; unfortunately, the spreading
Darklord armies threaten to complicate your visit to this region....
Translations: French, German, Italian, Spanish, Swedish
My Thoughts: This book marks a major change in the series: the
replacement of illustrator Gary Chalk with Brian Williams. Williams' work
isn't as distinctive as Chalk's, but it is often a bit more polished-looking.
In all, it's a fair trade, with each artist having different talents. Art
aside, though, this is a good adventure with a fairly decent amount of
variety; there's some dungeon crawling, some epic fighting and even a wee bit
of political intrigue. It's a bit more text-heavy and linear than average,
with a lot of sections ending simply in "turn to x" rather than a
choice; still, I never felt that my options were needlessly limited. My only
major complaint deals with the final confrontation that closes the book. If
you bring the Sommerswerd along, you're actually at a serious disadvantage,
being forced into a fight that is nearly impossible to win. If for some
strange reason you leave your best weapon behind, you have a shot at victory,
but it relies mainly on dumb luck. Due to its unreasonable difficulty and
general senselessness, this is one of the most disappointing major fights in
the series so far, and it detracts somewhat from an otherwise fun book.
The British Red Fox edition of this book is not part of my collection; the
scan is courtesy of Marcus Pearse.
10. The Dungeons of Torgar
Author: Joe Dever
Illustrators: Brian Williams (interior), Brian Salmon (British Beaver cover), Neal McPheeters (American cover), Peter Andrew Jones (credited as Peter Jones) (British Red Fox cover)
First Published: 1987
ISBN: 0-425-10930-5 (American edition)
Length: 350 sections
Number of Endings: 16 (not including failure by loss of points)
Plot Summary: The Darklords have control of the final three
Lorestones, but you have learned that they are currently held in the dungeons
beneath the Drakkar fortress of Torgar.
Translations: French, German, Italian, Spanish, Swedish
My Thoughts: While reading this book, I did realize that I owe a lot
of my appreciation of Lone Wolf to nostalgia. While I still give the
series plenty of credit for its fun system and its story continuity, I think
that I would find its shallow characters and silly location names a lot less
thrilling if not for the fact that I know they were created by Joe Dever. I
guess I still cannot claim to be unbiased. That being said, this was yet
another fun adventure. It's highly replayable since the first choice leads
to two different story branches that allow wildly different events to be
experienced during the first half of the story. After that, it's time for
some reunions and daring deeds leading up to a gigantic cliffhanger. Of
course, it could have benefit from better characterization (I dare you to
tell two Lone Wolf characters apart) and some elaboration (much of
the adventure feels a little bit rushed), but it's Lone Wolf. It's
hard not to enjoy it, flaws and all.
The British Beaver edition of this book is not part of my collection; the
scan is courtesy of Tan Hong Kiat. The British Red Fox edition of this book
is not part of my collection; the scan is courtesy of Marcus Pearse.
11. The Prisoners of Time
Author: Joe Dever
Illustrators: Brian Williams (interior), Brian Salmon (British Beaver cover), Neal McPheeters (American cover), Peter Andrew Jones (credited as Peter Jones) (British Red Fox cover)
First Published: 1987
ISBN: 0-09-951320-X (British editions), 0-425-11568-2 (American edition)
Length: 350 sections
Number of Endings: 12 (not including failure by loss of points)
Plot Summary: Due to a Darklord trap, you (and the remaining
Lorestones) are trapped on the Daziarn Plane.
Translations: French, German, Italian, Spanish, Swedish
My Thoughts: This is an extremely disappointing book. Although it
does have some merit thanks to the strange environment of the Daziarn Plane,
some colorful characters, interesting revelations about Lone Wolf's role in
the universe, and a surprising reunion (that's unfortunately spoiled in
advance if you accidentally see the wrong illustration), its flaws really
outweigh its good points. To an even greater extent than The Cauldron of Fear, it's an extremely linear
adventure, with more page-turning than choice-making. It seems that by this
point, the author was getting tired and just wanted to force things along to
their conclusion. Another flaw shared with The
Cauldron of Fear is the fact that this adventure is effectively unwinnable
if you bring the Sommerswerd along. I can see how it would be fair to make
the book more challenging for Sommerswerd-wielding readers; after all,
wielding such a powerful weapon is generally an unfair advantage. However,
to make victory impossible for players who have faithfully followed the
storyline from the beginning is frustrating and makes no sense plot-wise;
after all, why would Lone Wolf ever choose to leave his best weapon behind?
Of course, regardless of the Sommerswerd issue, the book ends with not one
but two nasty combats in rapid succession. These aren't unwinnable, but to
lose them is endlessly frustrating, since the book is so linear that replay
is tedious rather than exciting. In any case, this all goes to show that,
while I have praised the Lone Wolf game system in the past, it does
have major flaws in the area of combat balance -- by this point in the
series, most fights are either too easy or completely impossible, and it
detracts from the reading experience. I had to cheat to win here, and I
really hate having to do that. If you need to visit the Daziarn, try the
World of Lone Wolf series instead; this book
reminded me of my sadness over the brevity of Grey Star's time in the
spotlight.
The British Red Fox edition of this book is not part of my collection; the
scan is courtesy of Marcus Pearse.
12. The Masters of Darkness
Author: Joe Dever
Illustrators: Brian Williams (interior), Brian Salmon (British Beaver cover), uncredited artist (American cover), Peter Andrew Jones (credited as Peter Jones) (British Red Fox cover)
First Published: 1988
ISBN: 0-09-951400-1 (British editions), 0-425-11718-9 (American edition)
Length: 350 sections
Number of Endings: 21 (not including failure by loss of points)
Plot Summary: When you return from the Daziarn, you discover that
years have passed and the Darklords are on the verge of victory. Now is the
time to take your long-awaited revenge!
Translations: French, German, Italian, Swedish
My Thoughts: For a long time, I thought this was truly the last book
in the series -- I think many people have been under that impression in many
places. In any case, I've waited for years to actually play out the last act
of Lone Wolf's battle with the Darklords, and now that I have, I'm rather
disappointed. Like the previous volume, this book has extremely long linear
sequences without meaningful choices. Fortunately, the game balance is
considerably better, with multiple ways out of some nasty situations, but
this doesn't change the fact that the book really isn't especially exciting.
There are a couple of good action sequences and a variety of monsters to
fight, but there just isn't the sense of fun and potential that was so
palpable in the first few volumes. Perhaps I'm just tired from having
reviewed so many of these books in so short a time, but I think it's more
likely that it was the author who was getting tired -- the increasing
linearity as the series went on suggests a growing desire to just get the
storyline over with. It's all kind of anticlimactic. Still, more than two
thirds of the books so far were well worth the effort, and that's a good bit
above average. I look forward to eventually filling some gaps in my
collection and moving on to the next chapter in Lone Wolf's adventures. I
sense that there are still good things to come.
The British Red Fox edition of this book is not part of my collection; the
scan is courtesy of Marcus Pearse.
The Magnamund Companion (Dawn of the Darklords)
Author: Joe Dever
Illustrators: Rob Adams, Gary Chalk, Richard Hooks, Jane Laycock, Peter Lyon and Graham Round (interior), Brian Salmon (British cover), uncredited artist (American cover)
First Published: 1986
ISBN: 0-425-10759-0 (American edition)
Length: 96 pages (Dawn of the Darklords: pp. 84-96, 80 sections)
Number of Endings: 5 (not including failure by loss of points)
Plot Summary: You are Banedon the magician, and you have a vitally
important message to deliver to the Kai Monastery....
Translation: Swedish
My Thoughts: This highly sought-after volume includes lots of
information on the history, geography, culture and dangers of Magnamund along
with a board game, information on building models, and a brief gamebook. The
whole book is an interesting read, but this being a page about gamebooks, it
is the mini-adventure that I'm most interested in discussing. It uses the
basic Lone Wolf game system, but you choose magical powers instead of
Kai disciplines; rather than using Willpower points like the spells in World of Lone Wolf, some (but not all) of these
powers drain Endurance. The adventure itself runs parallel to Flight from the Dark, showing some familiar events
from a different perspective. It's so short as to be rather trivial, which
is too bad, as it would have been nice to adventure as Banedon for a little
longer.
The British edition of this book is not part of my collection; the scans
are courtesy of Tan Hong Kiat.
