Lone Wolf (gamebooks)
Encyclopedia
Lone Wolf is a series of 28 gamebook
s, created by Joe Dever
and initially illustrated (books 1-8) by Gary Chalk. The series began publishing in July 1984 and sold more than 10.2 million copies worldwide.
The story focuses on the fictional world of Magnamund, where the forces of good and evil fight for control of the planet. The protagonist is Lone Wolf, last of his caste of warrior monks known as Kai Lords. The book series is written in the second person and recounts Lone Wolf's adventures as if the reader is the main character. As Lone Wolf, the reader makes choices at regular intervals throughout the story which then change the course, and the final outcome, of the book.
Although the series ceased publication and went out of print in 1998, a fan-operated organisation called Project Aon was established in 1999 which has subsequently converted many of the books to HTML
format. Joe Dever
gave his permission for Project Aon to distribute the books online
via the internet
. Subsequently, there has been a strong revival of interest in Lone Wolf, particularly in Italy, Spain, and France where the books were republished between 2002 and 2006. In 2007, Mongoose Publishing
has announced that all of the Lone Wolf books, including books 29-32 which were never published, are being printed. Several adaptations also exist of the Lone Wolf series, including a D20
-style role-playing game
from Mongoose Publishing Ltd UK, the company which is currently republishing the original Lone Wolf gamebooks.
The series was also converted into different computer games. The newest project announced will see Lone Wolf going on various platforms, from PC to next-gen consoles and iPhone
in 2013. Created by the Italian company Forge Reply, the new game was announced on August 18th 2011 at the Gamescom
convention in Cologne
.
In July 2009, Convergence Entertainment, a company best known for the live action King of Fighters film
, announced that it had secured the rights to make a live-action movie based on the Lone Wolf series.
In the north-east of Magnamund's northern continent lies the realm of Sommerlund. Its people, the Sommerlunding, are devoted followers of Kai. There are those among them, known as Kai Lords or simply 'the Kai', who possess extraordinary innate abilities. Trained from childhood at the Kai Monastery, the Kai Lords are Sommerlund's greatest defense against Naar's agents.
Naar's champions upon Magnamund are the Darklords, who dwell in the scorched wastes of the Darklands, west of Sommerlund. This realm, inhospitable to most life, enables the Darklords to survive on Magnamund - though powerful, they are greatly weakened by the natural atmosphere of their world. Forced to enact their will at a distance, the Darklords wage war with armies of Drakkarim (humans devoted to Naar), Giaks (goblin
-like creatures spawned in vast numbers), and other creatures, and are served by agents such as Vordaks (undead
with psychic powers) and Helghasts (shapechanging undead).
At the Kai Monastery is a young initiate, given the name Silent Wolf. On the feastday of Fehmarn, when all the Kai Lords gather at the monastery, Silent Wolf is sent to cut wood from the surrounding forest as a punishment for his inattention in class. While he is gone, a surprise attack is launched from the Darklands at several places across Sommerlund. The Monastery is assaulted and the gathered Kai Lords massacred. Rushing back from the woods, Silent Wolf is knocked out by a low-lying tree branch (in the Legends of Lone Wolf novelizations based on the books, it's implied that the branch was placed there by a demi-goddess called Alyss so Silent Wolf would be spared the attack). When he awakes, he finds himself the only survivor. The last of the Kai, he renames himself Lone Wolf and sets out for the capital to inform the King of the loss of the Kai.
It is worth noting that in the re-release version of Flight from the Dark
in 2007 by Mongoose Publishing, the beginning of the adventure is slightly different as Silent Wolf takes part in the battle.
The Kai Series (gamebooks 1 to 5) follows Lone Wolf as he rallies the armies of Sommerlund and her ally, Durenor, to repel the invasion, pursues and captures the traitor who brought about the invasion, and survives plots to complete the destruction of the Kai. In Flight from the Dark, Lone Wolf reaches the King in Holmgard who then dispatches him to Durenor to recover the Sommerswerd in Fire on the Water
returning to defeat Archlord Zagarna, the head of the Darklords. The third book, The Caverns of Kalte
, finds Lone Wolf chasing the betrayer of Sommerlund, Vonotar, in the frozen northern wastes of Kalte. In The Chasm of Doom
, Lone Wolf thwarts the resurrection of the first and most powerful Darklord, Vashna. At the end of the series, in Shadow on the Sand
, Lone Wolf recovers the Book of the Magnakai, the ancient text which contains the higher lore of the Kai Lords through an encounter with Haakon, the new head of the Darklords. With the massacre of the Kai, and Lone Wolf only an initiate, these teachings were thought to be lost.
The Magnakai Series (gamebooks 6 to 12) continues the tale, with Lone Wolf now a fledging Kai Master striving to understand the Magnakai teachings. The Book of the Magnakai, however, is ancient and incomplete. To perfect his understanding and train a new order of Kai Lords, Lone Wolf must follow the path of Sun Eagle, the first Kai Lord and author of the Book of the Magnakai. Sun Eagle quested for the wisdom encapsulated in the Lorestones of Nyxator, seven orbs scattered across Northern Magnamund. As Lone Wolf begins the same quest, however, war breaks out again. The Darklords have again rallied behind a new leader, Archlord Gnaag, and now hasten their invasion to defeat the Magnakai quest. In The Kingdoms of Terror
, Lone Wolf pursues the quest through the war-torn realms to find the Lorestone of Varetta. Castle Death
leads Lone Wolf to his first encounter with the Elder Magi and the capture of a second Lorestone in the fortress of Kazan-Oud. The third Lorestone is found in the Danarg swamp in The Jungle of Horrors
. An old enemy from Shadow on the Sand is finally defeated in The Cauldron of Fear
. Lone Wolf then makes the perilous journey to the edge of the Darklands, deep in the territory of the Darklords. There, in The Dungeons of Torgar
, he falls into a void leading beyond the plane of Magnamund. Finding the final two Lorestones and settling the score finally with Vonotar, Lone Wolf is able return to Sommerlund, chronicled in The Prisoners of Time
. When Lone Wolf returns to Magnamund, he finds that 11 years have passed and most of the world is under the grip of the Darklords under the leadership of Archlord Gnaag. Ultimately, in The Masters of Darkness
, Lone Wolf enters the Darkland capital of Helgedad and brings about the destruction of the Darklords.
The Grand Master Series (gamebooks 13 to 20) continues the story of Grand Master Lone Wolf and introduces the restored order of Kai Lords. With the destruction of the Darklords, Naar and his agents abandon open warfare and seek new paths to dominance, often focused directly on Lone Wolf as the keystone of the forces of Light. In The Plague Lords of Ruel
, Lone Wolf meets for the first time Archdruid Cadak, leader of the Cener Druids, and destroys the deadly virus they were creating to wipe out all life on Magnamund. Following that, the closest friend of Lone Wolf, Guildmaster Banedon, is kidnapped. The Kai Grand Master makes haste to save his friend in The Captives of Kaag
. Meanwhile, Warlord Magnaarn of Nyras is trying to find the Doomstone of Darke to combine it with the Nyras Sceptre. In The Darke Crusade
, Lone Wolf tries to find the Doomstone before the Drakkarim. For the second time, Lone Wolf prevents the resurrection of Darklord Vashna in The Legacy of Vashna
. Shortly after, The Deathlord of Ixia
comes into possession of the Deathstaff, an item to be used to resurrect Vashna. But while Lone Wolf is away from Sommerlund, Naar attempts to destroy the Kai Monastery for the second time in Dawn of the Dragons
. Following his defeat, the Dark God executes a new plan for revenge on Lone Wolf by sending a doppelgänger
named Wolf's Bane
in the book of the same name. During the mission involving Wolf's Bane, Lone Wolf finds out that Naar had come into possession of the holy Moonstone. In his final mission, the Kai Grand Master infiltrates the Plane of Darkness to retrieve to sacred jewel in The Curse of Naar
.
The New Order Series (gamebooks 21 to 32) features a new protagonist, a Grand Master in the Second Order of the Kai and a student of Lone Wolf, who is now Supreme Master. This series allows the player to 'customize' his character by allowing the choice of an individual name (originally, the name was speculated to be Falco Nero, or Black Hawk). Much of the series focuses on attempts by Naar's minions to use remnants of the power of Agarash the Damned, Naar's greatest champion and predecessor to the Darklords. The series is set in Southern Magnamund, center of Agarash's empire which was not featured in the earlier series. In Voyage of the Moonstone
, the new protagonist is send to the Isle of Lorn to return the Moonstone to its creators, the Shianti. However, this book ends midway during the trip, in Elzian. The second part of this adventure plays out in The Buccaneers of Shadaki
. After completing this quest, the Grand Master is sent to the Isle of Sheasu to persuade Prince Karvas, heir of the King of Siyen, to return to his homeland to claim the throne before the evil Baron Sadanzo takes it in Mydnight's Hero
. In Rune War
, the Kai Order goes on a crusade to help the land of Lyris which has been invaded by the forces of Eldenora. The enemy leader, Lord Vandyan, has come into possession of the Runes of Agarash which grants him great power. At the end of the mission to destroy the runes, the Grand Master learns that Lone Wolf has been kidnapped. Similar to The Captives of Kaag, the Grand Master sets out to rescue of his leader in Trail of the Wolf
. A year later, in The Fall of Blood Mountain
, the Grand Master is sent to help the Kingdom of Bor. Its inhabitants, the dwarves, have freed the evil Shom'zaa who is now wreaking havoc in the caves of this subterranean land. He returns to southern Magnamund in Vampirium
, to deal with Autarch Sejanoz of Bhanar, who has found the Claw of Naar, a powerful weapon. After retrieving this artefact from Autarch, the Grand Master escorts Xo-lin, emperor of Chai, to safety as Sejanoz has invaded the neighboring land. The following adventure, The Storms of Chai, which is yet to be published, takes place 18 years later. Just like for the Nyras Sceptre from The Drake Crusade, the Claw of Naar can be coupled with a mystical evil stone to increase its power. This jewel, the Eye of Agarash, is set on the throne of the Khea-Khan (emperor) of Chai and the mission of the Grand Master will be to retrieve it. The following three gamebooks to be published should bring the series to a definitive conclusion.
, which appeared in a magazine called Look and Learn. He built armies of Airfix Roman soldiers and converted their spears to laser rifles, long before he was introduced to fantasy. Dever was introduced to "science fantasy" by his high school English tutor. He was the first and possibly only British person to compete in the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Championship of America, which he won in 1982.
Dever has stated that his earliest inspirations for Lone Wolf were medieval classical texts such as Beowulf
, Gawain and the Green Knight and Le Morte d'Arthur
. In his teenage years Tolkien
, Moorcock
and Mervyn Peake
along with military history and Norse mythology
all contributed to the creation of the Kai. He also used travel books to discover images of "exotic places".
Dever developed the world of Magnamund from 1975 to 1983 as a setting for his Dungeons and Dragons campaigns. Originally called "Chinaraux", the world consisted of only northern Magnamund. The Kai lords are like "psionic rangers
with special powers bestowed upon them by their gods". An individual book took 9 weeks to write, with three for mapping and plotting, and then 6 weeks of writing the story, creating an average of 12 entries per day.
With the help of Joe Dever, Paul Barnett
, whose pen name is John Grant, wrote twelve novelizations of the Lone Wolf books known as the Legends of Lone Wolf, several of which were heavily edited before publication. They have received mixed reviews from fans. Barnett was the creator of the characters Alyss, Qinefer, and Thog. Random House stopped publishing the novelizations after the twelfth book because "the books weren't selling," though the truth of this statement is contested. Barnett entered discussions with an Italian publisher about reprinting the books unedited in Italian, this finally occurring with some editing of the original text. In July 2009, he announced on his blog that Dark Quest Books would republish an upgraded version of the series in English beginning in 2010. So far, none of the twelve have been published by Dark Quest Books. An omnibus edition containing the first three novels, is currently listed on the publishers website with a notation of an estimated release date of February 2011, due to a delay with an unspecified "art issue."
There has long been uncertainty amongst fans as to which version of the series is canon
. Joe Dever has stated that as the game books precede the novelization, they are the "authoritative" versions. There is still some cross over between the novelizations and the gamebooks, however; most notably in the form of Alyss, an original character of John Grant's who plays a significant role in the final books of the Grand Master series.
Only the first four volumes of the Legends of Lone Wolf were made available in the United States (though Sword of the Sun was divided into two separate volumes, The Tides of Treachery and Sword of the Sun), and only the first 20 of the core Lone Wolf gamebook series were made available in the United States; the last 8 books were never printed in the US. It should also be noted that the American editions of books 13-20 were abridged versions and thus are shorter than the UK editions. The UK versions also have color maps. The abridgements are sloppy, sometimes leaving broken links, or sections referring the reader to an incorrect new section.
During the latter period of writing, Joe Dever and Publisher Red Fox were at odds, and Red Fox ceased publishing the Lone Wolf series after book 28, The Hunger of Sejanoz
, citing lack of interest in the interactive gaming genre, despite hundreds of requests for the reprinting of several Lone Wolf books that had gone out of print. This left the series unfinished, as Dever had four other books planned. He first did plan on releasing these books in some form after completing his collaboration on the new Lone Wolf RPG. Finally, Mongoose Publishing, editor of the Lone Wolf RPG, accepted to publish to last four books of the series as well as republishing the rest of the series.
In 1999, Dever gave permission for his Lone Wolf book to be published for free on the internet by the non-profit organization
Project Aon. Joe Dever later gave his permission to publish the out of print New Order series. As of May 2011, 25 of his Lone Wolf books, the World of Lone Wolf series, the Magnamund Companion and several other Lone Wolf related written works are available for download. Despite the online publication, the original print copies of gamebooks 21 through to 28 and the twelfth Legends novel remain both rare and sought after and, as of November 2010, copies in "good" condition sell online for between $150 and $200 US.
of the opening of the book, where instead of Lone Wolf waking to find everyone at his monastery dead, he joins the fight. Dever has stated that, since he has the chance, and considers himself a better writer, that this is a good opportunity to make a better beginning. Long time fan and now assistant Jonathan Blake said of the retconning that overall, despite his love of the original, the surprises, grittier illustrations, and better writing have "won him over".
The response to the Lone Wolf book series has been largely positive. Three books of the series won "Game Book of the Year" between 1985 and 1987. The series was also awarded the Gamemaster International "All Time Great" award in 1991. The high quality of Joe Dever's descriptive prose receives especial praise, as well as the fact that the books, if played together, form a cohesive continuing story, with recurring characters (something not often seen in gamebooks).
Even so, the books are not without criticism. Wavering difficulty is a common criticism made about the series. The battles tend to be either too hard or too easy. This is mostly attributed to the attainment of the Sommerswerd (a sword forged by gods) in the second book Fire on the Water
which drastically increases the wielder's combat abilities. Another reason for this would be the fact that a player can start with drastically different stats. Finally, because the books were written to be functional both as a series and as stand alone adventures, the question of whether or not a player would have access to certain special weapons and abilities made difficulty hard to gauge.
Three computer games were released during the late 1980s using the Lone Wolf license. The first two, published by Hutchinson, were adapted from the first two gamebooks, while the third entitled 'Mirror of Death' from Audiogenic Software, featured an original storyline. The game was well received by several game magazines.
The Legends novel Eclipse of the Kai was abridged as an audio book read by Edward da Souza on May 7, 1992. Another was recorded but not released. A version narrated and composed by Joe Dever was also made, but never released.
There was also a series of telephone adventures called "Phonequest", one of which was known as "Fortress of Doom".
In 2004 the license was adapted as a role-playing game by Mongoose Publishing
under the Open Game License
using Mongoose's OGL System
. This has met mostly with praise for its adaptation of the Lone Wolf world, though some believe that there are many overlooked problems with the RPG, such as balance between classes and "hard to interpret" rules. Dever is credited with helping the game's principal designer, August Hahn, incorporate information from his final four unreleased books into the game. A line of miniatures was also created for the game.
In March 2010, a new version of the roleplaying game, with rules closer to the ones of the gamebooks, was launched by Mongoose Publishing.
Three scripts were developed for a potential Lone Wolf film release but they did not proceed beyond the pre-production phase. However, in July 2009, a small company, called Convergence Entertainement, who produced the King of Fighters
movie, announced that it had bought the rights to make a live-action film based on Lone Wolf.
An online MMORPG
was in development by fans with the support of Joe Dever and a playable demo had been released for beta testing, but development abruptly stopped when it was announced that a first-person computer game was being developed by Singapore-based Ksatria Gameworks Pte Ltd. Joe Dever was cited as Lead Designer on the project, for which no official release date have ever been announced. The studio also had the license to produce more Lone Wolf games. However, the company abruptly closed its doors in 2009 because of the worldwide financial crisis
. The rights to make a video game were shortly held by Red Entertainment
before the Italian company Forge Reply announced in August 2011 that it was working on a game for the next-gen consoles.
An adaption of the first five books for the Nintendo DS
handheld console, called LoneWolfDS, is available in homebrew
format.
Two game modifications for the game Neverwinter Nights
were named after the Lone Wolf book series.
Gamebook
A gamebook is a work of fiction that allows the reader to participate in the story by making effective choices. The narrative branches along various paths through the use of numbered paragraphs or pages...
s, created by Joe Dever
Joe Dever
Joe Dever is an award-winning British fantasy author and game designer. Originally a musician, Dever became the first British winner of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Championship of America in 1982....
and initially illustrated (books 1-8) by Gary Chalk. The series began publishing in July 1984 and sold more than 10.2 million copies worldwide.
The story focuses on the fictional world of Magnamund, where the forces of good and evil fight for control of the planet. The protagonist is Lone Wolf, last of his caste of warrior monks known as Kai Lords. The book series is written in the second person and recounts Lone Wolf's adventures as if the reader is the main character. As Lone Wolf, the reader makes choices at regular intervals throughout the story which then change the course, and the final outcome, of the book.
Although the series ceased publication and went out of print in 1998, a fan-operated organisation called Project Aon was established in 1999 which has subsequently converted many of the books to HTML
HTML
HyperText Markup Language is the predominant markup language for web pages. HTML elements are the basic building-blocks of webpages....
format. Joe Dever
Joe Dever
Joe Dever is an award-winning British fantasy author and game designer. Originally a musician, Dever became the first British winner of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Championship of America in 1982....
gave his permission for Project Aon to distribute the books online
ONLINE
ONLINE is a magazine for information systems first published in 1977. The publisher Online, Inc. was founded the year before. In May 2002, Information Today, Inc. acquired the assets of Online Inc....
via the internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
. Subsequently, there has been a strong revival of interest in Lone Wolf, particularly in Italy, Spain, and France where the books were republished between 2002 and 2006. In 2007, Mongoose Publishing
Mongoose Publishing
Mongoose Publishing is a prolific British manufacturer of role-playing games, miniatures, and card games, actively publishing material since 2001...
has announced that all of the Lone Wolf books, including books 29-32 which were never published, are being printed. Several adaptations also exist of the Lone Wolf series, including a D20
D20 System
The d20 System is a role-playing game system published in 2000 by Wizards of the Coast originally developed for the third edition of Dungeons & Dragons...
-style role-playing game
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
from Mongoose Publishing Ltd UK, the company which is currently republishing the original Lone Wolf gamebooks.
The series was also converted into different computer games. The newest project announced will see Lone Wolf going on various platforms, from PC to next-gen consoles and iPhone
IPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
in 2013. Created by the Italian company Forge Reply, the new game was announced on August 18th 2011 at the Gamescom
Gamescom
gamescom is a trade fair for video games held annually at the Koelnmesse in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is organised by the Bundesverband Interaktive Unterhaltungssoftware...
convention in Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
.
In July 2009, Convergence Entertainment, a company best known for the live action King of Fighters film
The King of Fighters (film)
The King of Fighters is a film loosely based on SNK Playmore's The King of Fighters series of fighting games. It stars Sean Faris as Kyo Kusanagi, Maggie Q as Mai Shiranui, Will Yun Lee as Iori Yagami, and Ray Park as Rugal Bernstein.-Plot:...
, announced that it had secured the rights to make a live-action movie based on the Lone Wolf series.
Synopsis
Magnamund, a planet in the universe of Aon, is the focus of battle between the powers of Good, among them Kai (God of the Sun) and Ishir (Goddess of the Moon), and Naar, the evil God of Darkness.In the north-east of Magnamund's northern continent lies the realm of Sommerlund. Its people, the Sommerlunding, are devoted followers of Kai. There are those among them, known as Kai Lords or simply 'the Kai', who possess extraordinary innate abilities. Trained from childhood at the Kai Monastery, the Kai Lords are Sommerlund's greatest defense against Naar's agents.
Naar's champions upon Magnamund are the Darklords, who dwell in the scorched wastes of the Darklands, west of Sommerlund. This realm, inhospitable to most life, enables the Darklords to survive on Magnamund - though powerful, they are greatly weakened by the natural atmosphere of their world. Forced to enact their will at a distance, the Darklords wage war with armies of Drakkarim (humans devoted to Naar), Giaks (goblin
Goblin
A goblin is a legendary evil or mischievous illiterate creature, a grotesquely evil or evil-like phantom.They are attributed with various abilities, temperaments and appearances depending on the story and country of origin. In some cases, goblins have been classified as constantly annoying little...
-like creatures spawned in vast numbers), and other creatures, and are served by agents such as Vordaks (undead
Undead
Undead is a collective name for fictional, mythological, or legendary beings that are deceased and yet behave as if alive. Undead may be incorporeal, such as ghosts, or corporeal, such as vampires and zombies...
with psychic powers) and Helghasts (shapechanging undead).
At the Kai Monastery is a young initiate, given the name Silent Wolf. On the feastday of Fehmarn, when all the Kai Lords gather at the monastery, Silent Wolf is sent to cut wood from the surrounding forest as a punishment for his inattention in class. While he is gone, a surprise attack is launched from the Darklands at several places across Sommerlund. The Monastery is assaulted and the gathered Kai Lords massacred. Rushing back from the woods, Silent Wolf is knocked out by a low-lying tree branch (in the Legends of Lone Wolf novelizations based on the books, it's implied that the branch was placed there by a demi-goddess called Alyss so Silent Wolf would be spared the attack). When he awakes, he finds himself the only survivor. The last of the Kai, he renames himself Lone Wolf and sets out for the capital to inform the King of the loss of the Kai.
It is worth noting that in the re-release version of Flight from the Dark
Flight from the Dark
Flight from the Dark is the first installment in the award-winning Lone Wolf book series created by Joe Dever.-Gameplay:The reader is allowed to choose five Kai Disciplines from a list of ten, and is given meagre equipment. Because the reader has no equipment from previous books, some disciplines,...
in 2007 by Mongoose Publishing, the beginning of the adventure is slightly different as Silent Wolf takes part in the battle.
The Kai Series (gamebooks 1 to 5) follows Lone Wolf as he rallies the armies of Sommerlund and her ally, Durenor, to repel the invasion, pursues and captures the traitor who brought about the invasion, and survives plots to complete the destruction of the Kai. In Flight from the Dark, Lone Wolf reaches the King in Holmgard who then dispatches him to Durenor to recover the Sommerswerd in Fire on the Water
Fire on the Water
Fire on the Water is the second installment in the award-winning Lone Wolf book series created by Joe Dever. It is the installment where Lone Wolf receives the legendary Sommerswerd.-Gameplay:...
returning to defeat Archlord Zagarna, the head of the Darklords. The third book, The Caverns of Kalte
The Caverns of Kalte
The Caverns of Kalte was the third book of the award-winning Lone Wolf book series created by Joe Dever.-Gameplay:With this third book, players will begin to find that having played through the previous books in the series and thus carried characters forward from these books can help to a...
, finds Lone Wolf chasing the betrayer of Sommerlund, Vonotar, in the frozen northern wastes of Kalte. In The Chasm of Doom
The Chasm of Doom
The Chasm of Doom is the fourth book in the award-winning Lone Wolf book series created by Joe Dever and illustrated by Gary Chalk.-Gameplay:...
, Lone Wolf thwarts the resurrection of the first and most powerful Darklord, Vashna. At the end of the series, in Shadow on the Sand
Shadow on the Sand
Shadow on the Sand is the fifth book in the award-winning Lone Wolf book series created by Joe Dever. This is the final book in the "Kai" portion of the series.-Gameplay:...
, Lone Wolf recovers the Book of the Magnakai, the ancient text which contains the higher lore of the Kai Lords through an encounter with Haakon, the new head of the Darklords. With the massacre of the Kai, and Lone Wolf only an initiate, these teachings were thought to be lost.
The Magnakai Series (gamebooks 6 to 12) continues the tale, with Lone Wolf now a fledging Kai Master striving to understand the Magnakai teachings. The Book of the Magnakai, however, is ancient and incomplete. To perfect his understanding and train a new order of Kai Lords, Lone Wolf must follow the path of Sun Eagle, the first Kai Lord and author of the Book of the Magnakai. Sun Eagle quested for the wisdom encapsulated in the Lorestones of Nyxator, seven orbs scattered across Northern Magnamund. As Lone Wolf begins the same quest, however, war breaks out again. The Darklords have again rallied behind a new leader, Archlord Gnaag, and now hasten their invasion to defeat the Magnakai quest. In The Kingdoms of Terror
The Kingdoms of Terror
The Kingdoms of Terror is the sixth book in the award-winning Lone Wolf book series created by Joe Dever. This is the first book in the "Magnakai" portion of the series, which begins after Lone Wolf has spent three years studying the Book of the Magnakai....
, Lone Wolf pursues the quest through the war-torn realms to find the Lorestone of Varetta. Castle Death
Castle Death
Castle Death is the seventh book in the Lone Wolf book series created by Joe Dever.-Gameplay:Lone Wolf books rely on a combination of thought and luck. Certain statistics such as combat skill and endurance attributes are determined randomly before play . The player is then allowed to choose which...
leads Lone Wolf to his first encounter with the Elder Magi and the capture of a second Lorestone in the fortress of Kazan-Oud. The third Lorestone is found in the Danarg swamp in The Jungle of Horrors
The Jungle of Horrors
The Jungle of Horrors is the eighth book in the award-winning Lone Wolf book series created by Joe Dever.-Gameplay:Lone Wolf books rely on a combination of thought and luck. Certain statistics such as combat skill and endurance attributes are determined randomly before play . The player is then...
. An old enemy from Shadow on the Sand is finally defeated in The Cauldron of Fear
The Cauldron of Fear
The Cauldron of Fear is the ninth book in the Lone Wolf book series created by Joe Dever. Starting with this book, long-time illustrator Gary Chalk was replaced with Brian Williams.-Gameplay:...
. Lone Wolf then makes the perilous journey to the edge of the Darklands, deep in the territory of the Darklords. There, in The Dungeons of Torgar
The Dungeons of Torgar
The Dungeons of Torgar is the tenth book in the Lone Wolf book series created by Joe Dever. These later books are illustrated by Brian Williams.-Gameplay:...
, he falls into a void leading beyond the plane of Magnamund. Finding the final two Lorestones and settling the score finally with Vonotar, Lone Wolf is able return to Sommerlund, chronicled in The Prisoners of Time
The Prisoners of Time
The Prisoners of Time is the eleventh book in the Lone Wolf book series created by Joe Dever.-Gameplay:Lone Wolf books rely on a combination of thought and luck. Certain statistics such as combat skill and endurance attributes are determined randomly before play . The player is then allowed to...
. When Lone Wolf returns to Magnamund, he finds that 11 years have passed and most of the world is under the grip of the Darklords under the leadership of Archlord Gnaag. Ultimately, in The Masters of Darkness
The Masters of Darkness
The Master of Darkness is the twelfth book in the award-winning Lone Wolf book series created by Joe Dever. This is the final book in the Magnakai series.-Gameplay:...
, Lone Wolf enters the Darkland capital of Helgedad and brings about the destruction of the Darklords.
The Grand Master Series (gamebooks 13 to 20) continues the story of Grand Master Lone Wolf and introduces the restored order of Kai Lords. With the destruction of the Darklords, Naar and his agents abandon open warfare and seek new paths to dominance, often focused directly on Lone Wolf as the keystone of the forces of Light. In The Plague Lords of Ruel
The Plague Lords of Ruel
The Plague Lords of Ruel is the thirteenth book in the award-winning Lone Wolf book series created by Joe Dever. This is the first book in the "Grand Master" series, in which Lone Wolf founds a new order of the Kai...
, Lone Wolf meets for the first time Archdruid Cadak, leader of the Cener Druids, and destroys the deadly virus they were creating to wipe out all life on Magnamund. Following that, the closest friend of Lone Wolf, Guildmaster Banedon, is kidnapped. The Kai Grand Master makes haste to save his friend in The Captives of Kaag
The Captives of Kaag
The Captives of Kaag is the fourteenth book in the Lone Wolf book series created by Joe Dever. As with most of the later books in the series, this one is illustrated by Brian Williams.-Gameplay:...
. Meanwhile, Warlord Magnaarn of Nyras is trying to find the Doomstone of Darke to combine it with the Nyras Sceptre. In The Darke Crusade
The Darke Crusade
The Darke Crusade is the fifteenth book in the Lone Wolf book series created by Joe Dever and now illustrated by Brian Williams.-Gameplay:...
, Lone Wolf tries to find the Doomstone before the Drakkarim. For the second time, Lone Wolf prevents the resurrection of Darklord Vashna in The Legacy of Vashna
The Legacy of Vashna
The Legacy of Vashna was the sixteenth book of the Lone Wolf book series written by Joe Dever and now illustrated by Brian Williams.-Gameplay:...
. Shortly after, The Deathlord of Ixia
The Deathlord of Ixia
The Deathlord of Ixia was the seventeenth book of the Lone Wolf book series, written by Joe Dever and now illustrated by Brian Williams.-Gameplay:...
comes into possession of the Deathstaff, an item to be used to resurrect Vashna. But while Lone Wolf is away from Sommerlund, Naar attempts to destroy the Kai Monastery for the second time in Dawn of the Dragons
Dawn of the Dragons
Dawn of the Dragons is the eighteenth book of the Lone Wolf book series. As with all of the later Lone Wolf books numbered thirteen through twenty, the North American editions of these books are abridged, with a reduced number of sections. This book does not come with a game map in the American...
. Following his defeat, the Dark God executes a new plan for revenge on Lone Wolf by sending a doppelgänger
Doppelgänger
In fiction and folklore, a doppelgänger is a paranormal double of a living person, typically representing evil or misfortune...
named Wolf's Bane
Wolf's Bane
Wolf's Bane is the nineteenth book in the Lone Wolf book series created by Joe Dever and now illustrated by Brian Williams.-Gameplay:Lone Wolf books rely on a combination of thought and luck. Certain statistics such as combat skill and endurance attributes are determined randomly before play...
in the book of the same name. During the mission involving Wolf's Bane, Lone Wolf finds out that Naar had come into possession of the holy Moonstone. In his final mission, the Kai Grand Master infiltrates the Plane of Darkness to retrieve to sacred jewel in The Curse of Naar
The Curse of Naar
The Curse of Naar is the twentieth book in the award-winning Lone Wolf book series created by Joe Dever. This is the final book in the "Grand Master" series, and the last one released in North America.-Gameplay:...
.
The New Order Series (gamebooks 21 to 32) features a new protagonist, a Grand Master in the Second Order of the Kai and a student of Lone Wolf, who is now Supreme Master. This series allows the player to 'customize' his character by allowing the choice of an individual name (originally, the name was speculated to be Falco Nero, or Black Hawk). Much of the series focuses on attempts by Naar's minions to use remnants of the power of Agarash the Damned, Naar's greatest champion and predecessor to the Darklords. The series is set in Southern Magnamund, center of Agarash's empire which was not featured in the earlier series. In Voyage of the Moonstone
Voyage of the Moonstone
Voyage of the Moonstone is the twenty-first book of the award-winning Lone Wolf book series created by Joe Dever.-Gameplay:Lone Wolf books rely on a combination of thought and luck. Certain statistics such as combat skill and endurance attributes are determined randomly before play . The player...
, the new protagonist is send to the Isle of Lorn to return the Moonstone to its creators, the Shianti. However, this book ends midway during the trip, in Elzian. The second part of this adventure plays out in The Buccaneers of Shadaki
The Buccaneers of Shadaki
The Buccaneers of Shadaki was the twenty second book of the award-winning Lone Wolf book series.-Plot:This is the second half of Lone Wolf's apprentice’s voyage to the Isle of Lorn to return the Moonstone to its proper place among the Shianti....
. After completing this quest, the Grand Master is sent to the Isle of Sheasu to persuade Prince Karvas, heir of the King of Siyen, to return to his homeland to claim the throne before the evil Baron Sadanzo takes it in Mydnight's Hero
Mydnight's Hero
Mydnight's Hero is the twenty-third book of the award-winning Lone Wolf book series created by Joe Dever.-Gameplay:Lone Wolf books rely on a combination of thought and luck. Certain statistics such as combat skill and endurance attributes are determined randomly before play . The player is then...
. In Rune War
Rune War
Rune War is the twenty-fourth book of the award-winning Lone Wolf book series created by Joe Dever.-Gameplay:Lone Wolf books rely on a combination of thought and luck. Certain statistics such as combat skill and endurance attributes are determined randomly before play . The player is then allowed...
, the Kai Order goes on a crusade to help the land of Lyris which has been invaded by the forces of Eldenora. The enemy leader, Lord Vandyan, has come into possession of the Runes of Agarash which grants him great power. At the end of the mission to destroy the runes, the Grand Master learns that Lone Wolf has been kidnapped. Similar to The Captives of Kaag, the Grand Master sets out to rescue of his leader in Trail of the Wolf
Trail of the Wolf
Trail of the Wolf is the twenty-fifth book of the award-winning Lone Wolf book series created by Joe Dever.-Gameplay:Lone Wolf books rely on a combination of thought and luck. Certain statistics such as combat skill and endurance attributes are determined randomly before play . The player is then...
. A year later, in The Fall of Blood Mountain
The Fall of Blood Mountain
The Fall of Blood Mountain is the twenty-sixth book of the award-winning Lone Wolf book series created by Joe Dever.-Gameplay:Lone Wolf books rely on a combination of thought and luck. Certain statistics such as combat skill and endurance attributes are determined randomly before play...
, the Grand Master is sent to help the Kingdom of Bor. Its inhabitants, the dwarves, have freed the evil Shom'zaa who is now wreaking havoc in the caves of this subterranean land. He returns to southern Magnamund in Vampirium
Vampirium
Vampirium is the twenty-seventh book of the award-winning Lone Wolf book series created by Joe Dever.-Gameplay:Lone Wolf books rely on a combination of thought and luck. Certain statistics such as combat skill and endurance attributes are determined randomly before play . The player is then...
, to deal with Autarch Sejanoz of Bhanar, who has found the Claw of Naar, a powerful weapon. After retrieving this artefact from Autarch, the Grand Master escorts Xo-lin, emperor of Chai, to safety as Sejanoz has invaded the neighboring land. The following adventure, The Storms of Chai, which is yet to be published, takes place 18 years later. Just like for the Nyras Sceptre from The Drake Crusade, the Claw of Naar can be coupled with a mystical evil stone to increase its power. This jewel, the Eye of Agarash, is set on the throne of the Khea-Khan (emperor) of Chai and the mission of the Grand Master will be to retrieve it. The following three gamebooks to be published should bring the series to a definitive conclusion.
Writing
Joe Dever was seven years old when he became a fan of a comic strip known as The Rise and Fall of the Trigan EmpireTrigan Empire
The Rise and Fall of the Trigan Empire, later called simply The Trigan Empire was a science fiction comic series written mainly by Mike Butterworth and most notably drawn by Don Lawrence...
, which appeared in a magazine called Look and Learn. He built armies of Airfix Roman soldiers and converted their spears to laser rifles, long before he was introduced to fantasy. Dever was introduced to "science fantasy" by his high school English tutor. He was the first and possibly only British person to compete in the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Championship of America, which he won in 1982.
Dever has stated that his earliest inspirations for Lone Wolf were medieval classical texts such as Beowulf
Beowulf
Beowulf , but modern scholars agree in naming it after the hero whose life is its subject." of an Old English heroic epic poem consisting of 3182 alliterative long lines, set in Scandinavia, commonly cited as one of the most important works of Anglo-Saxon literature.It survives in a single...
, Gawain and the Green Knight and Le Morte d'Arthur
Le Morte d'Arthur
Le Morte d'Arthur is a compilation by Sir Thomas Malory of Romance tales about the legendary King Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot, and the Knights of the Round Table...
. In his teenage years Tolkien
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
, Moorcock
Michael Moorcock
Michael John Moorcock is an English writer, primarily of science fiction and fantasy, who has also published a number of literary novels....
and Mervyn Peake
Mervyn Peake
Mervyn Laurence Peake was an English writer, artist, poet and illustrator. He is best known for what are usually referred to as the Gormenghast books. They are sometimes compared to the work of his older contemporary J. R. R...
along with military history and Norse mythology
Norse mythology
Norse mythology, a subset of Germanic mythology, is the overall term for the myths, legends and beliefs about supernatural beings of Norse pagans. It flourished prior to the Christianization of Scandinavia, during the Early Middle Ages, and passed into Nordic folklore, with some aspects surviving...
all contributed to the creation of the Kai. He also used travel books to discover images of "exotic places".
Dever developed the world of Magnamund from 1975 to 1983 as a setting for his Dungeons and Dragons campaigns. Originally called "Chinaraux", the world consisted of only northern Magnamund. The Kai lords are like "psionic rangers
Ranger (Dungeons & Dragons)
The ranger is one of the standard playable character class in most editions of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. They are protectors of nature, skilled woodsmen, and often live reclusive lives as hermits....
with special powers bestowed upon them by their gods". An individual book took 9 weeks to write, with three for mapping and plotting, and then 6 weeks of writing the story, creating an average of 12 entries per day.
Original publication
Dever was originally contracted by London-based publisher Hutchinsons for four books, despite having planned out at least 13 for the series. When the first books proved to be popular, Dever was allowed an extension of contract and went on to write 20 books with Lone Wolf as the main hero, and 8 more featuring a new Kai Lord. He also developed the character Grey Star during this period, and four books were written using this character by Ian Page. Dever also wrote The Magnamund Companion, in which all countries of the Lone Wolf world are described in some detail; readers are also given details on the Darklords and a trainer course in the Giak language. There are two games included, a Ragadorn Tavern Board game, and a short solo adventure that takes place immediately prior to book one, putting the player in the role of Banedon, a young magician who goes on to become a recurring character in the Lone Wolf books.With the help of Joe Dever, Paul Barnett
John Grant (author)
John Grant is a Scottish writer and editor of science fiction, fantasy, and non-fiction. Born as Paul le Page Barnett, Grant has sometimes written under his own name "Paul Barnett" or as "Eve Devereux"...
, whose pen name is John Grant, wrote twelve novelizations of the Lone Wolf books known as the Legends of Lone Wolf, several of which were heavily edited before publication. They have received mixed reviews from fans. Barnett was the creator of the characters Alyss, Qinefer, and Thog. Random House stopped publishing the novelizations after the twelfth book because "the books weren't selling," though the truth of this statement is contested. Barnett entered discussions with an Italian publisher about reprinting the books unedited in Italian, this finally occurring with some editing of the original text. In July 2009, he announced on his blog that Dark Quest Books would republish an upgraded version of the series in English beginning in 2010. So far, none of the twelve have been published by Dark Quest Books. An omnibus edition containing the first three novels, is currently listed on the publishers website with a notation of an estimated release date of February 2011, due to a delay with an unspecified "art issue."
There has long been uncertainty amongst fans as to which version of the series is canon
Canon (fiction)
In the context of a work of fiction, the term canon denotes the material accepted as "official" in a fictional universe's fan base. It is often contrasted with, or used as the basis for, works of fan fiction, which are not considered canonical...
. Joe Dever has stated that as the game books precede the novelization, they are the "authoritative" versions. There is still some cross over between the novelizations and the gamebooks, however; most notably in the form of Alyss, an original character of John Grant's who plays a significant role in the final books of the Grand Master series.
Only the first four volumes of the Legends of Lone Wolf were made available in the United States (though Sword of the Sun was divided into two separate volumes, The Tides of Treachery and Sword of the Sun), and only the first 20 of the core Lone Wolf gamebook series were made available in the United States; the last 8 books were never printed in the US. It should also be noted that the American editions of books 13-20 were abridged versions and thus are shorter than the UK editions. The UK versions also have color maps. The abridgements are sloppy, sometimes leaving broken links, or sections referring the reader to an incorrect new section.
During the latter period of writing, Joe Dever and Publisher Red Fox were at odds, and Red Fox ceased publishing the Lone Wolf series after book 28, The Hunger of Sejanoz
The Hunger of Sejanoz
The Hunger of Sejanoz is the twenty-eighth book of the award-winning Lone Wolf book series created by Joe Dever. This was the last book to be released in the New Order series for the next ten years. In fall 2010, the 29th book of the series, The Storms of Chai, will be published at...
, citing lack of interest in the interactive gaming genre, despite hundreds of requests for the reprinting of several Lone Wolf books that had gone out of print. This left the series unfinished, as Dever had four other books planned. He first did plan on releasing these books in some form after completing his collaboration on the new Lone Wolf RPG. Finally, Mongoose Publishing, editor of the Lone Wolf RPG, accepted to publish to last four books of the series as well as republishing the rest of the series.
In 1999, Dever gave permission for his Lone Wolf book to be published for free on the internet by the non-profit organization
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
Project Aon. Joe Dever later gave his permission to publish the out of print New Order series. As of May 2011, 25 of his Lone Wolf books, the World of Lone Wolf series, the Magnamund Companion and several other Lone Wolf related written works are available for download. Despite the online publication, the original print copies of gamebooks 21 through to 28 and the twelfth Legends novel remain both rare and sought after and, as of November 2010, copies in "good" condition sell online for between $150 and $200 US.
Republication and expansion
Mongoose Publishing have started republishing the gamebooks starting in July 2007, featuring new internal artwork by Richard Longmore (books 1 to 12), Nate Furman (book 13) and Pascal Quidault (books 14 and beyond). The first book has been partially rewritten and extended by Joe Dever, whilst the rest will be extended in-house. Starting with book 2, a bonus mini-adventure is added at the end of each book featuring a character that is encountered during the main adventure. These bonus adventures are written by various authors under the supervision of Dever himself. Nate Furman did the illustrations for ten bonus adventures (books 2 to 11), with Richard Longmore illustrating the following ones. The republishing includes the final four gamebooks 29 - 32, which will be their first time in print. The republished first Lone Wolf book features a retconRetcon
Retroactive continuity is the alteration of previously established facts in a fictional work. Retcons are done for many reasons, including the accommodation of sequels or further derivative works in a series, wherein newer authors or creators want to revise the in-story history to allow a course...
of the opening of the book, where instead of Lone Wolf waking to find everyone at his monastery dead, he joins the fight. Dever has stated that, since he has the chance, and considers himself a better writer, that this is a good opportunity to make a better beginning. Long time fan and now assistant Jonathan Blake said of the retconning that overall, despite his love of the original, the surprises, grittier illustrations, and better writing have "won him over".
Reception
The gamebook series was published between 1984 and 1998 in over 30 countries, translated into 18 languages, and sold in excess of 10 million copies worldwide. Each of the first 20 books had average print runs of 250,000.The response to the Lone Wolf book series has been largely positive. Three books of the series won "Game Book of the Year" between 1985 and 1987. The series was also awarded the Gamemaster International "All Time Great" award in 1991. The high quality of Joe Dever's descriptive prose receives especial praise, as well as the fact that the books, if played together, form a cohesive continuing story, with recurring characters (something not often seen in gamebooks).
Even so, the books are not without criticism. Wavering difficulty is a common criticism made about the series. The battles tend to be either too hard or too easy. This is mostly attributed to the attainment of the Sommerswerd (a sword forged by gods) in the second book Fire on the Water
Fire on the Water
Fire on the Water is the second installment in the award-winning Lone Wolf book series created by Joe Dever. It is the installment where Lone Wolf receives the legendary Sommerswerd.-Gameplay:...
which drastically increases the wielder's combat abilities. Another reason for this would be the fact that a player can start with drastically different stats. Finally, because the books were written to be functional both as a series and as stand alone adventures, the question of whether or not a player would have access to certain special weapons and abilities made difficulty hard to gauge.
Adaptations
The Legends novel Eclipse of the Kai was abridged as an audio book read by Edward da Souza on May 7, 1992. Another was recorded but not released. A version narrated and composed by Joe Dever was also made, but never released.
There was also a series of telephone adventures called "Phonequest", one of which was known as "Fortress of Doom".
In 2004 the license was adapted as a role-playing game by Mongoose Publishing
Mongoose Publishing
Mongoose Publishing is a prolific British manufacturer of role-playing games, miniatures, and card games, actively publishing material since 2001...
under the Open Game License
Open gaming
Open gaming is the movement within the role-playing game industry that is somewhat similar to the open source movement. The key aspect is that authors give recipients of works covered by copyright a license to certain rights, such as the right to make copies or the right to create derivative...
using Mongoose's OGL System
OGL System
The OGL System is an open roleplaying game system, published by Mongoose Publishing.It is in fact the d20 System, but it was rewritten in order not to contain any licensed material; for example, the term "d20 System" was systematically replaced by "OGL System".This system is published in the OGL...
. This has met mostly with praise for its adaptation of the Lone Wolf world, though some believe that there are many overlooked problems with the RPG, such as balance between classes and "hard to interpret" rules. Dever is credited with helping the game's principal designer, August Hahn, incorporate information from his final four unreleased books into the game. A line of miniatures was also created for the game.
In March 2010, a new version of the roleplaying game, with rules closer to the ones of the gamebooks, was launched by Mongoose Publishing.
Three scripts were developed for a potential Lone Wolf film release but they did not proceed beyond the pre-production phase. However, in July 2009, a small company, called Convergence Entertainement, who produced the King of Fighters
The King of Fighters (film)
The King of Fighters is a film loosely based on SNK Playmore's The King of Fighters series of fighting games. It stars Sean Faris as Kyo Kusanagi, Maggie Q as Mai Shiranui, Will Yun Lee as Iori Yagami, and Ray Park as Rugal Bernstein.-Plot:...
movie, announced that it had bought the rights to make a live-action film based on Lone Wolf.
An online MMORPG
MMORPG
Massively multiplayer online role-playing game is a genre of role-playing video games in which a very large number of players interact with one another within a virtual game world....
was in development by fans with the support of Joe Dever and a playable demo had been released for beta testing, but development abruptly stopped when it was announced that a first-person computer game was being developed by Singapore-based Ksatria Gameworks Pte Ltd. Joe Dever was cited as Lead Designer on the project, for which no official release date have ever been announced. The studio also had the license to produce more Lone Wolf games. However, the company abruptly closed its doors in 2009 because of the worldwide financial crisis
Late-2000s financial crisis
The late-2000s financial crisis is considered by many economists to be the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s...
. The rights to make a video game were shortly held by Red Entertainment
Red Entertainment
is a video game developer based in Japan. Formerly known as since is foundation in 1976 , it was reorganized under its current moniker on December 4, 2000...
before the Italian company Forge Reply announced in August 2011 that it was working on a game for the next-gen consoles.
An adaption of the first five books for the Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
handheld console, called LoneWolfDS, is available in homebrew
Nintendo DS homebrew
Nintendo DS homebrew software is unofficial software written for the Nintendo DS by hobbyist programmers, as opposed to software written by a game production company or corporation . The DS homebrew software is typically used on the DS via third-party rewritable game cartridges, or SD cards...
format.
Two game modifications for the game Neverwinter Nights
Neverwinter Nights
Neverwinter Nights , produced by BioWare and published by Infogrames , is a third-person perspective computer role-playing game that is based on third edition Dungeons & Dragons and Forgotten Realms rules. It was originally to be published by Interplay Entertainment, but the publisher's financial...
were named after the Lone Wolf book series.