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Lone Wolf #5
Shadow on the Sand
The reader is transformed into Lone Wolf, the sole survivor of the Kai warriors and the last hope in the bitter struggle against the savage Darklords
288 pages, Paperback
First published November 14, 1985
3 people are currently reading
245 people want to read
About the author
Joe Dever
215 books168 followersJoe Dever was an award-winning British fantasist and game designer. Originally a musician, Dever became the first British winner of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Championship of America in 1982.
He created the fictional world of Magnamund as a setting for his Dungeons & Dragons campaigns. In 1984 he released the first book of the Lone Wolf series of young-adult gamebooks, and the series has since sold over 10.2 million copies worldwide. He experienced difficulty with his publishers as the game books market began to contract in 1995, until publication ceased in 1998 before the final four books (numbers 29-32) were released. Since 2003, however, the series has enjoyed a strong revival of interest in France, Italy, and Spain following the re-release of the gamebook series in these countries.
From 1996 onwards, Dever was involved in the production of several successful computer and console games. He also contributed to a Dungeons & Dragons-style role playing game for Lone Wolf published by Mongoose Publishing (UK) in 2004. Currently he is Lead Designer of a Lone Wolf computer game, and he is writing the final books in the Lone Wolf series. No official publication schedule exists for these works.
He created the fictional world of Magnamund as a setting for his Dungeons & Dragons campaigns. In 1984 he released the first book of the Lone Wolf series of young-adult gamebooks, and the series has since sold over 10.2 million copies worldwide. He experienced difficulty with his publishers as the game books market began to contract in 1995, until publication ceased in 1998 before the final four books (numbers 29-32) were released. Since 2003, however, the series has enjoyed a strong revival of interest in France, Italy, and Spain following the re-release of the gamebook series in these countries.
From 1996 onwards, Dever was involved in the production of several successful computer and console games. He also contributed to a Dungeons & Dragons-style role playing game for Lone Wolf published by Mongoose Publishing (UK) in 2004. Currently he is Lead Designer of a Lone Wolf computer game, and he is writing the final books in the Lone Wolf series. No official publication schedule exists for these works.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
November 19, 2025
Avventura, tensione, ed una splendida ambientazione orientale in quello che per me è da sempre uno dei più bei libri della saga.
Praticamente la versione fantasy de "L'Impero colpisce ancora" con Lord Haakon ed i Drakkar nel ruolo di Darth Vader ed i suoi Stormtroopers... allo scontro finale mi aspettavo quasi dicesse "No, Lupo Solitario. Io sono tuo padre".
Occhio a non perdere la Spada del Sole alla fine ed attenzione all'enigma della mappa nella seconda parte: una delle città di Vassagonia non ha la bandiera in cima e la risposta esatta è 373.
Che gli Dei Ishir e Ramas siano con voi.
Praticamente la versione fantasy de "L'Impero colpisce ancora" con Lord Haakon ed i Drakkar nel ruolo di Darth Vader ed i suoi Stormtroopers... allo scontro finale mi aspettavo quasi dicesse "No, Lupo Solitario. Io sono tuo padre".
Occhio a non perdere la Spada del Sole alla fine ed attenzione all'enigma della mappa nella seconda parte: una delle città di Vassagonia non ha la bandiera in cima e la risposta esatta è 373.
Che gli Dei Ishir e Ramas siano con voi.
August 22, 2024
Sei pronto ad affrontare le sabbie cocenti del deserto della Vassagonia? Riuscirai a stipulare il trattato con il sultano?
November 20, 2024
Questo capitolo penso sia tra i miei preferiti. Non è stato troppo impegnativo, ma bello denso di passaggi per niente scontati. Inizia ora la saga dei Magnakai, sono molto curiosa di vedere come prosegue e di ritrovare dei titoli che non gioco da anni.
January 5, 2021
This one's a bit longer than the other Lone Wolf books and is broken into two sections, and I feel like that's a mistake. Part one is really good, especially if you manage to experience both the chase through the city and the prison break (you can skip one or the other depending on your choices), and part two starts really well but really loses steam just before the end when you stop to ask for directions.
And despite the two parts actually being the same length, I always feel like part two is way shorter because of the strange choice Dever made about where to break them up. Rather than ending with your escape from the city of Barrakeesh, part one actually ends a fair bit before that. It is the point where the story's focus shifts from escape to trying to stop the bad guy's plan (that you just learned about), but although it makes sense logically it doesn't feel right.
If it were me I'd probably reduce the book to the normal length for the series and cut out the asking for directions section. Instead, have Lone Wolf fight Haakon in Barrakeesh and then end with the escape via airship. Because as it is the ending feels very abrupt and comes after a needlessly drawn out and boring section.
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The collector's edition bonus adventure, The Tomb of the Majhan, is a bit of a disappointment. There are a lot of blind choices, which I guess is supposed to allow you to replay it and learn the correct path, but I prefer the ones where you can make a reasonable guess as to where each decision will take you.
And despite the two parts actually being the same length, I always feel like part two is way shorter because of the strange choice Dever made about where to break them up. Rather than ending with your escape from the city of Barrakeesh, part one actually ends a fair bit before that. It is the point where the story's focus shifts from escape to trying to stop the bad guy's plan (that you just learned about), but although it makes sense logically it doesn't feel right.
If it were me I'd probably reduce the book to the normal length for the series and cut out the asking for directions section. Instead, have Lone Wolf fight Haakon in Barrakeesh and then end with the escape via airship. Because as it is the ending feels very abrupt and comes after a needlessly drawn out and boring section.
---
The collector's edition bonus adventure, The Tomb of the Majhan, is a bit of a disappointment. There are a lot of blind choices, which I guess is supposed to allow you to replay it and learn the correct path, but I prefer the ones where you can make a reasonable guess as to where each decision will take you.
May 29, 2012
The first two in the Kai series gameplay were near impossible in some passages, but after I picked up a certain sword after book 2 they became too easy. I think I lost the sword at the end of this one, so we'll see if the playing gets reasonably difficult in the Master series. All books in the series free and online in a game-book player here: http://www.projectaon.org/staff/eric/.
Death Count:
Book 1: Died 9 times.
Book 2: Died 11 times.
Book 3: Died once.
Book 4: Died once.
Book 5: No deaths.
UPDATE: I actually did make it into the Halls of Fame on the Seventh Sense game-book player website under the legendary. http://www.projectaon.org/staff/david...
Death Count:
Book 1: Died 9 times.
Book 2: Died 11 times.
Book 3: Died once.
Book 4: Died once.
Book 5: No deaths.
UPDATE: I actually did make it into the Halls of Fame on the Seventh Sense game-book player website under the legendary. http://www.projectaon.org/staff/david...
May 5, 2023
Con questo capitolo si conclude la serie Ramas e si gettano le basi per quella successiva.
L'idea di fondo è buona e le dinamiche di gioco restano invariate, quindi semplici e funzionali.
Come nel libro precedente però, si ha la sensazione che dopo un inizio articolato e complesso le cose sul finale si facciano un po' troppo sbrigative.
L'idea di fondo è buona e le dinamiche di gioco restano invariate, quindi semplici e funzionali.
Come nel libro precedente però, si ha la sensazione che dopo un inizio articolato e complesso le cose sul finale si facciano un po' troppo sbrigative.
March 30, 2022
The First of the Darklords
28 March 2022
These books do seem to be quite different to the other gamebooks that I have read because it seems that they are quite easy to get through in a single read. In fact, there is only one that I found that I had made through to the end, only to reach a point where I have failed the quest. Mind you, I thought I might have done that with this one, but it turned out that I was able to get through the door without needing any of the puzzle pieces.
The interesting thing is that it seems that all of the books have been uploaded to the internet. Actually, they go one better where there are links at the end of the paragraphs that take you to the next paragraph, which actually makes moving through these gamebooks so much easier. Mind you, it doesn’t seem to have a character sheet that you can use, nor does it have a combat simulator either, but hey, it’s much better than a pdf file. The other interesting thing is that it seems that there are a lot more books than I originally expected.
Anyway, the story involves the leader of the country that was involved in the previous book reaching out to the king of Somerland with a peace treaty and you are sent to sign it. However, when you arrive you learn that he has died, and you are now on the hit list of people that they want captured. Oh, it also turns out that one of the darklords seems to be pulling the strings in this place.
The first part of the book involves you getting captured, and while you might lose all of your equipment, you do eventually find it, and you find it pretty quickly as well. This part concludes when you come across the throne room to discover that the Darklord is pulling the strings, and is also looking for the Book of the Magnakai. This is switches to a quest to find the book before the others do. Oh, and you end up getting some help from an old friend.
Yeah, it’s easy, which is the way I like it, though I guess if I wanted something where I didn’t make many choices then I probably should just read a fantasy book, though these gamebooks give you a much better illusion of being a part of the action. Mind you, one of the interesting things if that if you have read through all of the previous books, then you pretty much have all of the skills now.
28 March 2022
These books do seem to be quite different to the other gamebooks that I have read because it seems that they are quite easy to get through in a single read. In fact, there is only one that I found that I had made through to the end, only to reach a point where I have failed the quest. Mind you, I thought I might have done that with this one, but it turned out that I was able to get through the door without needing any of the puzzle pieces.
The interesting thing is that it seems that all of the books have been uploaded to the internet. Actually, they go one better where there are links at the end of the paragraphs that take you to the next paragraph, which actually makes moving through these gamebooks so much easier. Mind you, it doesn’t seem to have a character sheet that you can use, nor does it have a combat simulator either, but hey, it’s much better than a pdf file. The other interesting thing is that it seems that there are a lot more books than I originally expected.
Anyway, the story involves the leader of the country that was involved in the previous book reaching out to the king of Somerland with a peace treaty and you are sent to sign it. However, when you arrive you learn that he has died, and you are now on the hit list of people that they want captured. Oh, it also turns out that one of the darklords seems to be pulling the strings in this place.
The first part of the book involves you getting captured, and while you might lose all of your equipment, you do eventually find it, and you find it pretty quickly as well. This part concludes when you come across the throne room to discover that the Darklord is pulling the strings, and is also looking for the Book of the Magnakai. This is switches to a quest to find the book before the others do. Oh, and you end up getting some help from an old friend.
Yeah, it’s easy, which is the way I like it, though I guess if I wanted something where I didn’t make many choices then I probably should just read a fantasy book, though these gamebooks give you a much better illusion of being a part of the action. Mind you, one of the interesting things if that if you have read through all of the previous books, then you pretty much have all of the skills now.
February 12, 2021
В края на 90-те книгите-игри вече сякаш си бяха изпели песента. Както в старата приказка, тласнати от надежди за още по-бързи и още по-големи печалби, най-големите издатели на интерактивна литература убиха гъската, която снася златни яйца. И все пак, в онези последни месеци преди книгите-игри да изчезнат от книжарниците съвсем, в България се появиха и някои прекрасни заглавия. През 1999 година изд. „Хермес” пусна една след друга книгите-игри „ Полет от мрака”, „Пламък над водата”, „Пещерите на Калте” и „Бездната на обречените” – първите четири книги от легендарната поредица „Самотният вълк” на Джо Дивър, илюстрирани майсторски от художника Гари Чолк. Когато играх книгите за първи път, не съм и подозирал, че държа в ръцете си международен феномен с хиляди фенове. Но усетих магията на този прекрасен и мрачен фентъзи свят и бях сигурен в две неща: първо, тези книги-игри са наистина нещо специално, и второ – искам още от тях! И знаете ли какво? След повече от две десетилетия желанието ми най-накрая се сбъдна, при това не благодарение на голямо издателство, а с помощта и всеотдайността на шепа верни фенове на поредицата. Вече ви разказах за некомерсиалното фенско издание на „Магьосникът Сива Звезда” на Иън Пейдж. Днес пък продължавам със специалното фенско издание на „Самотния вълк 5: Сянка върху пясъка”. За Сомерлунд! За Кай! Прочетете ревюто на „Книжни Криле”: https://knijnikrile.wordpress.com/202...
June 10, 2013
I enjoyed each and every Lone Wolf book. Book 5 sends you off to Vassagonia as an emissary of peace, but of course, things can't be that simple and you end up having to escape.
The "two adventures in one" tagline sounds great, but doesn't really work out well. The number of the paragraphs was increased by 50, but it's hard to offset the fact that there is a bottleneck in the middle, resulting in what feels like less paths that you could take to end the book.
Still, the plot is great, taking you to several new places and situations not done in previous books.
The "two adventures in one" tagline sounds great, but doesn't really work out well. The number of the paragraphs was increased by 50, but it's hard to offset the fact that there is a bottleneck in the middle, resulting in what feels like less paths that you could take to end the book.
Still, the plot is great, taking you to several new places and situations not done in previous books.
August 9, 2017
Quinto e conclusivo volume della serie Ramas (o Kai) di Lupo Solitario. Questa avventura è secondo me un po' inferiore ai capitoli precedenti, specialmente i primi tre. Penso che la mia lettura di Lupo Solitario si fermerà con questo libro, la mia età non è più quella giusta per i libri-gioco. Un sincero ringraziamento al compianto Joe Dever per aver fatto sognare tanti ragazzi degli anni 80/90 con le avventure di Lupo Solitario.
April 30, 2017
Trop bien ce tome là. J'ai fini en deux parties : une des deux qui était super chouette car ayant perdu tous mes objets c'était plus difficile. Et même avec mon glaive de Sommer les derniers monstres étaient vraiment forts.
March 19, 2019
Сякаш тази последна книга от Кай серията е може би най-добрата от петте. Екшънът тук е наистина от началото до края, почти няма спокойни моменти - нещо, което е реализирано добре в заключителната 1/3 на четвъртата книга и явно авторът е продължил в същата посока. Литературата също е малко подсилена - добавени са интересни елементи от света, странични герои, подобаващ финален противни��.
//Любопитен факт - това е най-високо оценената книга от поредицата "Самотния вълк" в Goodreads и сред най-високо оценените книги-игри на автора (изостава само от последните две части на "Freeway Warrior").
Слабостите на поредицата се проявяват и тук, но все пак не засенчват плюсовете и книгата е "ок" към "добра". Пак битките са безсмислени за добре екипирания герой със Сомерсверд, пак има директна смърт на 10% лош зар (мисля че във всяка книга "по рецепта" има един такъв неизбежен епизод); играчът има 9 от 10-те умения и на практика минава всички проверки за умения, т.е. изборът на умения вече тотално се е обезсмислил; изборите, които не са решени от умения са предимно на сляпо или лесни, има си и бая фиктивни и т.н. Литературата не блести, илюстрациите - хич. Но, все пак, приятно четиво с разгърнат свят, епичност и усещане за прогрес на героя.
//Любопитен факт - това е най-високо оценената книга от поредицата "Самотния вълк" в Goodreads и сред най-високо оценените книги-игри на автора (изостава само от последните две части на "Freeway Warrior").
Слабостите на поредицата се проявяват и тук, но все пак не засенчват плюсовете и книгата е "ок" към "добра". Пак битките са безсмислени за добре екипирания герой със Сомерсверд, пак има директна смърт на 10% лош зар (мисля че във всяка книга "по рецепта" има един такъв неизбежен епизод); играчът има 9 от 10-те умения и на практика минава всички проверки за умения, т.е. изборът на умения вече тотално се е обезсмислил; изборите, които не са решени от умения са предимно на сляпо или лесни, има си и бая фиктивни и т.н. Литературата не блести, илюстрациите - хич. Но, все пак, приятно четиво с разгърнат свят, епичност и усещане за прогрес на героя.
January 29, 2022
ancora più bello del precedente! la boss fight finale è stata qualcosa di epico, anche perchè prima di lui abbiamo dovuto lottare contro le sue creature e se non avessimo preso la vigorilla sicuramente saremmo morti subito AHAHAH in ogni caso, battaglia epica e aaaaa c'era banedon mado il mio amore dopo il primo libro.. non l'ho mai dimenticato :_____) in ogni caso, ORA SIAMO MAESTRI E NON PIU' GIOVANI PADAWAN (si, sto mischiando le saghe).. insomma, adesso stiamo diventando grandi e ci saranno cose sempre più difficili da fare e nemici sempre più tosti da affrontare.. AAAAAAA alla prossima!
May 29, 2022
Nice way to end the series after the two previous entries that I was not as happy with.
April 7, 2016
Good grief was this one brief! And it's got 50 more paragraph than the other books of this series. I'm a bit... disappointed. There's not much that happened here. Escaped a palace, found a flying ship, went to a village, then to an ancient tomb without any traps or riddles, not even a dungeon really, and fought a big bad. End of the story. A bit meh... now I realize why it wasn't my favorite Lone Wolf book...
May 24, 2011
I think I was 10 or 11 (23 years ago) when I read Shadow on the Sand. Being a CYOA style book (with additional element of dice rolls against character stats) I read it many times and was really taken by the world. I can even today picture clearly in my mind several of the illustrations. I never did read any of the others in the series. I wish I still had my copy, but I wore it out long ago.
January 2, 2020
A simple diplomatic mission turns into a life or death struggle for survival and then all bets are off as the stakes are increased so much with a terrifying new threat and the promise of a rich reward for success, without the shocks and revelations of this book I don't think the later books would be nearly so challenging.
will-probably-never-read
October 13, 2008this is interesting. a RPG style novella. part of the Lone Wolf series?
looks like Choose your Own Adventure combined with Dungeons and Dragons
checking Wikipedia, it looks like there's a whole series of gamebooks. cool.
looks like Choose your Own Adventure combined with Dungeons and Dragons
checking Wikipedia, it looks like there's a whole series of gamebooks. cool.
September 23, 2016
Read this series years ago and want to get the set and re-read them to see if they're as good as I remember. (Childhood nostalgia).
August 3, 2012
Two adventures in one book!!! How crazy is that? This was the defining turning point in the series - that got me hooked! Adventure, drama and an epic plot line!
June 25, 2014
Bella l'ambientazione arabeggiante, il libro però è diviso in due parti e la seconda sembra un po' troppo slegata dalla prima.
January 5, 2015
Un des mielleurs depuis le début de la série. Départ canon, beaucoup d'action, aventure épique séparée en deux parties et le fait que l'on devient finalement un maître Magnakaï. Wow! Vraiment bien!
October 14, 2015
fantastico. Una delle avventure più belle di lupo solitario. Ed è una tappa fondamentale in quanto dopo questo libro iniziano le avventure della serie RamaStan
August 26, 2016
can't think of a word to describe it's awesomness
April 28, 2017
Probablemente el mejor de la serie, en directa competición con el nº 3 Las Cavernas de Kalte.
June 25, 2025
My first-ever journey through Joe Dever’s Lone Wolf saga continues with book #5, Shadow on the Sand (1985).
The first three books form a trilogy with a continuing story that comes to a satisfying resolution. Book #5, like book #4, is more of stand-alone adventure; though book #5, last of the Kai books, clearly sets up the structure of the next segment of the series, the Magnakai, which continues for seven more books.
Shadow on the Sand is formally divided into two parts, each with 200 sections (50 sections longer than a regular Lone Wolf book, and as long as a regular Fighting Fantasy book). You play through the first half, then move onto the second. I believe this is the only Lone Wolf book to have this split-adventure construct. It facilitates what are basically two adventures, with two different goals.
In Shadow, your initial goal to broker peace (which seems suspect to begin with) is rendered obsolete almost immediately. Your next goal, which is the goal of the book’s first half, is simply to escape. Shadow is one of those gamebooks in which you have a mission to complete, but then, at some point on your way to complete it, you come into new knowledge that makes you realise there’s another more important mission that needs your attention. In Shadow, that mission is a race against the forces of darkness to find a ‘sacred item’, the Book of the Magnakai. Shadow doesn’t require two formal parts to achieve this structure, however, and it does serve to draw attention to the bottleneck in the middle that will always exist in a double-mission gamebook like this; which may be why we don’t find it again in Lone Wolf.
Although the story is standard gamebook fare, Shadow is another great Lone Wolf adventure, with an intelligent plot, strong narrative, and huge variety. Both halves are very different to one another, but not jarringly so, like, say, Caverns of the Snow Witch (1984); and both halves are of comparable quality, I think. There are some striking encounters, the Skyship perhaps being the most surprising and memorable. The desert location, despite some typical Arab stereotypes, is refreshing, adds interest, and makes a nice contrast to the snow and ice of book #3. Overall, Shadow is another superb entry in the Lone Wolf series, and completes an outstanding sequence of five gamebooks.
Every time I think of the title of this book it makes me think of the Mike Oldfield song, Shadow on the Wall (1983). It was going round and round in my head for most of the time I was reading it:
Shadow on the wall
Shadow on the wall
Shadow on the wall
Shadow on the wall.
The first three books form a trilogy with a continuing story that comes to a satisfying resolution. Book #5, like book #4, is more of stand-alone adventure; though book #5, last of the Kai books, clearly sets up the structure of the next segment of the series, the Magnakai, which continues for seven more books.
Shadow on the Sand is formally divided into two parts, each with 200 sections (50 sections longer than a regular Lone Wolf book, and as long as a regular Fighting Fantasy book). You play through the first half, then move onto the second. I believe this is the only Lone Wolf book to have this split-adventure construct. It facilitates what are basically two adventures, with two different goals.
In Shadow, your initial goal to broker peace (which seems suspect to begin with) is rendered obsolete almost immediately. Your next goal, which is the goal of the book’s first half, is simply to escape. Shadow is one of those gamebooks in which you have a mission to complete, but then, at some point on your way to complete it, you come into new knowledge that makes you realise there’s another more important mission that needs your attention. In Shadow, that mission is a race against the forces of darkness to find a ‘sacred item’, the Book of the Magnakai. Shadow doesn’t require two formal parts to achieve this structure, however, and it does serve to draw attention to the bottleneck in the middle that will always exist in a double-mission gamebook like this; which may be why we don’t find it again in Lone Wolf.
Although the story is standard gamebook fare, Shadow is another great Lone Wolf adventure, with an intelligent plot, strong narrative, and huge variety. Both halves are very different to one another, but not jarringly so, like, say, Caverns of the Snow Witch (1984); and both halves are of comparable quality, I think. There are some striking encounters, the Skyship perhaps being the most surprising and memorable. The desert location, despite some typical Arab stereotypes, is refreshing, adds interest, and makes a nice contrast to the snow and ice of book #3. Overall, Shadow is another superb entry in the Lone Wolf series, and completes an outstanding sequence of five gamebooks.
Every time I think of the title of this book it makes me think of the Mike Oldfield song, Shadow on the Wall (1983). It was going round and round in my head for most of the time I was reading it:
Shadow on the wall
Shadow on the wall
Shadow on the wall
Shadow on the wall.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 14, 2025
"Cień na piasku" to finalna odsłona "pod-serii" przygód Samotnego Wilka, jednak nie ostania gra z jaką przyjdzie nam się zmierzyć. "Kai" to dopiero pierwsza księga całego cyklu, który jest naprawdę obszerny. W tym tomie Wilk przechodzi pewien moment transformacji. Już nie jest wojem, ale mistrzem. I jako taki wchodzi na kolejny poziom.
Tym razem nasz wojownik Kai zostaje poproszony przez króla Ulnara V, by pomógł w negocjacjach pokojowych z Wasagonią - ma udać się do Barakeszu by podpisać traktar pokojowy z władcą Wasagonii. Jednak gdy Wilk przybywa na miejsce, okazuje się, że misja trochę się komplikuje. Wiele znaków, jak choćby atak na Samotnego Wilka, wskazuje na to, że figury na szachownicy diametralnie zmieniły pozycje.
Wilk będzie przemierzał pustynne miasta, targował się z ludem piasku, pomagał chorym - spotka też kapitana latającego statku. A wszystko to w obliczu nowego zagrożenia - kolejny z Mrocznych Władców knuje dość osobistą zemstę na naszym bohaterze. Okazuje się też, że Wilk musi także zdobyć zaginiony artefakt.
Ta część jest chyba najbardziej emocjonującą częścią. Polityka w którą wchodzi z mieczem wojownik Kai, klimat bliskowschodniej przygody, krasnoludzkie wynalazki, latanie w przestworzach i w ostatecznym rozrachunku wejście w posiadanie księgi Magnakai - która prawdopodobnie bedzie pełniła znacząca rolę w drugiej "pod-serii" - to wszystko sprawia, że gra po prostu płynie. "Cień na piasku" nie jest może najtrudniejszą częścią Kai, ale na pewno najbardziej widowiskową. Przyda się sporo szczęścia - jak i... mapka Wasagonii, która została umieszczona na początku książki.
Co mi się znowu podoba, widać rozwój gry jak i postaci Samotnego Wilka. Wilk wciąż ma sumienie we właściwym miejscu, a jego dusza nigdy nie przestała być wrażliwa na krzywdę. Ale paragrafy wskazują na większe "obycie" bohatera, a jego umiejętności rosną z każdą książką. Jest to oczywiście normalna kolej rzeczy, ale bardzo płynnie przeszedłem drogę od wtajemniczonego wzwyż, dopasowując bohatera do wciąż rozwijającej się rozgrywki.
Jeśli lubisz klimaty bliskowschodnie i "pustynne" ta część powinna przynieść ci mnóstwo radości. Akcja, zdrada, polityka i przygoda w jednym - jeden z moich ulubionych tomów.
Tym razem nasz wojownik Kai zostaje poproszony przez króla Ulnara V, by pomógł w negocjacjach pokojowych z Wasagonią - ma udać się do Barakeszu by podpisać traktar pokojowy z władcą Wasagonii. Jednak gdy Wilk przybywa na miejsce, okazuje się, że misja trochę się komplikuje. Wiele znaków, jak choćby atak na Samotnego Wilka, wskazuje na to, że figury na szachownicy diametralnie zmieniły pozycje.
Wilk będzie przemierzał pustynne miasta, targował się z ludem piasku, pomagał chorym - spotka też kapitana latającego statku. A wszystko to w obliczu nowego zagrożenia - kolejny z Mrocznych Władców knuje dość osobistą zemstę na naszym bohaterze. Okazuje się też, że Wilk musi także zdobyć zaginiony artefakt.
Ta część jest chyba najbardziej emocjonującą częścią. Polityka w którą wchodzi z mieczem wojownik Kai, klimat bliskowschodniej przygody, krasnoludzkie wynalazki, latanie w przestworzach i w ostatecznym rozrachunku wejście w posiadanie księgi Magnakai - która prawdopodobnie bedzie pełniła znacząca rolę w drugiej "pod-serii" - to wszystko sprawia, że gra po prostu płynie. "Cień na piasku" nie jest może najtrudniejszą częścią Kai, ale na pewno najbardziej widowiskową. Przyda się sporo szczęścia - jak i... mapka Wasagonii, która została umieszczona na początku książki.
Co mi się znowu podoba, widać rozwój gry jak i postaci Samotnego Wilka. Wilk wciąż ma sumienie we właściwym miejscu, a jego dusza nigdy nie przestała być wrażliwa na krzywdę. Ale paragrafy wskazują na większe "obycie" bohatera, a jego umiejętności rosną z każdą książką. Jest to oczywiście normalna kolej rzeczy, ale bardzo płynnie przeszedłem drogę od wtajemniczonego wzwyż, dopasowując bohatera do wciąż rozwijającej się rozgrywki.
Jeśli lubisz klimaty bliskowschodnie i "pustynne" ta część powinna przynieść ci mnóstwo radości. Akcja, zdrada, polityka i przygoda w jednym - jeden z moich ulubionych tomów.
December 15, 2021
Continua la mia lenta passeggiata attraverso le pagine di Lupo Solitario. Questo numero, Ombre sulla Sabbia, il 5° libro game dei maestri kai mi è sembrato essere abbastanza altalenante, ma sempre su una linea positiva.
La storia, per quanto non sembri dalle prime battute, si rivelerà essere un nodo cruciale per le avventure Kai e nasconde momenti più esplorativi e momenti di pura adrenalina, molto belli da leggere e giocare e con una percentuale di morte molto alta, dovuta principalmente agli innumerevoli salti nel vuoto sulla tabella del destino che questo libro vi porterà a fare.
Una bella lettura, che non arriva alla bellezza del precedente, ma che sottolinea una buona crescita della saga.
La storia, per quanto non sembri dalle prime battute, si rivelerà essere un nodo cruciale per le avventure Kai e nasconde momenti più esplorativi e momenti di pura adrenalina, molto belli da leggere e giocare e con una percentuale di morte molto alta, dovuta principalmente agli innumerevoli salti nel vuoto sulla tabella del destino che questo libro vi porterà a fare.
Una bella lettura, che non arriva alla bellezza del precedente, ma che sottolinea una buona crescita della saga.
November 27, 2018
I dusted this series of books off to read with my sons, unsure what to expect. I had many fond childhood memories of reading these as a kid, but would they stand up? The answer is yes, they aged well. The stories were pretty straight forward, but my imagination has evolved enough to cover the gaps that this story had. Bear in mind, it was written for children... and isn't that why we read them, to immerse ourselves into the story? So yes, it was a lot of fun and I only cheated a little bit
June 29, 2021
Joe Dever's Lone Wolf gamebooks were a consistent presence during my formative years and have had a big influence on my reading and gaming interests. I first started reading them in 1989 and continued to do so until 1999. With the resurgence of new Lone Wolf material in recent years, I've decided to revisit these nostalgic gems of my youth.
Book 5: Shadow on the Sand
(published 1985, first read 1989)
Story: 5/5
Game: 3/5
Replayability: 3/5
Book 5: Shadow on the Sand
(published 1985, first read 1989)
Story: 5/5
Game: 3/5
Replayability: 3/5
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