What do you think?
Rate this book
Lone Wolf #9
The Cauldron of Fear
The reader, given the title General by the King himself, must enter an ancient metropolis and gain control of the Lorestone of Tahou, choosing skills and weapons carefully for a fight to the death against the Darklord's armored legions
241 pages, Paperback
First published April 2, 1987
2 people are currently reading
185 people want to read
About the author
Joe Dever
216 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.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
July 26, 2022
Il silenzio cala e tu aspetti con pazienza l’indovinello. Il padre estrae il pugnale dal fodero e lo appoggia sul tavolo. Poi mette la mano sulle spalle del figlio maggiore e dice: “Questo pugnale ora ha la metà degli anni che mio figlio Loen aveva quando il pugnale era nuovo. Loen ora ha quindici anni. Quanti anni ha il pugnale?”
Se pensi di poter risolvere correttamente l'indovinello, vai al numero corrispondente alla risposta.
Se non sei in grado di rispondere, vai al 204.
Questi enigmi mi hanno sempre mandato in sollucchero. Meravigliosi!!!
Non sarà una delle avventure più entusiasmanti di Lupo Solitario, ma l'atmosfera dei sotterranei è resa splendidamente bene.
Se pensi di poter risolvere correttamente l'indovinello, vai al numero corrispondente alla risposta.
Se non sei in grado di rispondere, vai al 204.
Questi enigmi mi hanno sempre mandato in sollucchero. Meravigliosi!!!
Non sarà una delle avventure più entusiasmanti di Lupo Solitario, ma l'atmosfera dei sotterranei è resa splendidamente bene.
August 22, 2024
Ancora in viaggio, la tua ricerca delle Pietre della Sapienza ti stanno facendo raggiungere poteri dimenticati da millenni. Una nuova sfida ti attende, nelle profondità di una città sotterranea, nelle tenebrose pianure di Anari.
June 25, 2023
La storia prosegue sui binari consolidati ed il sistema di gioco continua ad essere semplice ed efficace, però qui per la prima volta ho avuto la netta sensazione che ci fosse una sola strada univoca per arrivare alla fine; il minimo passo falso porta a dover ricominciare da capo quindi sono andata per tentativi finché non ho trovato la combinazione vincente.
Spero che d'ora in poi non siano tutti così.
Spero che d'ora in poi non siano tutti così.
June 16, 2012
Like the last in the series, this book had an extremely difficult spot I wasn't sure I was going to be able to get through on the Hardcore setting of the gamebook player at http://www.projectaon.org/staff/eric/. All books in the series free and online in a game-book player here: www.projectaon.org
Death Count:
Book 1: Died 9 times
Book 2: Died 11 times
Book 3: Died once
Book 4: Died once
Book 5: No deaths
Book 6: Died 4 times
Book 7: Died 3 times
Book 8: Died 21 times
Book 9: Died 12 times
Death Count:
Book 1: Died 9 times
Book 2: Died 11 times
Book 3: Died once
Book 4: Died once
Book 5: No deaths
Book 6: Died 4 times
Book 7: Died 3 times
Book 8: Died 21 times
Book 9: Died 12 times
February 2, 2015
Très bien, univers variés et intéressants, beaucoup d'action, combat final épique!
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.
May 10, 2013
Didn't know playing RPG on books could be fun.
May 15, 2022
Fight for the Republic
14 May 2022
I’m starting to find these books to be pretty quick to read through, at least they are if you don’t happen to be fighting anybody. Mind you, looking at some of the nasties that you have to fight, especially the big one at the end, they do seem to be somewhat more powerful than the one’s that you encountered in the earlier books, but that shouldn’t be all that surprising considering that this does happen to be book number 9.
In fact, considering this, it does appear that if you haven’t actually completed the earlier books, then being able to complete this one ends up being very much harder. This is because not only are there times where a successful use of one of your abilities requires you to have read all of the previous books, but there are sections in the book that rely on the fact that you have met somebody previously (and this is the case where you happen to be on trial for treason).
Anyway, the story begins where you are torn between returning home to help with the fight, or continue on your quest for the lorestones (since the Darklords are once again invading Sommerland). It turns out that the orders from back home are that you continue your quest, and this order actually comes through an old friend that you have met in previous books.
This adventure involves you travelling to a city, which happens to be a republic nonetheless, where the next lorestone is located. As such the book is divided into sections, with the journey being one of them, making your way through the city another, locating the lorestone in a dungeon known as The Cauldron, and then returning to discover that you are in the middle of a massive battle.
The one thing that put me off is the use of the word ‘President’ for the head of the city. The issue that I have with that is that it felt to be a rather anachronistic term to be used for a medieval city. Look, it isn’t as if there weren’t republics back then – they have existed for millennia (with San Marino being the oldest, still extant, republic, which was established shortly after the fall of the Roman Empire). However, some quick research (on Wikipedia nonetheless) confirmed my suspicions. Yeah, according to that, the first use of president as a government title was during the English Civil War, however, the first use of President as the title of the head of government was The United States of America. My personal preference would have been to use the title ‘Consul’, which while Roman, would feel better in the circumstances.
Anyway, it was an enjoyable, and rather quick, read. It might not be one of the greatest books out there, but it was still good.
14 May 2022
I’m starting to find these books to be pretty quick to read through, at least they are if you don’t happen to be fighting anybody. Mind you, looking at some of the nasties that you have to fight, especially the big one at the end, they do seem to be somewhat more powerful than the one’s that you encountered in the earlier books, but that shouldn’t be all that surprising considering that this does happen to be book number 9.
In fact, considering this, it does appear that if you haven’t actually completed the earlier books, then being able to complete this one ends up being very much harder. This is because not only are there times where a successful use of one of your abilities requires you to have read all of the previous books, but there are sections in the book that rely on the fact that you have met somebody previously (and this is the case where you happen to be on trial for treason).
Anyway, the story begins where you are torn between returning home to help with the fight, or continue on your quest for the lorestones (since the Darklords are once again invading Sommerland). It turns out that the orders from back home are that you continue your quest, and this order actually comes through an old friend that you have met in previous books.
This adventure involves you travelling to a city, which happens to be a republic nonetheless, where the next lorestone is located. As such the book is divided into sections, with the journey being one of them, making your way through the city another, locating the lorestone in a dungeon known as The Cauldron, and then returning to discover that you are in the middle of a massive battle.
The one thing that put me off is the use of the word ‘President’ for the head of the city. The issue that I have with that is that it felt to be a rather anachronistic term to be used for a medieval city. Look, it isn’t as if there weren’t republics back then – they have existed for millennia (with San Marino being the oldest, still extant, republic, which was established shortly after the fall of the Roman Empire). However, some quick research (on Wikipedia nonetheless) confirmed my suspicions. Yeah, according to that, the first use of president as a government title was during the English Civil War, however, the first use of President as the title of the head of government was The United States of America. My personal preference would have been to use the title ‘Consul’, which while Roman, would feel better in the circumstances.
Anyway, it was an enjoyable, and rather quick, read. It might not be one of the greatest books out there, but it was still good.
August 17, 2025
„Котелът на страха“ е деветата книга от легендарната поредица за Самотния вълк на Джо Дивър и още едно голямо събитие за българските фенове. С нейното излизане фенските издания вече окончателно надминават като бройка книгите, публикувани от „Хермес“ през 90-те години – дори ако не броим страничната поредица на Иън Пейдж за магьосника Сива звезда. Това е впечатляващ факт и доказателство за неуморния труд и любовта на екипа, воден от преводача Георги Георгиев – Der, който заедно с колегите си вдъхна нов живот на тази класическа сага и я подари отново на българските читатели. Прочетете ревюто на "Книжни Криле": https://knijnikrile.wordpress.com/202...
March 7, 2018
If not for one thing I'd rate this as a pretty average Lone Wolf. It's weird how much of it you can skip straight past but kind of neat as far as replayability goes. I would have liked to see more of the ancient city underground and spend less time on the journey there, but that's par for the course at this stage and not as annoying to me as the lack of jungle in The Jungle of Horrors. But you know what really ruins this book? Zakhan Kimah.
If you were playing these as you bought them rather than for free online and this was one of the first ones you got, you were basically fucked. If you don't pick up the Psychic Ring then you automatically die, and if you do then you get a fight that's basically unwinnable.
But if you played all the previous books then you're also fucked. Bring the Sommerswerd with you and you either lose it (and have to use the Psychic Ring, see above) or hold on to it and get a basically unwinnable fight.
The only way to have a decent chance of beating this book is to metagame the fuck out of it. Leave the Sommerswerd at home for no good reason and bring the Dagger of Vashna instead - even though it normally confers no benefit whatsoever. Even then you get, at best, a 90% chance of not automatically dying - it can be as low as 50% - and only if you know to throw it at him instead of just fighting him with it.
If you got lucky with your initial combat skill roll back in Flight from the Dark and made all the right choices since then, this fight is easy. But if you played less than perfectly (or were just unlucky) then you're going to lose. There's really only one explanation for it, and it's that Dever slacked off and didn't playtest it, and it's just bad and dumb.
If you were playing these as you bought them rather than for free online and this was one of the first ones you got, you were basically fucked. If you don't pick up the Psychic Ring then you automatically die, and if you do then you get a fight that's basically unwinnable.
But if you played all the previous books then you're also fucked. Bring the Sommerswerd with you and you either lose it (and have to use the Psychic Ring, see above) or hold on to it and get a basically unwinnable fight.
The only way to have a decent chance of beating this book is to metagame the fuck out of it. Leave the Sommerswerd at home for no good reason and bring the Dagger of Vashna instead - even though it normally confers no benefit whatsoever. Even then you get, at best, a 90% chance of not automatically dying - it can be as low as 50% - and only if you know to throw it at him instead of just fighting him with it.
If you got lucky with your initial combat skill roll back in Flight from the Dark and made all the right choices since then, this fight is easy. But if you played less than perfectly (or were just unlucky) then you're going to lose. There's really only one explanation for it, and it's that Dever slacked off and didn't playtest it, and it's just bad and dumb.
June 10, 2013
In book 9, Lone Wolf and Banedon will need to reach the city of Tahou before the invading darklord army arrives to attack the city. The first part of the story deals with reaching Tahou; the second part is a dungeon crawl through an ancient buried city to find the lorestone. As usual, with milestones in the middle, it tends to reduce the amount of paths available, since it divides the paragraph count in two portions.
There's also the existence of a really bad path in this book where you can lose every single special item and weapon you've accumulated so far (eight books worth). Not a good thing to put in.
As I recall, this book was deviously difficult. Too many instant death situations due to a mismatch of Kai disciplines.
There's also the existence of a really bad path in this book where you can lose every single special item and weapon you've accumulated so far (eight books worth). Not a good thing to put in.
As I recall, this book was deviously difficult. Too many instant death situations due to a mismatch of Kai disciplines.
August 12, 2018
One of the most challenging, interesting, and richly evocative Lone Wolf books yet. Replayed probably every angle. Must read.
April 28, 2019
No spoiler ahead.
My problem with this book was that you can only beat it if you do meta game thinking.
There is an enemy who you must defeat and the only way to do it is if you either read what others did
or manage ALL your skills in order to defeat just this one enemy.
I do not think there was enough playtesting in this one. OK i understand the need to push the people to NOT use the SW because it's so strong as a weapon but if you do not use it then you have to maximize all your KAI disciplines in a specific order to achieve the highest Battle Skill to even have a slight chance to win this one battle. Not to mention you have to already have some specific items to increase even further your battle skill.
There is no way to avoid this battle.
So if you want to progress further in the series you have to either cheat or start again all the books from the Magnakai part and choose only what KAI gives you Battle.
Lazy lazy lazy this to do
My problem with this book was that you can only beat it if you do meta game thinking.
There is an enemy who you must defeat and the only way to do it is if you either read what others did
or manage ALL your skills in order to defeat just this one enemy.
I do not think there was enough playtesting in this one. OK i understand the need to push the people to NOT use the SW because it's so strong as a weapon but if you do not use it then you have to maximize all your KAI disciplines in a specific order to achieve the highest Battle Skill to even have a slight chance to win this one battle. Not to mention you have to already have some specific items to increase even further your battle skill.
There is no way to avoid this battle.
So if you want to progress further in the series you have to either cheat or start again all the books from the Magnakai part and choose only what KAI gives you Battle.
Lazy lazy lazy this to do
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 9: The Cauldron of Fear
(published 1987, first read 1989)
Story: 4/5
Game: 3/5
Replayability: 3/5
Book 9: The Cauldron of Fear
(published 1987, first read 1989)
Story: 4/5
Game: 3/5
Replayability: 3/5
February 7, 2022
Avventura avvincente e molto spettacolare però alla fine, sarà per le scelte che ho fatto, non ho affrontato tanti combattimenti e siamo riusciti a trovare un'altra Pietra della Sapienza e a fermare una guerra.
Bella la rivelazione finale che le restanti Pietre sono in mano al Signore delle Tenebre. Lo scontro finale si avvicina!
Bella la rivelazione finale che le restanti Pietre sono in mano al Signore delle Tenebre. Lo scontro finale si avvicina!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 2, 2020
A bit of a curages egg, it's almost like half of book 6 welded onto half of book 7, but the storyline is compelling all the same and the stakes increase at the end when a new threat to Magnamund is revealed
December 14, 2021
You are Lone Wolf, last Kai Master. The Darklords are marching to try and prevent you from finding what you seek. Still a good series. You choose your skills and gear and go on a fantasy adventure to try and restore your order and stop the Darklords.
March 20, 2019
¡Órale! Este fue nivel hard para mi porque me atoré un buen rato sin poder vencer al villano final. Muy buena, casi tanto como el libro 2.
August 25, 2019
Che difficoltà lo scontro finale!! Sono morta a ripetizione...
November 5, 2019
The final fight is needlessly hard, but it's an alright adventure
July 17, 2022
Another great adventure in which I felt a little OP thanks to all the buffs, but only until the very end - the boss fight is damn-near impossible to win.
June 12, 2025
This one remains a highly memorable moment in the Magnakai cycle : the journey to Tahou, convincing the council to gain access to the necropolis, exploring the necropolis, and the epic final encounter with Zakhan Kimah all felt like an epic tale to live.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews