Dawn of the Dragons

Lone Wolf #18

by Joe Dever

After defeating the Deathlord of Ixia, readers are further challenged to assume the role of the Grand Master after it is revealed that Naar has sent a horde of dragons to overcome the untested Kai warriors and destroy Sommerlund. Original.

Genres: Fantasy, Gamebooks, Fiction, Role Playing Games, Childrens, Gaming, Choose Your Own Adventure

1 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

Joe 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.

Reviews

[Dhana · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 18: Dawn of the Dragons
(published 1992, first read 1993)

Story: 5/5
Game: 4/5
Replayability: 4/5

[Rachel Redhead · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book a lot, much more than Deathlord, the storyline is very simple, having been set up at the end of the last book. Our protagonist must get home as quickly as possible. There are of course challenges and complications along the way and a couple of possible routes to take though they are by and large heading in the same direction. The final battle at the end sees the introduction of the dragons of the title, as our protagonist is once more taken out of time and space to another realm of being. It doesn't last very long though and the final resolution is pleasing, if the often talked about LW film/TV series is made then I look forward to seeing this storyline being adapted into live action with relish.

[John Somers]

Read most of 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).

[Etienne · Rating 3 out of 5]

La majorité du livre constitue un long voyage sans trop d'action et alors que la fin semblait prometteuse, tout tombe à plat sans grande action et sans éclat. Assez ordinaire.

[Mathew Walls · Rating 2 out of 5]

While there's nothing wrong with this book and a few cool bits, it's just never been one of my favourites and I find it mostly pretty forgettable. It's neat to travel through areas you've been to in earlier books and the final encounter with Roark is cool, I guess, but none of it really made much impact on me - now or when I first read it as a child. One major problem, of course, is that the titular dragons only show up right at the end. But at least it doesn't kill you every two pages like the previous book did.

[Cyril Corbaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This Lone Wolf issue was actually very enjoyable, especially for someone who's played the whole series. As Lone Wolf blazes through Magnamund to save his monastery, he's given a huge fan service treatment, meeting old friends and enemies alike. Joe Dever also indulges himself with quite a few touches of well-aimed humor, which I really enjoyed. Overall, a very good overland travel-type book.

[Sara Sbaraglia · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ho provato un Libro-Game per curiosità, ma l'ho trovato piuttosto noioso. Arrivata a metà l'ho abbandonato.