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Lone Wolf #25
Trail of the Wolf
Lone Wolf has been abducted by the forces of the Dark God Naar and imprisoned in a remote city-fortress on the border of the Darklands. Subjected to relentless attacks by the minions of evil, the Supreme Master of the Kai is surely doomed to die unless a rescue can be affected swiftly and successfully.In Trail of the Wolf, you must venture alone into the dreaded stronghold of Gazad Helkona to find and free your leader. Can you succeed in your vital mission... or will you fall foul of the horrors that lurk within this Darklands city-fortress?
356 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1997
1 person is currently reading
124 people want to read
About the author
Joe Dever
216 books170 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 - 7 of 7 reviews
May 18, 2020
I enjoyed Trail of the Wolf when it first came out, and thoroughly enjoyed the recent re-issue. The hardback is gorgeous; the cover is great, and the map spanning the entire inside jacket looks fantastic.
If you've not come across the Lone Wolf series before, they're similar to the Fighting Fantasy series, but with one of two protagonists, as well as a host of warrior skills, items and more. The plot is much, much more in-depth than FF ever was - but they're very different!
In the Grand Master series (Book 21+) you play one of Lone Wolf's protege's, one of the warrior elite of Sommerlund, out on a mission to rescue Lone Wolf himself from the grip of an evil magician.
Dever's world-building is as dark and grim as ever, and this book is no exception - you trek across blasted wasteland to infiltrate a fortress filled with vile enemies, using every skill at your disposal. It's not as open-world as some of Dever's creations, but the atmosphere is palpable.
There's a few minor glitches; I noticed one of the illustrations being mis-attributed right at the start, and it's slightly annoying to have the combat tables not quite at the back (in the old Red Fox editions they're right on the back page for ease), but otherwise this is a faithful re-imagining and re-issue of an excellent book. It's a beautiful hardback and is a fine addition to my shelves.
If you've not come across the Lone Wolf series before, they're similar to the Fighting Fantasy series, but with one of two protagonists, as well as a host of warrior skills, items and more. The plot is much, much more in-depth than FF ever was - but they're very different!
In the Grand Master series (Book 21+) you play one of Lone Wolf's protege's, one of the warrior elite of Sommerlund, out on a mission to rescue Lone Wolf himself from the grip of an evil magician.
Dever's world-building is as dark and grim as ever, and this book is no exception - you trek across blasted wasteland to infiltrate a fortress filled with vile enemies, using every skill at your disposal. It's not as open-world as some of Dever's creations, but the atmosphere is palpable.
There's a few minor glitches; I noticed one of the illustrations being mis-attributed right at the start, and it's slightly annoying to have the combat tables not quite at the back (in the old Red Fox editions they're right on the back page for ease), but otherwise this is a faithful re-imagining and re-issue of an excellent book. It's a beautiful hardback and is a fine addition to my shelves.
June 15, 2017
It's cool to do this with web apps and generators. I had forgotten how long and tedious the intros/recaps were. :D
December 6, 2017
Simpatia dappertutto
Più che la classica cascata di nemici che si oppongono al tuo cammino, l'aspetto più inquietante è l'incredibile collaborazione di Banedon e Lord Rimoah come tuoi alleati, i quali stanno con il culo seduto per tutto il tempo e poi vengono a salvarti all'ultimo secondo con la nave volante.
Ma chi accetterebbe mai di andare a schiattare di una morte orrida a Gazad Helkona, cittadella allegra presidiata da Xaol, negromante più potente di Gesù Cristo Nostro Signore?
Effettivamente ogni persona dotata di buon senso avrebbe usato la comoda via dello scaricabarile.
Rispetto ad altri volumi, questo è troppo ripetitivo in alcune dinamiche di esplorazione nonché la proposizione di nemici poco stimolanti (quasi tutti umani).
Più che la classica cascata di nemici che si oppongono al tuo cammino, l'aspetto più inquietante è l'incredibile collaborazione di Banedon e Lord Rimoah come tuoi alleati, i quali stanno con il culo seduto per tutto il tempo e poi vengono a salvarti all'ultimo secondo con la nave volante.
Ma chi accetterebbe mai di andare a schiattare di una morte orrida a Gazad Helkona, cittadella allegra presidiata da Xaol, negromante più potente di Gesù Cristo Nostro Signore?
Effettivamente ogni persona dotata di buon senso avrebbe usato la comoda via dello scaricabarile.
Rispetto ad altri volumi, questo è troppo ripetitivo in alcune dinamiche di esplorazione nonché la proposizione di nemici poco stimolanti (quasi tutti umani).
January 8, 2020
After a run of long sweeping adventures comes Trail, a story and nasty rescue & escape storyline, as our protagonist must go in search of her teacher and free him before the forces of evil do nasty things. The storyline is quite nasty each danger is perilous and a lot of luck is required to get good dice rolls to survive many of the attacks. The shortened storyline doesn't feel quite right after so many lengthy campaigns, but that's a subjective point of view really, this book just isn't quite to my taste as the last few and that's ok, variety is important when you have a long run of books, as the last thing they should be is too samey. The prose is up to par which is good and there are links back to previous storylines which is also good.
December 30, 2018
It kind of a feels like Dever was just phoning it in at this point. There's really not much to this book at all; only one decision leads to a significantly different outcome and mostly you're just choosing whether you'll take a small amount of damage or a larger amount. There's a returning enemy, which could be cool if it wasn't such a boring one, and you get Lone Wolf and the Sommerswerd involved in the action but only in a very minor way. And although you do pick up the Sommerswerd you immediately give it back without getting to use it, which is pretty disappointing.
It's not the worst book in the series, it's more... just another book in the series.
It's not the worst book in the series, it's more... just another book in the series.
June 30, 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 25: Trail of the Wolf
(published 1997, first read 1997)
Story: 4/5
Game: 4/5
Replayability: 5/5
Book 25: Trail of the Wolf
(published 1997, first read 1997)
Story: 4/5
Game: 4/5
Replayability: 5/5
August 10, 2024
Not bad, just way too short.....
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews